July 19

Jim Donnelly (1865)
Earl Hamilton (1891)
Bob Meusel (1896)
Mark Koenig (1904)
Jackie Hayes (1906)
Phil Cavarretta (1916)
Billy Gardner (1927)
Jayson Stark (1951)
Dan Graham (1954)
Mark Carreon (1963)
David Segui (1966)
Gus Gandarillas (1971)
Preston Wilson (1974)
Yorvit Torrealba (1978)
Rick Ankiel (1979)
Yan Gomes (1987)
Luis Avilan (1989)
Patrick Corbin (1989)
Jermaine Palacios (1996)

Jayson Stark is a long-time baseball writer and was an ESPN commentator for several years.

Infielder William Frederick Gardner played for the Twins for a couple of months in 1961, then managed them from 1981-1985.  He was born in Waterford, Connecticut and signed with the New York Giants as a free agent in 1945.  He was up and down a lot in a lengthy minor league career, reaching AA in 1945, dropping back to Class A through 1948 (with one year missed for military service), played in AAA in 1949, went back to Class A in 1950, was back in AAA from 1951-1952, and then went to AA for 1953.  He hit well at lower levels, but did not do much in AAA.  Gardner was with the Giants as a reserve infielder for all of 1954 and part of 1955 (spending the rest of the season in AAA Minneapolis), then was sold to Baltimore at the start of the 1956 season.  He was the Orioles' regular second baseman for four years; the best of those four was easily 1957, when he hit .262, led the league with 36 doubles, and finished twelfth in MVP voting.  He hit around .220 his other years in Baltimore.  Gardner was traded to Washington just prior to the 1960 season for Clint Courtney and Ron Samford.  He was their regular second baseman that year and came to Minnesota with the team in that role in 1961, but was traded to the Yankees on June 14 for Danny McDevitt.  As a Twin, Billy Gardner hit .234/.280/.312 in 154 at-bats.  He was with the Yankees for about a year, then moved on to Boston, where he hit well as a reserve for the rest of the 1962 campaign.  He remained with the Red Sox through 1963, was in the minors for them in 1964, and then his playing career was basically over, although he made brief appearances at AA in the Red Sox' organization, where he was managing, through 1971.  He was a coach and manager for various teams until 1981, when he was first a coach and then manager for the Twins, replacing Johnny Goryl.  He remained the Twins' manager through 1985.  He also managed Kansas City for part of 1987, replacing a terminally ill Dick Howser.  He left baseball after that, working for Grand Champion Foods in Norwich, Connecticut until his retirement.  His son, Billy Gardner, Jr., has been a minor-league manager for over twenty years and was the manager of the Syracuse Chiefs from 2014-2017.  He managed Idaho Falls in the Pioneer League from 2021-2022 and is the manager of the Beloit Sky Carp from 2023 to the present.  Billy Gardner, Sr. passed away on January 4, 2024 in Waterford, Connecticut.

Catcher Daniel Jay Graham appeared in two games for the Twins in 1979.  He was born in Ray, Arizona, attended the University of La Verne, and was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 1975.  He was a power hitter early in his career, hitting .320 with 29 home runs at Class A Reno in 1976 and .277 with 23 home runs at AAA Toledo in 1978.  He came up to the Twins briefly in early June of 1979, catching in two games and going 0-for-4.  He had a bad season in AAA that year, hitting just .213 with nine homers.  The Twins traded him to Baltimore after the season for Tom Chism.  He started the 1980 season at AAA Rochester, but when he hit .346 with 4 homers in a month, the Orioles brought him to the majors, where he shared the catching job with Rick Dempsey.  He actually had a very good year in Baltimore, hitting .278 with 15 homers and 54 RBIs in 266 at-bats.  He couldn't sustain it, though, batting just .176 in 142 at-bats in his only full season in the majors in 1981.  He went back to Rochester for 1982 and was okay, hitting .272 with 11 homers, but he never got another chance at the majors.  His playing career ended after the 1982 season.  At last report, Dan Graham was living in Winkelman, Arizona.

Right-hander Gustavo Gandarillas did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them.  He was born in Coral Gables, Florida, went to high school in Hialeah, Florida, and then attended the University of Miami.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1992.  Almost exclusively a reliever, he pitched very well at Class A, but stumbled at higher levels.  He reached AAA Salt Lake in 1997 and stayed there (other than 18 games at AA in 1999) through 2000.  He did not get much accomplished there.  Gandarillas became a free agent after the 1998 season and signed with Pittsburgh, but when the Pirates released him in spring training the Twins took him back.  He became a free agent again after 2000 and signed with Boston for 2001, but was released in late May.  Milwaukee picked him up and he had his first good season in AAA.  The Brewers called him up for a week in July and brought him back in late August, this time keeping him the rest of the season.  He went 0-0, 5.49, 1.78 WHIP in 19.2 innings over 16 games.  He made three appearances in the minors for Milwaukee in 2002, then was released.  Gandarillas pitched in the Mexican Leauge in 2003, then his playing career was over.  At last report, Gus Gandarillas was living in Miami, where he was part owner of Hit Zone batting cages.

Infielder Jermaine Manuel Palacios played in thirty games for the Twins in 2022.  He was born in Barquisimento, Venezuela, and signed with the Twins as a free agent in 2013.  He was very good in the lowest minors and posted solid-but-unspectacular numbers in high-A in 2017 as a twenty-year-old.  He was traded in spring training of 2018 to Tampa Bay for Jake Odorizzi.  The Twins definitely won that trade, because Palacios did nothing for the Rays, posting an OPS below .600 in two minor league seasons.  He did not play in the COVID season of 2020 and became a free agent after that season.  The Twins signed him for 2021 and he had a solid season in AA.  He mostly played in AAA in 2022 and had another solid season.  He spent a little over a week in the majors around the first of June and came back for the month of September.  In seventy at-bats he batted .143/.184/.229.  It looks like those will be his career major league numbers.  He was waived in October and claimed by Detroit.  He batted poorly in AAA, was released in mid-June, and signed with Kansas City, where he did not do much in AAA, either, and was released in August.  He has played in the Mexican League since 2024 and has done well there.  He turns thirty today.  It's very doubtful that we will see Jermaine Palacios in a major league uniform again, but he can probably play in the Mexican League for a while yet if he wants to.

July 18

Harry Davis (1873)
Larry McLean (1881)
Eugene Bremer (1916)
Johnny Hopp (1916)
Joe Torre (1940)
Rudy May (1944)
Harry Spilman (1954)
Razor Shines (1956)
Mike Greenwell (1963)
Torii Hunter (1975)
Glenn Williams (1977)
Ben Sheets (1978)
Eugenio Suarez (1991)

Left-hander Rudolph May was in the Twins’ organization for his first year of professional baseball.  He was born in Coffeyville, Kansas, went to high school in Oakland, California, and signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1962.  He played for Bismarck-Mandan in the Northern League, going 11-11, 4.29.  The White Sox chose him in the first-year player draft but traded him to Philadelphia after a year.  He never played at all for the Phillies, moving on to California in a trade for Bo Belinsky.  He was with the Angels all of 1965, starting some and relieving some, but not doing all that well for that time.  He may have suffered from injuries, as he did not pitch much in 1966-1967.  He had a decent, unspectacular year at AA El Paso in 1968 and made it back to the majors at the start of 1969, this time to stay.  He both started and relieved for a while, but went into the Angels’ rotation for good in August of 1969.  He was never a star, but was a solid contributor, working 180-200 innings every year.  He got off to a bad start in 1974, was removed from the rotation, and then was sold to the Yankees.  He pitched even better for them for two years, then was traded again, this time to Baltimore in a ten-player deal that also included ex-Twin Rick Dempsey.  He was a solid member of their rotation, too, but was traded after the 1977 season to Montreal.  He continued to pitch well, and did even better when shifted to the bullpen in 1979.  He became a free agent after that season and signed with the Yankees.  He had the best year of his career in 1980.  May made 17 starts and 24 relief appearances, went 15-5, and led the league in ERA (2.46), ERA+ (160), and WHIP (1.04).  He did not match that, but had two more solid years for the Yankees.  He had a bad year in 1983, and his playing career came to an end.  In that career, he had 152 wins, an ERA of 3.46, a WHIP of 1.25 in 2,622 innings, and an appearances in the World Series.  That’s not bad for a guy who moved around a lot and seemed to be kind of taken for granted throughout his career.  He was successful in the business world, at one time managing three convenience stores before having a twenty-year career as a marketing consultant for British Petroleum.  In retirement he lived in Hertford, North Carolina.  Rudy May passed away on October 19, 2024.

Outfielder Torii Kedar Hunter was with the Twins from 1997-2007 and again in 2015.  Born and raised in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, he was drafted by Minnesota in the first round in 1993.  He was really not all that special in the minors, although he had some solid years.  He progressed at more or less the rate of a level a year until reaching AA, where he stayed until late in the 1998 season.  He appeared in one game for the Twins in 1997 as a pinch-runner, was in Minnesota for about a week and a half in 1998, and played his first full season in 1999.  He did not have much power early in his career, and frequently batted leadoff.  He had a decent year in 1999, but got off to a bad start in 2000 and was sent back to AAA Salt Lake for a couple of months.  He hit .368 there and came back to Minnesota, playing much better the rest of the way.  He was restored as the Twins’ starting center fielder, a position he held through the 2007 season.  His best season was probably 2002, when he hit .289 with 29 homers and an OPS of .859.  In those years, he received MVP votes four times, finishing as high as sixth in 2002.  He made the all-star team twice, in 2002 and 2007, and won the Gold Glove seven times.  As a Twin, he hit .271/.324/.469 in 4,492 at-bats.  Hunter became a free agent after the 2007 season and signed with the Angels.  He continued to play at about the same rate he had in Minnesota through 2010, making two more all-star teams, winning two more Gold Gloves, and winning his first Silver Slugger.  He significantly declined in 2011, batting only .262 with an OPS of .765, but bounced back in 2012 to hit .313, although he failed to hit 20 homers for the first time since 2005.  A free agent again after the 2012 season, he signed with Detroit.  He hit about the same in 2013 as he had in 2012 but because he was on a winning team he got more recognition for it, getting named to the all-star team again and winning another Silver Slugger award.  He declined some in 2014, although he still had a solid season offensively.  After that season, he signed back with Minnesota in 2015.  He hit twenty-two homers, but did not have a good season otherwise and realized it was time to retire.  He rejoined the Twins as a special assistant in 2016, but moved on to become a special assistant for the Angels in 2024.  He was inducted into the Twins' Hall of Fame in 2016.

Third baseman Glenn David Williams had forty at-bats with the Twins in 2005.  Born and raised in New South Wales, Australia, his father, Gary, was heavily involved in the development of baseball in that country.  He was signed by Atlanta as a free agent in 1993.  His first year was in rookie ball; he then spent four years in Class A.  He moved up to AA in 1999 (when he was still just 21), but when he flopped there the Braves released him.  Williams signed with Toronto and went back to Class A.  He then started to make a normal progression, going up to AA in 2001 and to AAA in 2002.  He had a good year in 2002 in Syracuse, hitting .274 with 15 homers, and appeared to be ready to move forward.  He went back to Syracuse in 2003, however, and had a bad year.  He bounced back at Syracuse in 2004, hitting .264 with 23 homers, but was allowed to become a free agent after the season.  Minnesota signed him for 2005.  He hit .303 in 48 games in Rochester and came up to the Twins in early June.  He played for about three weeks, hitting .425/.452/.450 in 40 at-bats over 13 games.  He then dislocated his shoulder and missed the rest of the season.  The above line is his career major league line, as he never made it back.  He stayed in Rochester two more years, but his numbers declined each year, and his playing career came to an end.  Since then, he  has returned to Australia, playing for their Olympic qualifying team in 2008 and coaching for Australia in the 2009 World Youth Championship.  Glenn Williams has the post-1900 record for most at-bats with a lifetime average over .400.  He was inducted into the Australian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.  He was a scout for the Detroit Tigers in Australia until April of 2021, when he became the Chief Executive Officer of Baseball Australia, overseeing national teams competing in International World Cup events as well as programs developing and preparing athletes for these events.

July 17

Hugh “One Arm” Daily (1847)
Ernest Barnard (1874)
Judge Emil Fuchs (1878)
Lou Boudreau (1917)
Henry Miller (1917)
Roy McMillan (1929)
Jerry Lynch (1930)
Toni Stone (1931)
Deron Johnson (1938)
Don Kessinger (1942)
Charley Steiner (1949)
Pete Ladd (1956)
Bobby Thigpen (1963)
Jason Jennings (1978)
Adam Lind (1983)
Cole Sands (1997)

Ernest Barnard was the general manager of the Cleveland Indians from 1903-1926.  He was also the second president of the American League.

Judge Emil Fuchs was the owner of the Boston Braves from 1923-1935.  He was a magistrate judge in New York City from 1915-1918.

Toni Stone was the first woman to play in the Negro Leagues.  She played from 1949-1954.

Charley Steiner has been broadcasting Los Angeles Dodger games since 2005.

Right-handed reliever Bryson Cole Sands has pitched for the Twins at various times in 2022-2023.  Born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, he attended Florida State University and was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 2018.  His college record is not all that impressive:  19-15, 4.73, 1.32 WHIP, although he did strike out 210 in 228.1 innings.  He had a fine year in 2019 split between low-A and high-A.  He did not pitch in the COVID year of 2020, but came back to have a fine year in AA in 2021, posting an ERA of 3.02 and a WHIP of 1.17.   He struggled both at AAA and in sporadic appearances in the majors in 2022, posting an ERA over five at both levels.  In 2023, however, he seemed to figure it out, having an outstanding year in St. Paul and pitching decently when brought up to Minnesota.  He had an excellent 2024 season, but since then has seemed to go backward, although he's still not terrible.  Currently rehabbing an injury, for his career he is 14-11, 4.21, 1.22 WHIP with nine saves.  He should be part of a major league bullpen for at least a few more years, and maybe quite a few years.

July 16

Shoeless Joe Jackson (1889)
Doc Prothro (1893)
Bill Woodson (1917)
Jim Odom (1921)
Norm Sherry (1931)
Eddie Fisher (1936)
Lee Elia (1937)
Terry Pendleton (1960)
DeMarlo Hale (1961)
William VanLandingham (1970)
Ildemaro Vargas (1991)

The father of former NFL coach Tommy Prothro, third baseman Doc Prothro played in the majors for parts of five seasons and had a lifetime batting average of .318.

Acclaimed voice actor Bill Woodson was the voice of the Twins' "Get to Know 'Em" advertising campaign in the first decade of the twenty-first century.

Jim Odom was an American League umpire from 1964-1974.

DeMarlo Hale was a minor league manager from 1993-2001 and has been a major league coach since 2002.

Infielder Ildemaro Jose Vargas played in ten games for the Twins in 2020.  He was born in Carapito, Venezleua and signed with St. Louis as a free agent in 2008.  He spent five years in rookie ball, which sounds strange until you realize that he started there when he was sixteen.  He hit well in the Appalachian League in 2012, but did not hit when promoted to higher levels and was released prior to the 2015 season.  Arizona signed him and he suddenly started hitting, batting .321 in Class A in 2015, .354 in a couple of months of AAA in 2016, and .312 in a full season of AAA in 2017.  He got a September call-up that year, but found himself back in AAA in 2018.  He hit .311 and got another September call-up.  Finally, in 2019, he got most of a season in the majors as a reserve infielder, playing mostly at second base.  He did okay for a reserve, batting .269/.299/.413 in 211 plate appearances.  He started 2020 with the Diamondbacks, but was sold to Minnesota on August 11.  He was with the Twins for a little over two weeks and appeared in ten games, starting six of them at second base.  He batted .227/.250/.364 in 24 plate appearances and was put on waivers and claimed by the Cubs, for whom he finished the season.  He started 2021 with the Cubs, was put on waivers in mid-May, was claimed by Pittsburgh, and in early June was sold to Arizona.  He became a free agent after the season and signed back with the Cubs for 2022, but was released in late May.  He signed with Washington went to AAA for them.  At that time, we said, "He'll never be a regular, but if he could hit the right situation he might be able to play some more in the majors."  Washington turned out to be the right situation, as he was called up in early August, spent the rest of the season and all of 2024 with them.  He did well for them, batting .257 while playing all over the infield and corner outfield.  He signed with Arizona in 2025 and spent most of the season in AAA, but batted .270 in thirty-eight games in the majors.  He got off to a tremendous start for the Diamondbacks in 2026, batting .378 in March/April, but has returned to normal since then.  He turns thirty-five today.  He'll never be a star, and may not be good enough to be a regular.  But as a guy who can play multiple positions and not be an automatic out at the plate, he should be able to play at least a couple more years.

July 15

John Clapp (1851)
Dan McGann (1871)
Bubbles Hargrave (1892)
Shirley Povich (1905)
Bill Byrd (1907)
Jake Powell (1908)
Red Kellett (1909)
Bruce Edwards (1923)
Donn Clendenon (1935)
Mike Shannon (1939)
Kirt Manwaring (1965)
Brett Merriman (1966)
James Baldwin (1971)
Miguel Olivo (1978)
Chris Denorfia (1980)
Sherman Johnson (1990)

Shirley Povich was a sportswriter for the Washington Post from 1923-1993.  He continued to write for them for twenty-five years after he "retired".

Right-hander Brett Alan Merriman pitched for the Twins in 1993 and 1994.  He was born in Jacksonville, Florida, went to high school in Nevada, Missouri, attended Grand Canyon University, and was drafted by Cleveland in the ninth round in 1988.  He did not pitch that badly in two years in the minors, although he had problems with his control, but was released by the Indians late in 1990 spring training.  California signed him a few days later, converted him from a starting pitcher to a reliever, and he pitched well in their system for three season, rising as high as AAA.  He was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was chosen by Colorado in November of 1992.  During spring training of 1993, Merriman was traded to Minnesota for Rob Wassenaar and Gary Wayne.  He started the season with the Twins, but was sent down after a month with an ERA of 19.00.  He went to AAA Portland, had a good season there, and came back for the last month of the season, pitching substantially better.  He got off to a bad start in 1994 in Salt Lake but was called up to the Twins anyway, staying for nearly two  months and not pitching very well.  A free agent after the season, he signed with San Diego for 1995, pitched poorly in AAA for them, and then his playing career was over.  In his major league career, all with the Twins, Brett Merriman was 1-2, 8.39 in 44 innings spread over 34 appearances.  At last report, Brett Merriman was an enterprise account executive with Impact Networking, LLC in Mesa, Arizona.

Right-hander James Baldwin, Jr. made ten appearances for the Twins in 2003.  He was born in Pinehurst, North Carolina, went to high school in Southern Pines, North Carolina, and was drafted by the White Sox in the fourth round in 1990.  He started slowly in the minors, but came on strong in 1992 and reached AAA in mid-season of 1993.  He got a full year there in 1994 and was in the majors for about a month of 1995.  He had a bad year in 1995, but after two strong AAA starts in 1996 he was in the majors for good.  He went into the White Sox’ rotation and stayed there until he was traded in mid-2001.  He did so despite the fact that he really was not very good:  his ERA was over five for three consecutive years, 1997-1999, and the lowest ERA he ever posted for the White Sox was 4.42 in 1996.  He had some good won-lost records, though, going 11-6 in 1996 (when he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting), 13-6 in 1998, and 14-7 in 2000.  He made the all-star team in 2001, despite not pitching any better then than he had any other time, and was traded to the Dodgers in late-July of that season.  He was a free agent after the season, went to Seattle for 2002, pitched about the same as he had before, and became a free agent again.  He signed with Kansas City for 2003, went to AAA, was released June 1, and signed with Minnesota ten days later.  He made five starts in Rochester, then came up to the Twins.  He was in the bullpen for about five weeks, going 0-1, 5.40 in 15 innings. Minnesota released him in mid-August.  He signed with the Mets for 2004, made two major league starts for them, and was released in mid-May.  He was in AAA for Detroit the rest of the season.  In 2005, he signed with Baltimore, was chosen off waivers by Texas in late July, and was chosen off waivers by Baltimore again in late August.  He went to Toronto for 2006 and was released in late April, finally ending his career.  He pitched for a long time and got a couple of honors, which isn’t bad for a guy who never really had a good year.  James Baldwin was a coach for the Cincinnati Reds' entry in the Arizona Summer League from 2016-2017, was the pitching coach for the AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos in the Reds' organization in 2018, and was the Reds' minor league rehabilitation coach in 2019.  He was slated to be the pitching coach for the AAA Louisville Bats in 2020, but he was not retained in that position in 2021.  At last report, he was  offering baseball instruction under the name James Baldwin Baseball.  His son, James Baldwin III, was a minor league outfielder for five seasons, never getting above Class A.

Infielder Sherman Lee Johnson did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system.  Born and raised in Tampa, he attended Florida State and was drafted by the Angels in 2012.  He went up about a level a season, reaching AAA in 2016.  He drew a lot of walks, leading to a good on-base percentage, but never hit for much of an average.  His high was .276 in 2014 at High-A.  He got a September call-up with the Angels in 2018 and went 0-for-10 with a walk, giving him a line of .000/.091/.000.  Those turned out to be his career major league numbers, as he did not make it back to the bigs.  He became a free agent after the 2018 season and signed with Cincinnati.  He spent a few months in AAA with them and was released in late July.  He signed with Pittsburgh, but was released in early June.  The Twins signed him in mid-May of 2021.  They sent him to Wichita, where he didn't hit, then promoted him to St. Paul, where he continued to not hit.  He did, however, continue to draw walks--he had a combined batting average of .202, but a combined OBP of .353.  His career AAA batting line is .237/.349/.363.  He became a free agent after the 2021 season, played independent ball for Kane County in 2022, and still did not hit.  That brought his playing career to an end.  If he could've even hit at the lower end of "adequate" he might've had a real major league career, but he couldn't.  Proving the adage that those who can't do, teach, he was the hitting coach for the Bowie Bay Sox in 2023 and was the upper-level hitting coordinator for the Baltimore Orioles in 2024, was an assistant batting coach for the Orioles in 2025, and is the minor league batting coordinator for the White Sox in 2026.

July 14

Jesse Tannehill (1874)
Happy Chandler (1898)
Johnny Murphy (1908)
Robert Creamer (1922)
Ralph Rowe (1924)
Bob Purkey (1929)
Billy McCool (1944)
Steve Stone (1947)
Danny Walton (1947)
Vic Rodriguez (1961)
Robin Ventura (1967)
Derrick May (1968)
Jose Hernandez (1969)
Tim Hudson (1975)
Rob Brantley (1989)
Lucas Giolito (1994)
Carson Kelly (1994)

Albert "Happy" Chandler was the commissioner of baseball from 1945-1951.

Author Robert Creamer wrote a biography of Babe Ruth which is still considered to be one of the best baseball books ever.

Ralph Rowe was a coach for the Twins from 1972-1975.  He had been a minor league outfielder in 1942, 1947-1955, and 1957-1961, spending the last three years in the Twins' organization.  He was mainly a manager or coach in those years--I assume he only played if they ran into a shortage of players or something.  He managed in the Twins' organization from 1959-1960 and 1962-1971, winning league championships with Wilson in the Carolina League in 1963, Orlando in the Southern League in 1968, and Charlotte in the Southern League in 1969.  He also coached for Baltimore from 1981-1984.

Outfielder Daniel James Walton played for the Twins in 1973 and 1975.  He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in La Puente, California, and was drafted by Houston in the tenth round in 1965.  He hit very well in the minors, hitting over .300 with 45 homers combined in 1966-1967.  He started 1968 with Houston, but got only two at-bats as a pinch-hitter before being returned to the minors.  He did not really get going all season, but came back in 1969 to hit .332 with 34 homers for AAA Oklahoma City.  In late August, Walton was traded to the Seattle Pilots in a deal that also involved ex-Twin Sandy Valdespino.  He was the Pilots’ regular left fielder the rest of the year and held that position in 1970 for the new Milwaukee Brewers.  That was the only year of his career that he got regular play, and was also his best year, as he hit .257 with 17 homers and an OPS of .790.   Walton injured his knee late in the season, however, and was never the same player again.  He began 1971 with Milwaukee, but was traded to the Yankees in early June and was in the minors most of the rest of the year.  He had a solid year in AAA Syracuse in 1972, but was traded to Minnesota after the season for Rick Dempsey.  Walton was in the big leagues most of the season but did not play much and did not hit when he did play, batting .177 with four homers.  He went back to AAA in 1974 and had a strong year, hitting .263 with 35 homers and 109 RBIs.  He was back with the Twins in 1975, but again did not hit, and was sent back down in mid-July.  After the season, the Twins traded Walton to the Dodgers for Bobby Randall.  As a Twin, he hit .176/.272/.302 in 159 at-bats.  He was with the Dodgers organization for two seasons and had a huge year at AAA Albuquerque in 1977, hitting .289 with 42 homers and 122 RBIs.  All it got him was a trade to Houston in early September.  He stuck with the Astros the rest of the season, but was released late in spring training in 1978.  He went to Japan that year, then came back to AAA with Seattle in 1979 and with Texas in 1980.  He was in the big leagues for one more month in 1980, but that was the end of the line for him.  After his playing career ended, he became a welder and pipe fitter in Utah.  Danny Walton passed away on August 9, 2017, in Morgan, Utah.

Infielder Victor Manuel (Rivera) Rodriguez had eleven at-bats for the Twins in 1989.  He was born in New York and signed with Baltimore in 1977 at age 16.  He did not show a lot of power, but his other numbers are not bad, especially when one considers how young he was.  He reached AAA in 1982 and hit .274 there in 1984, earning a September call-up in which he hit .412 with 3 doubles in 17 at-bats.  The Orioles apparently weren’t overly impressed, as they traded him to San Diego the following February.  He spent one season in the Padres’ organization, hitting .312 with 11 homers in AAA Las Vegas, and they weren’t impressed either, allowing him to become a free agent after the season.  Rodriguez then signed with St.  Louis, playing two seasons for AAA Louisville, and became a free agent again.  He signed with Minnesota in January of 1988.  He played in AAA Portland for four seasons, averaging close to .300.  He was with the Twins for about a week and a half in late July of 1989, going 5-for-11 with two doubles as a third baseman.  His line was .455/.455/.636.  The Twins let him go after he hit .304 in Portland in 1991.  He then went to Philadelphia, playing in AAA for two seasons and hitting .305 with 12 homers in 1993.  He was in AAA for Florida in 1994 and Boston in 1995, then his playing career came to an end.  In thirteen AAA seasons, Vic Rodriguez hit .290/.310/.408; in 28 major league at-bats he hit .429/.429/.607.  He obviously was a free-swinger, and he would not have been a star, but it seems like he hit well enough that he could have helped somebody if he’d been given a chance.  After his playing career he got into coaching.  He was the assistant batting coach for the Boston Red Sox from 2013-2017, the assistant batting coach for the Cleveland Indians/Guardians from 2018-2023, the batting coach for the San Diego Padres from 2024-2025, and is the batting coach for the Houston Astros in 2026.

July 13

Tom York (1850)
George Bradley (1852)
Stan Coveleski (1889)
Lee Handley (1913)
Eliot Asinof (1919)
Fritz Dorish (1921)
Ruben Gomez (1927)
Daryl Spencer (1928)
Don Pavletich (1938)
Jack Aker (1940)
Buzz Stephen (1944)
Jerry Terrell (1946)
Bill Caudill (1956)
Mark Brown (1959)
Mike Fitzgerald (1960)
Pat Rapp (1967)
Ryan Ludwick (1978)
Shin-Soo Choo (1982)
Yadier Molina (1982)
D. J. LeMahieu (1988)
Tyler Skaggs (1991)
Ty France (1994)
Cody Bellinger (1995)

Author Eliot Asinof played two seasons in the minor leagues.  He has written several books on baseball, most notably "Eight Men Out".

Right-hander Ruben (Colon) Gomez appeared in six games for the Twins in 1962.  He was born in Arroyo, Puerto Rico, and played in independent ball (much more prevalent at the time) for nearly three years.  He played briefly for Havana in the Washington organization in 1951, then was in AAA briefly for the Yankees in 1952.  He then went to the New York Giants, starting 1953 in the majors and not looking back.  He was in the Giants’ rotation for six seasons, making the move to San Francisco with them.  He struggled with his control, leading the league in walks in 1954.  He averaged over 200 innings a season, though, and 1954 was actually his best year:  he went 17-9, 2.88.  He became the first Puerto Rican to pitch in a World Series that year.  He was traded to Philadelphia after the 1958 campaign, and his career hit hard times after that.  He had a poor year in 1959 and moved to the bullpen, but continued to struggle.  He was back in the minors for part of 1960 and all of 1961.  He was traded to Cleveland before the 1962 season and did well in AAA, earning his way back to the majors.  He did not pitch particularly well when he got there, however, and was traded to Minnesota in late August for Jackie Collum, a player to be named later (Georges Miranda) and cash.  He finished the year there, starting two games and relieving in four.  He allowed 11 runs (10 earned) on 17 hits and 11 walks in 19 innings.  The Twins released him the following January.  He went back to the Indians in 1963 and pitched well in AAA, but did not make it back to the majors.  He then went to the Mexican League for three years.  The Phillies then picked him up, and he started 1967 in the Philadelphia bullpen.  He did not do badly, but was let go in early May and went back to the Mexican League.  He continued to pitch in winter ball through 1977.  Ruben Gomez passed away from cancer in San Juan, Puerto Rico on July 26, 2004.

Louis Robert “Buzz” Stephen made two starts for the Twins in 1968.  He was born in Porterville, California and attended Cal State–Fresno.  He was drafted by Minnesota with the second pick of the June Secondary draft in 1966.  He did very well at Class A St. Cloud that season, but less well after that.  He won 11 games at AA Charlotte in 1968, though, which was good enough to get him a September call-up.  He made two starts for the Twins, giving up seven runs (six earned) on eleven hits and seven walks in 11.1 innings.  He was 1-1, 4.76.  He was then chosen by Seattle in the expansion draft.  He was in the minors for the Seattle/Milwaukee organization through June 15, 1970, then was traded to the Baltimore chain.  He did not do particularly well in either place, and his playing career was over after the 1970 season at age 26.  After baseball, Buzz Stephen returned to his home town of Porterville, California. He was the owner of Porterville Monument Works and Swimming Pool Supply until his retirement.  Buzz Stephen passed away on May 9, 2024 in Porterville.

Infielder Jerry Wayne Terrell played for the Twins from 1973-1977.  He was born in Waseca, Minnesota, grew up in Elysian, Minnesota (where an uncle of this author once lived), attended high school in Waterville, Minnesota, and was drafted by Minnesota in the eighteenth round in 1968.  He was up and down in the minors.  Terrell hit .296 for Class A Auburn in 1968, missed all of 1969 due to military service, fell to .279 in Class A Lynchburg in 1970 and .231 in AA Charlotte in 1971, but came back to hit .290 in AAA Tacoma in 1972.  He never had any power and drew only a fair number of walks.  He was with the Twins at the start of the 1973 season and stayed there five years, with the exception of a couple of months in 1975.  He got the most playing time of his career his rookie year, when he started in over half the team’s games.  He never had a regular position for very long, but generally played quite a bit.  He made the bulk of his starts at shortstop in his career, but he also played second and third, made a handful of starts at first, and even played a few games in the outfield.  His best year offensively was 1975, which oddly was the year he was sent back to the minors to start the season.  He came back in early June to hit .286 with 16 doubles for an OPS of .669, all career highs.  Terrell became a free agent after the 1977 season and signed with Kansas City.  He was with the Royals for three years, but played sparingly in 1979 and was back in AAA for much of 1980.  His playing career then ended.  Terrell remained in baseball for quite some time after that as a minor league manager and as a scout.  He is a member of the Minnesota State University Hall of Fame.  At last report, he was still living in the Kansas City area.

Right-hander Mark Anthony Brown made six appearances for the Twins in 1985.  He was born in Bellows Falls, Vermont, went to high school in Windsor, Connecticut, and attended the University of Massachusetts–Amherst.  While growing up, he was a bat-boy for an American Legion team that included Carlton Fisk.  He was drafted by Baltimore in the sixth round in 1980.  He moved up through the Orioles chain, doing pretty well and reaching AAA in 1982.  He was mostly a relief pitcher in the minors, although he made some starts as well.  As a result of relieving and battling injuries much of his career, he never pitched more than one hundred innings in a minor league season.  He was called up to the Orioles in early August of 1984 and stayed the rest of the season.  He appeared in nine games pitching 23 innings.  Late in 1985 spring training, Brown was traded to Minnesota for Brad Havens.  He was in AAA Toledo most of the season, pitching well, and was called up for about six weeks in the middle of the year.  He pitched 15.2 innings in six games.  He allowed 13 runs (12 earned) on 21 hits in 7 walks for an ERA of 6.89, then lost his roster spot to Steve Howe.  Early in 1986, the Twins released Brown, and he signed with Baltimore again.  He played at AAA for them that season, then his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Mark Brown was living in Rochester, New York, and was instructing youth on the art of pitching.  He also speaks to various youth groups on the importance of getting a good education.

First baseman Tyler Lawrence France played for the Twins for about four months of 2025.  He was born in Downey, California, went to high school in West Covina, California, attended San Diego State, and was drafted by San Diego in the thirty-fourth round in 2015.  He hit for high averages in college, but showed very little power.  That remained true until 2018, when he hit twenty-two home runs, mostly in AA.  He followed that up with twenty-seven homers in AAA in 2019, which earned him a promotion to the majors.  Once he got to the majors, he stayed there.  He didn't stay with the Padres, though, as he was traded to Seattle in August of 2020.  He immediately became their regular first baseman and had some solid years with them, making the all-star team in 2022.  He had a poor year in 2024, however, and was traded to Cincinnati at the July deadline.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Minnesota for 2025 and became their regular first baseman.  In 350 at-bats he batted .251/.320/.357.  He was traded to Toronto at the July deadline along with Louis Varland for Alan Roden and Kendry Rojas.  He finished the season there and won the Gold Glove.  A free agent again, he signed with San Diego for 2026.  He has bounced back to (so far) have his best season since his all-star season of 2022.  He turns thirty-two today.  He doesn't have the power you want from a first baseman, but he can do some things on offense and plays solid defense.  It seems likely that Ty France will be in the majors for a couple of years yet, at least.