March 9

Billy Southworth (1893)

Myril Hoag (1908)

Phil Seghi (1909)

Joe Paparella (1909)

Arky Vaughan (1912)

Jackie Jensen (1927)

Ron Kline (1932)

Jim Landis (1934)

Bert Campaneris (1942)

Darrel Chaney (1948)

John Curtis (1948)

Wendell Kim (1950)

Terry Mulholland (1963)

Benito Santiago (1965)

Vince Horsman (1967)

Aaron Boone (1973)

C. J. Nitkowski (1973)

Koyie Hill (1979)

Craig Stammen (1984)

Daniel Hudson (1987)

Yennier Cano (1994)

Phil Seghi was in baseball most of his life, serving as Cleveland Indians general manager from 1973-1985.

American League umpire Joe Paparella holds the record for most games umpired in a season, 176 in 1962.

Wendell Kim was a major league coach and minor league manager for many years.

Right-hander Ronald Lee Kline had a solid year for the Twins in 1967.  A native of Callery, Pennsylvania, Kline signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent in 1950.  He pitched very well in the low minors and reached the Pirates in 1952, jumping from Class B.  He appears not to have been ready--in 27 games, 11 starts, he went o-7, 5.49.  Kline then missed the next two years due to the Korean War.  Upon his return in 1955, he stayed in the big leagues, pitching for Pittsburgh from 1955 through 1959.  Used mostly as a starter, Kline was durable and consistent, pitching around 200 innings per year and posting WHIPs just over 1.3o.  He slipped a little in 1959, however, and was traded to St. Louis after the season.  After a poor 1960 for the Cardinals, Kline was sold to the Angels in April of 1961.  He continued to pitch poorly, was placed on waivers, and was claimed by Detroit in August.  He was moved to the bullpen in 1962 and did somewhat better, but not great, and was sold to Washington in March of 1963.  Kline saved his career in Washington.  He became the closer for the Senators and posted an ERA under three in four consecutive seasons.  He was 26-25 with 83 saves in that span, leading the league with 29 saves in 1965.  He was still pitching well in 1966, but after that season he was traded to Minnesota for Bernie Allen and Camilo Pascual.  The Twins had Al Worthington to close, so Kline became a setup man and had another fine year in 1967, going 7-1, 3.77 with a WHIP of 1.20.  He was on the move again after the season, though, traded to Pittsburgh for Bob Oliver.  He had an excellent 1968, going 12-5, 1.68 with a WHIP of 1.11.  That was his last good year, though.  Off to a poor start in 1969, Kline was traded to San Francisco in June, sold to Boston in July, and released by the Red Sox after the season.  He signed with Atlanta for 1970, but was released in June.  The Angels picked him up and he had a fine rest of the season in AAA Hawaii, but then his career was over.  After his retirement, Ron Kline returned to his home town of Callery, Pennsylvania, eventually serving as mayor.  Ron Kline passed away at his home in Callery on June 22, 2002.

Left-hander Terence John Mulholland pitched for the Twins in 2004 and 2005.  A Uniontown, Pennsylvania native, he attended Marietta College and was drafted by the Giants in the first round in 1984.  He pitched well in the low minors, but struggled when promoted to AAA in 1986.  Despite that, he was bounced back and forth between AAA and San Francisco in 1986.  He spent all of 1987 in AAA, still not pitching particularly well.  Mulholland went back to bouncing between AAA and the Giants in 1988 and 1989 until he was traded to Philadelphia in June of 1989.  He established himself as a Phillie; he became a rotation starter there and was a good one, posting an ERA under four for four consecutive years, 1990 through 1993.  He pitched a no-hitter in 1990, led the league in complete games (12) in 1992, and made the all-star team in 1993.  He was traded to the Yankees in February of 1994 and immediately collapsed.  He went 6-7, 6.49, became a free agent after the season, and signed with the Giants for 1995.  After another poor year he became a free agent again and went back to the Phillies, but was traded to Seattle at the end of July, 1996.  Mulholland pitched somewhat better that year, but continued to be on the move in 1997, signing with the Cubs at the start of the season but being selected off waivers by the Giants in August.  Mulholland went back to the Cubs for 1998, went to the bullpen, and suddenly was a good pitcher again, going 6-5, 2.89 in 112 innings.  He could not sustain his success, was traded to Atlanta in July of 1999, pitched poorly for the Braves in 2000, and was a free agent again.  He was with the Pirates and Dodgers in 2001 and with the Dodgers and Indians in 2002.  He stayed with Cleveland for 2003, but was pretty mediocre.  A free agent again after that campaign, Mulholland signed with Seattle again for 2004, but was sold to the Twins near the end of spring training.  He stuck with Minnesota for two years, the longest he had been with the same team in over a decade.  He did not pitch particularly well out of the Minnesota bullpen in the first half of the season, but the Twins were desperate for a fifth starter, so he went into the rotation in early July.  He was not great in that role, either, but managed to go 4-5 with an ERA just under five.  Late in the season he was paired with catcher Pat Borders, making them the oldest battery in major league history.  Moved back to the bullpen for 2005, he actually did somewhat better.  Still, he became a free agent after the season and signed with Arizona for 2006.  He began the season in the majors, but was quickly sent back to AAA, and was released in June ending his career.  It was a pretty good career, though, lasting twenty seasons and including two World Series teams.  At last report, Terry Mulholland was a part-owner of the Dirty Dogg Saloon in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Left-hander Vincent Stanley Joseph Horsman made six appearances for the Twins in 1995.  He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and went to high school in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.  He signed with Toronto as a free agent in 1984.  He was mostly used in relief, although the one time he was used as a starter, 1987 at Class A Myrtle Beach, he went 7-7, 3.82 with a 1.22 WHIP.  Returned to the bullpen after that, Horsman continued to pitch pretty well.  After going 4-1, 2.34 in 80.2 innings in AA Knoxville in 1991, Horsman got a September call up.  Surprisingly, he was waived after that season and was claimed by Oakland.  He was with the Athletics for all of 1992, his only full season in the majors, and did quite well as a Loogy, going 2-1, 2.49 in 43.1 innings spread over 58 games.  Horsman started 1993 in the minors, but was called up in mid-June and placed in the same role.  He did not do as well, posting a 5.40 ERA in 25 innings spread over 40 appearances.  He split 1994 between Oakland and AAA, again used as a Loogy.  He was released after the season and signed with Minnesota just before the 1995 campaign.  He was in the majors for about two weeks that season, pitching nine innings over six games and giving up seven earned runs on twelve hits.  His best outing as a Twin came on May 7, when he pitched three scoreless innings in a seventeen inning loss to Cleveland.  He did not pitch particularly well in AAA, and was released in August.  Horsman pitched in AAA for Toronto in 1996, pitched in Taiwan in 1997, and pitched in AAA for Baltimore in 1998, and then his playing career was over.  Horsman was a batting practice pitcher for the Orioles from 1999 through 2004 and pitched for Dartmouth in the Baseball Canada Senior Championship in 2005.  Vince Horsman was the pitching coach for the Lansing Lugnuts in 2014, for the Dunedin Blue Jays in 2015, and was the pitching coach for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats from 2016-2019.   All are affiliates of the Toronto Blue Jays.  He was not retained by the Blue Jays for 2020, was the pitching coach for Team Italy in 2021, and at last report was the pitching coach of the Unilions in Taiwan.  He is a member of the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame.

Left-hander Christopher John Nitkowski did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 2005.  He was born in Suffern, New York, went to high school in Ramsey, New Jersey, attended St. John’s, and was drafted by Cincinnati with the ninth pick of the draft in 1994.  He made 14 solid starts in AA that year, eight more the next, then went up to AAA.  He did not do particularly well there, but was jumped to the majors anyway.  He struggled through nine appearances, seven of them starts, then was traded to Detroit.  He pitched poorly for the Tigers as well and was back in AAA in 1996, although he was in the majors for about two months in the second half of the season.  He was traded to Houston after that year, put in a full year in AAA, and did fairly well.  He made the Astros as a reliever in 1998 and had his first (some might say his only) good year in the majors, going 3-3, 3.77 with 3 saves and a 1.21 WHIP.  He was traded back to Detroit for 1999.  He was decent for the Tigers that season, but it was pretty much down hill after that, as he only once posted an ERA below four and a half and never had a WHIP below 1.5.  His last full year in the majors was 2001, a year when he was traded to the Mets in September.  He signed with Houston for 2002, was released on March 25, re-signed three days later, released again on June 6, signed that same day with St. Louis, was released on July 21, and signed with Texas, where he finished the season.  He stayed in the Rangers’ organization for 2003, was with Atlanta and the Yankees in 2004, and signed with Minnesota for 2005.  The Twins released him on March 31 and he spent the summer in the Detroit and Washington organizations.  He was in the majors for part of each of those seasons.  He signed with Pittsburgh for 2006 and spent the entire year in AAA.  He then spent two seasons in Japan before moving to Korea for the 2009 and 2010 seasons.  He apparently did not play in 2011, but played in the Dominican Republic that winter.  He did well enough to sign with the Mets for 2012, pitching well in six AA relief appearances but not very well in fifteen AAA games.  He was again active in the Dominican League that winter, but then his playing career came to an end.  His major league career numbers are unimpressive, to say the least:  18-32, 5.37, 1.63 WHIP.  Still he was in the majors for parts of ten seasons, appeared in 336 games, and pitched 479 major league innings, which a lot of people would be happy to be able to say.   He is currently a host on MLB Network radio, was a broadcaster for the Texas Rangers from 2017-2023, and has been a broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves since 2024.

Right-handed reliever Yennier Cano made ten appearances for the Twins in 2022.  He was born in Ciego de Avila, Cuba, and pitched in Cuba from 2013-2016.  B-r.com does not list him pitching again until 2019--I assume the reason for that is known, and I assume his defection to the United States has to do with it, but I could not quickly find the reason.  At any rate, he did defect to the United States and signed with the Twins for the 2019 season.  He was twenty-five at that point and pitched made ten minor league appearances, mostly in high-A.  Then, of course, came the COVID season of 2020, and he did not pitch.  He started 2021 in AA and dominated in twelve appearances, but was not as successful in AAA (although not terrible, either).  He did much better in AAA in 2022 and came up to the Twins in May.  He made his major league debut on May 11 without throwing a pitch--he was announced into the game, but the game was rained out before the next inning started.  He pitched the next day when the game was resumed.  In ten games for the Twins he went 1-0, 9.22, 2.05 WHIP.  He was traded to Baltimore in early August with Juan Nunez, Cade Povich, and Juan Rojas for Jorge Lopez and cash.  He struggled in AAA for the Orioles and did worse in three major league appearances with Baltimore.  In 2023, however, his career turned around and he had an outstanding year, making the all-star team.  He was not quite as good in 2024, but still had a fine season.  2025, however, was a different story, as he got off to a good start, but had an ERA of over four in each month other than April.  He turns thirty-two today.  He will presumably be given another chance, but he's going to have to pitch substantially better in 2026 if he's going to remain part of the Orioles' bullpen.

March 8

Harry Lord (1882)

Pat Flaherty (1897)

Bobby Goff (1902)

Pete Fox (1909)

Ray Mueller (1912)

Al Gionfriddo (1922)

Carl Furillo (1922)

Jim Bouton (1939)

Jacques Doucet (1940)

Dick Allen (1942)

Jim Rice (1953)

John Butcher (1957)

Mark Salas (1961)

Lance Barksdale (1967)

Mike Moriarty (1974)

Juan Encarnacion (1976)

Hines Ward (1976)

Tommy Pham (1988)

David Festa (2000)

If you have a few minutes to spare, I would very much recommend reading Harry Lord’s biography at baseball-reference.com.

Pat Flaherty pitched in the minors from 1917-1921.  He also played in the NFL from 1923-1928, was a major in the Air Force, and appeared in about 250 movies from 1934 to the 1950s.

Bobby Goff played in the minor leagues for nineteen years, 1923-1941.  He also was a minor league manager and general manager and a major league scout, remaining in baseball until 1972.

Jacques Doucet was the French-language play-by-play announcer for the Montreal Expos from 1972 until the team left.

Lance Barksdale has been a major league umpire since 2000.

NFL star Hines Ward was drafted by the Florida Marlins in 1994, but did not sign.

Right-hander John Daniel Butcher pitched for the Twins from 1984 through mid-1986.  A native of Glendale, California, he attended Yavapai Community College and was drafted by Texas in the first round of the June secondary draft in 1977.  Butcher pitched well in the low minors, but then was a bit up and down.  He had a fine year in 1980 at AAA Charleston, resulting in his first September call-up.  He struggled the next year at AAA Wichita, but still got another September call-up.  Butcher got off to a strong start in AAA Denver in 1982, and was brought up for good in late May.  He made a few appearances out of the bullpen, then entered the starting rotation in mid-July.  Butcher was used mostly in relief in 1983 for the Rangers and pitched very well.  After the season, however, he was traded to Minnesota with Mike Smithson for Sam Sorce and Gary Ward.  The Twins immediately moved Butcher into the rotation and he had his best year, going 13-11, 3.44 in 1984.  In 1985 his ERA went up by over a run and a half, and after a slow start in 1986 he was traded to Cleveland for Neal Heaton.  He finished the season for the Indians, but did not pitch well there, either.  He apparently injured his arm that year and his career was over.  As a Twin, John Butcher was 24-28, 4.48 in just over 500 innings.  He made 84 appearances, 77 of them starts.  He is a member of the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame.  At last report, John Butcher was living in Glendale, California.

Palindromic catcher Mark Bruce Salas played for the Twins from 1985 until June of 1987.  He was born in Montebello, California, went to high school in La Puente, California, and was drafted by St. Louis in the 18th round in 1979.  He had been nothing special in the minors when all at once he hit .304 with 20 home runs in AA Arkansas in 1983.  He fell back to a more typical .244 with 12 homers the next year, despite which he made his major league debut for about a month from mid-June to mid-July.  Salas was not protected that offseason, and was chosen by Minnesota in the Rule 5 draft.  He shared catching duties with Tim Laudner in 1985 and 1986; Salas, as a left-handed batter, got the majority of the at-bats, but not by as much as one would expect.  He hit .300 in 360 at-bats in 1985, but only .233 in 258 at-bats in 1986.  He was hitting well in limited playing time in early June of 1987 when he was traded to the Yankees for Joe Niekro.  Things did not go well for Salas in New York, and after the season he was traded again, this time to the White Sox.  He spent 1988 in Chicago as a part-time catcher, was released at the end of spring training in 1989, and hooked on with Cleveland.  He was with AAA Colorado Springs much of the year and hit well there, but did little in thirty games with the Indians.  Released again at the end of the season, Salas moved on to Detroit for 1990 and was a reserve catcher there for two years before ending his career.  Salas' best season was clearly with the Twins in 1985; for his career as a Twin, he hit .279/.320/.440 in 663 at-bats.  Since his playing career ended, Mark Salas was employed mostly by the White Sox, for whom he was most recently working as bullpen catcher, but is no longer employed in that capacity.  It appears that he is now active in the Minnesota Twins Fantasy Camp.

Infielder Michael Thomas Moriarty did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them.  Born in Camden, New Jersey, he attended high school in Pennsauken, New Jersey, and then went to Seton Hall.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the seventh round in 1985.  He was in the Twins' minor league system for six years, the last three and a half in AAA.  He hit between .220 and .260 in all six of those years, never hitting more than 13 home runs.  Moriarty became a minor league free agent after the 2001 season and played for several organizations before ending his career.  He signed with Baltimore for 2002 and surprisingly made the club out of spring training, but hit only .188 in 16 at-bats, his only stint in the big leagues.  Returned to the minors in early May, he hit .277 in Rochester, his best season in the minors.  Moriarty signed with Toronto for 2003, was released in June, signed with Houston in July, became a free agent after the season, signed with Colorado for 2004, was released in April, signed with Pittsburgh, was released after the season, signed with Boston for 2005, was released in April, signed with the Cubs, was moved on to Baltimore in May, and was released after the season, ending his career.  He played in AAA almost all of that time, hitting between .210 and .240.  Moriarty's primary position was shortstop, although he also saw time and second base and third base.  After his playing career was over, Mike Moriarty did some coaching in the Pittsburgh Pirates' minor league system and was an area scouting supervisor for the Seattle Mariners.  At last report, he was a market sales manager for Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Vision Systems in Marlton, New Jersey.

Right-handed pitcher David Festa made his major league debut for the Twins in 2024.  He was born in Verona, New Jersey, attended Seton Hall, and was drafted by the Twins  in the thirteenth round in 2021.  He hadn't done much at Seton Hall in his first two years, but had a very good 2021 season, which encouraged the Twins to take a chance on him.  He pitched well at both Class A levels in 2022, struggled when promoted to AA in 2023, and was nothing special at AAA in 2024, but was promoted to the Twins in late June due to injuries and a lack of better options.  He was nothing special in the majors, either, going 2-6, 4.90, 1.32 WHIP, although with 77 strikeouts in 64.1 innings.  He missed time in 2025 due to injury, but was very good in AAA in seven starts, though again was nothing special in the majors.  So far, David Festa is 5-10, 5.12, 1.30 WHIP with 130 strikeouts in 117.2 innings.  He has not pitched in 2026 spring training due to injury, and there has been talk of moving him to the bullpen.  But the Twins still lack better options, so if he's healthy there's a good chance we'll see him in the majors in 2026.

March 7

Ed Willett (1884)

Dave Danforth (1890)

Andy Porter (1911)

Andy Phillip (1922)

Bobo Holloman (1923)

Red Wilson (1929)

Galen Cisco (1936)

J. R. Richard (1950)

Jeff Burroughs (1951)

Albert Hall (1958)

Joe Carter (1960)

Jose Cano (1962)

German Gonzalez (1962)

Mauro Gozzo (1966)

Jeff Kent (1968)

Tyler Ladendorf (1988)

Justin Topa (1991)

Pablo Lopez (1996)

Michael Harris (2001)

A member of the basketball Hall of Fame, Andy Phillip played minor league baseball in 1947, 1949, and 1952, batting .281 in 123 games.

Bobo Holloman is sometimes referred to as the worst pitcher ever to throw a major league no-hitter.

The father of Robinson Cano, Jose Cano appeared in six games for Houston in 1989.

Right-handed reliever German Jose (Caraballo) Gonzalez pitched for the Twins in parts of two seasons, 1988 and 1989.  His career contains more questions than answers.  Born in Rio Caribe, Venezuela, he signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1986.  Gonzalez was obviously playing baseball somewhere before that, but no information is readily available about it.  He pitched very well in the Twins' minor league system, posting a 2.51 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP in Class A Kenosha in 1987 and a 1.02 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP in AA Orlando in 1988.  He came up to Minnesota in early August of 1988 and pitched well, with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in 21.1 innings.  He bounced back and forth between AAA and the majors in 1989, coming to the Twins on three separate occasions.  He wasn't great, but he wasn't awful, either, going 3-2, 4.66 in 29 innings.  After that, however, the trail comes to an abrupt halt; he never appeared in organized baseball after 1989.  One assumes that he continued pitching somewhere for a while, as he had done well enough to warrant more chances, but this could not be confirmed, nor was any information readily available about what he has done since.

Right-hander Mauro Paul "Goose" Gozzo made two appearances for the Twins in 1992.  He was born in New Britain, Connecticut and went to high school in Berlin, Connecticut.  He was then drafted by the Mets in the 13th round in 1984.  The Mets kept him in Class A for three years, the last two of which were pretty good, although as a reliever he never pitched more than 78 innings in a season.  In March of 1987 Gozzo was traded to Kansas City in a trade that also involved Rick Anderson.  He had two pretty undistinguished years in AA Memphis and was left unprotected after the season.  He was chosen in the minor league draft by Toronto.  Something apparently clicked for him with the Blue Jays, as he had two fine years in their minor league system.  He was called up to the majors in early August of 1989 and was okay, going 4-1, 4.83 with a 1.39 WHIP.  He was back in the minors in 1990 and had another strong season, but Toronto traded him to Cleveland in September.  He finished the season in the majors, but again was back at AAA in 1991.  Gozzo was mostly a starter in AAA with the Indians and did not pitch very well.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota for 1992.  He both started and relieved at AAA Portland, did pretty well, and got a September callup.  Mauro Gozzo pitched a total of 1.2 innings for the Twins, giving up five runs on seven hits.  He became a free agent after the season, signing with the Mets.  He was in the Mets' system for two years, splitting those years between AAA and the majors.  Gozzo pitched fairly well for the Mets when used out of the bullpen, though less well when tried as a starter.  He moved on to the Cubs' system in 1995, did not make the big leagues with them, and then ended his playing career.  Mauro Gozzo currently operates Goose's Major League Instruction, providing year-round baseball training and instruction, in Wallingford, Connecticut.  He is also the director of Goose’s Gamers, an AAU baseball league in Wallingford. In addition, he was the manager of the New Britain Bees in 2019, was the pitching coach of the Long Island Ducks in 2020, and became the manager of the Gastonia Honey Hunters in 2021, now the Gastonia Ghost Peppers, a job he still held at last report  He has twin sons, Paul Gozzo and Sal Gozzo, who played baseball for Tulane University.  Paul did not play professionally but Sal did, reaching AAA in the Phillies organization and playing independent ball in 2023.

Infielder/outfielder Tyler James Ladendorf did not play for the Twins but was in their farm system for two seasons.  He was born in Park Ridge, Illinois, went to high school in Des Plaines, Illinois, attended Howard College, and was drafted by Minnesota in the second round in 2008.  He hit very little in the GCL that year, hit a lot for Elizabethton in 61 at-bats in 2009, but did not do much for Beloit in 60 at-bats that same year.  He was sent to Oakland at the trade deadline in 2009 for Orlando Cabrera.  He did not reach AA until 2011 and did not get more than a few cups of coffee at AAA until 2014.  Surprisingly, he began 2015 in the majors but was injured after going 2-for-10 and was sent back to AAA when he came off the disabled list.  He got a September call-up and went 2-for-7, making him 4-for-17 on the season.  He spent much of 2016 with Oakland as a pinch-runner/defensive substitute and hit almost nothing, batting .083/.102/.083 in 48 at-bats (50 games).  He became a free agent after the 2016 season and signed with the White Sox.  He spent 2017 in AAA, and while he wasn't terrible he wasn't very good, either.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Toronto for 2018, but was sold to Arizona in late May.  One assumes he was dealing with injuries, as he played in just forty-five minor league games.  He played a few games in AAA for Tampa Bay in 2019, but spent most of the summer with High Point in the Atlantic League.  He was with Chicago in the American Association in 2020.  He signed with the Cubs for 2021 and spent most of the season in AAA Iowa, where he was not awful but not particularly good, either.  He played for High Point of the Atlantic League again in 2022, but that brought his playing career to an end.  Tyler Ladendorf was a AA batting coach for the Cubs in 2023 and was a AAA batting coach for Tampa Bay in 2024-2025.  He will be the batting coach for the high-A Spokane Indians in the Colorado organization in 2026.  He did not have a career OPS above .700 at any level other than rookie ball, which apparently proves the old adage that those who cannot do, teach.  We wish him well in his coaching career.

Right-handed reliever Justin Robert Topa will play for the Twins in 2024.  Born and raised in Binghamton, New York, he attended Long Island University--Brooklyn and was drafted by Pittsburgh in the seventeenth round in 2013.  He was a starter early in his minor league career and had a strong 2013 in low A, but struggled when promoted to high A in 2014.  He did not pitch in 2015, presumably due to injury, and made only ten relief appearances in 2016.  The Pirates gave up on him and released him, but after a strong 2017 in the Can-Am Association he signed with Texas for 2018.  He struggled in AA, was released after the season, and signed with Milwaukee for 2019.  He pitched well in AA and made his debut in the COVID season of 2020, posting an ERA of 2.35 in six games.  He dealt with injuries again in 2021 and made just four appearances in the majors, three of which were awful.  His 2022 AAA season was mediocre at best, but he still got a September call-up and did okay.  In 2023, however, everything suddenly clicked.  After three games in AAA he came up to the majors and had an outstanding season for Seattle.  In 75 games (69 innings) he went 5-4, 2.61, 1.15 WHIP with 61 strikeouts.  He was traded to the Twins in January of 2024 with Darren Bowen, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Anthony DeSclafani for Jorge Polanco.  He missed most of 2024 due to injury, and while he wasn't awful in 2025 he did not come close to repeating his 2023 season.  As a Twin, he is 1-5, 4 saves, 3.75, 1.40 WHIP.  He turns thirty-five today.  The Twins need relief pitchers, so he will probably be given another chance in 2026.

Right-handed starter Pablo Jose Lopez has played for the Twins since 2023.  He was born in Cabimas, Venezuela, and signed with Seattle as a free agent in 2012.  He was outstanding in 2013 in the Venezuelan Summer League.  He did not pitch in 2014, but picked up right where he left off in the Arizona Summer League in 2015.  He was struggling in high-A in 2017 when he was traded to Miami in July.  He immediately started pitching well again after the trade.  He began 2018 in AA, made four starts in AAA, and reached the majors in late June.  He wasn't outstanding, but certainly did well for a twenty-two year old.  He struggled at the major league level in 2019, but in the COVID season of 2020 put things together.  He has had an ERA below four and a WHIP below 1.2 every season from 2020 onward.  In January of 2023 he was traded to Minnesota with Byron Chourio and Jose Salas for Luis Arraez.  While Twins fans were sad to see Arraez go, the trade was understandable for a team that needed pitching. He pitched quite well in 2023-2024 but missed much of 2025 due to injury, although he still pitched well when he could pitch.  Sadly, he will miss all of 2026 due to Tommy John surgery.  As a Twin, he is 31-22, 3.68, 1.16 WHIP with 505 strikeouts in 455 innings.  He turns thirty today, and the Twins certainly hope he will come back strong in 2027.

March 6

Ring Lardner (1885)

Lefty Grove (1900)

Walter Cannady (1902)

Pete Gray (1915)

Bob Swift (1915)

Ted Abernathy (1933)

Cookie Rojas (1939)

Willie Stargell (1940)

Karl Best (1959)

Scott Stahoviak (1970)

Terry Adams (1973)

Marcus Thames (1977)

Clint Barmes (1979)

Jake Arrieta (1986)

Francisco Cervelli (1986)

Ross Detwiler (1986)

Author Ring Lardner wrote about a variety of subjects, but is probably most famous for writing about baseball.  If you haven't read any of his stuff, you really should.

As you probably know, Pete Gray played in 77 games for the St. Louis Browns in 1945 despite having only one arm.

Right-hander Karl Jon Best made eleven relief appearances for the Twins in 1988.  He was born in Aberdeen, Washington and went to high school in Kent, Washington.  He was drafted in the twelfth round in 1977.  His minor league numbers are unimpressive, due primarily to wildness.  His best minor league year was 1982, the only time he posted an ERA under four in a full minor league season.  He went 9-4, 3.45 that year, striking out 125 in 138.1 innings; however, he also walked 90.  He had been a starter to this point, but in 1983 he was moved to the bullpen.  It did not help his control any, but despite that, Best made brief appearances for the Mariners in 1983 and 1984.  He started 1985 in Seattle and actually pitched very well:  his ERA was 1.95 in 32.1 innings, his WHIP was 0.96, and he struck out 32 while walking only six.  Unfortunately, he was then injured in late June, and never had a year that good again.  In 1986 he was still adequate, but his wildness problems returned:  he walked 21 in 35.2 innings.  He was in the minors for all of 1987, getting traded to Detroit at mid-season.  In March of 1988, Best was traded to Minnesota for Don Schulze.  He began the season in Portland, but came up to the Twins in early May.  He pitched 12 innings, mostly in mop-up relief, and had an ERA of 6.00 and a WHIP of 1.83, giving up 15 hits and walking seven.  Best was returned to the minors in late June and was traded to San Francisco in mid-August for Alan Cockrell.  He finished out the season in AAA Phoenix and then his playing career was over.  At last report, Karl Best was the president of K-Best Construction in Snohomish, Washington; however, a Google search did not reveal any information about this company, so perhaps it has gone out of business.  His daughter Amanda, played basketball for the University of New Mexico.

First baseman Scott Edmund Stahoviak played his entire major league career with the Twins.  Born in Waukegan, Illinois, he attended high school in Mundelein, Illinois and went to Creighton University.  He was chosen by the Twins in the first round in 1991.  He hit pretty well in the minors, although with only moderate power.  His best minor league season was 1994, when he hit .318 with 41 doubles and 13 homers in AAA Salt Lake.  Stahoviak made his major league debut as a September call-up in 1993, returned in May of 1995, and had his only full season in 1996.  He was the regular first baseman for the Twins that season and actually did not do so badly, hitting .284 with an OBP of .376 and an OPS of .845.  It was not considered good enough, however, and in 1997 he shared the position with Greg Colbrunn.  Stahoviak fell to .229 that season, and was back in the minors in 1998.  He had a fine season in Salt Lake, hitting .316 with 33 doubles and 18 homers, but got only 19 at-bats in the big leagues.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with the Cubs.  He was at AAA for the Cubs for two years, but did not get back to the big leagues, and his playing career was over.  As a Twin, Scott Stahoviak hit .256/.335/.410 in just over a thousand at-bats.  He was the batting coach at the University of Illinois--Chicago from 2003-2005.  He was also a high school baseball coach and gym teacher in Mundelein, Illinois.  At last report, Scott Stahoviak was a physical education teacher at Maple School in Northbrook, Illinois.

March 5

Sam Thompson (1860)

Jeff Tesreau (1888)

Lu Blue (1897)

Elmer Valo (1921)

Del Crandall (1930)

Phil Roof (1941)

Katsuo Osugi (1945)

Kent Tekulve (1947)

Doug Bird (1950)

Mike Veeck (1951)

Mike Squires (1952)

Steve Ontiveros (1961)

Brian Hunter (1971)

Jeffrey Hammonds (1971)

Ryan Franklin (1973)

Paul Konerko (1976)

Mike MacDougal (1977)

Erik Bedard (1979)

Joe Benson (1988)

Kyle Schwarber (1993)

Katsuo Osugi was the first player to have a thousand hits in the Japanese Central League and the Japanese Pacific League.

The son of Bill Veeck, Mike Veeck is an executive advisor to the president of the Goldklang Group, which at one time owned the St. Paul Saints.

Outfielder Elmer William Valo was one of the original Minnesota Twins, and may have the earliest birthdate of anyone to play for the team.  He was born in Rybnik in what is now Slovakia (one of two major league players from Slovakia, the other being Jack Quinn), and went to high school in Palmerton, Pennsylvania.  He was signed by the Philadelphia Athletics in 1938.  He started his minor league career in 1939 and hit well over .300 each of the next three years in the low minors; his lifetime minor league batting average is .344 and his minor league slugging percentage is .500.  He got brief trials in the majors in 1940 and 1941, and in 1942 was jumped from Class B to the big leagues.  Valo was a starting outfielder for the Athletics in 1942, at age 21, and hit .251.  He was again starting for the Athletics in 1943 when he joined the Army.  He returned to baseball in 1946 and became a star, hitting over .300 each of the next three years and over .280 with an OPS over .800 each of the next seven years.  After the 1952 season, Valo dropped to part-time status for reasons that are not particularly clear.  He moved to Kansas City with the Athletics in 1955, hitting .364 in 283 at-bats.  Surprisingly, he was released in May of 1956 and signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.  He continued to hit well as a part-time player, but was traded to Brooklyn in April of 1957.  He moved to Los Angeles with the team in 1958, and was used primarily as a pinch-hitter.  He was fairly good at it, but was released before the 1959 season.  Valo went back to the minors, sigining with independent Seattle in the Pacific Coast League, and was sold to Cleveland in June.  He pinch-hit for the Indians for the remainder of the season, was released, and signed with the Yankees for 1960.  The Yankees released him in May, and he signed with Washington the next day.  Still used mainly as a pinch-hitter, Valo hit .281 for Washington in 1960 and came to Minnesota with the team, the third franchise shift he had experienced.  He went 5-for-32 with two doubles as a Twin, was released in June, and finished the season and his career back in Philadelphia.  In his career, Valo held a number of odd records:  he was the first player to hit two bases-loaded triples in a game, and tied a record with three in a season in 1949.  In 1960, he set major-league records for most games, most times on base, and most walks as a pinch-hitter.  He also set a major league record with 91 career walks as a pinch-hitter.  He remained in baseball after his playing career ended, first as a coach and minor league manager for Cleveland and then as a long-time scout for Philadelphia.  Elmer Valo passed away on July 19, 1998 at Palmerton, Pennsylvania.  He was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1990.

Catcher Phillip Anthony Roof played for the Twins for parts of six seasons from 1971-1976.  His brother Gene Roof was also a major league player.  Phil Roof was born in and attended high school in Paducah, Kentucky.  He was signed by the Milwaukee Braves as a free agent in 1959.  Roof never hit much in the minors:  his best offensive year was 1961, when he hit .261 for Class B Yakima.  He made his big league debut in 1961 as well, appearing behind the plate for one inning in a 7-3 loss to San Francisco.  He appeared in one more game in 1964, going 0-for-2.  After the season, Roof was traded to California.  1965 was his first full year in the big leagues, but he spent it with two teams, as he was traded to Cleveland in June.  After the season he was on the move again, traded to Kansas City in a deal that also included Joe Rudi.  He got the most playing time of his career in 1966, batting 369 times in 127 games, but hit only .209 with an OPS of .604.  Even in the poor offensive context of the time, that was not good.  Still, he remained a semi-regular catcher for the Athletics through 1969, moving with the team to Oakland, with the exception of 1968, when he was injured much of the year.  Roof was traded to Milwaukee in December of 1969.  He was a Brewer for about a year and a half, then was traded to Minnesota for Paul Ratliff in July of 1971.  He remained a Twin through August of 1976.  His averages with the Twins show the vagaries of small sample size:  after hitting .205, .197, and .196 in three consecutive years, Roof hit .302 in 1975, then fell back to .200 in 1976.  In none of those seasons did he get as many as 150 at-bats.  He was placed on waivers in August and claimed by the White Sox.  After the season he was traded to Toronto.  He went 0-for-5 in 1977 and then his career was over.  As a Twin, he hit .228/.282/.338 in 619 at-bats.  After he finished playing, Roof embarked on a long career as a manager in the Twins' organization, managing at Visalia (1982), Orlando (1983, 1992), Portland (1989-1990), Nashville (1993-1994), Salt Lake (1995-2000), and Rochester (2003-2005).  He was also a bullpen coach for San Diego (1978), Seattle (1984-1988), and the Chicago Cubs (1990-1991).  He retired after the 2005 season, although he filled in as bullpen coach for the Twins in the first month of 2011 when Rick Stelmaszek was sidelined due to eye surgery.  He is part of a baseball family:  his brother Gene played in the majors from 1981-1983; brothers Adrian, Paul, and David all played minor league baseball; son Eric was a minor league player and son Shawn managed Visalia last season; and nephew Jonathan was a minor league player.  Phil Roof continues to appear at the Twins’ Fantasy Camp and at Twins spring training. He was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.  At last report, he was living in Boaz, Kentucky.

Right-hander Steven Ontiveros did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system in 1993.  He was born in Tularosa, New Mexico and attended the University of Michigan.  Oakland drafted him in the second round in 1982.  He had a fine year at AA Albany in 1983, but then missed most of 1984 due to injury.  After a strong start in the bullpen for AAA Tacoma in 1985, Ontiveros was promoted to the majors.  He pitched very well that season, but struggled in 1986.  He was converted to starting in 1987 and did a fairly good job, but was injured again in 1988.  He was released after the season and signed with Philadelphia.  He pitched well for the Phillies when he could pitch, but those times were infrequent, as he missed significant time with injuries each season.  He became a free agent after the 1991 season and signed with Detroit for 1992, but was released in spring training.  He was out of baseball that season, but signed with the Twins in April of 1993 and was sent to AAA Portland.  He pitched very well there, going 7-6, 2.87, 1.07 WHIP in 103.1 innings, but rather than bringing him to the majors the Twins traded him to Seattle for Greg Shockey in mid-August.  He finished the season in the majors and pitched quite well, but was a free agent after the season and signed with Oakland.  Finally healthy, he had his best season in the majors in 1994, leading the league in ERA (2.65) and WHIP (1.03), although he was able to lead with only 115.1 innings due to the strike.  He could not match those numbers in 1995 but still pitched fairly well.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with California, but injuries came back to bite him again, and he started bouncing around.  Ontiveros pitched in the minors for the Angels from 1996-1997, St. Louis and Baltimore in 1998, Tampa Bay and Milwaukee in 1999, and Colorado and Boston in 2000.  He made it back to the majors in 2000, appearing in three games for the Red Sox.  He was back in the minors in 2001, pitching for the Mets and Oakland, and then his playing career came to an end.  In ten major league seasons, he was 34-31, 3.67, 1.25 WHIP.  He pitched 661.2 innings and appeared in 207 games, 73 of them starts.  One wonder what he might have been able to do if he’d only been able to stay on the field.  He is the owner of Players Choice Academy in Scottsdale, Arizona.  He was the pitching coach for the Chinese National team in the 2008 Olympics.

Outfielder William Joseph Benson appeared in twenty-one games for the Twins in 2011.  He was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, went to high school in Joliet, Illinois, and was drafted by Minnesota in the second round in 2006.  Early on, he did not show a lot; he drew a good number of walks, but his average and power numbers were nothing special.  His first really good year was in 2009 at Ft. Myers, when he hit .285 with an OBP of .414 at age 21.  He was promoted to New Britain in 2010, but got off to a slow start and was sent back to Ft. Myers for a month.  He proved he was too good for that league and came back to New Britain, where he hit well the rest of the year and showed surprising power, hitting 23 home runs.  He was again in New Britain in 2011 and had a fine year, hitting .285/.388/.495 with 16 homers.  This earned him a September call-up to the big club, where he hit .239/.270/.352 in 71 at-bats.  2012, however, was pretty much a lost year, as he battled injuries and was ineffective when he did play.   He started 2013 in Rochester, did very little, was released in late May, signed with Texas, was sent to AA, and continued to do very little.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Miami.  He spent almost the entire 2014 season at AA and did fairly well, but nothing eye-popping.  A free agent again, he signed with Atlanta for 2015, was released in June, signed with the Mets in July, became a free agent after the season, and signed with Minnesota for 2016.  He was released in late March, however, and did not play in 2016.  He was back playing in 2017 with the Sugar Land Skeeters, was with the Chicago Dogs in the American Association in 2018, went to Southern Maryland in the Atlantic League in 2019, and then his playing career came to an end.  One wonders if the injuries took something out of him; he looked like a solid prospect through 2011, then went completely backward.  At last report, Joe Benson was a coach at Top Tier Baseball in Chicago.  He was also a territory sales manager for Radiant Refining

March 4

Charlie Hickman (1876)

Red Murray (1884)

Jeff Pfeffer (1888)

Dazzy Vance (1891)

Lefty O'Doul (1897)

Buck Canel (1906)

Clyde McCullough (1917)

Mel Queen (1918)

Leo Righetti (1925)

Cass Michaels (1926)

Bob Johnson (1936)

Jack Fischer (1939)

Danny Frisella (1946)

Tom Grieve (1948)

Harry Saferight (1949)

Sam Perlozzo (1951)

Mark Wagner (1954)

Jeff Dedmon (1960)

Tom Lampkin (1964)

Giovanni Carrera (1968)

Dave Stevens (1970)

Mark Wegner (1972)

Sergio Romo (1983)

Nick Castellanos (1992)

Alex Speas (1998)

Born in Argentina, Buck Canel broadcast major league baseball to Latin America for over four decades, calling forty-two World Series.

The father of Dave Righetti, Leo Righetti played in the minors for twelve years, eight of them in AAA.

Harry Saferight made it to the majors with Pittsburgh in 1979, but did not appear in a game.  He got to the on-deck circle three times, but each time the last out was made before he had a chance to bat.

St. Paul native Mark Wegner has been a major league umpire since 1998.

Catcher Clyde Edward McCullough did not play for the Twins, but was a coach with them in their inaugural season of 1961.  Born and raised in Nashville, he started his pro career with an independent team in Class D Lafayette in 1935 at age eighteen.  He signed with the Yankees for the 1936 season and spent 1937-1939 at AA for them.  He did not hit for a high average, but started to develop some power in 1939.  The Cubs obviously saw something in him and bought him for 1940.  He hit .324 with 27 homers for Buffalo that season and got a September call-up.  It would be seventeen years before he played in the minors again.  He was with the Cubs through 1948, with the exception of two years of military service.  He was then traded to Pittsburgh, for whom he played from 1949-1952.  The Cubs reacquired him after that season, and he stayed there through 1956.  He never spent a full season as a regular catcher--the most he ever played was in his first season of 1941, when he appeared in 125 games and got 418 at-bats.  Most of the time he would play in about half the team's games.  Despite that, he made the all-star team twice, in 1948 and 1953.  After the Cubs let him go, he played for AAA Miami in 1957, then ended his playing career.  He managed in the minors in 1958-59, then became a coach for the Senators/Twins from 1960-61.  He then moved on to the Mets, managing in their minor league system through 1969.  He managed in the Expos system for two more years, then his managing career was done.  In eleven years as a minor league manager, he won four league championships and made the playoffs one other time.  He was a minor league instructor in the Mets organization from 1974-76.  He was the bullpen coach of the San Diego Padres in 1982.  Sadly, he was found dead in his hotel room on September 18 of that year, apparently from a heart attack.  He was sixty-five years old, which does not sound at all old to me any  more.

Infielder Samuel Benedict Perlozzo got a September call-up with the Twins in 1977.  Born in Cumberland, Maryland, he attended George Washington University.  Perlozzo then signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1972.  Primarily a second baseman, he had some decent but unexceptional years in the minor leagues.  In his AAA debut in 1977, however, he hit .310 at Tacoma with an OBP of .393, earning that September call-up.  Perlozzo went 7-for-24 with the Twins, hitting two triples.  In 1978, he fell to .244 at Tacoma and was released the following March.  San Diego signed him, and he hit .301 at AAA Hawaii in 1979, getting another September call-up.  This time he went 0-for-2 with a walk.  After the season, he was sold to Yakult in the Japanese Central League.  He came back to the United States in 1981, playing for AAA Tidewater in the Mets' organization, and then his career came to an end.  He went into managing and coaching after that.  He was a minor league manager in the Mets' organization from 1982-1986, then became a major league coach.  He was on the coaching staff of the Mets (1987-1989), Cincinnati (1990-1992), Seattle (1993-1995), and Baltimore (1996-2005).  On August 4 of 2005, Perlozzo became the Orioles' manager, a position he held through June 18, 2007.  In 2008, he rejoined the Seattle coaching staff, and he was a coach for Philadelphia from 2009-2012.  It appears that he was out of baseball in 2013, but in December of that year he was hired by the Twins as their minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator.  He was a coordinator for player development for the Twins until his retirement.  He is a spring training instructor for Baltimore in 2026.  Sam Perlozzo is a member of the Valley Baseball League Hall of Fame.  He is living in Tampa.

Right-hander David James Stevens pitched for the Twins from 1994 through 1997.  Stevens was born in Fullerton, California, attended high school in La Habra, California, and was drafted by the Cubs in the 20th round in 1989, not signing until May of 1990.  He did not appear to be anything special in the minors; he did go 10-1 in 1993, but with a 4.21 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP in a year split between AA and AAA.  The latter part of the year, in AAA, he was converted from starting to relief.  Following the 1993 season, the Cubs traded Stevens and Matt Walbeck to Minnesota for Willie Banks.  He got off to a strong start in the Salt Lake bullpen in 1994 and made his major league debut on May 20 of that year.  It did not go well--in 20 appearances, he posted a 6.80 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP.  Despite that, Stevens started 1995 with the Twins, and when Rick Aguilera was traded in early July, Stevens became the Twins' closer.  There was no particular reason to think that would work, and it didn't.  In 1997, Stevens moved to the starting rotation, which also didn't work.  He was sent to AAA, then placed on waivers in August.  The Cubs claimed him and moved him back to the bullpen.  He split time between the majors and AAA with the Cubs through 1998.  The Cubs released him after the season.  He was signed by Cleveland for 1999, released in June, signed by Seattle, released again in July, signed by Pittsburgh in February of 2000, released in April, signed with Atlanta, and was in the minors there (with the exception of two major league appearances) through the 2001 season.  He was then out of baseball until 2004, when he appeared in three separate independent leagues.  As a Twin, Dave Stevens was 14-12, 5.82 with 21 saves and a 1.70 WHIP in 191.2 innings.  At last report, Dave Stevens had returned to his home town of LaHabra, California.

Right-handed reliever Sergio Francisco Romo came to the Twins in 2019.  Born and raised in Brawley, California, he attended Arizona Western College, the University of North Alabama, and Colorado Mesa University before being drafted by San Francisco in the twenty-eighth round in 2005.  Always a reliever, he pitched well in the minors and came up to the Giants in late June of 2008.  He pitched well for several years with the Giants, was a part-time closer in 2012, and took over the job full-time in 2013.  He lost the job in 2014, however, but continued to pitch well for the Giants through 2016.  He was a free agent after that season and signed with the Dodgers for 2017, but was traded to Tampa Bay in July of that year.  He was both a closer and an opener for the Rays in 2018, once starting games on consecutive days.  He signed with Miami for 2019 and pitched well, but was traded to the Twins at the July deadline with Chris Vallimont for Lewin Diaz.  He was a solid reliever for them down the stretch and in 2020.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Oakland for 2021.  He was not awful, but did not give the Athletics what they really hoped for, either.  A free agent again, he signed with Seattle for 2022, was released in late June, signed with Toronto eight days later, was released again in less than a month, and finished the season in the Mexican League.  He signed with San Francisco for 2023, but retired prior to the season.  As a Twin, he was 1-3, 3.59, 8 saves, 1.03 WHIP. He was a very consistent reliever for most of his career, only four times posting an ERA over 4.00 and only three times posting a WHIP over 1.20, all of which came toward the end of his career.  He then went to work for NBC Sports Bay Area as a baseball commentator, which he was still doing at last report.

Right-hander Alex JoVaughn Speas did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA for them in 2025.  Born and raised in Powder Springs, Georgia, he was drafted by Texas in the second round in 2016.  A reliever for most of his professional career, it appears that injuries slowed his development, as he appeared in just twenty games in an otherwise good 2018 season and only two in 2019.  He missed the 2020 COVID season, dealt with injury again in 2021, and missed all of 2022 for the same reason.  He had an outstanding half-season in AA in 2023, but struggled when promoted to AAA, despite which he got three games in the majors with the Rangers in July of that season.  He was waived after the season and had an interesting 2024.  He was claimed by the White Sox, sold to Oakland in early April, claimed off waivers by Houston in early May, and claimed off waivers by Boston in late June.  He pitched poorly in AAA, despite which he got one more game in the majors with the Astros.  A free agent after the season, he signed with the Twins for 2025.  He pitched poorly in AAA again and was released in mid-June, finishing his season in the Mexican League.  He turns twenty-eight today.  Maybe, if not for the injuries, he could have done something.  As it is, however, he is 0-2, 9.00 in four major league innings and 7-8, 9.24 in seventy-five AAA innings.  Alex Speas is currently a high school baseball coach at Combine Academy, a "top International Boarding School and Professional Sports Performance Center", in Charlotte, North Carolina.

March 3

John Montgomery Ward (1860)

Wee Willie Keeler (1872)

Ed Phelps (1879)

Tetsuya Yoneda (1938)

Paul Schaal (1943)

Rick Reed (1950)

Chuck Cary (1960)

Neal Heaton (1960)

Marvin Hudson (1964)

Scott Radinsky (1968)

Mike Romano (1972)

Matt Diaz (1978)

Jorge Julio (1979)

Tetsuya Yoneda is the second-winningest pitcher in Japanese professional baseball with 350 victories.

The Rick Reed whose birthday is today is the major league umpire from 1979-2009, not the ex-Twin.

Marvin Hudson was a major league umpire from 1979-2009.

Left-hander Neal Heaton pitched for the Twins for part of 1986.  He was born in South Ozone Park, New York, went to high school in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, and attended the University of Miami.  He was drafted by Cleveland in the second round in 1981.  He was in the minors only two years, at AA at age 21 and AAA at age 22.  His numbers aren't great, but not bad considering his age.  He got a September call-up in 1982, and was in the majors to stay at the beginning of 1983.  He started the season in the bullpen, pitched fairly well, and was in the starting rotation by mid-July.  Heaton was hyped pretty hard at the time, but never really lived up to it.  In roughly three years in the Cleveland rotation, he never put up an ERA under 4.2 or a WHIP under 1.4.  On June 20, 1986, Neal Heaton was traded to Minnesota for John Butcher.  He began his time as a Twin in the bullpen, but after four appearances was moved back to the rotation.  He was not awful as a Twin:  4-9, but with a 3.98 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.  In February of 1987, however, Heaton was traded to Montreal along with Al Cardwood, Yorkis Perez, and Jeff Reed for Tom Nieto and Jeff Reardon.  He had two relatively undistinguished years as an Expo, then was traded to Pittsburgh prior to the 1989 season.  His seasons as a Pirate were the best of his career:  in three years, he was 21-19, 3.46 with a 1.26 WHIP.  After a down year in 1991 he was traded to Kansas City.  The Royals released him in July, he finished the year with Milwaukee, and was released again after the season.  He signed with the Yankees for 1993 and was released one more time in July, ending his career.  At last report, Neal Heaton was living in East Patchogue, Long Island and was producing articles and videos for Axcess Baseball, a baseball media company based in Long Island.  He is also a pitching instructor for All-Pro Sports in Bellport, New York.

Right-hander Michael Desport Romano did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for about three months in 2000.  He was born in New Orleans, went to high school in Chalmette, Louisiana, attended Tulane, and was drafted by Toronto in the third round in 1993.  A starting pitcher early in his minor league career, he progressed at about a level a year, reaching AAA in 1997.  This progression came despite the fact that, statistically at least, he doesn’t appear to have done very much; he did not post an ERA below four nor a WHIP below 1.4 after 1994 in Class A.  He both relieved and started for Syracuse in 1997 and 1998.  Returned to the rotation full-time in 1999, he had a comparatively good season in AAA, going 12-8, 4.13, 1.40 WHIP.  He got a September call-up, pitching 5.1 innings over three games for the Blue Jays and allowing eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits and five walks.  Those would turn out to be his career totals.  He got off to a good start in Syracuse in 2000 and was traded to Minnesota in mid-June for Francisco Alvarez.  He pitched poorly in AAA Salt Lake, going 7-6, 6.14, 1.59 WHIP in 16 starts.  A free agent after the season, he was signed by Atlanta for 2001 but was released in spring training.  He went to the Mexican League for most of the next three years, throwing the first postseason no-hitter in League history in 2001.  He was having a good season there in 2003 when he was purchased by the Braves in mid-August and sent to AAA Richmond.  He had a fine season for Richmond in 2004, going 13-5, 3.42, but at age 32 he was no longer considered a prospect and was not called up to the majors.  He then went overseas, pitching in Japan in 2005-2006 and in Korea in 2007.  He was inducted into the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000.  At last report, Mike Romano was the owner of RBI (for Romano's Baseball Instruction) Academy, offering baseball instruction to kids of all ages in the New Orleans area.