January 20

Everett Mills (1845)
C. I. Taylor (1875)
William Eckert (1909)
Jimmy Outlaw (1913)
Joe Dobson (1917)
Gene Stephens (1933)
Camilo Pascual (1934)
Dave Boswell (1945)
Cecil Espy (1963)
Ozzie Guillen (1964)
Kevin Maas (1965)
Marvin Benard (1970)
Brian Giles (1971)
David Eckstein (1975)
Geovany Soto (1983)

Everett Mills holds the record for most at-bats in a season without drawing a walk (342).

FTLT’s child.

Right-hander Camilo Alberto Pascual, known for his outstanding curveball, was the ace of the early Twins' rotation, pitching for them from their inception through 1966.  Born in Havana, Cuba, he was signed by Washington as a free agent in 1951.  He had fine years in Class B in 1952 and 1953, which was apparently all the Griffith organization needed to see, because he began 1954 in the majors and never went back.  He was in the bullpen for most of 1954 and 1955, although he did make some starts both years.  Pascual became a rotation starter in 1956 and remained one through 1969.  Given his youth, he understandably struggled in his early years, not posting an ERA below four until 1958.  Once he figured things out, though, he really figured them out.  He led the league in strikeouts per nine innings in 1958 and in complete games and shutouts in 1959.  Pascual received some minor consideration for the MVP award in 1959 and made his first all-star team that year.  He also made the all-star team in 1960.  His combined ERA from 1958-1960 was 2.90.  He came to Minnesota with the team in 1961 and had the best years of his career.  Pascual made the all-star team in 1961, 1962, and 1964; was in the top fifteen in MVP voting in 1962 and 1963;  led the league in strikeouts three years in a row (1961-1963); led in shutouts in 1961 and 1962; led in complete games in 1962 and 1963; and won over 20 games in 1962 and 1963.  Pascual continued to pitch well in 1965, although he had numerous no-decisions and also missed a little over a month with injuries.  He had a down year in 1966, however, and after the season was traded with Bernie Allen to Washington for Ron Kline.  He came back to have two of his finest years, with a combined ERA under three and a combined WHIP under 1.2.  He got off to a poor start in 1969, however, and was traded in early July to Cincinnati.  The Reds released him at the start of the 1970 season, and he was signed the same day by the Dodgers.  He was released in August, however, and was out of baseball until April of 1971, when Cleveland picked him up.  In late May, Pascual was sent to San Diego as part of a conditional deal--the Padres kept him for four days and sent him back to Cleveland.  Pascual was released in early June, and his career was over.  It was a pretty good career, though--174 victories, 2,167 strikeouts, and a career ERA of 3.63.  His combined record for the Washington/Minnesota franchise was 145-141, 3.66 in 432 games, 331 of them starts.  After his retirement, he was the Twins' pitching coach for three years (1978-1980).  At last report, Camilo Pascual was living in Miami and scouting for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Right-hander David Wilson Boswell had several fine years with Minnesota.  He was born in Baltimore and went to high school there.  Boswell then signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1963.  He did not begin his professional career until 1964, and after a good year split between Class A and AA ended that season in the majors with a September call-up.  Although he was only 19, he was in the big leagues to stay.  In 1965, at age 20, Boswell began the year in the Minnesota bullpen, was placed in the rotation in mid-May, but was sent back to the bullpen in July despite not pitching badly as a starter.  The Twins had a hard rotation to break into:   Camilo Pascual, Jim Perry, Jim Kaat, and Mudcat Grant, plus Jim Merritt was there to make occasional starts as well.  In 1966, however, Boswell forced his way into the rotation, getting there in late May and staying there until the early August, when he was injured.  He was in the rotation until mid-1970 and had some very good years, consistently posting ERAs between 3.1 and 3.4.  While not necessarily his best year, his best numbers came in 1969, when Boswell won 20 games, made 38 starts, and pitched 256 innings.  1969 was also the year when Boswell had his famous fight with manager Billy Martin.  Those innings may have taken something out of him, though, because he hurt his shoulder during the ALCS and never had a good year again.  Boswell struggled through a series of poor starts in 1970 until he was finally placed on the disabled list at then end of July, staying there for the rest of the season.  Boswell was released at the end of 1971 spring training, went to Detroit (reuniting him with Martin), was released again at the end of May, was signed by Baltimore, and was released one more time before the 1972 season, finished as a player at age 27.  At last report, Dave Boswell was living in Joppa, Maryland, helping at various fantasy camps, and working in his garden.

Left-handed first baseman/designated hitter Kevin Christian Maas was with Minnesota for about two months in 1995.  He was born in Castro Valley, California, attended the University of California, and was drafted by the Yankees in the 22nd round in 1986.  Maas hit pretty well throughout his minor league career, making his major league debut with the Yankees at the end of June of 1990.  He got off to a tremendous start, hitting 21 home runs in about four months and finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting to Sandy Alomar.  In 1991, his only year as a regular, he hit 23 homers, but batted only .220, although he had a .333 OBP.  He was reduced to part-time status in 1992 and 1993, going back to AAA in July of the latter year.  Maas was released by the Yankees in March of 1994, signed with San Diego, was released again in May, and finished the season with Cincinnati, although he was in the minors with all of those clubs.  Released again at the end of the season, Maas signed with Minnesota.  He played sparingly with the Twins:  in a little over two months, he appeared in 22 games, getting 64 at-bats.  He hit .193/.281/.316 with one home run, and was released in late June, his last appearance in the majors.  He continued playing for a couple more years, though.  Maas played for Columbus in the Yankees organization for the rest of 1995, went to the Brewers' AAA team in 1996 (playing briefly for Hanshin in Japan), and was in AAA for Houston and Cincinnati in 1997 before ending his playing career.  At last report, Kevin Maas was working as a financial consultant for Charles Schwab in his home town of Castro Valley, California.