June 9

Dude Esterbrook (1857)

Irish Meusel (1893)

Mike Ryba (1903)

Frank McCormick (1911)

Jimmy Newberry (1922)

Roy Smalley (1926)

Bill Virdon (1931)

Howie Gershberg (1936)

Jake Jacobs (1937)

Julio Gotay (1939)

Bruce Look (1943)

Tom Egan (1946)

Dave Parker (1951)

Tom Edens (1961)

Randy Winn (1974)

Joe Kelly (1988)

John Andreoli (1990)

Tony Wolters (1992)

Bubba Thompson (1998)

Jimmy Newberry was the first black player in Japanese baseball.

Howie Gershberg was a long-time college and minor league pitching coach.

Outfielder Lamar Gary “Jake” Jacobs appeared in four games for the Twins in 1961.  He was born in Youngstown, Ohio, went to college at Ohio University (playing on the same team as another future Twin, Joe Nossek), and signed with Washington as a free agent in 1959.  He did not hit for power in the minors, but hit for around .300 for three seasons, the first at Class D Sanford, the second at Class A Charlotte, and the third at AAA Syracuse.  He got a September call-up that second year, 1960, and appeared in six games for Washington, four as a pinch-runner and two as a pinch-hitter.  He went 0-for-2.  He got another September call-up the third year, 1961, and appeared in four games for what was now the Twins, starting two games in centerfield, pinch-hitting once, and being used as a defensive replacement once.  He went 2-for-8.  That was the extent of Jacobs’ major league career.  He played in the Twins’ organization for two more seasons, one in AAA Vancouver and one in AA Charlotte, hitting in the .250s both seasons.  Then, his playing career was over.  He went into the insurance business after that, selling insurance back in his home town of Youngstown for twenty-five years.  He also became involved in the YMCA and was a deacon in his local church.  Jake Jacobs passed away in Palmetto, Florida on July 26, 2010.

Bruce Michael Look was the Twins’ backup catcher in 1968.  Born and raised in Lansing, Michigan, he attended Michigan State and was signed by Milwaukee as a free agent in 1964.  After one year in the Braves’ system, he was selected by the Dodgers in the first-year player draft.  He was in the Dodgers’ system for three season, going as high as AAA in 1967.  He did not have much power, but hit for decent averages, especially considering the era.  His best was 1967, when he hit .270 for AAA Spokane.  The Twins then chose him in the Rule 5 draft and kept him in the majors for 1968, his only big league season.  Look hit .246/.353/.380 in 118 at-bats for the Twins, playing in 59 games.  In 19 of those games he was used as a pinch-hitter, going 2-for-16 with two walks and a sacrifice fly.  Take away his pinch-hitting duties and he hit .265, which was pretty good for 1968.  After that season, Look went back to AAA for two seasons.  The Twins did not exactly have depth at catcher at that time, but two years of poor batting at AAA kept Bruce from getting another look.  Prior to the 1971 campaign, he was sent to the Yankees in “an unknown transaction.”  The Yankees traded Look to Milwaukee (now the Brewers) in mid-season, and he went to the Orioles after the year ended, but never got back to the majors.  He did not play for the Orioles either; his playing career ended after the 1971 season.  His brother, Dean, played three games for the White Sox in 1961.  Bruce Look is currently the national sales manager for Spinus, L. L. C., a seller of medical devices based in Saginaw, Michigan.

Right-hander Thomas Patrick Edens pitched briefly for the Twins in 1991 and then pitched for them for all of 1992.  He was born in Ontario, Oregon, went to high school in Fruitland, Idaho, and attended Lewis-Clark State College.  He was drafted by Kansas City in the fourteenth round in 1983.  He was unimpressive in his first season, but the Mets apparently thought they saw something in him, as they traded for him in April of 1984.  A starter in the minors, he pitched well in the Mets’ chain, reaching AAA in 1986 and getting a brief shot at the majors in 1987, making two starts in June.  The Mets sent him back to the minors for the next two years, then traded him to Philadelphia in mid-July.  The Phillies converted Edens to relief, and after the season he signed with Milwaukee for 1990.  He did not pitch all that well in Denver, mainly due to wildness, but the Brewers brought him up in late May and he stayed the rest of the season.  He became a free agent after that year and signed with Minnesota.  The Twins converted him back to a starter for AAA Portland and he had a fine season, getting called up to the majors in late August and making six starts for the Twins down the stretch of the pennant race.  He went back to relief in 1992, staying with the Twins all season.  He was a solid member of the bullpen that year, going 6-3 with three saves, an ERA of 2.83, and a WHIP of 1.32 in 76.1 innings over 52 appearances.  The Twins left him unprotected in the expansion draft after the season.  He was selected by Florida and immediately traded to Houston in a deal involving Hector Carrasco.  He had another good year for the Astros in 1993, but was not doing as well in 1994 and was traded to Philadelphia in late July.  He did a good job for the Phillies down the stretch, but was released after the season and signed with the Cubs.  He was in AAA most of the season and pitched well, but got only five appearances in the majors.  Those were his last five big league appearances.  He pitched poorly in AAA for Baltimore in 1996 and then his playing career was over.  One source says he was a minor league pitching coach for several years.  At last report, Tom Edens was living in Clarkston, Washington.

Outfielder John Francis Andreoli did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA for them for part of 2019 and 2022.  He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, went to high school in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, attended the University of Connecticut, and was drafted by the Cubs in the seventeenth round in 2011.  He reached AAA in 2015 and spent three years in Iowa, putting up numbers that were solid enough but not really eye-catching.  He became a free agent after the 2017 season and signed with Seattle.  He was mostly in AAA for the Mariners, but did get three games in the majors before being taken on waivers by Baltimore in mid-August.  He was in the majors the rest of the season, but did not hit much and was waived after the season.  He was selected by Seattle again, but waived before the 2019 season started.  Texas claimed him, but waived him again before the season started and he was claimed by San Francisco.  He went to spring training with the Giants, but shortly before the season started they traded him to Minnesota for Michael Reed.  He spent the first two months of the season in AAA, batted .196, and was traded to Seattle as part of a conditional deal.  He hit better in AAA for the Mariners but did not get a call to the big leagues.  He signed with Boston for 2020, but was released before playing for them.  He signed with San Diego for 2021 and was mostly in AAA for them, although he got seven more games in the majors.  He signed with Philadelphia for 2022, was again in AAA, and was sold to the Twins at the end of May.  He spent the rest of the season in AAA for the Twins, but that brought his playing career to an end.  His major league numbers are .224/.284/.269 in 67 at-bats.  He stole a lot of bases in the minors, which is probably why he hung around as long as he did.  His father, also named John, played in the NFL for New England.  He is a cousin to major league players Daniel and Luke Bard.  At last report, John Andreoli was working for the Sullivan Insurance Group.

Catcher Anthony John Wolters did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA for them in 2023.  Born and raised in Vista, California, he was drafted in the third round by Cleveland in 2010.  He was just eighteen, which is probably why he did not reach AA in 2014.  He didn't hit a lot, and was waived before the 2016 and claimed by Colorado.  He made the majors and was with the Rockies through 2020 as a part-time catcher.  He wasn't awful at bat, but he wasn't particularly good, either, and if you can't hit in Colorado you probably can't hit.  A free agent, he signed with Pittsburgh for 2021, was released in spring training, signed with the Cubs, played mostly in AAA with fourteen games in the majors, and was released in August.  He signed with the Dodgers and was with them until August of 2022, again mostly in AAA but with two more games in the majors.  He signed with the Twins for 2023 and spent the entire season in AAA.  That brought his playing career to an end.  In the majors, he batted .235/.321/.314 in 1103 at-bats.  He then joined the Rockies in player development, and among other things has been a coach for the ACL Rockies.

Outfielder Leslie Arnold (Bubba) Thompson did not play for the Twins, but was in their organization for about three weeks in 2024.  Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, he was drafted by Texas in the first round in 2017.  He was good, but nothing special, in the low minors.  He had a fine 2021 in AA, however, and did even better in 2022 at AAA, batting .303.  He got called to the majors for the last two months of that season, and while he didn't show any power he did bat .265.  He started 2023 in the Rangers outfield but did not hit, and was sent back to AAA on the first of June.  His next several months were interesting.  He was waived in mid-August, claimed by Kansas City, spent the rest of the season in AAA, was waived after the season and claimed by Cincinnati, was waived in early January and claimed by the Yankees, was waived twenty days later and claimed by Minnesota, was waived three weeks later and claimed by Cincinnati again.  He spent the first month of the season in the majors but was used mostly as a defensive replacement, appearing in seventeen games but getting just eighteen at-bats.  He spent the rest of the season in AAA and then his playing career came to an end.  He batted .232/.273/.295 in 241 major league at-bats.  With a given name of Leslie Arnold, one can understand why he went by Bubba.  He has since gone back to college, attending the University of South Alabama and then transferring to West Florida.  It was reported that he was going to attempt to play football in college, but no information could be found as to whether he actually did so.  We wish him well in whatever his future holds.

June 8

Cub Stricker (1859)

Van Lingle Mungo (1911)

Del Ennis (1925)

Eddie Gaedel (1925)

George Brunet (1935)

Joe Grzenda (1937)

Pete Magrini (1942)

Mark Belanger (1944)

Lenn Sakata (1954)

Don Robinson (1957)

Carmelo Castillo (1958)

Britt Burns (1959)

Kevin Gross (1961)

John Gibbons (1962)

Kevin Ritz (1965)

Dave Mlicki (1968)

T. J. McFarland (1989)

Sadly, Cub Stricker never played for the Cubs.

3' 7" Eddie Gaedel is the shortest person to play in a major league game, walking in his only plate appearance as part of a Bill Veeck promotion.  His great-nephew, Kyle Gaedele, was an outfielder in the Padres organization from 2011-15, reaching AA.  Kyle is listed at 6' 3".

Left-hander Joseph Charles Grzenda made 38 appearances for the Twins in 1969.  He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, went to high school in Moosic, Pennsylvania, and signed with the Tigers as a free agent in 1955.  He was mostly a starter in the minors, and after a poor first season did pretty well for the most part.  He started 1961 in the majors but was sent back after only 5.2 innings over four games.  After the 1961 season he struggled for a couple of years due to injuries.  He was shifted to the bullpen in 1963 but continued to struggle and was released in late July.  He signed with the Kansas City Athletics for 1964 and was with the A’s for two and a half months, but did not pitch well either there or at AAA.  He went down to AA the next two years, and pitched extremely well, posting ERAs under two in 1966 and 1967.  He was in the majors just over two months in 1966 and pitched well, but in mid-August of 1967 Grzenda was traded to the Mets.  He finished the season with them and continued to pitch well, but after the season was sold to Minnesota.  Grzenda had a good year in AAA Denver in 1968, and in 1969 got his first full season in the majors.  He was not used a lot, but did not do too badly, going 4-1, 3.88 with a WHIP of 1.42 in 48.2 innings over 38 appearances.  In late March of 1970, however, Grzenda was traded to Washington with Charley Walters for Brant Alyea.  He was in the Senators’ bullpen for two years, pitching poorly in 1970 but having an outstanding year in 1971.  He was traded to St. Louis that off-season, and apparently left the magic behind in Washington, as he had a poor year in 1972.  He then spent two years in AAA, pitching in the Yankees’ organization in 1973 and in the Braves’ chain in 1974, but could not get back to the major leagues.  After his playing career ended, he was offered a chance to be a pitching coach in the Yankees’ organization, but decided he could not support his family on the amount he was offered.  He worked as a security guard, then worked for an auto battery manufacturer in Dunsmore, Pennsylvania for 25 years before retiring.  Joe Grzenda was the pitcher at the end of the last game the Washington Senators ever played.  He kept the ball, and he formally presented it to the new Washington franchise in April of 2005 for use in the ceremonial first pitch of the first home game for the Washington Nationals.  He was elected to the Birmingham Barons Hall of Fame in 2014.  Joe Grzenda passed away on July 12, 2019 in Covington Township, Pennsylvania.

Right-hander Peter Alexander Magrini did not play for the Twins but was originally signed by them.  He was born in San Francisco, went to high school in Santa Rosa, California, attended Santa Clara University, and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1964.  He had a good year for Class A Wilson and was chosen by Boston in the first-year player draft that off-season.  He pitched very well in the minors, consistently posting good ERAs and good WHIPs as both a starter and a reliever, but did not get much of a chance in the majors.  In fact, his major league career consists of three games with the Red Sox in April and May of 1966.  He made two relief appearances and one start, going 0-1, 9.82 in 7.1 innings.  He moved on to the Yankees’ organization for 1968 and again pitched very well in the minors, but again  it did him no good.  He had a down year in AAA in 1969, said he'd lost his desire to play, and retired, his playing career over at age 27.  In four seasons at AAA, Magrini had a 3.09 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP in 475 innings.  One has to think he might have done something in the big leagues if he had been given the chance.  At last report, Pete Magrini had returned to Santa Rosa and owned an automobile dealership until his retirement.  He passed away from cancer on October 27, 2022.

Outfielder Monte Carmelo Castillo, also known as Carmen Castillo, played for the Twins from 1989-1991.  He was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, and signed with Phildelphia as a free agent in 1978.  He was drafted by Cleveland in December of 1978 in the minor league draft.  He posted decent averages with moderate power in the minors, nothing bad but nothing to attract a lot of attention, either.  He came up to the majors in mid-July of 1982, and with the exception of a couple of brief demotions was a part-time player in the majors for the next nine years.  He was generally a platoon player and pinch hitter, used primarily against left-handed pitching.  He didn’t do badly in that role, hitting .250-.280 with moderate power.  In late March of 1989, Castillo was traded to Minnesota for Keith Atherton.  Already 31, he was decent his first season with the Twins, but then went into decline.  The Twins released him in early May of 1991.  Castillo signed with Milwaukee a couple of weeks later and hit well in AAA Denver, but did not make it back to the big leagues and his career came to an end after the season.  As a Twin, Carmelo Castillo hit .240/.279/.373 in 367 at-bats.  He managed the DSL Rangers in 1991.  He later became a batting coach for the Tigres de Licey in the Dominican League.  Sadly, Carmelo Castillo passed away from a heart attack on November 15, 2015.

June 7

Bones Ely (1863)

Ed Wells (1900)

Dusty Boggess (1904)

Rosey Gilhousen (1913)

Herb Score (1933)

Roger Nelson (1944)

George Mitterwald (1945)

Don Money (1947)

Thurman Munson (1947)

Bobby Marcano (1951)

Bill Hohn (1955)

Tim Laudner (1958)

Heathcliff Slocumb (1966)

Donaldo Mendez (1978)

Virgil Vasquez (1982)

Mark Lowe (1983)

Luke Farrell (1991)

Vince Velasquez (1992)

Dusty Boggess was a National League umpire from 1944-62.

Rosey Gilhousen was a long-time scout who is credit for signing George Brett and Dan Quisenberry.

Bobby Marcano was an all-star in Japan.

Bill Hohn was a major league umpire from 1989-99 and 2002-10.

Catcher George Eugene Mitterwald played for the Twins in 1966 and from 1968-1973.  He was born in Berkeley, California, went to high school in Hayward, California, and attended Chabot College in Hayward.  He signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1965.  He had an excellent year at Class A St. Cloud in 1965, then settled in as a rather mediocre minor league hitter.  He got a September call-up in 1966 and another in 1968 before coming to the majors to stay.  He was the backup to Johnny Roseboro in 1969, then became the mostly regular catcher.  He remained in that role from 1970-1971, but in 1972 Mitterwald had a poor year even by his standards, and shared the job with Glenn Borgmann, Phil Roof, and Rick Dempsey.  He regained the starting job in 1973 and had his best year as a Twin, hitting .259 with 16 home runs.  The Twins apparently decided that was as good as it was ever going to get and traded him that Mitterwald to the Cubs that off-season for Randy Hundley.  As a Twin, George Mitterwald hit .239/.304/.373 in 1,578 at-bats.  He was then a part-time catcher for the Cubs for the next four years.  Mitterwald became a free agent after the 1977 campaign and signed with Seattle.  He played poorly in AAA for the Mariners and his playing career came to an end.  He then went into coaching and managing, serving as the bullpen coach for Oakland (1979-1982), as the manager of Modesto (1983-1985) and Orlando (1986-1987), and as bench coach for the Yankees (1988).  He managed in the independent Northern League from 1996-1998.  He was inducted into the Chabot College Hall of Fame in 2000.  At last report, George Mitterwald was living in Orlando, Florida.

Catcher Timothy Jon Laudner was a catcher for the Twins throughout the 1980s.  He was born in Mason City, Iowa, went to high school in Minneapolis, and attended the University of Missouri.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the third round of the 1979 draft.  Laudner had indifferent minor league numbers for two season, then hit .284 with 42 homers with Orlando in 1981.  That got him a call-up in late August, and when Butch Wynegar was traded in May of 1982 Laudner became the regular catcher.  Unfortunately, the 42-home-run season turned out to be a fluke; he never hit more than 16 in any other season, majors or minors.  Because he never showed power and his average never really developed, either, Laudner was never the full-time catcher after 1982, sharing the job with Dave Engle (1983-84), Mark Salas (1985-1986), Sal Butera (1987), Tom Nieto (1987-1988), and Brian Harper (1988-1989).  Despite that, Laudner made the all-star team in 1988.  He was hitting .290 at the end of June that year, but fell to .251 by year’s end.  Laudner never played for another organization, retiring after the 1989 campaign.  He hit .225/.292/.391 with 77 homers in 2,038 at-bats.  After his playing career ended, he worked in the heating and air conditioning industry for a while, then got back into baseball.  Tim Laudner currently is as an instructor and part-owner of Big League Baseball Camp in Minnetonka and also works as a part-time analyst for Twins TV.

Shortstop Donaldo Alfonso Mendez did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for a couple of months in 2006.  Born and raised in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, he signed with Houston as a free agent in 1995.  He stayed in the low minors and did not hit anything until 2000, when he batted .270 and stole 39 bases for Class A Michigan.  His OPS was still only .683, but that was enough for San Diego to take him in the rule 5 draft and keep him in the majors all season.  A reserve shortstop, he appeared in 46 games, got 118 at-bats, and hit .153.  Not surprisingly, he was back in the minors in 2002.  He never really did learn to hit; his lifetime average in the minors was .239, a figure that falls to .228 when you take out his years in independent leagues.  He stayed with the Padres through 2003, getting another month in the majors in his final year with them.  He moved on to Pittsburgh in 2004 and San Francisco in 2005.  He was hitting .272 with Newark in the Atlantic League when the Twins signed him on July 6, 2006.  He went to Rochester and actually put up very good numbers in limited playing time:  in 19 games, he batted 29 times and hit .270/.300/.621 with three homers.  The Twins were not fooled, and allowed him to become a free agent after the season.  He played in independent leagues through 2008, then ended his playing career.  At last report, Donaldo Mendez was an agent with Borascorp in San Diego.

Right-hander Virgil Matthew Vasquez did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system from 2013-2014.  Born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, he was drafted by Detroit in the seventh round in 2003.  He was somewhat up and down in his minor league career, but seemed to break through in 2007, going 12-5 in AAA with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.  He appeared in five big-league games for the Tigers that year, and while he did not do well in them, he still appeared to be on his way.  Instead, he went backward.  He had a poor year in AAA in 2008, was placed on waivers, and was selected by Boston.  Before the 2009 season started, he was waived twice more, being selected by San Diego and then by Pittsburgh.  The good news, of course, is that there was always someone who wanted him.  He did fairly well in AAA for the Pirates and got back to the big leagues for nearly half the season.  He spent over a month in the Pittsburgh rotation, but again did not do well.  After the 2009 season he was traded to Tampa Bay for a player to be named later.  He was okay, but nothing more, in AAA for the Rays and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with the Angels for 2011, but was released in April and spent 2011 in the Atlantic League, with a couple of starts in Australia.  He was back in the Atlantic League in 2012, then signed with Minnesota for 2013.  He pitched for Rochester and was not horrible but was not particularly good, either.  In 2014 he spent most of the year in New Britain, but he was a thirty-two-year-old pitching in AA.  He pitched in Mexico that winter and continued to pitch in Australia, through 2017.  He was a pitching coach in the Twins' organization from 2015-2022, with the GCL Twins through 2017, Chattanooga (2018), Cedar Rapids (2019), Wichita (2021), and St. Paul (2022).  He moved on to the Cincinnati organization after that, and in 2025 was the assistant pitching coach for the Toledo Mud Hens in the Detroit organization.  This year, however, he does not appear to be working for anyone.  Rather, he is the co-founder of Revolution Throwing, which "bridges the gap between traditional coaching, modern sports science, and embodied awareness", in Fort Myers, Florida.

The son of former major league manager John Farrell, right-hander Luke Thomas Farrell was with the Twins for about half of 2021.  He was born in Westlake, Ohio, went to high school in Cleveland, attended Northwestern University, and was drafted by Kansas City in the sixth round in 2013.  He pitched poorly in his first two seasons, but was moved up to AA in 2015 anyway and rewarded the Royals with a fine season.  He reached AAA in 2016 and made the majors in July of 2017, but after just one major league appearance he was sold to the Dodgers in late July of 2017.  They waived him about two weeks later and Cincinnati claimed him.  He pitched well for the Reds in nine appearances but was waived after the season and was claimed by the Cubs for 2018.  He had an up-and-down half-season for them, then spent the rest of the season in AAA.  The Cubs waived him in September and he was claimed by the Angels.  The Angels waived him again after the season and he was claimed by Texas.  He missed much of the 2019 season with a broken jaw, the result of a line drive in spring training, but pitched well when he did pitch.  He made just four appearances for the Rangers in 2020 and became a free agent.  The Twins signed him for 2021 and he spent nearly half the season in the majors.  He was really pretty good most of that time, but two really bad outings in September make his numbers look mediocre:  as a Twin, he was 1-1, 4.74, 1.66 WHIP with 25 strikeouts in 24.2 innings.  He became a free agent after the season and did not sign for a while, but signed with the Cubs in early May.  He was not particularly good in AAA, made four big league appearances for the Cubs in late August-early September, then was waived and claimed by Cincinnati.  He made two major league appearances for them, then became a free agent.  He signed with the White Sox in mid-April of 2023 and did not pitch well in AAA for them.  He signed with Washington for 2024, but was released in July after nine appearances in the low minors and finished the season in the Mexican League.  He announced his retirement after the season.  In sixty-nine major league appearances (seven starts), he was 5-5, 5.00, 1.49 WHIP.  At last report, he had gone back to school, and was pursuing an MBA at Stanford.  We certainly wish him well in the next phase of his life.

June 6

Ed McKean (1864)

Jose Maria Fernandez (1896)

Fresco Thompson (1902)

Bill Dickey (1907)

Wild Bill Wright (1914)

Hector Espino (1939)

Merv Rettenmund (1943)

Bud Harrelson (1944)

Bobby Randall (1948)

Dave Bergman (1953)

Max Venable (1957)

Tony Graffanino (1972)

Brooks Kieschnick (1972)

David Lamb (1975)

Mark Ellis (1977)

Jeremy Affeldt (1979)

Matt Belisle (1980)

Anthony Rendon (1990)

 Wild Bill Wright was a star in the Negro Leagues in the 1930s and 1940s.

Hector Espino is considered the greatest player in the history of the Mexican League, hitting 453 home runs there.

Second baseman Robert Lee Randall played for the Twins in the late

1970s.  He was born in Norton, Kansas, went to high school in Gove, Kansas, and attended Kansas State.  He was drafted by the Dodgers in the second round of the June Secondary draft in 1969.  He never showed power in the minors, and his average was up and down; his best year was 1974, when he hit .338 for AAA Albuquerque.  After the 1975 season, Randall was traded to Minnesota for Danny Walton.  He was instantly installed as the regular second baseman, but when he proved inadequate offensively he was platooned with Rob Wilfong for the next three years.  He was a solid defensive player, but never hit well enough to justify his place in the lineup.  His batting average sometimes made him look adequate–his highest was .270 in 1978–but he had no power and did not draw walks, so his highest OPS was .650, also in 1978.  Randall was a fine bunter, achieving double-digit sacrifice bunts every season.  The Twins released Randall at the end of spring training of 1980, signed him again on May 16, released him again on June 3, signed him again on June 18, and released him again on July 16, this time for good.  He never played for another team.  Bobby Randall’s career numbers are .257/.310/.311 in 1,325 at-bats.  He then went into college coaching, serving as an assistant coach at Iowa State from 1981-1984, head coach at Iowa State from 1985-1995, and head coach at Kansas from 1996-2002.  He also got a master's degree in economics at Kansas State.  Bobby Randall lives in Manhattan, Kansas and was a professor of economics and statistics at Manhattan Christian College until his retirement.  He is a member of the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame.

Infielder David Christian Lamb appeared in seven games for the Twins in 2002.  He was born in West Hills, California, went to high school in Newbury Park, California, and was drafted by Baltimore in the second round in 1993.  It took him a while to get started, but he hit right around .300 from 1997-1998 in the minor leagues.  The Orioles did not put him on the 40-man roster, however, and he was selected by Tampa Bay in the Rule 5 draft after the 1998 season.  He was with the Devil Rays in 1999 as a utility infielder, batting .226.  Tampa Bay waived him in February of 2000 and the Mets picked him up.  He was in the big leagues for about three weeks, again as a reserve, and had a poor year in AAA.  He became a free agent after the season, signed with Anaheim, was released at the end of spring training of 2001, signed with Colorado, was unspectacular in AA, was released in August, and signed with Florida the same day, going to AAA for the rest of the year.  Lamb signed with Minnesota for 2002.  He had a solid season in AAA Edmonton, hitting .309 with ten homers, and got a September call-up.  He went 1-for-10, but replaced Denny Hocking on the ALCS roster that year, appearing in two games but not getting a time at bat.  Lamb was back with the Twins’ AAA team, now at Rochester, for 2003.  He had a mediocre season and his playing career came to an end.  He then went into law enforcement, and at last report was an investigations professional for the Santa Rosa Police Deparment.

Right-hander Matthew Thomas Belisle was with the Twins in 2017 and 2018.  Born and raised in Austin, Texas, he was drafted by Atlanta in the second round in 1998.  He was a starter in the minors and did fairly well for the most part.  He had good control, not walking more than 2.5 batters per nine innings after leaving rookie ball.  He reached AAA in mid-2003 and had made three solid starts for the Braves there when he was traded to Cincinnati in mid-August.  He got a September call-up with the Reds that year but spent all of 2004 in AAA, where he had his first poor season.  Still, he made the Reds out of spring training in 2005 and spent the whole season with them, mostly in the bullpen, even though he did not pitch very well.  He didn't do very well in 2006 either, and continued to struggle when moved into the starting rotation in 2007.  He started 2008 in the rotation, too, but after six starts he went back to AAA.  He became a free agent after that season and signed with Colorado for 2009.  He started 2009 in the Rockies bullpen, but was inconsistent and was sent down after two months, coming back as a September call-up.  In 2010, however, something clicked, and he pitched well in the Rockies' bullpen for the next four seasons.  His best season there was probably 2010, when he appeared in 76 games and went 7-5 with 1 save, 2.93 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP.  He led the league in appearances in 2012 with 80.  He had a poor year in 2014, however, became a free agent and signed with St. Louis for 2015.  He posted a 2.67 ERA for them, but just a 1.46 WHIP.  His control deserted him, as he issued four walks per nine innings, easily the most of his career up to that point.  He again became a free agent and signed with Washington, where he found his control and was again a very good pitcher, posting a 1.76 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP in 2016.  Once again a free agent, he signed with Minnesota for 2017.  He was terrible for the first two months of the season but pitched very well after that, posting an ERA of 1.71 and a WHIP of 0.65 in the second half.  Once more a free agent, he signed with Cleveland for 2018.  He struggled in April but refused an assignment to AAA.  He became a free agent, re-signed with the Indians eight-days later and agreed to go to AAA, was released again in mid-June, and signed with the Twins a day later.  He stuck with the Twins the rest of the season but pitched poorly.  He became a free agent and did not sign with anyone for 2019, bringing his playing career to an end.  As a Twin, Matt Belisle was 3-3, 5.46, 1.43 WHIP in 87 games (84 innings).  At last report, it appeared that he was the owner of a ranch near Abilene, Texas.

June 5

Jack Chesbro (1874)

Sandy Thompson (1895)

Harry Williams (1905)

Eddie Joost (1916)

Lou Brissie (1924)

Duke Sims (1941)

Bill Spiers (1966)

Ray Lankford (1967)

Mike Coolbaugh (1972)

Russ Ortiz (1974)

Robinson Chirinos (1984)

Manny Pina (1987)

Jake Petricka (1988)

Andrew Heaney (1991)

Dereck Rodriguez (1992)

Joe Ryan (1996)

Royce Lewis (1999)

Prior to beginning his major league career, Lou Brissie served in World War II.  He suffered severe leg injuries, receiving the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts, but overcame his injuries to spend seven years in the majors.

Mike Coolbaugh was the first base coach for the Tulsa Drillers when he was struck on the head with a line drive and killed.

Right-handed reliever Jacob Steven Petricka did not pitch for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for four months in 2022.  He was born in Northfield, Minnesota, went to high school in Fairibault, Minnesota, attended Indiana State, and was drafted in the second round by the White Sox in 2010.  It was actually the third time he was drafted, having been chosen by the White Sox in the 38th round in 2006 and by the Yankees in the 34th round in 2009.  He had a poor 2012 season split between high-A and AA, but came back strong in 2013, starting in AA, going to AAA, and reaching the majors in late August.  He did well for the White Sox that season and continued to pitch well through 2015, appearing in 145 games over that span.  He was injured much of 2016, appearing in only nine games.  He came back in 2017 but was terrible, leading one to think he was still not healthy.  The White Sox let him go and he signed with Toronto for 2018.  He pitched well in AAA for them, but was pretty mediocre in forty-one major league games.  He moved on to Milwaukee for 2019, did well in six major league appearances, and was traded to Texas in mid-June.  He was in AAA the rest of the season and was not very good.  He signed back with Toronto for 2020 but did not play.  He signed with the Angels for 2021, was mediocre in AAA, and awful in seven major league appearances.  He signed with the Twins for 2022 and was sent to St. Paul, where he wasn't terrible but wasn't particularly good, either.  He was released at the end of July, ending his playing career. He was simply never the same pitcher as he was before the injury.  At last report, Jake Petricka was co-owner of HTP Sports Academy in Apple Valley, Minnesota.

Right-hander Ivan Dereck Rodriguez was in the Twins' minor league system from 2011-2017 and played for the Twins from 2022-2023.  The son of Hall of Famer Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, he was born in Arlington, Texas, went to high school in Opa-Locka Florida, and was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in 2011.  He was an outfielder at that time but did not hit, batting just .216 in three years of rookie ball.  He converted to pitching in 2014 and had an excellent year in relief at Elizabethton, posting a 1.05 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in 25.2 innings.  He became a starter in 2015, still in Elizabethton, and continued to pitch well.  He struggled in Cedar Rapids in 2016, but did well for Fort Myers in 2017 and was solid for Chattanooga when he was moved up that same year.  The Twins decided to let him become a free agent, however, and he signed with San Francisco.  The Giants started him in AAA and brought him to the majors in late May.  He had a fine 2018 season, going 6-4, 2.81, 1.13 WHIP.  He went backward in 2019, however, going 6-11, 5.64, 1.46 WHIP and going back to AAA for six starts.  He went farther backward in 2020, making just two unsuccessful relief appearances in August.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with Colorado, for who he pitched poorly in AAA.  He signed back with the Twins for 2022.  He has been mediocre at best in AAA, and made two major league appearances for the Twins, pitching well in one of them.  He again started 2023 in AAA, did not accomplish much, made one  appearance for the Twins, was waived in mid-May, and was claimed by Atlanta.  He had a poor season in AAA for the Braves, but still made three major league appearance for the Braves, not doing well. As a Twin, he was 0-1, 4.32, 1.56 WHIP in three games (8.1 innings).   He pitched in the Mexican League in 2024-2025 and did not do very well there, either.  He did make nine good starts in winter ball, but he does not appear to be pitching anywhere in the 2026 season.  He turns thirty-four today.  We wish him well, but he's had more chances than most people get and has failed to take advantage of them.  It is probably time for Dereck Rodriguez to decide what to do in the next phase of his life.

Right-hander Joseph Philip Ryan has been with the Twins since 2021.  He was born in San Francisco, went to high school in San Anselmo, California, attended Cal State-Northridge and Cal State--Stanislaus, and was drafted by Tampa Bay in 2018.  He pitched well throughout the minors, reaching AA in 2019.  He probably would have pitched in AAA in 2020, but there was no 2020 minor league season, so he had to wait until 2021.  He pitched well there and for the U. S. Olympic team, and was traded to the Twins on July 22 with Drew Strotman for Nelson Cruz and Calvin Faucher.  When he returned from the Olympics he made two starts in St. Paul, then came to the majors, where he has remained.  He was a solid major league pitcher from the get-go, and remains one today.  He has missed some time due to injury, but most pitchers do.  He made his first all-star team in 2025 and is having his best season so far in 2026.  He is 49-39, 3.71, 1.05 WHIP with 789 strikeouts in 705.2 innings  Lots of things could happen, but at this writing he is on track to have the best season of his career in 2024.  He turns thirty today, which is older than it seems like he should be.  Still, there's no apparent reason why Joe Ryan should not remain a solid major league pitcher for several more seasons.

Third baseman Royce Allen Lewis came up to the Twins in 2022.  He was born in Aliso Viejo, California, went to high school in San Juan Capistrano, California, and was drafted by the Twins with the first pick of the 2017 draft.  He hit very well in 2018 in low A, less well but decently in high A, and didn't get much accomplished in a 2019 split between high-A and AA.  He did, however, hit very well in the Arizona Fall League after the 2019 season.  He did not play in the COVID season of 2020 and then tore his ACL, missing all of 2021.  In 2022 he hit very well in AAA and batted .300/.317/.550 in twelve major league games, then tore his ACL again.  He battled injuries again in 2023, but had an outstanding season when he was able to play.  Since then, however, it has been a struggle.  He has continued to battle injuries, and when he has been able to play his batting has declined every year, to the point where he was sent down to AAA a few weeks ago.  He is batting .246/.304/.435 in 1029 at-bats.  He turns twenty-seven today, so he's really not a young player anymore.  Royce Lewis appears to be at a turning point in his career, and which way it will go is anyone's guess.

June 4

Tim Murnane (1851)

Tony Venzon (1915)

Billy Hunter (1928)

John McNamara (1932)

Phil Linz (1939)

Terry Kennedy (1956)

Tony Pena (1957)

Kurt Stillwell (1965)

Scott Servais (1967)

Rick Wilkins (1967)

Darin Erstad (1974)

J. C. Romero (1976)

Aaron Nola (1993)

Cody Stashak (1994)

 Tim Murnane had a long and varied career in baseball, but is best remembered as a sportswriter in Boston.

Tony Venzon was a National League umpire from 1957-71.

John McNamara managed six different major league clubs, going to the World Series with Boston in 1986.

Left-hander Juan Carlos ”J. C.” Romero pitched for the Twins from 1999-2005.  He was born in San Piedras, Puerto Rico, went to high school in San Juan, and then attended the University of Mobile.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the 21st round in 1997.  He was a reliever throughout his early minor league career, did very well, and made the majors for the first time in September of 1999.  He bounced back and forth between the majors and AAA for the next two seasons, mostly used as a starter in those seasons.  He pitched well in AAA, but not very well at all in the majors.  In 2002, Romero became a reliever again and had a tremendous year, going 9-2, 1.89 with a WHIP of 1.21 in 81 innings and 81 appearances.  He then was up and down, having a poor year in 2003, a better year in 2004, and a worse year again in 2005.  As a Twin, J. C. Romero was 25-20, 4.38 with a WHIP of 1.48.  He appeared in 327 games, 22 of them starts, and pitched 407.2 innings.  After the 2005 season, the Twins traded Romero to the Anaheim Angels for Alexi Casilla.  He was pretty awful for the Angels in 2006, became a free agent, and signed with Boston.  He was not very good there, either, and was released in June.  Romero signed with Philadelphia a few days later and seemed reborn.  He pitched very well the rest of 2007 and again in 2008, helping the Phillies win the World Series.  He was suspended for fifty games in 2009, and has been bothered by injuries and wildness since his return.  He earned the title “well-traveled reliever” in 2011, playing for Philadelphia, Washington, the Yankees, and Colorado.   He signed with St. Louis for 2012, was released in mid-May, and was signed by Baltimore.  He pitched well in AAA, but was released again in mid-July.  He signed with Cleveland, pitched well in AAA, and was traded back to Baltimore in mid-August.  The Orioles put him in their bullpen, but he was not very good and was made a free agent after two weeks.  He didn't give up, though.  He signed with Washington in late March of 2013 and pitched well for them in AAA, but was still released in June.  He signed with Cleveland, finished out the season in AAA there, and became a free agent.  He pitched in the Mexican League and in the Atlantic League in 2015, doing well in both spots.  He does not seem to have pitched for anyone for 2016-17, but he has pitched in winter ball following both of those seasons. He also played in the World Baseball Classic in 2017.  That, however, brought his playing career to an end.  It was a pretty good career, though, especially for a twenty-first round draft choice.  At last report, J. C. Romero was a pitching coach for his alma mater, the University of Mobile.

Right-hander Cody William Stashak pitched for the Twins from 2019-2022.  He was born in Somers Point, New Jersey, went to high school in Mays Landing, New Jersey, attended St. John's University, and was drafted by Minnesota in the thirteenth round in 2015.  He was a starter through 2017 and pitched pretty well.  Moved to the bullpen in 2018, he had an outstanding year for AA Chattanooga.  He started 2019 in AA Pensacola, moved up to AAA, and came up to the majors in late July.  He pitched pretty well for the Twins, too, going 0-1, 3.24, 1.20 WHIP with 25 strikeouts in 25 innings (18 games).  He did even better in the abbreviated 2020 season, going 1-0, 3.00, 0.93 WHIP with 17 strikeouts in 15 innings (11 games).  In 2021, however, he was awful for two months, then missed the rest of the season due to injury.  He came back strong in the first part of 2022, but after about a month he once again went on the IL, missing the rest of the season with an injured shoulder. He became a free agent and was out of baseball until August of 2023, when he signed with San Francisco.  He made five AAA appearances that year, but did not do well.  He re-signed with San Francisco in 2024 and did better in AAA but still was not really very good, and was released in August.  He signed with Philadelphia for 2025 but was released in spring training.  He the split the season between Mexico and the Atlantic League, pitching well both places.  It didn't do him any good, though, as he does not appear to be pitching anywhere in 2026.  As a Twin, he was 4-1, 4.13, 1.19 WHIP in 72 innings (55 games).  We wish him well in whatever his future may hold.

June 3

Ameal Brooks (1907)

Don Osborn (1908)

Barney Morris (1910)

Jim Gentile (1934)

Steve Dalkowski (1939)

Duane Josephson (1942)

Ron Keller (1943)

Ed Glynn (1953)

Barry Lyons (1960)

Steve Lyons (1960)

Nelson Liriano (1964)

Carl Everett (1971)

Bryan Rekar (1972)

Jose Molina (1975)

Travis Hafner (1977)

Harrison Bader (1994)

Ryan Jeffers (1997)

Luis Gil (1998)

Don Osborn won 201 games in the minors.  He later was a minor league manager, pitching coach, and scout.

Some old-timers say Steve Dalkowski had the fastest fastball ever.  He struck out 1,396 batters in 995 minor league innings.  However, he also walked 1,354, which is why he never made the majors.

Right-hander Ronald Lee Keller made nine total appearances with the Twins in 1966 and 1968.  He was born in Indianapolis and attended Indiana University.  The Twins drafted him in the eighth round in 1965.  After a strong year at Class A St. Cloud in 1965, he started 1966 in at Class A Wilson, was promoted after seven starts to AA Charlotte, was promoted after seven appearances (six starts) to AAA Denver, and made eight appearances (seven starts) there.  He also made two appearances in Minnesota in July, allowing four runs (three earned) in 5.1 innings.  Perhaps all the packing and unpacking got to him, because while he was excellent all along the way in 1966, he never had a good season again.  He was in AAA Denver for all of 1967 and most of 1968, making six appearances in the majors in the latter year.  He made seven appearances that year, posting an ERA of 2.81 in 16 innings.  His totals as a Twin were 0-1, 3.38 with a WHIP of 1.41 in 21.1 innings.  He appeared in nine games, making one start.  1968 was Keller’s last season as an active player.  He went to spring training with the Twins in 1969, but when the Twins wanted to send him back to AAA he decided he had nothing left to prove there and retired.  After baseball, he became an investment advisor and was the president of Keller Investment Management in Greenville, South Carolina until his retirement.  It appears that he now works with the Boys and Girls Club in Cashiers, North Carolina.  Ron Keller’s son, Jason, is a successful playwright and screenwriter and his wife, Susan, is an actress and spokesperson.

Infielder Nelson Arturo (Bonilla) Liriano is one of the two best Minnesota Twins players ever named “Liriano”.  He played for the Twins for about two months of 1990.  Liriano was born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic and signed with Toronto as a free agent in 1982.  He had some decent years in the minors, hitting in the .280s a couple of times, but nothing to really make anyone sit up and take notice.  Still, he made it to the majors in late August of 1987 and  stayed for over three years.  He hit in the .260s for the Blue Jays in 1988 and 1989, achieving more-or-less regular status as a second baseman in 1989.  He had slipped back to part-time status in 1990, however, when he was traded to Minnesota with Pedro Munoz for John Candelaria in late July.  He was the Twins’ regular second baseman the rest of the way, hitting .254/.332/.357 in 185 at-bats.  The Twins released Liriano at the end of spring training in 1991 and he signed with Kansas City.  He was in the minors almost the entire season, getting only about two weeks in the majors.  Let go after that season, he was in AAA for Cleveland in 1992.  He moved on to Colorado for 1993-1994, starting the former season in the minors but getting called up after hitting .358 in 293 at-bats in Colorado Springs.  He then got four full seasons in the majors, serving as a part-time player for the Rockies, the Pirates, (1995-1996) and the Dodgers (1997).  his highest at-bat total in those years was 259, but he was a solid player in his role.  He started 1998 back with the Rockies, but was sent back to AAA after starting 0-for-17.  That’s how his major league career ended; Liriano hit .315 with Colorado Springs, but never made it back to the big leagues.  His playing career ended after that season.  He remained in baseball for a while as a minor league coach and manager, mostly in the Royals organization.  He was the bench coach for the AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals in the Texas League in 2019.  He was slated to be the bench coach of Idaho Falls in the Pioneer League in 2020, but of course there was no minor league season in 2020 and now Idaho Falls no longer has a team.  One source says that Nelson Liriano has returned to the Dominican Republic, but that could not be confirmed.

Outfielder Harrison Joseph Bader was with the Twins for four months in 2025.  Born and raised in the Bronx, he attended the University of Florida and was drafted by St. Louis in the third round in 2015.  He hit for high averages in college, but with no power until his final season, when he swatted seventeen home runs.  A solid batter and a plus defender in the minors, he made his major league debut with the Cardinals in 2017.  He remained with St. Louis through 2022 and was what he was in the minors--a solid batter and a plus defender.  He won his only Gold Glove in 2021, but was always highly regarded on defense.  He was traded to the Yankees in August of 2022 and remained there through 2023.  His batting fell off in those seasons, and he became a free agent, signing with the Mets for 2024.  He remained a good fielder and a so-so batter, became a free agent again, and signed with Minnesota in 2025.  With the Twins, his batting stroke returned, at least so far, and he was having a much better season than anyone could have expected when he was traded to Philadelphia at the deadline for Hendry Mendez and Geremy Villoria.  He had a strong finish to the 2025 season with the Phillies, became a free agent, and signed with San Francisco.  Unfortunately, things are not going well for him there--he missed a month of the season, and has batted poorly when he could play. He turns thirty-two today.  It could simply be a slump, or it could be that Harrison Bader is nearing the end.  As they say, time will tell.

Catcher Ryan Michael Jeffers has been with the Twins since 2020.  He was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina--Wilmington, and was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 2018.  He hit well in the low minors that season and did okay, but nothing special, in a 2019 split between high-A and AA.  He was pressed into service at the major league level in the second half of the abbreviated 2020 season due to injuries to the Twins catching staff and actually did pretty well, batting .273 with an OPS of .786 in 83 at-bats.  Given a share of the catching job in 2021, he proved himself not ready at the plate, batting just .199.  His 2022 was pretty similar.  In 2023, however, he took a major step forward, batting .276/.369/.490 as a half-time player.  He did not match that in 2024, but still did okay as a half-time catcher under Rocco Baldelli's odd alternating catcher system.  He often was the designated hitter when not catching.  2025 was similar to 2024, okay but nothing special.  In 2026, finally made the regular catcher, he was having the best season of his career when he was injured a couple of weeks ago.  He turns twenty-nine today.  Assuming a return to health, Ryan Jeffers should be a solid major league catcher for at least a few more seasons.

Right-hander Luis Angel Gil did not play for the Twins, but he was initially signed by them.  He was born in Azua, Dominican Republic, and signed with the Twins as an international free agent in 2015.  He pitched that season in the Dominican Summer League, where he struck out quite a few, but also walked quite a few and did not have a good season.  He did not pitch at all in 2016 and was back in the DSL in 2017, where he did a lot better.  After that season, the Twins traded him to the Yankees for Jake Cave.  He split 2019 between low-A and high-A, missed all of 2020 when there was no minor league season, split 2021 between AA and AAA, and came up to the majors for six starts late in the season.  He did not give up a run in the first three, pitching 15.2 scoreless innings.  He gave up ten runs in the last three (13.2 innings), giving him a season ERA of 3.07.  He did not pitch well in six 2022 AAA starts, nor did he pitch well in one start for the Yankees in 2022, and then he had Tommy John surgery.  He missed all of 2023 (except for two starts in Class A), but had a fine 2024, winning the Rookie of the Year award.  He has missed much of 2025, again due to injury, but pitched well when he could pitch.  He pitched poorly in four starts in 2026 before again being shut down due to injury.  He turns twenty-eight today.  If he can get and stay healthy, he looks like he could be a very good pitcher.  Doing that, however, has been a problem for him so far.