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.

July 12

Doug Allison (1846)

Lee Meadows (1894)

Johnny Wyrostek (1919)

Jack Harshmann (1927)

Ron Fairly (1938)

Tom Tischinski (1944)

Scipio Spinks (1947)

Mario Soto (1956)

Mike Munoz (1965)

Adam Johnson (1979)

Phil Dumatrait (1981)

Tom Gorzelanny (1982)

Howie Kendrick (1983)

Tony Sipp (1983)

Nick Vincent (1986)

Chasen Shreve (1990)

Bailey Ober (1995)

Catcher Thomas Arthur Tischinski was a reserve catcher for the Twins for three seasons, 1969-1971.  Born and raised in Kansas City, he signed with the Kansas City Athletics as a free agent in 1962.  He was always a weak batter, even in the minors.  His highest average in the minors was .256, in 1958 at AAA Denver, and he had two seasons in which he hit below .200 and another in which he hit .208.  He was taken by Cincinnati in 1962 in the first-year player draft and came to the Twins after the 1967 campaign in the minor league draft.  He came up to the big leagues at the start of the 1969 season and stayed three years.  He was the third catcher each season, backing up Johnny Roseboro and George Mitterwald in 1969, Mitterwald and Paul Ratliff in 1970, and Mitterwald and Phil Roof in 1971.  As a consequence, he didn’t get a lot of playing time.  In his three years in the majors, he got only 116 at-bats.  He hit .181/.294/.224, never batting higher than .196 in any season.  He was back in the minors in 1972.  He moved to the Dodgers’ organization late that season, staying through 1974.  Oddly, his best season as a pro was his last one, when he hit .286 with an OPS of .835 as a part time player for AAA Albuquerque.  After baseball, he worked in construction in the Kansas City area until his retirement in 2005.  Tom Tischinski passed away on April 23, 2024 in Kansas City.

Right-hander Adam Bryant Johnson played briefly for the Twins in 2001 and 2003.  He was born in San Jose, went to high school in Encinitas, California, and was drafted by Minnesota with the second pick of the 2000 draft.  He had a very good year in 2000 with Ft. Myers, and did not do badly when promoted higher in the minors the next year.  The Twins, desperate for a fifth starter as they tried to stay in the 2001 pennant race, called Johnson to the majors and put him in the starting rotation.  It did not work.  He made four starts, then three relief appearances, and pitched poorly in all of them.  He never had a good year again.  He struggled for three years in AAA for the Twins, getting a September call-up in 2003, and was released in January of 2005.  He signed with Arizona, was released in spring training, played in the independent Golden Baseball League, and signed with Oakland in mid-August.  The Athletics released him in early June of 2006.  He played in the Atlantic League in 2008, and then his playing career was over.  His major league record is 1-3, 10.25 with a 2.05 WHIP in 26.1 innings.  He made nine appearances, four of them starts.  At last report, Adam Johnson was a firefighter in Lehigh Acres, Florida, but that last report is several years old now.

Left-hander Philip Anthony Dumatrait played for the Twins for most of 2011.  Born and raised in Bakersfield, California, he was drafted by Boston in the first round of the 2000 draft.  His numbers in the low minors look quite good, but there was apparently something about him the Red Sox did not like, because he had still not risen higher than Class A when he was traded to Cincinnati at the 2003 deadline with a player to be named later for Scott Williamson.  He missed all of 2004 due to injury, finally got to AA in 2005, and reached AAA in 2006.  He had a fine year in Louisville in 2007 and reached the majors in early August.  He made six poor starts for the Reds, and since he was now 26 Cincinnati put him on waivers.  He was chosen by Pittsburgh and spent his only full year in the majors with the Pirates in 2008.  It did not go well:  both starting and relieving, he went 3-4, 5.26.  He battled injuries again in 2009, making it back to Pittsburgh at the end of the season but again not pitching well.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Detroit for 2010, was sent to AAA, and was released in May, finishing the season in Korea.  He signed with Minnesota for 2011, started the season in Rochester, but came up to the Twins in mid-May and stayed the rest of the season.  Making forty-five appearances out of the bullpen, he went 1-3, 3.92, which doesn’t sound too bad until you note that he had a WHIP of 1.69.  As with every other time he made the majors, control was a problem, as he walked 25 batters in 41.1 innings.  He was again injured at the start of 2012 and apparently decided it wasn’t worth it any more, as he retired at the end of May.  At last report, Phil Dumatrait had returned to Bakersfield and was an assistant baseball coach at Cerro Coso Community College there.

Right-handed reliever Nicholas James Vincent appeared in seven games for the Twins in 2021.  He was born in Poway, California, attended Cal State-Long Beach, and was drafted in the eighteenth-round by San Diego in 2008.  He did pretty well in High-A in 2009, was outstanding when asked to repeat the level in 2010, had a fine year in 2011 in AA, and made his major league debut in late June of 2012.  He spent 2013-2015 going back and forth between AAA and the majors despite the fact that he always did well in the majors when given the chance.  As a Padre, he was 9-6, 2.63, 1.06 WHIP in 150.2 innings.  There was clearly something about him that San Diego didn't like, though, and just before the 2016 season he was sent to Seattle for a player to be named or cash.  The Mariners kept him in the majors, except for a couple of rehab assignments, and he was a solid reliever for them for three seasons.  he became a free agent after the 2018 season and signed with San Francisco for 2019.  He was injured part of the season and ineffective when he could pitch, and the Giants released him in early August.  He signed with Philadelphia and made fourteen very good appearances for them.  He then entered what Bill James once referred to as the nomadic phase of his career.  He signed back with the Giants for 2020, was released before the abbreviated season started, and signed with Miami.  He was a free agent again after the season, signed with Texas for 2021, was released in late March, was re-signed a day later, was released again in late June, and signed with the Twins for the rest of the season.  He was nothing special in AAA but pitched very well for the Twins, going 1-0, 0.71, 0.87 WHIP in 12.2 innings.  He signed with Atlanta for 2022, pitched poorly in AAA, and was released in late June.  He signed with Detroit in July and did very well in AAA for them, but became a free agent after the season and went unsigned, ending his playing career. At last report, Nick Vincent was living in Ramona, California and was involved in coaching young baseball players, with an emphasis on the mental side of the game.

Right-handed starter John Bailey Ober has been with the Twins since 2021.  He was born in Huntersville, North Carolina, went to high school in Charlotte, attended the College of Charleston, and was drafted by the Twins in the twelfth round in 2017.  He was very good throughout the low minors, ran into injury trouble in 2019, and did not play in the COVID season of 2020.  He made four excellent starts in AAA in 2021 and then found himself in the Twins' rotation for the rest of the season.  He did all right, going 3-3, 4.19, 1.20 WHIP in 20 starts.  He did substantially better in 2022, but ran into injury problems again and was able to make eleven starts.  He was healthy in 2023, however, and had a fine season, going 8-6, 3.43, 1.07 WHIP in 26 starts.  He had another fine season in 2024.  He did not pitch well in 2025, partly because he was trying to pitch through an injury, which worked out about as well as it usually does.  He was off to a decent start in 2026 when he was injured again.  He turns thirty-one today, and his career numbers are 37-33, 4.13, 1.13 WHIP in 127 starts (684.1 innings).  That's a decent major league pitcher, and if he can get and stay healthy, that's probably what Bailey Ober will be for a few more seasons.

July 11

Pop Schriver (1865)
Jimmy Slagle (1873)
Milt Stock (1893)
Bob Allison (1934)
John Sevcik (1942)
Ed Ott (1951)
Andy Ashby (1967)
Donne Wall (1967)
Javier Lopez (1977)
Blaine Boyer (1981)
Yorman Bazardo (1984)
Bryan Augenstein (1986)

Outfielder William Robert ”Bob” Allison played his entire career with the Washington/Minnesota franchise, beginning in 1958 and ending in 1970.  Born and raised in Raytown, Missouri, he attended the University of Kansas (where he starred in football as well as baseball) and signed with Washington as a free agent in 1955.  His minor league numbers were not all that impressive, although he did hit .307 in AA Chattanooga in 1958.  He got a September call-up that year and never went back to the minors again.  He was the starting center fielder for Washington in 1959, hit .261 with 30 homers, led the league in triples with nine, was Rookie of the Year and made his first all-star team.  He moved to right field in 1960, and while he did not match his numbers from his first year, he had another fine season.  He came to Minnesota with the team in 1961.  He stayed in right field through 1963, moved to first base in 1964, and moved to left field in 1965, where he stayed the rest of his career.  From 1961-1968 (excluding 1966, when he missed most of the season due to a broken left hand), he averaged .260 with 28 home runs, 21 doubles, and an OPS of .850.  He led the league in OPS in 1963 and made the all-star team in 1963-1964.  It shows the power of the Twins in those years that he was the second banana to Harmon Killebrew and then the third banana to Killebrew and Tony Oliva.  Allison fell to part-time status in 1969 and was largely a bench player in 1970.  For his career, Bob Allison hit .255/.358/.471 in just over five thousand at-bats.  He chose to retire after the 1970 season.  He went to work for the Coca-Cola Company, becoming general manager of the company’s Twins Cities Marketing Division.  He suffered from ataxia, a neurological disorder, and passed away April 9, 1995 in Rio Verde, Arizona.  The Twins now give the Bob Allison award for the Twins player who best exemplifies determination, hustle, tenacity, competitive spirit, and leadership both on and off the field.

Catcher John Sevcik had sixteen at-bats for the Twins in 1965.  He was Oak Park, Illinois, went to high school in Berwyn, Illinois, and then attended the University of Missouri.  He played for the Sturgis (SD) Titans in the Basin League in 1963, and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1964.  He was in Class A at Wisconsin Rapids that season, did fairly well, and found himself as the third catcher on the Twins in 1965, backing up Earl Battey and Jerry Zimmerman.  He appears to have been with the team the whole season–at least, he did not play in the minors and was in at least one major league game almost every month–but he played very sparingly.   He appeared in one game in April, one in May, six in June, one in July, two in September, and one in October.  He made only three starts.  In his 12 games, he went 1-for-16 with a walk and a sacrifice.  His hit was a double.  Sevcik went back to the minors after that season, staying in the Twins’ organization through 1971.  He was a part-time player every season for them, averaging 72 games and 232 at-bats.  His lifetime OPS in the minors was .683.  Sevcik’s playing career ended after the 1971 season.  He stayed in the Minneapolis area for a while, selling construction equipment.  He then went to work for the Jim Beam company, having been hired by ex-Twin Rich Reese, first working in the Minneapolis area and then moving to San Antonio.  At last report, John Sevcik had retired and was living in Austin, Texas.

Right-hander Blaine Thomas Boyer pitched for the Twins in 2015.  He was born in Atlanta, went to high school in Marietta, Georgia, and was drafted by Atlanta in the third round in 2000.  He was a starter his first two seasons, went to the bullpen in 2002 in Class A, and went back to starting in 2003.  He spent two years in rookie ball and three in Class A, finally reaching AA in 2005.  His AA numbers that year were not very good, but he was called up to the majors in mid-June and finished the season in the Braves' bullpen.  He missed most of 2006 due to injury and when he came back in 2007 he spent most of the year in AAA, making five big league appearances in June.  He was with the Braves for all of 2008 but was traded to St. Louis early in the 2009 season.  He didn't last long there, getting waived in mid-June and being claimed by Arizona.  He did well for them the rest of that season, not so well in 2010, and became a free agent, going to the Mets.  They released him in mid-April of 2011, he signed with Pittsburgh, got released again two months later, signed with St. Louis, and was released again six weeks after that.  He was out of baseball in 2012, signed with Kansas City for 2013, was released in mid-May, and finished out the year in Japan.  He signed with San Diego for 2014, started out in AAA, came up to the Padres in mid-June, and pitched well for them the rest of the season.  A free agent again after the season, he signed with Minnesota for 2015.  He did pretty well for them, going 3-6, 1 save, 2.49 ERA, 1.25 WHIP.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with Milwaukee, for whom he was not great but was not terrible, either.  Again a free agent, he signed with Boston for 2017 and did not have a very good season.  A free agent once more, he signed with Kansas City for 2018.  He was awful in twenty-one appearances, but he may have been playing through an injury, as he went on the disabled list in late May with a lower back strain.  The Royals released him in mid-August and that brought his playing career to an end.  If nothing else, his baseball life allowed him to see the country, and he did play in parts of twelve major league seasons, which is something not a lot of people can say.  Blaine Boyer remains on the payroll of the Royals as a special assistant for baseball operations.  He was a partner in the Bullpen Real Estate Group in the Atlanta area with former Twin Matt Capps through 2025.  At that time, he became a managing director for the E3 Ranch Foundation, whose mission is:  "Supporting Veterans with healing retreats and personalized programs.  Fighting Sex Trafficking by assisting law enforcement and supporting survivors.  Delivering rapid response and long-term support to communities affected by disasters and crises."

Right-hander Yorman Michael (Osario) Bazardo did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for the first part of 2011.  He was born in Maracay, Aragua, Venezuela, and signed with Florida as a free agent in 2000.  He pitched quite well in the low minors, but advanced slowly, probably due to his young age.  He reached AA in 2005, even getting one appearance in the majors in late May (1.2 innings 0f a blowout loss).  He was traded to Seattle at the trade deadline that season.  He did pretty well in AA for them in 2006, especially considering he was still only 21.    He was traded to Detroit that off-season.  He had a fine season in AAA in 2007 and made eleven very good appearances for the big club.  He started 2008 in the majors, but after only three appearances he was sent down.  He had a bad year in AAA and became a free agent, signing with Philadelphia.  The Phillies released him at the end of spring training, and he moved on to Houston. He did okay in AAA for the Astros and spent the last two months of 2009 in the major leagues.  It looks like that will be his major league swan song, though.    He was again a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota for 2011.  He went to Rochester, didn’t do much, and was released in mid-June.  He finished the season pitching for Camden in the Atlantic League.  He did not play in 2012, at least as far as b-r.com is concerned, but he has continued to play in Caribbean winter leagues, played in Italy in 2013, and played in Mexico in 2014.  He has not played in the summer since then, but he played winter ball through 2017.  He does not appear to be playing anywhere this season.  In his big league career he appeared in 25 games (eight starts), going 3-4, 6.86, 1.69 WHIP in 60.1 innings.  Yorman Bazardo was a pitching coach in the Pirates' organization from 2018-2022, then moved to the Padres' organization.  He is the pitching coach for the Fort Wayne TinCaps in 2026.  His brother, Eduard Bazardo, has pitched in the majors for Boston and Seattle.

Right-hander Bryan Christopher Augenstein did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for two months in 2013.  Born and raised in Sebastian, Florida, he attended the University of Florida, and was drafted by Arizona in the seventh round in 2007.  He pitched very well in the low minors, but struggled when promoted to AAA in 2009.  Despite that, he made two starts for the Diamondbacks in May and got a September call-up, making five appearances out of the bullpen.  He struggled in AAA again in 2010 and was placed on waivers by Arizona after the season.  St. Louis claimed him and surprisingly, he made the Cardinals out of spring training.  Unsurprisingly, he did not do well in five appearances, although one really bad appearance makes his numbers look worse than they would have been otherwise.  He did better in AAA in 2011, but was not really good, and was released after the season.  Tampa Bay signed him and sent him to AAA again for 2012.  He actually had a fairly good season working out of the bullpen (he had been converted to relief in 2011), but did not get called up and that year he was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, a neurological disorder.  He was released by the Rays after the season.  Minnesota signed him for 2013, but he could not pitch and was released at the end of May.  He sat out the rest of the 2013 season, but signed with Detroit for 2014, pitching mostly at AA Erie. That brought his playing career to an end.  In his major league career, he was 0-2, 8.34, 1.90 WHIP in 22.2 innings.  He pitched in twelve major league games, which is twelve more than most people reading this have pitched in, and started two of them.  One-third of people who have transverse myelitis never get out of bed, and another third have permanent damage, so Augenstein feels he was one of the fortunate ones. Bryan Augenstein was a PE teacher and baseball coach for Storm Grove Middle School in Vero Beach, Florida, and became the head baseball coach for Sebastian River High School in Sebastian, Florida, in 2025.

July 10

Jimmy McAleer (1864)
Bobby Lowe (1865)
John Heydler (1869)
Dick Lundy (1898)
Wayne Blackburn (1914)
Paul Pryor (1927)
Gene Alley (1940)
Hal McRae (1945)
Bob Bailor (1951)
Andre Dawson (1954)
Buddy Groom (1965)
Lee Stevens (1967)
Marty Cordova (1969)
ByungHo Park (1986)
Ryan Wheeler (1988)
Scott Alexander (1989)
Will Smith (1989)
Jonny Deluca (1998)

John Heydler was the president of the National League from 1918-1934.

Wayne Blackburn was a minor league infielder from 1936-1956.  He drew over 1,400 walks in his career.

Paul Pryor was a National League umpire from 1961-1981 and is an alumnus of the author’s alma mater, the University of South Dakota.

Jonny Deluca was drafted by Minnesota in the 39th round in 2017 but did not sign.

Outfielder Martin Kevin Cordova played for the Twins from 1995-1999.  Born and raised in Las Vegas, he was drafted by Minnesota in the tenth round in 1989.  He was young and took a few years to get going, but hit .341 with 28 homers for Class A Visalia in 1992.  He stumbled a little when promoted to AA the next year, but came back with a bang, hitting .358 with 19 homers and an OPS of 1.018 for AAA Salt Lake in 1994.  He was the Twins’ starting left fielder the next season and won the Rookie of the Year award with 24 home runs and a .277 average.  He was 25 years old and big things were predicted, but that was as good as it got for Cordova.  He had a good 1996, hitting .309 and driving in 111 runs, but then had a couple of off years, due partly to plantar fasciitis.  He bounced back some in 1999, hitting .285 with 14 homers, but became a free agent after the season and signed with Boston.  Surprisingly, the Red Sox cut Cordova late in spring training, and he signed with Toronto.  He had an undistinguished year there, went to Cleveland for 2001, and had something of a renaissance, hitting .301 with 20 home runs.  He went to Baltimore for 2002, but played only nine games in 2003 due to an elbow injury.  He missed all of 2004 with that injury.  He briefly tried to come back with Tampa Bay in 2005 but decided to retire instead.  As a Twin, Marty Cordova hit .277/.348/.451 in 2,322 at-bats.  At last report, Marty Cordova was the Chief Operating Officer of Bent Pixels, which helps people earn money from YouTube videos, and was living in Las Vegas.

Designated hitter/first baseman ByungHo Park played for the Twins in 2016.  He was born in Seoul, South Korea and began playing professional baseball in Korea at age eighteen with the LG Twins.  He missed two years due to military service, but the fact is that he did very little during his LG Twins years.  He was traded to the Nexen Heroes in 2011, and that's when his career took off.  In four and a half years with Nexen, he averaged .310/.401/.634 with 41 homers.  He was posted by Nexen to come to major leagues after the 2015 season and was won by the Twins.  He began 2016 as the Twins' designated hitter and batted .191/.275/.409 in 215 at-bats before getting sent to Rochester in late June.  He was hampered by sore wrists for much of the season, which the Twins belatedly realized might be a problem for a batter.  He finally went on the disabled list in late July and stayed there the rest of the season.  In 2017 he had a strong spring training but was sent to AAA anyway.  He missed about a month with a hamstring injury and did very poorly upon his return, but gradually improved so that his final numbers there don't look too bad.  He did not get back to the majors, though, and was released after the season.  He went back to Korea and had another strong season for the Nexen Heroes in 2018.  The team then became the Kiwoom Heroes, and Park continued to be a hero for them in 2019.  He stayed with Kiwoom through 2021 and did not hit for a good average, but continued to hit for power.  He moved on to the KT Wiz for 2022 and had his best year since 2019, posting an OPS of .909.  He did not match that in 2023, but still had a solid year.  He played for Samsung in 2024-2025, posting low batting averages but drawing walks and hitting home runs.  He has played in just one game for Kiwoom in 2026, making one think he either is injured or has decided to retire.  It's a shame that injuries kept him from having a better chance to show people in the United States what he could do.  He turns forty today.  We wish him well in whatever the rest of his life may hold.

The brother of ex-Twin Jason Wheeler, third baseman Ryan Gerard Wheeler did not play for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for a month and a half in 2015.  Born and raised in Torrance, California, he attended Loyola Marymount University and was drafted by Arizona in the fifth round.  He hit quite well in the minors and reached the majors for the Diamondbacks in the second half of the 2012 season.  Used as a reserve, he didn't do a whole lot and was traded to Colorado after the season.  He spent the next two seasons mostly at AAA, getting about a hundred major league at-bats in 2013-2014 combined.  He was waived in August of 2014 and claimed by the Angels.  He was in AAA for them until May of 2015, when he was released.  The Twins signed him on May 15 and he was hitting .233/.243/.315 in 73 at-bats for Rochester when he was released July 1.  He signed with Arizona for 2016 but was released in spring training and his playing career ended.  In his major league career, he hit .233/.280/.335 in 206 at-bats.  In AAA, however, he hit .305/.346/.459 in 1230 at-bats.  Given his success in AAA, it's surprising no one at least signed him to a minor league contract.  On the other hand, it could be that he simply decided it was time to get on with his life.  At last report, Ryan Wheeler was an executive vice-president of sales for Liquid IV, which sells "hydration-focused electrolyte drink mixes".