April 19

John Reese (1895)

Bucky Walters (1909)

Hector Maestri (1935)

Rick Miller (1948)

Ed Hodge (1958)

R. J. Reynolds (1959)

Frank Viola (1960)

Spike Owen (1961)

Scott Kamieniecki (1964)

Brent Mayne (1968)

Jose Cruz (1974)

Joe Beimel (1977)

Dennys Reyes (1977)

George Sherrill (1977)

Alberto Callaspo (1983)

Zach Duke (1983)

Joe Mauer (1983)

Jackie Bradley (1990)

Tyler Jay (1994)

Right-hander Hector Maestri was with the Washington franchise in 1960, making one appearance in the majors.  Before the 1961 season started, however, he was selected in the expansion draft by the new Washington franchise, for whom he made one more appearance in 1961.

Left-hander Ed Oliver Hodge made 25 appearances for the Twins in 1984. Born in Bellflower, California, Hodge was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round of the January draft in 1979. There is nothing in his minor league record that suggests he would be a major league pitcher, but the 1984 Twins were desperate for a fifth starter, so after he had three good starts at AAA Toledo, going 2-0, 2.01 with a 0.90 WHIP, Ed Hodge found himself in the big league rotation. He did quite a bit better than could have been expected, going 3-2, 4.12 through mid-June, but then was injured, missing a month and a half. He came back on August 1, made five fair-to-middling starts, then spent the rest of the year in the bullpen.  For the season, he was 4-3, 4.77.  He pitched in 25 games, 15 of them starts, and pitched exactly 100 innings.  Those would also be his career numbers; he was back in Toledo in 1985, had another not-to-good season, and was released after the season.  He pitched for the Braves’ AAA team in 1986, and then his playing career came to an end.  He worked for the police and fire departments in Johnson City, Tennessee from 1990-1997.  More recently, he has done some coaching, serving as the pitching coach for the Sarasota Reds in 2006 and for Lakewood in the Phillies’ organization in 2007.  He was a batting practice pitcher/coach for Houston from 2011-2012, and was hired to do a similar job for Detroit in 2013.  At last report he was living in College Grove, Tennessee and was working with the NLB Baseball Coaching Academy, which will help you become a Next Level Ballplayer (NLB).

Left-hander Frank John Viola pitched for the Twins for most of the 1980s.  He was born in Hempstead, New York and went to high school in East Meadow, New York.  He then attended St. John’s (where he was involved in an epic pitcher’s duel with Yale’s Ron Darling that is still talked about occasionally), and was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 1981.  He pitched reasonably well at AA Orlando in 1981, and after eight starts in AAA Toledo in 1982 he was in the Minnesota rotation at age 22.  He was clearly not ready, posting ERAs over five and WHIPs over 1.5 in his first two seasons.  When things clicked in, though, they did so in style.  In 1984, Viola went 18-12, 3.21 with a WHIP of 1.16 and finished sixth in the Cy Young voting.  He slipped a little in 1985 and 1986, although he was still a solid rotation starter, but in 1987 and 1988 he had his two best seasons.  He went 41-17 in those two years, with an ERA of 2.77.  He won the Cy Young award in 1988, when he won 24 of those games.  Viola also finished tenth in MVP voting that year.  He pitched over 245 innings  each season for the Twins from 1984-1988.  He was still pitching well at the end of July, 1989 when he was traded to the Mets for Rick Aguilera, Tim Drummond, Kevin Tapani, David West, and a player to be named later (Jack Savage).  He continued to pitch Well for the Mets, winning 20 games in 1990 and finishing third in Cy Young voting that season.  He also continued to pitch well over 200 innings each season.  A free agent after the 1991 campaign, Viola signed with Boston and had two more very good years.  After that, however, he struggled through injuries, had Tommy John surgery, and was never an effective pitcher again.  He pitched briefly with Cincinnati in 1995 and Toronto in 1996 before bringing his playing career to an end.  As a Twin, Frank Viola was 112-93, 3.86 in 260 appearances, 259 of them starts.  Since his retirement, Viola has done some high-school and college coaching and has also done some broadcasting with the New England Sports Network.  In 2011 he was the pitching coach for the Brooklyn Cyclones in the New York-Penn League and from 2012-2013 he was the pitching coach of the Savannah Sand Gnats in the South Atlantic League.  He was going to be pitching coach of the AAA Las Vegas 51s in 2014, but open-heart surgery put that move on hold.  The surgery was successful and he was able to assume pitching coach duties for the 51s in 2015 and remained in that position through 2017.  He was the pitching coach for the AA Binghamton Rumble Ponies in 2018.  He left the Mets organization after the season and became the pitching coach of the High Point Rockers in the Atlantic League in 2019.

Left-handed reliever Joseph Ronald Beimel made three appearances for the Twins in 2004.  Born and raised in St. Mary’s, Pennsylvania, he attended Duquesne University and was drafted by Pittsburgh in the eighteenth round in 1998.  He started for much of his minor league career.  He had not pitched effectively above Class A when he suddenly made the Pirates out of spring training in 2001.  He was with Pittsburgh for three full seasons despite not pitching very well:  his ERA was exactly five and his WHIP was 1.58.  He made some starts in his first two years, but was moved exclusively to the bullpen in 2003.  The Pirates released Beimel at the end of March, 2004, and the Twins signed him a couple of weeks later.  He had a poor year in Rochester, despite which he was given a September call-up.  Beimel pitched 1.2 innings in three games, giving up eight runs on eight hits and two walks.  He became a free agent for 2005 and signed with Tampa Bay.  He didn’t pitch particularly well in AAA for them, either, but got to the big leagues for about a month and did well in seven appearances.  He signed with the Dodgers for 2006, pitched well in ten appearances at AAA, and came up to the majors, where at age 29 he finally found big-league success.  He was with Los Angeles for three years, appeared in 216 games, and had an ERA of 3.04.  Beimel was a free agent after the 2008 season and took a long time to sign, finally signing with Washington in mid-March.  He pitched well there, was traded to Colorado in mid-season, and continued to pitch fairly well through 2010.  He was a free agent after that season and signed with Pittsburgh.  He was injured much of the year but made 35 appearances for the Pirates, working 25.1 innings.  Unfortunately, he did not pitch well and was released at the end of August.  He signed with Texas for 2012 but was released in late March.  He underwent Tommy John surgery on May 1 of 2012.  He signed with Atlanta in mid-May of 2013 and pitched for AAA Gwinnett the rest of the season.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Seattle and made it back to the majors for the first time since 2011.  He actually had a fine year for the Mariners.  He signed with Texas for 2015, was released in spring training, was re-signed by Seattle, and while he wasn't as good as 2014 he still pitched adequately.  He made twelve appearances with AAA Omaha in 2016 and was not very good.  He played with New Britain in the Atlantic League in 2017 but did not do very well, and that finally brought an end to his playing career.  It was a heck of a career, though, stretching over twenty years.  He now runs Beimel Elite Athletics, a baseball instructional facility with locations in Torrance, California and El Paso, Texas.

Left-handed reliever Dennys (Valarde) Reyes pitched for the Twins from 2006-2008.  Born and raised in Higuera de Zaragosa, Mexico, Reyes was signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 1993.  He was a starter in his minor league career and was somewhat up-and-down, but pitched well in a month and a half stint with the Dodgers in 1997.  At mid-season of 1998, the Dodgers traded Reyes to Cincinnati, where he stayed through 2001.  He was not terrible in those years, although not particularly good, either.  He split 2002 between Colorado and Texas, not doing much for either team.  Reyes signed with Pittsburgh for 2003, was let go in May, and finished the season with Arizona, spending most of his time there in the minors.  Reyes moved to Kansas City in 2004 and San Diego in 2005, doing nothing to attract anyone’s attention.  The Padres released Reyes in July of 2005, and he was out of baseball until February of 2006, when Minnesota signed him.  Reyes then went out and had one of the best seasons a LOOGY ever had.  He appeared in 66 games, but pitched only 50.2 innings.  In those innings, he went 5-0, 0.89 with a WHIP of 0.99.  His ERA+ was 507.  He did not repeat those numbers, but remained a valuable LOOGY for two more seasons.  As a Twin, Dennys Reyes appeared in 191 games and pitched 126.1 innings.  He was 10-1, 2.14 with a WHIP of 1.27.  He became a free agent after the 2008 season and signed with St. Louis.  He pitched well for the Cardinals in 2009-2010, then became a free agent again and signed with Boston.  He made four appearances for the Red Sox and was made the fall guy for their poor start, getting sent outright to AAA.  He then missed most of the season and was released in late September.  He signed with Baltimore for 2012 but was released in early March.  He did not play in 2012, but he pitched in Mexico from 2013-2015.  He played in winter ball after the 2016 season, but that was it for him.  The baseball stadium in Higuera de Zaragosa is named after him.  No information about what Dennys Reyes is doing now was readily available.

Left-hander Zachary Thomas Duke came to the Twins in 2018.  He was born in Clifton, Texas, went to high school in Waco and Hewitt, Texas, and was drafted by Pittsburgh in the twentieth round in 2001.  He was a starting pitcher throughout his minor league career and did very well, reaching AAA in 2005 and making his major league debut in July of that season.  He pitched extremely well the second half of that season, finishing fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.  He was pretty average after that, although he made the all-star team in 2009 thanks to a hot first half.  He was traded to Arizona after the 2010 season and but struggled with injuries.  He signed with Washington as a free agent in 2011 and had a very good year for AAA Syracuse, earning a September call-up.  He got off to a poor start in 2013, when he was transitioned to the bullpen, was released at mid-season, and signed with Cincinnati.  He has bounced around since, playing for Milwaukee in 2014, the White Sox from 2015 through July of 2016, and for St. Louis from August of 2016 through 2017.  He pitched fairly well in a setup role from the time he signed with Cincinnati through 2017.  He signed with Minnesota for 2018 and went 3-4, 3.62, although with a WHIP of 1.58.  The Twins traded him to Seattle at the end of July for Ryan Costello and Chase De Jong.  He finished the season with the Mariners, became a free agent, and signed back with Cincinnati for 2019.  He did not pitch well and was released in early July, bringing his playing career to an end.  At last report, Zach Duke was living in Gallatin, Tennessee and was the co-founder of Framework Athletics of Nashville, which also operates under the name of Twitty City Baseball.

There’s very little to be said about catcher/first baseman Joseph Patrick Mauer that anyone reading this does not already know.  He was born and raised in St. Paul and was taken by Minnesota with the first pick of the 2001 draft.  His lowest average in the minors was .302, with Class A Quad Cities in 2002.  He showed very little power in the minors, never hitting more than five home runs in a season, although he hit 30 doubles in a 2003 split between Fort Myers and New Britain.  He started 2004 with Minnesota but was injured most of the season, getting only 107 at-bats (in which he hit .308 with six home runs).  His first full season came in 2005, when he hit .294 as a 22-year-old.  In 2006, Mauer won his first batting title, the first American League catcher ever to win one.  He won two more, including his highest average in 2009, .365.  In 2009, when he won the MVP, Mauer also led the league in on-base percentage and slugging percentage.  In 2010, in what some considered an “off year”, he hit .326/.402/.469, won the silver slugger and the gold glove, and finished eighth in MVP voting.  He had an injury-plagued 2011 and took a lot of criticism, but still hit .287 in just under 300 at-bats.  He spent substantial time at first base and DH in 2012, but stayed healthy and came back with a fine season, batting .319 and leading the league in on-base percentage.  His 2013 season was similar, as he hit .324 and had a fine on-base percentage again.  He again was hampered by injuries in 2014, when he moved to first base full-time.  He played in 120 games but had the worst season of his career, although he still hit .277 with an OBP of .361.  In 2015 he went down a little farther, as concussion issues clearly continued to bother him.  He came back slightly in 2016, but not a lot.  In 2017, however, he came back to have another good year, batting over .300 and posting an OPS of over .800 for the first time since 2013, raising hopes that his concussion issues might finally be behind him.  He was down again in 2018, however, and decided to retire after the season.  He made the all-star team six times, finished in the top eight in MVP voting four times, won three gold gloves, and won five silver slugger awards.  His career numbers are .306/.388/.439.  He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024.  We can safely say he was very good at baseball.  One assumes he is now doing pretty much whatever he wants to, at least to the extent his wife will allow him to.

Left-handed reliever Tyler Ryan Jay did not pitch for the Twins, but was in their farm system from 2015-2019.  Born and raised in Lemont, Illinois, he attended the University of Illinois and was drafted by Minnesota in the first round (sixth pick) in 2015.  He was a reliever in college and in his first year in the Twins organization, but the Twins converted him to starting in 2016,  He had a fine year at high-A as a starter, but struggled when promoted to AA.  He was injured in 2017 and went back to the bullpen in 2018, again struggling in AA.  In 2019 he was again having a poor year in AA when the Twins sold him to Cincinnati in June.  He did better with the Reds, but nothing to shout about.  He suffered from a rare medical condition, eosinophilic esophagitis, which prevented him from swallowing properly.  He did not pitch in either 2020 or 2021, but pitched very well for Joliet in the Frontier League in 2022-2023 and signed with the Mets in the summer of 2023.  He was still with them at the start of the 2024 season and made three appearances in the majors, spending the rest of his time in AAA.  He was traded to Milwaukee in mid-July and made two more major league appearances.  He was waived after the season and claimed by Seattle, but was released in spring training and went back to Milwaukee for 2025.  He was pitching well in AAA, but was released in mid-July and does not appear to have signed with anyone. He turns thirty-two today.  His major league numbers are 0-0, 4.70, 1.96 WHIP, which isn't terribly encouraging, but it's also only 7.2 innings.  His AAA numbers are 7-3, 3.31, 1.20 WHIP.  It still seems like he might be able to help someone if he got a chance, but it doesn't look like anyone's going to give him one.

April 18

Frank Navin (1871)

Sam Crawford (1880)

Duffy Lewis (1888)

Jack Scott (1892)

Perry Hall (1898)

Steve Blass (1942)

Mike Paul (1945)

Doug Flynn (1951)

Bobby Castillo (1955)

Rich Bordi (1959)

Jim Eisenreich (1959)

Dennis Rasmussen (1959)

Rico Brogna (1970)

Steve Dunn (1970)

Brian Buscher (1981)

Miguel Cabrera (1983)

Billy Butler (1986)

Anthony DeSclafani (1990)

Jhonny Pereda (1996)

Prelander Berroa (2000)

Frank Navin was the owner of the Detroit Tigers from 1908-1935.

Rich Bordi was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 1977, but did not sign.

Right-hander Robert Castillo was with the Twins from 1982-1984.  Born and raised in Los Angeles, Castillo was drafted by Kansas City in the sixth round in 1974.  He was drafted as an outfielder, spent one undistinguished season in rookie ball, and then converted to pitching, apparently while playing in the Mexican League.  He was sold to the Dodgers in June of 1977 and in September he was suddenly in the major leagues.  His minor league numbers in 1978 and 1979 are awful, but he got chances with the Dodgers anyway and pitched much better in Los Angeles than he had in Albuquerque.  He was used mostly as a reliever for the Dodgers.  His best year in Los Angeles was 1980, when he was 8-6, 2.75 with five saves and a WHIP of 1.17.  He made 61 appearances for the Dodgers that year, pitching 98.1 innings.  He had a bad year in 1981, however, and after the season was traded to Minnesota with Bobby Mitchell for Paul Voight and Scotti Madison.  The Twins converted Castillo to starting and he did pretty well in 1982, going 13-11, 3.66 with a WHIP of 1.28.  He could not repeat his success in 1983, missing part of the year and much of 1984 with injury.  A free agent after the 1984 season, he signed with the Dodgers but had a poor 1985 and was released at the end of spring training in 1986.  He signed with Oakland in June and finished the season in the Athletics organization.  He was in spring training with Seattle in 1987, but was released in late March and his playing career was over.  As a Twin, Bobby Castillo was 23-24, 3.98 in 402.1 innings.  He appeared in 77 games, 52 of them starts.  He is best remembered today as the man who taught Fernando Valenzuela to throw a screwball.  He founded Babo Baseball, which is designed to help inner city youth programs educate and develop young baseball players into solid all-around athletes.  Bobby Castillo passed away from cancer on June 30, 2014 at age fifty-nine.

Outfielder James Michael Eisenreich was with the Twins briefly for three seasons from 1982-1984.  He was born and raised in St. Cloud, Minnesota and attended St. Cloud State.  Minnesota drafted him in the 16th round in 1980.  He hit very well in two seasons in the minors.  In 1981, Eisenreich hit .311 with 23 home runs for Wisconsin Rapids, and at the start of 1982 he was jumped straight from Class A to the majors and named the Twins’ starting center fielder.  Unfortunately, he then began to show the effects of Tourette’s Syndrome, about which little was understood at the time.  It took a long time for him to be diagnosed properly, and another long time for proper medication to be prescribed.  Eisenreich was named the Twins’ starting center fielder every year from 1982-1984, but it never lasted long, and after the 1984 season he was out of baseball.  He was out until 1987, when the Royals gave him a chance for a comeback.  He hit .382 at AA and was back in the majors by late June.  He spent all but a month in the majors in 1988, and in 1989 he finally left the minors behind for good.  Eisenreich was a regular or semi-regular for the Royals for four seasons, playing corner outfield, and hit .286 in those years.  A free agent after the 1992 season, he signed with Philadelphia, for whom he played four more seasons.  He got about 300-350 at-bats per season and hit .300 or higher every year.  A free agent again after 1996, he signed with Florida.  He was a part-time player for the Marlins but had another good year, hitting .280 and helping the Marlins win their first world championship.  He stayed with Florida at the beginning of 1998, but was traded to the Dodgers in mid-June.  Used primarily as a reserve, he did not play well in Los Angeles and retired after the season at age 39.  As a Twin, he hit .283/.348/.384 in 138 at-bats.  After his retirement, he moved back to Kansas City, where he runs the Jim Eisenreich Foundation, which helps children with Tourette’s Syndrome achieve personal success.

First baseman Steven Robert Dunn played briefly for the Twins in 1994-1995.  He was born in Champaign, Illinois, but went to high school in Fairfax, Virginia.  Minnesota drafted him in the fourth round in 1988.  He took a long time to develop, but after hitting .305 with 26 home runs in Class A Visalia in 1992, Dunn was finally promoted to AA.  He hit .309 with 14 homers in AAA Salt Lake in 1994 and was promoted to the majors for about a month.  He had another good year in Salt Lake in 1995, this time getting a September call-up.  In his two brief appearances with the Twins, Dunn went 8-for-41, with five of his hits going for doubles.  The Twins released Dunn after the 1995 season and he signed with Cleveland.  He had a decent year for AAA Buffalo, hitting .290 with 12 home runs, but it was not enough to get him back to the majors, and his playing career came to an end after that season.  After that, he moved to Tennessee, and at last report was a social studies teacher and baseball coach at Alcoa High School in eastern Tennessee.

Third baseman Brian Phillip Buscher played for the Twins for parts of three seasons toward the end of the decade of the 2000s.  Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, Buscher attended the University of South Carolina and was drafted by San Francisco in the third round in 2003.  He spent four uneventful years in the Giants’ system, getting as high as AA.  He was never awful, but never particularly impressive, either.  Still, the Twins obviously thought they saw something in him, because they selected Buscher in the Rule 5 draft after the 2006 season.  Something was obviously worked out, because Buscher started 2007 in the minors.  He hit .308 in New Britain and .311 in Rochester and by late July found himself in the majors.  He started 2008 back in AAA, but after hitting .319 with 12 homers in 185 at-bats he was back in the big leagues.  He had his best season in the majors to date, hitting .294 as a part-time third baseman.  Buscher was with the Twins for all but a month in 2009.  After the season, however, the Twins let Buscher go.  As a Twin, Brian Buscher hit .266/.343/.356 in 436 at-bats.  He signed with Cleveland, playing in AAA Columbus in 2010 until late June, when he was released.  That brought his playing career to an end.  He returned to the University of South Carolina to get a degree in psychology while also serving as an assistant baseball coach.  He was the head baseball coach of Heathwood Hall Episcopal School in South Carolina, managed the Columbia Blowfish in the of the Coastal Plains League, then returned to the University of South Carolina as an assistant coach in 2013.  He left that program in 2017 for reasons that were never specified.  He then was an instructor for Canes Baseball, a non-profit organization designed to develop high school players to play baseball at the collegiate level.  At last report, Brian Buscher was a sales associate for Sporting Adventures and was living in Columbia, South Carolina.

Right-handed starter Anthony James DeSclafani did not pitch for the Twins, but was on their injured list in 2024.  He was born in Freehold, New Jersey, went to high school in Colts Neck, New Jersey, attended the University of Florida, and was drafted by Toronto in the sixth round in 2011.  He had a good year in Class A in 2012, then was traded to Miami as part of a twelve-player trade.  He advanced rapidly through their system and made his major league debut with the Marlins in 2014.  That did not go so well, and he was traded to Cincinnati after the season.  He was in the Reds' rotation through 2020 (other than missing 2017 due to injury) and was up and down, mixing very good years with pretty bad ones.  He became a free agent after the 2020 season and signed with San Francisco.  He was pretty good in 2021, missed most of 2022 due to injury, and was not particularly good in 2023.  He was traded to Seattle in January of 2024 and traded to the Twins less than a month later with Darren Bowen, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Justin Topa for Jorge Polanco.  He was injured in spring training, was on the injured list all season, and became a free agent after the season.  He did not sign for 2025 until mid-May, when the Yankees sent him to AAA.  He was released a month later, signed with Arizona a few days after that, and did not pitch well for the Diamondbacks.  He turns thirty-six today and is again a free agent.  We wish him well, but it appears that his playing career is almost over, if it's not over now.  At last report, Anthony DeSclafani was living in Freehold, New Jersey.

Catcher Jhonny Fernando Pereda played in eleven games for the Twins in 2025.  He was born in San Juan, Venezuela, and signed with the Cubs as a free agent in 2013.  He spent four seasons in rookie ball, finally hitting in 2016, when he was still only twenty.  He had a decent year in 2018 in high-A, good enough that the Cubs sent him to the Arizona Fall League that year.  He was traded to Boston in February of 2020, shortly before COVID hit.  He didn't do a lot in AA or AAA in 2021 and became a free agent.  He started moving around a lot after that, playing in AAA for San Francisco in 2022, for Cincinnati in 2023, and for Miami in 2024.  He actually had a good year in AAA in 2024 and got about a month and a half in the majors for the Marlins.  He was sold to the Athletics and was in the majors for the first two months of 2025, but when he predictably didn't hit he went back to AAA and then was waived.  The Twins claimed him in late July, sent him to AAA, and then brought him to the majors for September.  Surprisingly, in a small sample size, he batted very well, putting up a line of .345/.387/.483 in twenty-nine at-bats.  The Twins weren't impressed and sold him to Seattle in January of 2026.  He is in AAA for them so far.  He turns thirty today.  We assume he's a good defensive catcher, and guys like that can play in AAA for a long time, and even get to the majors if there's an injury and they catch the right person's eye.  Jhonny Pereda may very well be around for several more years yet.

Right-hander Prelander Berroa did not pitch for the Twins, but was in their farm system from 2017-2019.  He was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and signed with the Twins as a free agent in 2016 at age sixteen.  He pitched very well in the Gulf Coast League in 2018, but was off to a slow start in the Appalachian League in 2019 when he was traded to San Francisco with Kai-Wei Teng and Jaylin Davis for Sam Dyson, a trade that benefited neither team.  He pitched pretty well in Class A in 2021 and was off to a hot start in high-A in 2022 when he was traded to Seattle.  A starter to this point, he was moved to the bullpen in 2023 and had a good year in AA.  He made two appearances in the majors that year, one in July and one in October, and did not give up a run or a hit in 1.2 innings, walking three and striking out three.  He was traded to the White Sox in February of 2024 and had a poor year in AAA.  It was the 2024 White Sox, though, so they brought him up in August anyway and he posted an ERA of 3.32, although with a WHIP of 1.47.  He had Tommy John surgery in March of 2025 and has not pitched since.  He turns twenty-six today.  Whether he'll come back, and how good he'll be if he does, is anyone's guess.  We wish him well.

April 17

Alexander Cartwright (1820)
Cap Anson (1852)
Tom Needham (1879)
Jake Daubert (1884)
Buzz Arlett (1912)
Solly Hemus (1923)
Tsutomu Wakamatsu (1947)
Denny Walling (1954)
Craig Worthington (1965)
Marquis Grissom (1967)
Gary Bennett (1972)
Ryan Raburn (1981)
Jed Lowrie (1984)
Deolis Guerra (1989)

Alexander Cartwright was instrumental in developing the rules for the game of baseball.

Buzz Arlett was a star in the low minors from 1934-1941, and probably would have been for several more years had World War II not intervened.  He had a career average of .319 with a slugging average of .480, but never played above Class C.

Tsutomu Wakamatsu was a star in Japan from 1971-1989, making the all-star team eleven times.  His career average of .319 is second to Leron Lee on the all-time list of players with at least four thousand at-bats.

Right-hander Deolis Alexander Guerra did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for several years.  He was born in San Felix, Bolivar, Venezuela and signed with the Mets as a free agent in 2005 at the age of sixteen.  He had a good year in low A in 2006 but a poor year in high A in 2007.  Following that season, he was traded to the Twins along with Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, and Kevin Mulvey for Johan Santana.  He spent several years in the Twins system not doing much.  He never posted an ERA under four in any season and was generally over five.  The Twins promoted him to AA in 2009 and that's pretty much where he stayed through 2012.  He was a starter through 2010, then moved to the bullpen.  He missed most of 2013 due to an injury, finally got a full season in AAA in 2014, and then became a free agent, signing with Pittsburgh.  Amazingly, he had a tremendous year in the bullpen for AAA Indianapolis, going 2-1, 4 saves, 1.23 ERA, 0.79 WHIP in 36,2 innings (25 appearances).  The Pirates decided he'd finally found something and promoted him to the majors in late June.  He started out well, throwing seven shutout innings over four appearances, but got progressively worse and was sent down after a July 30 debacle in which he gave up six runs in an inning and a third.  That outing made his numbers look a lot worse than they would otherwise.  He was chosen by the Angels in the rule 5 draft and had a fine 2016 season for them, going 3-0, 3.21, 1.11 WHIP.  He spent about half of the 2017 season in the majors, and while he didn't repeat his 2016 line he still did decently enough in the majors and was excellent in AAA  A free agent after the season, he signed with Texas.  He had a good year with AAA Round Rock but did not get a call to the majors.  Again a free agent after the season, he signed with Milwaukee for 2019 and had another fine year in AAA but got only one major league appearance.  The Brewers waived him after the season and he was claimed by Philadelphia for 2020.  He made nine appears for them but did not pitch well and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with Oakland for 2021, was released in late March, but was re-signed the next day.  He stayed with the Athletics for the entire season and went 4-1, 4.11, 1.11 WHIP with 62 strikeouts in 65.2 innings.  Unfortunately, he was injured in spring training of 2022, had Tommy John surgery, and missed the entire season. Oakland re-signed him for 2023 and he made six minor league appearances, but he accomplished very little and was released in August.  He has pitched in the Mexican League since 2024 and done pretty well.  He turns thirty-seven today.  He can probably keep pitching in the Mexican League for another couple of years if that's what he chooses to do.

April 16

Dutch Leonard (1892)
Paul Waner (1903)
Babe Phelps (1908)
Pete Hughes (1915)
Pete Suder (1916)
Joe Bauman (1922)
Rich Rollins (1938)
Bernie Allen (1939)
Garry Roggenburk (1940)
Jim Lonborg (1942)
Bob Montgomery (1944)
Bruce Bochy (1955)
Curt Young (1960)
Fernando Vina (1969)
Antonio Alfonseca (1972)
Kelly Dransfeldt (1975)
Nolan Arenado (1991)

Pete Hughes was a star in the low minors from 1937-1952. His incomplete career numbers are a .350 average and a .637 slugging percentage, but for some reason he never played above Class B.

Joe Bauman hit 72 home runs for Roswell in the Longhorn League in 1954.

Kelly Dransfeldt was drafted by Minnesota in the seventh round in 1993, but did not sign.

Rich Rollins, Bernie Allen, and Garry Roggenburk all played for the Twins at the same time. I wonder how unusual it is for a team to have three players who share the same birthday. They also all were born or raised in the state of Ohio. Rollins and Allen were also business partners for a while.

Third baseman Richard John Rollins played for the Minnesota Twins from 1961-1968. He was born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, went to high school in Parma, Ohio, attended Kent State, and signed with Washington as a free agent in 1960. He spent less than two years in the minors, coming up to what was now the Minnesota Twins for a couple of months in 1961 and making the team to stay out of spring training in 1962. He made the all-star team in his first full major league season, hitting .298 with 16 home runs. Rollins finished eighth in MVP voting that year. 1963 was just as good, as Rollins hit .307, again hitting 16 homers and again receiving some MVP consideration. He fell off some after that, and after hitting .249 in 1965 Rollins fell to part-time status, sharing time at third with Harmon Killebrew from 1966-1968. He was left unprotected in the expansion draft after the 1968 season and was chosen by the Seattle Pilots. He was plagued by injuries, had a poor year as a part-time player in 1969 and was released by the now Milwaukee Brewers in May of 1970. He signed with Cleveland, finished the year there, and his playing career came to an end. As a Twin, he hit .272/.333/.394 in 3,048 at-bats stretching over eight seasons. After leaving baseball, he worked for the Cleveland Cavaliers for a while. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. He lived in Akron, Ohio in retirement.  Rich Rollins passed away on May 13, 2025.

Second baseman Bernard Keith Allen played for the Twins from 1962-1966. Born and raised in East Liverpool, Ohio, he attended Purdue, where he was also the quarterback on the football team, and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1961. He had a rather undistinguished 1961 season at Class A Charlotte, but in 1962 he was the Twins’ regular second baseman. He did surprisingly well, hitting .269 with 12 homers and finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting. That would turn out to be his best year in the majors. He fell to .240 in 1963, and a knee injury in 1964 which would bother him the rest of his career turned him into a part-time player, with Jerry Kindall seeing significant time at second base. In 1965 he fell even further, spending much of the year at AAA Denver. He was back with the Twins in 1966, this time sharing second base with Cesar Tovar, but his batting never really came back, and after the season he was traded to Washington with Camilo Pascual for Ron Kline. Allen had an awful year in 1967, but came back to relative mediocrity for the next three seasons, in which he was the mostly regular for the Senators at second base. He fell to part-time status in 1971, but rebounded to a .266 batting average, his best since his rookie year. After the season, Allen was traded to the Yankees. He was a reserve infielder there until mid-August of 1973, when he was sold to Montreal. He was released after the 1973 season, ending his playing career. As a Twin, he hit.246/.316/.366 in 1,595 at-bats stretching over five seasons. He was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021. At last report, Bernie Allen was living in Carmel, Indiana.

Left-handed reliever Garry Earl Roggenburk was with the Twins in 1963, 1965-1966. Born and raised in Cleveland, he attended the University of Dayton. He played basketball as well as baseball, leading his team to the NIT championship in 1962 (he still holds the school record with 32 rebounds in one game). He was drafted by the San Francisco Warriors, but signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1962. He had a tremendous season as a starter in 1962 at Class A Erie, and was in the majors at the start of 1963. He was not worked very hard, but pitched well when given a chance, going 2-4, 2.16 in 50 innings. He did not play in 1964 for reasons that are not clear. Roggenburk started 1965 in AAA Denver, pitched well there, and was back in the big leagues by mid-July. He was again used sparingly but pitched well, going 1-0, 3.43 in 21 innings. He again started 1966 in Denver and was seldom used when he returned to the majors. Finally, since they weren’t using him, the Twins sold Roggenburk to Boston in September of 1966. As a Twin, Garry Roggenburk was 4-6, 3.02. He pitched in 60 games, two of them starts, and pitched 83.1 innings. He had a fine year in AAA Toronto in 1967, mostly used as a starting pitcher. He started 1968 in Boston and pitched well in four outings, but was apparently injured, as he made only four more appearances in AAA the rest of the season. He began 1969 with Boston, but was sold to the Seattle Pilots in late June. Roggenburk made a handful of appearances for them, then retired at the end of July. He did some coaching after that, working in the Red Sox’ organization. He was the general manager of the Winter Haven Red Sox from 1978-1983. He then became a real estate appraiser in Cleveland, an occupation he stuck with until he retired. He is a member of the University of Dayton Hall of Fame and a member of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. At last report, Garry Roggenburk was living in Avon, Ohio.  His grandson, Luke Roggenburk, pitched for St. Bonaventure.

April 15

Jim Creighton (1841)
Ed Abbaticchio (1877)
Chaney White (1894)
Ed Bailey (1931)
Willie Davis (1940)
Ted Sizemore (1945)
Jeromy Burnitz (1969)
Milton Bradley (1978)
John Danks (1985)
Chris Tillman (1988)

Jim Creighton was a star pitcher from 1857-1862, before the National League was created.  He passed away from a ruptured hernia in 1862 at the age of twenty-one.

Until Henry Aaron came along, Ed Abbaticchio held the “first in the alphabet” record.  Now, of course, David Aardsma has them both beat.  Abbaticchio is now eighth in alphabetical order, behind, among others, ex-Twin Fernando Abad.

There do not appear to be any major league players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

April 14

Cannonball Redding (1890)
Marvin Miller (1917)
Gordon Gillespie (1926)
Don Mueller (1927)
Marty Keough (1934)
Pete Rose (1941)
Joe Lahoud (1947)
Ron Schueler (1948)
David Justice (1966)
Greg Maddux (1966)
Greg Myers (1966)
Mike Trombley (1967)
Brad Ausmus (1969)
Steve Avery (1970)
Gregg Zaun (1971)
Kyle Farnsworth (1976)
Cory Gearrin (1986)
Jacob Barnes (1990)

Cannonball Redding was a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues.

Marvin Miller was the head of the Major League Baseball Players association from 1966-1983.

Gordon Gillespie holds the record for most wins by a college baseball coach.

It must be kind of a bummer for a big league ballplayer to not only not be the best player born on the day and year he was born, but to not even be the best player with his first name born on the day and year he was born.

Right-hander Ronald Richard Schueler pitched for the Twins in 1977. Born and raised in Catherine, Kansas, Schueler was drafted by Atlanta in the third round of the secondary phase of the January draft in 1967. He struggled in his early years in the minors, but put things together in 1969, when he was used primarily in relief for AA Shreveport. He then had an excellent year as a starter in 1971, a year he split between AA Savannah and AAA Richmond. He made the Braves out of spring training in 1972 and never returned to the minors. He was with Atlanta for two seasons, making about an equal number of appearances as a starter and as a reliever. He was a valuable pitcher for the Braves in both years, but they didn’t seem to know what to do with him, and traded him to Philadelphia after the 1973 season. The Phillies placed him in the starting rotation for the first half of 1974 and he did reasonably well, but he was shifted to the bullpen in mid-July and mostly stayed there the rest of his career. Schueler was up and down in his career as a Phillie, but was fairly decent for the most part. Just before the 1977 season, he was sold to Minnesota. In his one season with the Twins, Ron Schueler went 8-7, 4.41. He pitched in 52 games, seven of them starts, and worked 134.2 innings. Schueler became a free agent after the season and signed with the White Sox, where he stayed for two years. His 1978 was pretty similar to his 1977, but he was injured much of 1979 and pitched poorly when he did pitch. His playing career came to an end after that season. After his playing career ended, Schueler became a major league pitching coach, working for the White Sox, Athletics, and Padres through 1986. He then worked in the Athletics front office through 1990, when he became the general manager of the White Sox. He held the job through 2000, then went into semi-retirement. He was a special consultant to the White Sox through 2002, was a special assistant for the Cubs in 2003, a special assistant for the Cardinals from 2005-2007, a special assistant for the Giants from 2008-2009, a special adviser to the general manager for the Washington Nationals from 2010-2013, and a scout for the Orioles from 2014-2018.  His daughter, Carey, was the first woman to be drafted by a major league baseball team when the White Sox drafted her in the forty-third round in 1993 (she did not sign).  At last report, Ron Schueler was living in the Phoenix area.

Catcher Gregory Richard Myers was with the Twins for almost two seasons, 1996-1997. Born and raised in Riverside, California, he was drafted by Toronto in the third round in 1984. He generally put up high batting averages in the minors, though he stumbled a couple of times when first promoted. Oddly, his first major league action came as a September call-up following one of those stumbles: he hit only .246 in his first year at AAA, but was promoted in September of that year. He got another brief trial in 1989 and had his first full year in the majors in 1990. He was a part-time catcher for the Blue Jays through 1992, when he was traded to California. He held the same status for the Angels through 1995. He was a mediocre hitter to this point; not great, not totally awful. His averages had ranged from .236 to .262, his home run total from five to nine. Myers was a free agent after the 1995 season and signed with Minnesota. Tom Kelly managed to get one of the best years of Myers’ career out of him, as Myers hit .286 in 1996, sharing catching duties with Matt Walbeck. He was backing up Terry Steinbach in 1997 when he was traded to Atlanta in early September for a player to be named later (Steve Hacker). As a Twin, he hit .279/.323/.429 in 494 at-bats. A free agent after the season, he signed with the Padres. Myers stayed with San Diego through July of 1999, when he was again traded to Atlanta. He again became a free agent after the season. Myers was with Baltimore through June of 2001, was with Oakland through 2002, and then made a full circle by signing back with Toronto for 2003. That year, at age 37, he had the best season of his career, hitting .307 with 15 home runs. He was injured most of 2004, and played briefly in 2005, retiring in late April of that year. Greg Myers played in parts of 18 seasons, despite never getting as many as 330 at-bats in any of them. He was an assistant baseball coach at his high school Riverside Poly, in his hometown of Riverside, California for a couple of years. He was inducted into that school’s Hall of Fame in 2009.  At last report, Greg Myers was offering private baseball instruction at Riverside Batting Cages & Pro Shop.

Right-hander Michael Scott Trombley pitched for the Twins from 1992-1999 and again briefly in 2002. He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, grew up in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, attended Duke, and was drafted by Minnesota in the fourteenth round in 1989. Used mostly as a starter in the minors, Trombley pitched quite well, posting a WHIP below 1.3 every year through 1992. He made his debut in the majors in 1992, coming up in mid-August and pitching very well, going 3-2, 3.30. His first full year in the majors was 1993, but he struggled, posting an ERA of 4.88 and a WHIP of 1.50. He split the next three years, 1994-1996, between AAA and the majors. He continued to struggle in Minnesota until 1996, when he was moved to the bullpen for good. He also developed a split-finger fastball that year. He came up to the Twins in early June of that year and went 5-1, 3.01 in 68.2 innings. Trombley then was in the majors to stay, and remained with the Twins through 1999. He was a valuable member of their bullpen in those years, making numerous appearances and posting ERAs in the vicinity of four. After the 1999 season, Trombley became a free agent and signed with Baltimore. He was with the Orioles until late July of 2001, and pitched for them about like he had been pitching for the Twins. On July 31, 2001, the Orioles traded Trombley to the Dodgers. He struggled in 19 appearances and was released at the end of spring training in 2002. The Twins re-signed him in mid-April, but things did not work out. In five appearances for the Twins, Trombley gave up seven runs on ten hits in four innings. He was released in early June, ending his playing career. As a Twin, Mike Trombley was 30-34, 4.53. He pitched in 365 games, 36 of them starts, and pitched 645.2 innings. He lived in Florida until 2008, spent a year in North Carolina, and moved back to his home town of Wilbraham, Massachusetts in the summer of 2009. He currently a financial advisor and managing partner of Trombley Wealth Management, which was founded by his father.

Right-hander Cory Nathanial Gearrin pitched in one game for the Twins in 2020. He was born in Chattanooga, went to high school in Evensville, Tennessee, attended Mercer University, and was drafted by Atlanta in the fourth round in 2007. A reliever all the way, he struggled initially but got it going in 2009, reached AAA in 2010, and made his major league debut with the Braves in late April of 2011. He was shuttled between AAA and the majors for a while but got a full year with Atlanta in 2013 and did okay. In the spring of 2014, however, he needed Tommy John surgery and missed the entire season. The Braves released him and he signed with San Francisco for 2015. He again went back-and-forth between AAA and the majors until 2017, when he spent the entire season with the Giants and had an excellent season. He bounced around after that, though. He started 2018 with San Francisco, was traded to Texas in July, and was traded to Oakland in August. He was a free agent after the season, signed with Seattle for 2019, was put on waivers in August, and was claimed by the Yankees. He was up and down in those years, never great, never awful. He signed with the Twins for 2020. He appeared in one game, on August 9. He pitched two scoreless innings, giving up no hits, two walks, and striking out one. He then was sent back to the Twins' alternate site so they could bring in a fresh arm, and there he stayed the rest of the season. He became a free agent and went unsigned, bringing his playing career to an end.  He was never a star, but in parts of nine seasons he went 13-12, five saves, 3.61, 1.31 WHIP in 337 games (304 innings).  At last report, Cody Gearrin was a deputy mayor for strategic development and executive leadership for Hamilton County, Tennessee.

April 13

Herman Long (1866)
Kid Elberfeld (1875)
Jake Stahl (1879)
Claude Hendrix (1889)
Dewey Creasy (1900)
Ben Cantwell (1902)
Pete Quesada (1904)
Roxie Lawson (1906)
Bill Deegan (1935)
John Stephenson (1941)
Jeff Bittiger (1962)
Mark Leiter (1963)
Doug Strange (1964)
Ricardo Rincon (1970)
Kevin Ohme (1971)
Steve Pearce (1983)
Hunter Pence (1983)
Lorenzo Cain (1986)

Air Force General Pete Quesada was one of the original owners of the expansion Washington Senators.  He also was the first head of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Bill Deegan was an American League umpire from 1971-1980.

Right-hander Jeffrey Scott Bittiger pitched in three games for the Twins in 1987. He was born in Jersey City and went to high school in Seacaucus, New Jersey. Bittiger was drafted by the Mets in the seventh round in 1980. His minor league numbers were fairly solid–his best year was 1982 with AA Jackson, when he went 12-5, 2.96 with a WHIP of 1.22 and 190 strikeouts in 164 innings. He was promoted to AAA in 1983 and spent three seasons at AAA Tidewater, where his numbers may not have been eye-popping but were not too bad, either. The Mets traded Bittiger to Philadelphia prior to the 1986 season. He won 13 games at AAA and pitched well enough to get a September call-up, but the Phillies gave up on him and released him after the season. He signed with Atlanta, was released at the end of spring training, and signed with Minnesota in mid-April of 1987. He spent most of the season at AAA, but was called up in September and started a game during the Twins’ stretch run, defeating the White Sox and giving up only a run on six hits in seven innings. He then made two poor relief appearances, however, and was released after the season. As a Twin, Jeff Bittiger was 1-0, 5.40, giving up five runs on eleven hits in 8.1 innings. His one good start must have impressed Chicago, however, as the White Sox signed him for 1988. Bittiger got the most big-league playing time of his career that season; after seven excellent starts at AAA, he came up to Chicago in mid-May and stayed the rest of the season. He was mostly used in relief, although he made occasional starts. He was unexceptional, but decent enough for the White Sox to keep him in AAA for 1989. He was in AAA almost all season, making only two appearances in the majors but having another fine season at AAA. The White Sox traded him to the Dodgers after the season. He moved on to the Indians organization for 1991, the Athletics’ system for 1992, and the Royals’ chain for 1993, not doing too badly but never getting another chance in the majors. He played in the Northern League in 1994, went back to the Oakland organization for 1995, and then played for the Fargo-Moorhead Red Hawks in the Northern League from 1996-2002. Jeff Bittiger was a scout for the Athletics, a player personnel consultant for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, and was on the staff of the Lehigh Valley Baseball Academy. His son Eric played college baseball for four years.  Jeff Bittiger passed away from cancer on July 19, 2025.

Left-hander Kevin Arthur Ohme was drafted by the Twins, but did not play for them. Born in Palm Beach, Florida, he was drafted by Minnesota in the ninth round in 1993. He was in the Twins’ farm system for seven seasons, used mostly in relief, although he made 11 starts for AA Hardware City in 1995. He pretty much topped out at AA, posting an ERA of 3.85 in two seasons there. He had three seasons for AAA Salt Lake, with an ERA over five in the first two. Even the third season, 1999, when his ERA was 3.83, was deceiving, as he had a WHIP of 1.52 that year. The Twins let him go after 1999 and he went to Japan for two years, playing for the Nippon Ham Fighters. He came back to the United States in 2002 and signed with St. Louis. Ohme had two undistinguished years at AAA Memphis, but in 2003 he appeared in two major league games for the Cardinals, giving up no runs on three hits in 4.1 innings. The Cardinals did not re-sign him after that season, but he went to spring training with the Angels for 2004. That spring, he injured his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery. It did not work out, and Kevin Ohme’s playing career ended. He is one of the few players to retire with a major league ERA of 0.00. He also got a hit in his only major league at-bat, giving him a lifetime average of 1.000. Kevin Ohme is currently the Minister of Recreation for the First Baptist Church of Brandon, Florida. He also coaches youth baseball.

Outfielder/first baseman Steven Wayne Pearce did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 2012.  Born and raised in Lakeland, Florida, he attended Indian River Community College in Fort Pierce, Florida, then went to the University of South Carolina.  He was drafted by Pittsburgh in the eighth round in 2005.  He hit well in the low minors.  He started 2007 in Class A, then went to AA, then to AAA, and finished the year in the majors as a September call-up, hitting .294.  He shuttled back and forth between AAA and the majors for the rest of his time with the Pirates, playing in 185 major league games over five seasons.  He was mostly a first baseman in the minors, but played mostly outfield for Pittsburgh.  He hit fairly well in AAA, but was never put into a major league lineup regularly to show what he could do.  A free agent after the 2011 season, he signed with Minnesota for 2012, but was released in late March.  That started an eventful year for him:  he signed with the Yankees, was sold to Baltimore in early June, was selected off waivers by Houston in late July, was sold to the Yankees in late August, and was selected off waivers by Baltimore again in late September.  He remained with Baltimore in 2013 and got almost a full season in the majors, although that full season consisted of 119 at-bats.  He actually did fairly well, hitting .261 with an OPS of .782.  At that time, we wrote, "One wishes he had gotten a chance to show what he could do in the majors as a regular, but he's thirty-one now, so the chances are that won't happen."  Well, he wasn't quite a regular in 2014, but he played in 102 games, and he showed us what he could do, hitting .293 with 21 homers and an OPS of .930.  He was essentially a utility player in 2015, starting games in left field, right field, first base, second base, and DH.  He could not repeat his 2015 success, batting only .218 with 15 homers and an OPS of .711.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Tampa Bay and was having a fine season as a part-time player for them when he was traded to Baltimore on August 1.   He did little for the Orioles in limited playing time and was again a free agent.  He signed with the Blue Jays for 2017 and had a decent season as a part-time outfielder.  He remained with Toronto at the start of 2018 and was again having a fine year when he was traded to Boston in late June.  He continued to bat well there in 2018, but had a poor year in 2019, after which he retired.  Through persistence and hard work, Steve Pearce had a fine major league career.  At last report, he was living in Tampa, coaching softball, playing golf, and fishing, which sounds like a pretty good life.