March 31

Bill Hallman (1867)
Jack Stivetts (1868)
Big Jeff Pfeffer (1882)
Brick Owens (1885)
Tom Sheehan (1894)
Carson Bigbee (1895)
Mule Suttles (1900)
Marv Grissom (1918)
Dave Koslo (1920)
Moises Camacho (1932)
Moose Stubing (1938)
Balvino Galvez (1964)
Chien-Ming Wang (1980)
Jeff Mathis (1983)

One of the top second basemen in the history of the Mexican League, Moises Camacho played  there from 1951-1975.  He was known as the Rogers Hornsby of Mexico.

Right-hander Marvin Edward Grissom did not play for the Twins, but was a coach for them from 1970-1971.  He was born in Los Molinas, California and signed with the New York Giants as a free agent in 1941.  He made ten appearances with Class C San Bernardino that season, then went to the Army for four years during World War II.  He came back in 1946 and spent the next three years primarily in AAA, although he made four appearances for the Giants in 1946.  After the 1947 season, he went to independent Sacramento, and then was chosen by Detroit in the Rule 5 draft for 1949.  He made occasional appearances for the Tigers out of the bullpen and was largely ineffective.  Back in AAA the next season, he had two strong years there, winning 20 games and pitching 252 innings for Seattle in the Pacific Coast League in 1951.  He was traded to the White Sox for 1952 and finally, at age 34, was in the big leagues to stay.  He was in the starting rotation that year and did fairly well, but was traded to Boston after the season.  He got off to a slow start, we placed on waivers, and went back to the Giants.  They moved him to the bullpen, where he was an effective reliever for the next four years.  Grissom won ten games and saved 19 in 1954, making the all-star team and receiving minor consideration for MVP.  His best year, though, was 1956, when he posted an ERA of 1.56 and a WHIP of 1.08.  He moved to San Francisco with the team in 1958 but had a down year and was traded to St. Louis after the season.  He struggled in three appearances with the Cardinals and his playing career ended at age 41.  He was the first pitching coach of the Los Angeles Angels, staying with the Angels through 1966.  He moved to the White Sox for 1967 and 1968, went back to the Angels for 1969, was with the Twins for 1970 and 1971, was with the Cubs in 1975 and 1976, and went back to the Angels again in 1977 and 1978.  He retired to Red Bluff, California, where he regularly showed up at local high school baseball practices to help youngsters with their pitching.  Marv Grissom passed away in Red Bluff, California on September 18, 2005.

Right-hander Balvino (Jerez) Galvez did not play for the Twins, but pitched in their minor league system in 1988.  Born and raised in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, he signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1981.  His minor league numbers were pretty mediocre, but he kept getting promoted a level per season, reaching AAA in 1986.  He also pitched for the Dodgers that year, spending two weeks with the big club in May and then getting a September call-up.  He did not pitch particularly worse or better in the majors than he had in the minors.  Galvez was traded to Detroit in early May of 1987, and was traded to the Twins in March of 1988 for Billy Beane.  He spent most of the year in AAA Portland and went 11-7, 3.77, but with a WHIP of 1.48.  In March of 1989 the Twins traded Galvez to the Yankees for Steve Shields.  He pitched poorly for AAA Columbus in 1989, pitched both poorly and briefly in the Montreal organization in 1990, pitched fairly well in AAA for the Dodgers in 1992, but pitched briefly and poorly in AA for the Cubs in 1993.  He moved to China for 1994, pitching for the Brother Elephants.  He stayed for two years, then moved to Japan for 1996, pitching for the Yomiuri Giants, staying through 2000.  He attempted to return to the United States in 2001, and appeared to have made the rotation for Pittsburgh, but got into an argument with pitching coach Spin Williams, stormed out of the clubhouse, and flew to the Dominican Republic.  He did not appear in organized baseball again.  His son, Brian Cavazos-Galvez, is an outfielder in the Dodgers' organization, reaching AA in 2011.  At last report, Balvino Galvez was the owner of a baseball training facility in San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic.

March 30

Tom Burns (1857)
George Van Haltren (1866)
Ripper Collins (1904)
Dick Fowler (1921)
Dick Woodson (1945)
Grady Little (1950)
Jason Dickson (1973)
Jeriome Robertson (1977)
Josh Bard (1978)

Josh Bard was drafted by Minnesota in the thirty-fifth round in 1996, but did not sign.

Right-hander Richard Lee Woodson was with the Twins for four years, 1969-1970 and 1972-1973.  He was born in Oelwein, Iowa, but attended high school in San Diego.  He signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1965.  He both started and relieved in the minors.  He did not look like anything special in his first couple of years, but in 1967, used exclusively out of the bullpen, he went 5-2, 1.32 in 41 innings in Class A Orlando.  Primarily a starter in 1968, he had another fine year, mostly at AA Charlotte, posting a 3.47 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.  He was with Minnesota all of 1969 and did fairly well.  He was used mostly in relief, although he made ten starts, and went 7-5, 3.67 in 110 innings.  Woodson started 1970 in the minors and did not do very well, but was called up to the Twins in late May anyway and did all right in 21 relief appearances.  He was back in the minors for all of 1971, winning 16 games and pitching 221 innings for AAA Portland.  Back in the majors in 1972, he had his best season, going 14-14, 2.72 in 251 innings.  The number of innings may have taken a toll on his arm, however.  His ERA rose by more than a full run in 1973, to 3.95, and an injury ended his season in mid-August.  That off-season, he became the first player to go to arbitration, seeking a salary of $30,000 (the Twins offered $23,000--Woodson won).  He got off to a poor start in 1974 and was traded to the Yankees in early May for Mike Pazik and cash.  He again had to deal with injuries and an abbreviated season.  He pitched ineffectively at AAA for the Atlanta and Texas organizations in 1975 and then his career was over.  Woodson believed that his role as the first player to go to arbitration played a role in both his trade and the end of his career, although such a charge is difficult to prove.  As a Twin, Dick Woodson was 33-30, 3.35.  He appeared in 129 games, 73 of them starts, and pitched 561 innings.  Woodson eventually became part-owner of a company which developed software to help companies track and monitor their assets.  He retired at age 60 and at last report was living in Menifee, California, where he was volunteering with the elementary school reading program a couple of days a week.

March 29

Cy Young (1867)
Duff Cooley (1873)
Bill Dietrich (1910)
Tommy Holmes (1917)
Ferris Fain (1921)
Denny McLain (1944)
Bill Castro (1952)
Tom Hume (1953)
Domingo Ramos (1958)
Mike Kingery (1961)
Billy Beane (1962)
Laz Diaz (1963)
Eric Gunderson (1966)
Brian Jordan (1967)
Alex Ochoa (1972)
Danny Kolb (1975)

Danny Kolb was drafted by Minnesota in the seventeenth round in 1993, but did not sign.

Outfielder William Lamar Beane played for the Twins for parts of two seasons, 1986 and 1987.  He was born in Orlando, but went to high school in Rancho Bernardo, California.  He was drafted in the first round by the Mets in 1980.  He did not hit much in his early minor league years, but attracted attention in 1984 when he hit .281 with 20 homers for AA Jackson.  That got him a September call-up, in which he went 1-for-10.  He basically repeated his minor league numbers in 1985 at AAA Tidewater and again got a September call-up, going 2-for-8.  That off-season, he was traded to Minnesota with Joe Klink and Bill Latham for Pat Crosby and Tim Teufel.  He was with the Twins in 1986 and shared left field with Randy Bush, although they don't seem to have been platooned.  He hit only .213 with a .258 OBP and was back in the minors for 1987, getting another September call-up.  In late March of 1988 Beane was traded to Detroit for Balvino Galvez.  As a Twin, he hit .217/.258/.303 in 198 at-bats.  He was with the Tigers for the first month of 1988 but was seldom used, going only 1-for-6 before being sent to the minors.  He had a poor year in AAA and became a free agent after the season, signing with Oakland for 1989.  He was with the Athletics for much of the season, hitting .241 with an OBP of .238.  He moved into the front office for Oakland in 1990, and became general manager in 1997, a position he currently holds.  He won the Executive of the Year award from The Sporting News in 1999 and won the same award from Baseball America in 2002.

Outfielder Alex Ochoa played for Minnesota in 1998.  He was born and raised in Miami Lakes, Florida and was drafted by Baltimore in the third round in 1991.  He did pretty well in the minors, rising one level per year until he reached AAA in 1995.  In late July of 1995, however, he was traded to the Mets in a trade that involved Bobby Bonilla.  He got a September call-up with the Mets that year.  He was having a tremendous year in AAA in 1996 when he was called up in late June.  He hit .294 the rest of the way for the Mets, although with little power.  1997 was his first full year in the majors, but his average dropped to .244, and after the season he was traded to the Twins for Rich Becker.  He was a part-time player for them that year, playing mostly in right (with Matt Lawton moving to center many of those games).  As a Twin, he hit .257/.288/.353 in 249 at-bats.  After the season, Ochoa was traded to Milwaukee for Darrell Nicholas.  He hit .300 for the Brewers for 1999 but was traded again after the season, going to Cincinnati.  He then hit .300 for the Reds for a year and a half before once again being traded, going to Colorado in a trade that involved Todd Walker.  He finished the season there, was traded back to Milwaukee for the start of 2002, and was traded to Anaheim in late July of 2002.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with the Cardinals for 2003, but was released in mid-February.  He then went to Japan, playing for the Chunichi Dragons for several years before attempting a comeback in 2007 with Boston.  He played poorly in AAA and went back to Japan playing for the Hiroshima Carp through 2008.  He then came back to work for the Red Sox, coaching for Boston in 2009, working in player development in 2010, and serving as the batting coach for Class A Salem in 2011.  In 2012, Alex Ochoa will be the first base coach for Boston.

March 28

Jimmy Barrett (1875)
August Busch (1899)
Lon Warneke (1909)
Vic Raschi (1919)
Garland Shifflett (1935)
Glenn Davis (1961)
Shawn Boskie (1967)
Craig Paquette (1969)

Craig Paquette was drafted by Minnesota in the 36th round in 1987, but did not sign.

Right-hander Garland Jessie Shifflett made ten appearances for the Twins in 1964. Born and raised in Elkton, Virginia, Shifflett signed with Washington as a free agent in 1955. He pitched very well in the low minors, and in 1957 was jumped from Class A to the majors for a few weeks from late April through early May. He wasn't ready, posting a 10.12 ERA in eight innings (six games), but had a good year at Class A Charlotte. Shifflett was back in the minors in 1958, again mostly at Charlotte, although he made eight appearances in AA. Something apparently happened after that--it's not clear what, but Shifflett appeared in only nine games from 1959-1961, all nine of them in 1960. A starter prior to 1959, he was used in the bullpen upon his return in 1962. He pitched very well in relief in Charlotte from 1962-1963 (in 1963 Charlotte became a AA city).  He apparently developed a knuckleball in 1963. He spent about three weeks in the majors in June of 1964, but was in Charlotte the rest of the season. Altogether, he pitched in Charlotte for most of eleven seasons: 1956-1958, 1960, and 1962-1968. He began pitching in the minors in 1955, but other than three games in 1960 he did not pitch in AAA until 1969, when he pitched for Denver. After the 1970 season, having pitched in the Washington/Minnesota organization his entire career, Shifflett finally moved on, pitching in the Washington/Texas organization for 1971 and 1972, winning the American Association's Pitcher of the Year award in 1971, before his playing career ended. For his major league career, he was 0-2, 6.31 in 16 appearances, one of them a start. In sixteen minor league seasons, he went 144-117, 3.14 in 707 games, at least 155 of them starts (figures are incomplete for a couple of years). He posted a 1.28 WHIP in 2,173 minor league innings. After leaving baseball, Garland Shifflett became a warehouseman for the Coors Brewing Company, and at last report was living in Lakewood, Colorado.

March 27

Miller Huggins (1878)
Effa Manley (1897)
Wes Covington (1932)
Bill Sudakis (1946)
Lynn McGlothen (1950)
Dick Ruthven (1951)
Dave Hostetler (1956)
Jaime Navarro (1967)
Tom Quinlan (1968)
Dee Brown (1978)
Michael Cuddyer (1979)
Brian Slocum (1981)

Dick Ruthven was drafted by Minnesota in the first round in 1972, but did not sign.

Brian Slocum was drafted by Minnesota in the fourteenth round in 1999, but did not sign.

The brother of Robb Quinlan, third baseman Thomas Raymond Quinlan got six at-bats with the Twins at the beginning of 1996. He was born in St. Paul, went to high school in Maplewood, Minnesota, and was drafted by Toronto in 1986. That same year, he was also drafted by the Calgary Flames in the fourth round, but he chose to play baseball. In seven years in the minors for the Blue Jays, his highest batting average was .258, although he did average eleven home runs per season. Despite that, he got a September call-up in 1990 and was with the Blue Jays for nearly two months in 1992. He was used mostly as a defensive replacement, getting only 17 at-bats. He became a free agent after the 1993 season and signed with Philadelphia. He again got nearly two months in the big leagues, starting for about a week. A free agent again after the 1994 season, Quinlan signed with Minnesota for 1995. He was in AAA Salt Lake all season and actually had a decent year, hitting .279 with 17 home runs. He began 1996 with the Twins, went 0-for-6 in four games, and was sent back to AAA. He had another fairly good season there, but became a free agent again and signed with Colorado for 1997. He was in AAA for the Rockies in 1997, for Texas in 1998, and for the Cubs in 1999. He then moved to Korea to play in 2000, being named MVP of the Korean Series that year. At last report, Tom Quinlan was a high school baseball coach in Maplewood, Minnesota and was an instructor with Nevers & Larkin Baseball Training of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, which is partly owned by Gene Larkin.

Outfielder/first baseman Michael Brent Cuddyer played for the Twins from 2001-2011. He was born in Norfolk, Virginia and went to high school in Chesapeake, Virginia. He was drafted by Minnesota with the ninth pick of the 1997 draft. Originally an infielder, he played shortstop in 1998 and third base in 1999 and 2000. He was still primarily a third baseman in 2001, but played quite a few games at first and a handful in the outfield. He had probably his best minor league season in 2001, hitting .301 with 30 home runs. He made his major league debut as a September call-up that season, starting five games at first base. He had another fine year in AAA Edmonton in 2002, hitting .319 with 20 home runs when he was called up to Minnesota in mid-July. Cuddyer had shifted to the outfield that year and that was his main position with the Twins, too, as he hit .259 in 112 at-bats. He started 2003 with Minnesota, mostly playing in right field, but was hitting only .233 in early May and was sent back to AAA, where he hit over .300 for the third consecutive season and earned a September call-up. His first full season in the majors was 2004 and he was primarily used in the infield, where he had hardly played for two years. He was the regular third baseman for about three weeks in May, the regular second baseman for another three weeks from late May to mid-June, and was used at multiple positions the rest of the season (at one point, he started at four different positions in five games). Even so, he had a decent year, hitting .263 with 12 home runs in 339 at-bats. In 2005 he played mostly at third base, starting 92 games there while also seeing time at second, first, and right field. He again hit .263 with 12 homers, this time in 422 at-bats. He moved to right field in 2006 and stayed there, other than when he filled in for an injured Justin Morneau at first base. Apart from 2008, when he struggled with injuries, he has been a consistent performer at the plate, hitting between .271 and .284. He hit 32 home runs in 2009, the most he has hit in the majors, and received minor support for MVP. He has never approached that home run total since, but the rest of his numbers have remained pretty much the same.  He made his first all-start team in 2011.  A free agent after that season, he signed with Colorado for 2012.

March 26

Jack McCarthy (1869)
Bill Zuber (1913)
Ben Mondor (1925)
Harry Kalas (1936)
Mel Queen (1942)
Kevin Seitzer (1962)
Jarvis Brown (1967)
Jose Vizcaino (1968)
Shane Reynolds (1968)
Jason Maxwell (1972)
Eric Hacker (1983)

Outfielder Jarvis Ardel Brown played for the Twins in parts of two seasons, 1991 and 1992.  Born in Waukegan, Illinois, Brown was drafted by the Twins with the ninth pick of the January draft of 1986.  A small man (5'7", 165), he was known for speed rather than power, although he did hit 14 home runs in AA Orlando in 1990.  He did not hit for much of an average his first couple of years, but hit .294 for Class A Kenosha in 1988.  He then dropped back into the .250 range for a couple of years before hitting .289 at AAA Portland in 1991.  That got him two months in the big leagues, in which he was used primarily as a pinch runner and a defensive replacement, playing in 38 games but getting only 37 at-bats.  He started 1992 in the majors in a similar role, and again played there for about two months before being sent to the minors.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with San Diego for 1993.  As a Twin, he hit .173/.246/.173 with nine stolen bases in 52 at-bats (73 games)  He hit .308 at AAA Las Vegas in 1994 and came up to the Padres in late July, staying the rest of the season.  He got the most major league playing time of his career that season, hitting .233 in 133 at-bats.  Brown was placed on waivers after the season and was selected by Atlanta for 1994.  He was in the majors for about two months again, once again filling the pinch runner/defensive replacement role, and in AAA the rest of the year.  A free agent after the season, he signed with the Mets for 1995, was released in late May, signed with Cincinnati in mid-June, and was sent to Baltimore two days later "as part of a conditional deal."  He played well enough that year to get a September call-up, starting eight major league games and playing as a defensive replacement in several others.  He again played in the minors for the Orioles in 1996, moved to the Brewers' organization in 1997, and played for Waterbury in the independent Northeast League in 1998 before ending his playing career.  Since then, he has done some managing and coaching.  Jarvis Brown coached in the Twins’ organization from 1999-2001, was the manager of the New Haven County Cuggers of the Northeast League, head coach of the University of Wisconsin--Parkside for three years, and is currently an assistant coach at Carthage College of Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Infielder Jason Raymond Maxwell played for Minnesota in 2000 and 2001.  Born and raised in Lewisburg, Tennessee, he attended Middle Tennessee State and was drafted by the Cubs in the 74th round in 1993.  He hit fairly well, though not outstandingly, during his minor league career, posting decent averages with moderate power.  His best year in the minors was 1998, when he hit .298 with 15 homers and 40 doubles for AAA Iowa.  He earned a September call-up that year, going 1-for-3 as a pinch hitter.  In late March of 1999, Maxwell was placed on waivers and taken by Detroit.  He had a poor year at AAA, became a free agent, and signed with the Twins for 2000.  He played for Minnesota for two years as a reserve infielder.  He had 179 at-bats as a Twin, hitting .223/.294/.313.  A free agent after the 2001 season, he signed with Texas for 2002, was released in late March, and signed with Cincinnati the next day.  He was in AAA for the Reds for two years, hitting .301 in 2002, but did not reach the majors.  He moved on to the Tampa Bay organization for 2004, and then his playing career was over.  Jason Maxwell is currently the baseball coach at Ensworth High School in Nashville, Tennessee.

Right-hander Eric Lynn Hacker appeared in two games for the Twins in 2011.  Born and raised in Duncanville, Texas, he was drafted by the Yankees in the twenty-second round in 2002.  He pitched very well in the low minors when he was able to pitch, but he missed a lot of time with injuries.  He was out the entire seasons of 2004 and 2006, and going into the 2007 season had appeared in only twenty-two minor league games and pitched just one hundred three innings.  He finally had a full minor league season in 2007 and pitched well in high A ball, but did not do as well when tried at higher levels.  He had a solid 2008 split between A and AA, but by then he was twenty-five years old.  He has never really pitched well above AA.  His best year in AAA was 2009, when he went 5-5, 4.02, but he had a WHIP of 1.56.  He was traded away from the Yankees in May of that year, going to the Pittsburgh organization.  He got a September call-up in 2009, giving up two runs on four hits in three innings.  A free agent after the season, he was in AAA for San Francisco in 2010.  A free agent again, he signed with Minnesota for 2011.  He made two appearances with the Twins in April and actually pitched well, allowing no runs on four hits and four walks in 5.1 innings.  It was a different story in Rochester, as he went 7-14, 6.10 with a 1.56 WHIP.  He was a free agent after the season and signed a minor league contract with San Franicsco for 2012.  It's anyone's guess what he might have done if not for the injuries, but as it is he's twenty-nine today and may have to start figuring out what he's going to do with the rest of his life.  Still, even if he never gets another shot, he's pitched in five major league ball games, which is something a lot of us would love to be able to do.

March 25

Frank Dwyer (1868)
Clyde Milan (1887)
John Fetzer (1901)
Dutch Leonard (1909)
Ryohei Hasegawa (1930)
Woodie Held (1932)
Frank Peters (1944)
Lee Mazzilli (1955)
Jeff Kunkel (1962)
Tom Glavine (1966)
Dan Wilson (1969)
Erik Schullstrom (1969)
Travis Fryman (1969)
Neal Cotts (1980)

Frank Peters was a minor league player and manager.  On August 31, 1974, while managing the Portland Mavericks, he had each player play each position for one inning.  Portland won the game over the Tri-City Ports, 8-7.

Pitcher Erik Paul Schullstrom was with the Twins for parts of two seasons in 1994 and 1995.  He was born in San Diego, went to high school in Alameda, California, and then went to Cal State--Fresno.  He was drafted by Baltimore in the second round in 1990.  Oddly, he never spent a full year with one team at any point in his career.  He was originally a starter.  He had a pretty good year in 1991, mostly at Class A Frederick, but overall his minor league numbers as a starter are decent but unimpressive.  In August of 1992, he was traded to San Diego, but the Padres waived him in April of 1993 and he went back to Baltimore.  That year, 1993, Schullstrom began a transition to the bullpen.  In August, he became the player to be named later in the deal that sent Mike Pagilarulo to Baltimore, and Erik Schullstrom joined the Twins' organization.  He had a good year in relief for the Twins in 1994 and spent about a month in the majors, posting a 2.77 ERA in thirteen innings spread over nine games.  He was not off to a particularly good start at AAA Salt Lake in 1995, but was brought up to the Twins in mid-May anyway.  He somehow stayed with them the rest of the season despite posting a 6.89 ERA and a 1.87 WHIP in 47 innings, all in relief.  Schullstrom became a free agent after the season and signed with Boston; as a Twin, he was 0-0, 6.00 in 60 innings.  He appeared in 46 games, all in relief.  He pitched well in AA for the Red Sox in 1996, but not so well when promoted to AAA.  He continued pitching in other countries, pitching in Mexico in 1997 and in Japan in 1998-1999 and 2001-2002 before ending his playing career.  At last report, Erik Schullstrom had returned to his home town of Alameda, California and was the director of USA scouting for the Hiroshima Carp, as well as working as an instructor for the Alameda Professional Baseball School.  He holds the major league record for most innings pitched without recording a decision.

March 24

Kip Selbach (1872)
Roy Thomas (1874)
Fatty Arbuckle (1887)
Ernie Shore (1891)
George Sisler (1893)
Jesus Alou (1942)
Mark Marquess (1947)
Garry Templeton (1956)
Bruce Hurst (1958)
Wilson Alvarez (1970)
Steve Karsay (1972)
Jose Valverde (1978)
Chad Gaudin (1983)

Silent film comedian Fatty Arbuckle was the owner of the Vernon Tigers of the Pacific Coast League from about 1918-1921.

No players with connections to the Twins were born on this day.

March 23

Mike Smith (1868)
Gavvy Cravath (1881)
Cy Slapnicka (1886)
Ray Kremer (1893)
Johnny Moore (1902)
Johnny Logan (1927)
Jim Lemon (1928)
Lee May (1943)
George Scott (1944)
Pat Bourque (1947)
Lanny Frattare (1948)
Bo Diaz (1953)
Mike Remlinger (1966)
Chris Turner (1969)
Ramon Ortiz (1973)
Mark Buehrle (1979)

Outfielder James Robert Lemon was one of the original Minnesota Twins, staying with them into 1963.  Born and raised in Covington, Virginia, Lemon was signed by Cleveland as a free agent in 1948.  Lemon had some big years in the minors, hitting .287 with 39 home runs for AA Oklahoma City in 1950.  He made his big league debut that year, playing in 12 games for the Indians.  Lemon then missed the next two years due to military service, coming back in 1953.  He started the season with Cleveland, but did not hit, and was sent to the minors a month later.  He did not hit in the minors that year, either, and the Indians gave up on him, selling hit to Washington in 1954.  Sent back to Class A at age 26, he bounced back to hit .346.  He also spent nearly two months with Washington, hitting .234 as a part-time player.  He played well at AA in 1955, getting a September call-up.  In 1956, Lemon got his first chance at regular play in the majors, and he stayed a big-league regular for six years.  The starting right fielder for Washington, he hit .278 with 27 homers and a league-leading 11 triples.  He remained a reliable power hitter through the rest of the team's stay in Washington.  A move from right field to left field in 1959 did not slow him down:  he hit 33 home runs in 1959 and 38 in 1960.  Lemon also made the all-star team for the only time in 1960 and received minor MVP consideration in 1959 and 1960.  He came to Minnesota with the team in 1961, but had a down year, hitting only .258 with 14 homers.  He was injured much of 1962, playing in only 12 games, and his career was coming to a close.  The Twins sold him to Philadelphia in early May of 1963, he was sold again, to the White Sox, in late June, and after the season his playing career was over.  Lemon turned to managing and coaching:  he was a manager in the expansion Washington organization in 1964, the Twins' batting coach from 1965-1967, the manager of Washington in 1968, a scout for Minnesota for many years, the batting coach for the Twins from 1981-1984, and the manager of the GCL Twins in 1992.  He also was a basketball referee in the winter.  In 1987, he moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  Jim Lemon passed away from melanoma on May 14, 2006 in Brandon, Mississippi.

First baseman Patrick Daniel Bourque spent about six weeks with the Twins in 1974.  A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, he attended Holy Cross and was drafted by the Cubs in the 33rd round in 1969.  He began his career with the Huron, South Dakota Cubs in the old Northern League that season.  The next year, 1970, Bourque hit .326 for Class A Quincy.  For such a low draft choice, he rose through the minor leagues quickly.  In 1971, he played at AA, AAA, and got a September call-up to the majors.  His 1971 and 1972 minor league seasons are quite similar:  a .279 average, 19 and 20 homers, respectively, an OPS of .871 and .862, respectively.  He was having a big year in AAA in 1973, hitting .347 with nine homers in 124 at-bats, when he was called up to the Cubs in mid-May.  He was the Cubs' regular first baseman for about two months, but did not hit and fell to reserve status.  In late August, Bourque was traded to Oakland and was a part-time DH/first baseman for the Athletics the rest of the season.  He remained with Oakland in 1974 as a bench player, but still did not hit and was traded to Minnesota in mid-August for Jim Holt.  Bourque shared first base with Craig Kusick the rest of the season, hitting .219/.296/.297 in 64 at-bats.  After the season, the Twins traded Bourque back to Oakland for Dennis Myers and Dan Ford, a trade that worked out pretty well for Minnesota; Bourque did not make the Athletics in 1975 and his playing career was over.  It appears that Pat Bourque is the head of public works for the City of Flagstaff, Arizona.  He apparently has done some baseball instructional videos, as there are several clips on youtube of him giving tips on how to play first base.  He also has participated in a variety of charitable baseball-related events in Arizona.

Catcher Christopher Wan Turner did not play for the Twins, but was briefly in their farm system in 1998.  He was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, attended Western Kentucky University, and was drafted by California in the seventh round in 1991.  He did not hit much in the minors; his best season was probably 1992, when he hit .252/.410/.394 for Class A Quad Cities.  He never had an on-base percentage that high again, although he did continue to draw a good number of walks.  He jumped from A to AAA at the start of 1993 and reached the majors in late August of that season.  He was the Angels’ starting catcher the rest of the way and hit .280, but he would never hit as high again, nor would he ever be a regular again.  He shared catching duties with Greg Myers and Jorge Fabregas in 1994, getting the most at-bats he would ever get in a season, 149.  He was in the minors for the Angels most of the next three seasons, missing much of 1997 with injuries.  The Twins signed him in December of 1997, but released him on April 20 of 1998.  He did not play a game as a Twin in either the majors or the minors.  He finished the year in the Kansas City organization, getting nine major league at-bats.  He moved on to Cleveland for 1999, appearing in twelve more major league games, and was with the Yankees for 2000.  He made it back to the big leagues for most of the season in New York, getting 89 at-bats backing up Jorge Posada.  He signed with Philadelphia for 2001, but did not make the team and his playing career came to an end.  He was inducted into the Western Kentucky University Hall of Fame in 2001.  It appears that he may have returned to his home town of Bowling Green, but this could not be confirmed.

Right-hander Ramon Diogenes Ortiz was a member of the Minnesota Twins for about four and a half months in 2007.  A native of Cotui in the Dominican Republic, Ortiz was signed by the Angels as a free agent in 1995.  He generally pitched well in the minors, although he appears to have been slowed by an injury in 1998.  He reached AAA in 1999 and after only nine starts there was promoted to the majors in August.  He was immediately thrown into the rotation, but he wasn't ready, going 2-3, 6.52.  He split the next year between AAA and the majors, but by 2001 he was in the big leagues to stay.  He was in the Angels starting rotation for three full years, from 2001-2003.  His best year was clearly 2002, when he went 15-9, 3.77 with a WHIP of 1.18.  His ERA soared to 5.2 the next year, and when he got off to a poor start in 2004 Ortiz was sent to the bullpen.  The Angels traded him to the Reds for 2005, but while he stayed in the rotation he really did not pitch any better than he had the year before.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Washington for 2006 and again spent the entire year in the rotation despite pitching poorly.  He signed with Minnesota as a free agent for 2007.  He was again in the rotation and pitched well in his first three starts, but slipped to average for his next two and bad for his next five.  Ortiz went to the bullpen after that and was traded to Colorado in mid-August for Matt Macri.  As a Twin, he was 4-4, 5.14 in 28 appearances, ten of the starts.  He pitched 91 innings for Minnesota.  Ortiz became a free agent after the 2007 season and played in Japan for the Orix Blue Wave in 2008, where he continued to not pitch very well.  He came back to the United States for 2009, pitching at AAA Phoenix in the Giants' organization.  He signed with the Dodgers for 2010 and made sixteen appearances in the majors, most of them poor ones.  The Dodgers released him in early June, he was in the Mets’ organization for about a month and a half, and he finished the season at AAA with Tampa Bay.  He was released by the Rays in March of 2011, but signed with the Cubs a month later and battled his way back to the big leagues, spending half the season in Chicago.  A free agent again after the season, he signed with San Francisco for 2012.  He's 39 years old today and hasn't had a good season since 2004 (and even that season was really nothing to shout about), but somehow he keeps getting chances.  One has to assume that the Ramon Ortiz story may not be done quite yet.

March 22

Jack Boyle (1866)
Ernie Quigley (1880)
Goldie Holt (1902)
Bob Elson (1904)
Marv Owen (1906)
Billy Goodman (1926)
Al Schroll (1932)
Gene Oliver (1935)
Frank Pulli (1935)
Dick Ellsworth (1940)
Ron Wojciak (1943)
Jake Brown (1948)
Eddie Bane (1952)
Bob Costas (1952)
Eric Rasmussen (1952)
Scott Bradley (1960)
Matt Sinatro (1960)
Rich Monteleone (1963)
Glenallen Hill (1965)
Sean Berry (1966)
Ramon Martinez (1968)
Cory Lidle (1972)
Mike Morse (1982)
Ike Davis (1987)

Goldie Holt is credited with teaching Charlie Hough to throw the knuckleball.

Ron Wojciak helped the Minnesota Golden Gophers win the College World Series in 1964 and played in the Twins’ farm system in 1965.  He passed away from lung cancer in 1966.

Jake Brown was drafted by Minnesota in the thirty-third round in 1967, but he did not sign.

Scott Bradley was drafted by Minnesota in the twelfth round in 1978, but he did not sign.

Right-hander Albert Bringhurst Schroll appeared in eleven games for the Twins in 1961.  Born in New Orleans, he attended Tulane and signed with Boston as a free agent in 1951.  He remained in the Red Sox system through 1959.  He moved around a lot, playing for two teams in 1951, three teams in 1952, two teams in 1956, and five teams in 1957.  Schroll reached AAA in 1955 and did fairly well, posting a 3.87 ERA at age 23, but spent the next two years in AA, again reaching AAA in 1958 with Minneapolis.  That was also the year he made his big league debut, spending about three weeks with Boston.  He did not do anything special in either the majors or the minors, and was traded to Philadelphia after the season.  He made three appearances for the Phillies in 1959 and was sent back to Boston, going back to AAA until mid-July.  After the season, Schroll was traded again, this time to the Cubs.  He had a fine season for AAA Houston in 1960, posting a 3.04 ERA.  He began 1961 in Houston, but when he got off to a slow start he was sold to Minnesota in June.  He pitched very well in eleven starts for AAA Syracuse and was promoted to the Twins in early August.  He made eleven appearances, eight of them starts, and went 4-4, 5.22 in fifty innings.  He pitched fairly well in AAA in 1962 and in AA in 1963, but that was the end of his playing career.  After that, he worked for Sears in Alexandria, Virginia.  Al Schroll passed away in Alexandria on November 30, 1999 at the age of 67.

Left-hander Edward Norman Bane was with the Twins for parts of three seasons, 1973 and 1975-1976.  He was born in Chicago and attended Arizona State.  He was drafted by the Twins with the eleventh pick of the 1973 draft.  He started his professional career in the majors, but was not ready, going 0-5, 4.92 in 60.1 innings.  He spent all of 1974 and almost all of 1975 in the minors, posting ERAs of just over four at AAA Tacoma.  He was promoted to Minnesota in September of 1975 and pitched very well in four starts, going 3-1, 2.86, although he walked 15 in 28 innings.  He was back in Tacoma at the start of 1976, but came to the majors in late June and was once again placed in the Twins' rotation.  He did not get much done, going 4-7, 5.11 in 79.1 innings.  Bane was back in Tacoma in 1977, and after another mediocre year he became a free agent.  The White Sox signed him and again sent him to AAA, but he did no better than he had before.  Bane missed all of 1979 with an injury.  The White Sox had no more use for him, and sent him to Kansas City to try to make a comeback.  He split 1980 between the AAA teams of the Royals and the Cubs, and then his playing career came to an end.  For his career, Eddie Bane was 7-13, 4.66 in 44 appearances, 25 of them starts.  He pitched 168 major league innings.  He managed in the low minors for Cleveland in the mid 1980s.  He has also done some scouting.  He was a special assistant to the general manager of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 1999 through 2003 and was the scouting director of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from 2004-2010.  Eddie Bane is currently a scout for the Detroit Tigers.  His brother, Dan Bane, is the CEO of Trader Joe's.

Born Harold Ralph Rasmussen, right-hander Eric Ralph Rasmussen has been a coach and coordinator in the Twins' system since 1996. He was born in Racine, Wisconsin and attended the University of New Orleans.  He was drafted by St. Louis in the 32nd round in 1973.  Despite his low draft position, he made a rapid rise through the Cardinals system by pitching very well in the minors.  He made his big-league debut in late July of 1975 and stayed in the majors through 1980.  He was in the Cardinals' rotation through the end of 1975 and pitched well, but began 1976 in the bullpen, not rejoining the rotation until July.  He consistently posted ERAs in the mid-to-upper threes with St. Louis, but after a poor start in 1978 he was traded to San Diego in late May.  He split 1979 and 1980 between the bullpen and the rotation, pitching pretty well in 1979 but less well in 1980.  Surprisingly, the Padres released him late in spring training in 1981, and he went to Yucatan in the Mexican League.  He signed with St. Louis again in 1982, but again failed to make the team and this time was sold to Yucatan.  The Cardinals bought him back in mid-August, but he did not pitch particularly well.  Rasmussen started 1983 in St. Louis, but was sent down in early May after only six appearances.  He pitched very well in Louisville and was sold to Kansas City in early August.  Unfortunately, he did not do very well for the Royals, and he would never get back to the majors again.  He was in AAA for Houston in 1984, pitched for an independent team in 1985, pitched very well in AAA for Baltimore in 1986, and less well for the same team in 1987, after which his playing career came to an end.  Rasmussen joined the Twins' organization in 1996 as the pitching coach of the Ft. Myers Miracle.  He remained in Ft. Myers through 1997, moved to New Britain in 1998, then went back to Ft. Myers from 1999 through 2008.  In 2009, Eric Rasmussen became the minor league pitching coordinator for the Minnesota Twins, a position he continues to hold.

A descendant of Robert Fulton, right-hander Cory Fulton Lidle did not play for the Twins, but spent two years in their minor-league system.  Born in Hollywood, he went to high school in Covina, California, and was signed by Minnesota as a free agent in 1990.  He did not begin playing professionally until 1991, and then spent three years in rookie ball.  He made four appearances in 1991 and pitched fairly well in relief in 1992, but the Twins released him in April of 1993.  He played for independent Pocatello in 1993 and was sold to Milwaukee after the season.  Lidle had a couple of decent years in the Brewers' system, reaching AA in 1995.  He was then traded to the Mets prior to the 1996 season.  He had a good year at AA in 1996 and was off to a strong start in AAA in 1997 when he was called up to the majors in early May.  He had a very good year in the Mets' bullpen, going 7-2, 3.53 with a 1.30 WHIP in 81.2 innings spread over 54 games.  He was left unprotected in the expansion draft, however, and was chosen by Arizona.  He suffered an elbow injured in 1998 and made only two minor league appearances.  He was waived after the season and taken by Tampa Bay.  He was apparently still injured in 1999, making only five major league and five minor league appearances.  He started very well in AAA in 2000, but did not do as well when called up to the majors in early-May, although he stayed with the Devil Rays through the end of the season.  Lidle was traded to Oakland before the 2001 season.  He had the best years of his career with the Athletics:  in two seasons, he was 21-16, 3.74 with a WHIP of 1.18.  He was traded to Toronto after the 2002 campaign and had a bad 2003, posting an ERA of 5.75.  He became a free agent, signed with Cincinnati for 2004, and was traded to Philadelphia in August.  He pitched well for the Phillies the rest of that season, but less well in 2005 and 2006.  Lidle was traded to the Yankees in late July and finished the season there.  Cory Lidle was killed in a plane crash on October 11, 2006.

March 21

Jack Herbert (1877)
Mysterious Walker (1894)
Bill McGowan (1896)
Shanty Hogan (1906)
Tommy Davis (1939)
Manny Sanguillen (1944)
Al Fitzmorris (1946)
Bill Plummer (1947)
Fernando Arroyo (1952)
Luis Leal (1957)
Tim Leary (1958)
Shawon Dunston (1963)
Tim McIntosh (1965)
Cristian Guzman (1978)

Jack Herbert was a minor league manager in the early 1900s.  Among the teams he managed were the Pekin Celestials, the Cedar Rapids Rabbits, and the Cairo Egyptians.

Right-hander Fernando Arroyo pitched for the Twins from 1980-1982.  Born and raised in Sacramento, he was drafted by the Tigers in the tenth round in 1970.  He pitched very well in the low minors, stumbled in his first year at AAA in 1974, but had a 2.62 ERA and 1.16 WHIP there in 11 starts in 1975 when he was promoted to Detroit in late June.  He didn't do so badly for a 23-year-old:  2-1, 4.56 in 53.1 innings, mostly in relief.  Back in AAA in 1976, he had a poor year, but he still made the Tigers out of spring training in 1977 and was in the starting rotation by mid-May.  He was 8-18, but had an ERA of 4.17 and a WHIP of 1.33.  Unfortunately, no one could see past the eighteen losses, and Arroyo was in AAA for most of 1978 and 1979.  He was not particularly good there in 1978, but had a strong year in 1979.  After the 1979 season, though, Arroyo was traded to Minnesota for Jeff Holly.  He made eight starts in AAA Toledo and went 6-1, 1.62, resulting in a promotion to the Twins in early June.  He started in the bullpen, but was in the starting rotation in July and August.  He did fairly well there, going 4-5, 4.39 as a starter, but was removed from the rotation in September.  He was in the rotation for almost all of 1981 and again wasn't too bad, going 7-10, 3.93 with a 1.39 WHIP.  Arroyo began 1982 in the bullpen, but did not pitch well there, was in the minors by the first of May, and was released in mid-May.  As a Twin, Fernando Arroyo went 13-17, 4.30 in 234.1 innings over fifty games, thirty of them starts.  Oakland signed him, but he did not pitch well there either and was released again in late July.  The White Sox picked up Arroyo a couple days later.  He was in AAA with them through 1984.  He was sold to Yucatan in the Mexican League after the season, and pitched for them in 1985.  He hooked on with Oakland for 1986, making one last appearance in the majors before his playing career ended.  After that, Fernando Arroyo was a minor league manager and pitching coach for many years.  In 2008, he was the pitching coach of the Lotte Giants of the Korean League, but he appears to have held that position for only one season.  In 2010, Fernando Arroyo was inducted into the Mexican American Hall of Fame.  At last report, he was living in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Utility player Timothy Allen McIntosh did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 1994.  Born and raised in Minnetonka, Minnesota, he attended the University of Minnesota and was drafted by Milwaukee in the third round in 1986.  Initially an outfielder, he converted to catching in 1987.  He hit .302 with 20 home runs at Class A Beloit in 1987, but was still in Class A in 1988, presumably to work on catching skills.  He continued to produce good averages with double-digit home run power throughout his time in the minors, reaching AA in 1989 and AAA in 1990.  He made his major league debut in 1990 as well, getting five at-bats as a September call-up.  He got another September call-up in 1991, getting eleven at-bats this time, and started 1992 in the majors.  He was in the majors most of the season, but was seldom used, catching fourteen games, playing the outfield in ten, and playing first base in seven.  He started 1993 with the Brewers as well, but had only one at-bat when he was put on waivers and claimed by Montreal in mid-April.  He stuck with the Expos until late July, again as a seldom-used reserve, then finished the year in the minors.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota for 1994.  He had a really good year at AAA Salt Lake, batting .338 with 18 homers and an OPS of .914, but despite the fact that the Twins catchers that year were Matt Walbeck and Derek Parks, he never got a call-up to the majors.  He was sold to the Nippon Ham Fighters for 1995, then came back to play in the Yankees’ system in 1996.  He got three more at-bats in the majors that season, which would prove to be his big league swan song.  He hung around for a few more years, playing in AAA for the Cubs in 1997 and for independent Sacramento in 1999, then was done for good.  He has remained in baseball since.  Most of those years have been as a scout for the Yankees, the position he currently holds.  His wife Laura has a syndicated TV show, "Bringing It Home with Laura McIntosh".  For his career, Tim McIntosh hit .179/.211/.274 in 117 at-bats over five major league seasons.  He appeared in 71 major league games, starting only twenty.

Shortstop Cristian Guzman was with the Twins from 1999-2004.  Guzman was born and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, he signed with the Yankees as a free agent in 1994.  He did not enter American organized baseball until 1996.  Guzman was in the low minors for the Yankees for two years and was okay, but nothing special.  In February of 1998, Guzman was traded to Minnesota along with Brian Buchanan, Eric Milton, Danny Mota, and cash for Chuck Knoblauch.  He spent one year at AA New Britain, where he was again decent but nothing special, and then was named the Twins starting shortstop in 1999, a position he held through 2004.  He was clearly not ready that year--at age 21, he hit .226 with an OPS of .543.  He improved from there, of course; Guzman's best season as a Twin was 2001, when he hit .302, made the all-star team, and finished 16th in MVP voting.  He led the league in triples three times as a Twin.  In his six years with Minnesota, Guzman hit .266/.303/.382 with 61 triples and 102 stolen bases.  Guzman became a free agent after the 2004 season and signed with Washington.  He had a poor year in 2005 and missed all of 2006 and part of 2007 with injuries.  He played well for the Nationals after that, hitting .305 from 2007 on and making another all-star team in 2008.  He was having another solid season in 2010 when he was traded to Texas at the July deadline.  He played poorly in Texas, hitting just .152 and battling injuries, and became a free agent.  He sat out the 2011 season, but signed with Cleveland for 2012.  It seems like he's been around forever, but Cristian Guzman only turns 34 today.  It's entirely possible that the Cristian Guzman story may yet have another chapter or two.

March 20

Bill Cammeyer (1821)
Mike Griffin (1865)
Joe McGinnity (1871)
Bob Connery (1880)
Walter Schmidt (1887)
Vern Kennedy (1907)
Clyde Shoun (1912)
Hank Izquierdo (1931)
George Altman (1933)
Pat Corrales (1941)
Rick Langford (1952)
Steve McCatty (1954)
Paul Mirabella (1954)
Si-jin Kim (1958)
Chris Hoiles (1965)
Manny Alexander (1971)

Paul Mirabella was drafted by Minnesota in the sixteenth round in 1975, but did not sign.

Catcher Enrique Roberto (Valdes) "Hank" Izquierdo was a reserve catcher for the Twins for two months in 1967.  Born and raised in Matanzas, Cuba, he started playing in organized baseball in 1951.  He spent three years playing for the Galveston White Caps, and independent team in the Class B Gulf Coast League.  He went to independent Winston-Salem in 1954 before going to the Cleveland organization with Class B Keokuk in 1955.  He hit .302 that year, his fifth in Class B, and also played at least one game at each position that season.  When he moved higher, unfortunately, his hitting ability could not keep up.  Minor league transaction records from the 1950s are not good, but Izquierdo moved to the Baltimore organization sometime in 1956 and to the Cincinnati organization in 1957.  He spent five years in AAA for Cincinnati, playing in Havana and Jersey City.  He hit .190 in 998 at-bats over that five-year period.  He retired after the 1961 season to become the bullpen coach for Cleveland, but in 1963, he made a comeback with in the Twins' organization.  He hit .297 playing in Class A at age 32.  He spent the next two years at AA before once again reaching AAA at age 35 in 1966.  He was hitting .300 in 1967 at AAA Denver when at age 36 Hank Izquierdo made his major league debut.  Used as a reserve, he went 7-for-26 with two doubles and two RBIs in the major leagues.  Izquierdo moved to the Houston organization, playing in AAA through 1969.  After the 1968 season, he was driving a taxi in Miami during the off-season and was shot in the stomach during a robbery, nearly dying.  His playing career ending in 1969 when he got into a fight with Ted Simmons in a AAA game and swung a bat at him, fortunately missing.  He managed in the Mexican League for several years and was a scout for the Twins in the 1980s.  At last report, Hank Izquierdo was living in West Palm Beach, Florida.

March 19

Jose Mendez (1887)
Bill Wambsganss (1894)
Gee Walker (1908)
Bob Davids (1926)
Richie Ashburn (1927)
Al Solerno (1931)
Paul Powell (1948)
Tim Corcoran (1953)
Mike Norris (1955)
Ivan Calderon (1962)
Jason LaRue (1974)
David Ross (1977)

Outfielder Paul Ray Powell was with the Twins for about six weeks in 1971.  He was born in San Angelo, Texas and attended Arizona State.  He played both baseball and football at ASU, playing as a defensive back and as a place kicker (in 1968, he led the NCAA in scoring by kick).  He was chosen by Minnesota with the seventh pick of the 1969 draft.  He hit .291 in AAA Evansville in 1970 and started 1971 as a reserve outfielder on the big club.  He appeared in twenty games, making six starts, seven appearances as a pinch runner, two appearances as a pinch hitter, and was used as a defensive replacement five times.  He went 5-for-31 with one home run and was sent to the minors.  He had a poor year in AAA and after the season was traded to the Dodgers for Bobby Darwin.  Powell bounced back to hit .301 in AAA Albuquerque in 1972, and started 1973 with the Dodgers.  He didn't last long, however, playing in only two games and getting only one at-bat before being sent back to AAA.  Powell was in Albuquerque through 1975, getting ten more big league at bats in his last season.  His career came to an end after the 1975 season.  After leaving baseball, Paul Ray Powell entered the real estate business, and appears to have been rather successful.  At last report, he was a broker with Realty Executives, a real estate company with offices all over the country.

First baseman/outfielder Timothy Michael Corcoran played for the Twins for a month in 1981.  Born in Glendale, California, he attended Cal State--Los Angeles and signed with Detroit as a free agent in 1974.  He hit for a high average throughout the minors, hitting over .300 three times in four years.  He made his big-league debut in mid-May of 1977 as a reserve outfielder and continued to hit well, posting a .282 average in 103 at-bats.  1978 was Corcoran's first full year in the majors, as he platooned with John Wockenfuss in right field.  He hit for a decent average, but for no power whatsoever, and after getting off to a slow start in 1979, he was back at AAA.  He hit .338 there, which got him another shot at the majors in 1980.  He got another full year in the big leagues as a reserve first baseman/corner outfielder and did pretty well, hitting .288 with an OPS of .784 in 153 at-bats.  He was back in AAA in 1981 until he was traded to the Twins in September as the player to be named later in a deal that sent Ron Jackson to Detroit.  Corcoran played for the Twins the rest of the 1981 season, platooning at first base with Mickey Hatcher.  He hit .176/.259/.235 in 51 at-bats and was released prior to the 1982 campaign.  He signed with Philadelphia and again hit very well in AAA, averaging .300 over the next two years.  This got him two years in the majors with the Phillies as a reserve first baseman and outfielder.  He hit .341 in 208 at-bats in 1984, but hit .214 in 182 at-bats in 1985.  He was released after the season, signed with the Mets for 1986, got seven at-bats, and was released in June.  He was back in the minors with the Phillies in both 1987 and 1988, and then his playing career came to an end.  He was inducted into the Cal State--L. A. Hall of Fame in 1985.  No information about Tim Corcoran's life after his playing career ended was readily available.

March 18

Nixey Callahan (1874)
Johnny Cooney (1901)
Al Benton (1911)
Elbie Fletcher (1916)
Hi Bithorn (1916)
Eddie Lake (1916)
Bob Broeg (1918)
Hal White (1919)
George Plimpton (1927)
Charley Pride (1938)
Pat Jarvis (1941)
Dwayne Murphy (1955)
Geronimo Berroa (1965)
Tomo Ohka (1976)
Scott Podsednik (1976)
Corky Miller (1976)
Fernando Rodney (1977)

Hi Bithorn was the first Puerto Rican to play in the major leagues, making his first appearance for the Cubs in 1942.

Author George Plimpton introduced the world to Sidd Finch in 1985.

Country singer Charley Pride pitched in the minor leagues for parts of three seasons from 1953-1960.  He also played in the Negro Leagues for a couple of seasons as those leagues were nearing the end of their existence.

One of the finest fourth-string catchers in the history of baseball, Abraham Philip "Corky" Miller played for the Twins at the beginning of 2005.  Born and raised in Yucaipa, California, he attended the University of Nevada--Reno and was signed by Cincinnati as a free agent in 1998.  He had an excellent year in 2001 split between AA and AAA, hitting .309 with 16 home runs in 314 at-bats.  That got him a September call-up, and was the first of ten years in which Miller has played at least part of the season in both the majors and the minors.  The most playing time Miller has gotten in a major league season came in 2002, when he played in 39 games and had 114 at-bats for Cincinnati.  He was placed on waivers after the 2004 season and was claimed by Minnesota.  He started 2005 with the Twins and played in five games, getting twelve at-bats.  As a Twin, Corky Miller hit .000/.000/.000.  Sent to AAA at the end of April, he hit .229 there and became a free agent after the season.  He started 2006 with Seattle, was released in mid-April, and finished the campaign with the Red Sox, for whom he went 0-for-4 (for a three-year period from 2004 through 2006, Miller's major league average was .018 (1-for-55)).  He was with Atlanta for 2007 and 2008, signed with the White Sox for 2009, and was traded to Cincinnati in late June.  He remained there for 2010, splitting the season between AAA and the majors, and actually had one of his better seasons, hitting .243/.282/.392 in 74 major league at-bats.  He could not sustain his success in 2011, hitting .200 (although with an OBP of .348) in 145 at-bats for AAA Louisville.  In ten partial seasons in the majors, Miller has hit under .200 six times and under .100 four times.  His career major league numbers are .188/.270/.300 in 504 at-bats.  Corky Miller is still in the Cincinnati organization, having signed with them for 2012.

March 17

Fred Pfeffer (1860)
Oscar Stanage (1883)
Joe Fitzgerald (1897)
Charlie Root (1899)
Sammy Baugh (1914)
Hank Sauer (1917)
Pete Reiser (1919)
Vic Voltaggio (1941)
Cito Gaston (1944)
Kurt Russell (1951)
Tim Lollar (1956)
Frank Wren (1958)
Danny Ainge (1959)
John Smiley (1965)
Dan Masteller (1968)
Bill Mueller (1971)
Raul Chavez (1973)
Scott Downs (1976)
Robb Quinlan (1977)

Joe Fitzgerald had a long association with the Minnesota/Washington franchise, serving as bullpen catcher from 1945-1947, coach from 1948-1956, and scout from 1957 until he passed away in 1967.

Hall of Fame quarterback Sammy Baugh was an infielder in the minors for St. Louis in 1938, batting .200 in the American Association and the International League.

Actor Kurt Russell spent three years in the low minors (1971-1973), batting .292. in 356 at-bats.

NBA star Danny Ainge was a third baseman for Toronto from 1979-1981.

Left-hander John Patrick Smiley pitched for the Twins in 1992.  He was born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania and went to high school in Graterford, Pennsylvania.  He was drafted by Pittsburgh in the twelfth round in 1983.  He struggled early in his minor league career and was moved to the bullpen in 1986.  He had a very good year in relief, posting an ERA of 3.10 and a WHIP of 1.16 in 90 innings in Class A.  That got him a September call-up, and the next year he stayed in the majors, never going back to AA or AAA.  Smiley was used in relief in 1987 and did not do a whole lot, but he joined the starting rotation in 1988 and stayed in a major league rotation for ten years.  He was in the Pirates' rotation through 1991.  His last year with Pittsburgh was his best, as Smiley went 20-8, 3.08 in 207.2 innings.  He made his first all-star appearance that year, finished third in Cy Young voting, and was fourteenth in MVP balloting.  In March of 1992, Smiley was traded to the Twins for Midre Cummings and Denny Neagle.  He had an excellent year for the Twins, going 16-9, 3.21 with a 1.12 WHIP and setting a career high with 241 innings.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Cincinnati.  Smiley struggled in 1993, dealing with both injuries and ineffectiveness.  He bounced back in 1994 and had three consecutive years with ERAs under four and WHIPs under 1.30.  He made the all-star team for the second time in 1995  He had a poor year in 1997, and an injury shortly after his mid-season trade to Cleveland led Smiley to retire after the 1997 season.  John Smiley was never a superstar, but he was a solid rotation starter for several years.  At last report, he was living in Trappe, Pennsylvania.

First baseman/outfielder Dan Patrick Masteller was with the Twins for a little over half of the 1995 season.  He was born in Toledo, attended Michigan State, and was drafted by Minnesota in the eleventh round in 1989.  He did not show much power in the minors, but hit over .300 for three consecutive years, most of which were in AAA Salt Lake.  He was in the third of those years when he was brought up to Minnesota in late June of 1995.  The left- handed hitter was used almost exclusively against right-handed pitching, sharing first base with Scott Stahoviak and also playing a little corner outfield.  Masteller played in 71 games that season, getting 198 at-bats.  He hit .237/.303/.343 with three homers and 21 RBIs.  Released after the season, he was signed by Montreal and again hit for a high average in AA, but apparently no one was impressed; he was let go in mid-season and finished the year in the independent North Atlantic League.  1996 was to be Masteller's last season in organized baseball.  Dan Masteller is currently a senior vice president with CB Richard Ellis, a real estate investment broker which proclaims itself "the global leader in real estate services."

Left-hander Scott Jeremy Downs did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system briefly in 1999.  Born and raised in Louisville, he attended the University of Kentucky and was drafted by the Cubs in the third round in 1997.  He pitched pretty well in their system for two seasons, but in November of 1998 he was the player to be named later in the deal that sent Mike Morgan to the Cubs.  He pitched 19.2 innings in New Britain and 9.2 innings in Ft. Myers, doing poorly for the former and well for the latter, when he was sent back to the Cubs on May 21 of 1999 along with Rick Aguilera for Kyle Lohse and Jason Ryan.  He made the Cubs starting rotation at the start of the 2000 season, but did not do well and was traded to Montreal at the July trading deadline for Rondell White.  He made one start for the Expos and then went down with an injury, missing the entire 2001 season.  He spent most of the next three years in the minors, making one major league start in 2003 and 12 in 2004.  After that season, he was released by the then Washington franchise and signed with Toronto.  He started the season in the minors but made it back to the big leagues for good in mid-May of 2005 and began a transition to the bullpen.  He began pitching better immediately, and started pitching really well as a LOOGY in 2007.   He was a free agent after the 2010 season, signed with the Angels, and continued to pitch really well.  From 2007-2011, Downs has appeared in 322 games and pitched 290.1 innings.  He is 16-16 with 16 saves, an ERA of 2.17, and a WHIP of 1.12.  He's 36 today, but is showing no signs of slowing down yet.

March 16

Bud Fowler (1847)
Blondie Purcell (1854)
Jerry Denny (1859)
Patsy Donovan (1865)
Jake Flowers (1902)
Buddy Myer (1904)
Lloyd Waner (1906)
Ken O'Dea (1913)
Tom Gorman (1919)
Clint Courtney (1927)
Hobie Landrith (1930)
Don Blasingame (1932)
Rick Reichardt (1943)
Rick Renick (1944)
Charles Hudson (1959)
Fieldin Culbreth (1963)
Abraham Nunez (1976)
Curtis Granderson (1981)

Bud Fowler was the first African-American to play professional baseball, playing in the minors in 1878 and from 1884-1894.

Infielder/outfielder Warren Richard Renick played for the Twins from 1968-1972.  Born and raised in London, Ohio, he attende Ohio State and was signed by Minnesota as a free agent in 1965.  Renick did not show a whole lot of promise in the minors, although he did hit 20 homers at Class A Wilson in 1967.  He was hitting .247 with ten homers at AAA Denver in 1968 when he was called up in mid-July to try to fill a void at shortstop.  Renick held the starting shortstop job for about a month, but when he hit no better than the others the Twins had tried he went to the bench.  Renick stuck in the majors, though, staying with Minnesota for the next four full seasons.  He was used primarily at third base and left field the rest of his time in the big leagues.  Renick never got 200 at-bats in a season, never batted higher than .245, and never hit more than seven home runs in a season.  After the 1972 season, Renick played six years at AAA, four with the Twins and two in the Montreal organization.  As a Twin, Rick Renick hit .221/.302/.373 in 553 at-bats over 276 games.  For his last five seasons at AAA, Renick was a player-coach.  His playing career ended after the 1978 season, and he became a coach for Kansas City from 1979-1981.  He managed in AA for Montreal from 1982-1984, and then became a major league coach for the Expos from 1985-1986.  Renick was a coach for the Twins from 1987-1990, then managed at AAA for the White Sox from 1991-1996.  Renick coached in the majors for Pittsburgh from 1997-2000, for the Expos in 2001, and for Florida in 2002.  Rick Renick appears to currently be living in retirement in Sarasota, Florida.  His son, Josh, played in the minor leagues from 2001 through 2007, spending 2001-2003 in the Twins organization, before becoming an assistant coach for Tennessee Wesleyan College.

March 15

Arlie "The Freshest Man on Earth" Latham (1860)
Doc Casey (1870)
Ralph Miller (1873)
Fred Lieb (1888)
Rosy Ryan (1898)
Jimmie Crutchfield (1910)
Bob Locker (1938)
Wayne Granger (1944)
Bobby Bonds (1946)
Jim Kern (1949)
Steve Stroughter (1952)
Mickey Hatcher (1955)
Harold Baines (1959)
Mike Pagliarulo (1960)
Kim Batiste (1968)
Robert Fick (1974)
Dan Perkins (1975)
Vladimir Nunez (1975)
Kevin Youkilis (1979)

Ralph Miller was the first major league player to live to be a hundred years old.

Right-handed reliever Wayne Allan Granger was co-closer with Dave LaRoche in 1972.  He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, went to high school in Huntington, Massachusetts, and then attended Springfield College, the same school attended by ex-Twin Glenn Adams.  Granger signed with St. Louis as a free agent in 1965.  He was a starter that year, but shifted to the bullpen in 1966.  He pitched quite well in the minors, reaching AAA in 1967.  In 1968, after posting a 2.16 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP in 25 AAA innings, Granger made his big league debut in early June.  He pitched very well the rest of the season, going 4-2, 2.25 with four saves in 44 innings.  He was traded to Cincinnati after the season and did very well there for three years.  He led the league in saves with 35 in 1970 and led the league in appearances in 1969 and 1971.  He twice received consideration for the MVP award and finished eighth in Cy Young voting in 1970.  After the 1971 season, Granger was traded to Minnesota for Tom Hall.  He continued to pitch very well, going 4-6, 3.01 with 19 saves and a 1.24 WHIP for the Twins in 1972.  After the season, though, Granger was on the move again, traded to St. Louis for John Cumberland and Larry Hisle.  After that, he seemed to kind of hit the wall, and while he had a couple more decent years, he was never a top reliever again.  Granger did not pitch particularly well for the Cardinals and was traded to the Yankees in August of 1973.  The Yankees released him in late March of 1974 and Granger signed with the White Sox.  He spent much of 1974 at AAA, and did not do well in the majors when he did pitch there.  Released after the season, Granger signed with Houston for 1975 and was decent, but no more.  He was released after the season and signed with Montreal for 1976.  He was with the Expos for the first half of the season and was okay, but not very good, and was sent to the minors.  The Expos released him in February of 1977, he signed with Atlanta, and was released again in March.  Granger pitched in Mexico in 1977, apparently did not play in 1978, and then tried to come back with Montreal in 1979 but was ineffective in AAA, ending his playing career.  Wayne Granger was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Fame in 1982.  After leaving baseball, he worked for a sporting goods company, then at a boat dealership, and then started a billiard business that lasted for fourteen years, until his retirement.

Outfielder Stephen Lewis Stroughter did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for a couple of months in 1981.  Born and raised in Visalia, California, he attended the College of the Sequoias and was drafted by San Francisco with the sixth pick of the 1971 June Secondary draft.  He hit pretty well in the minors but his power was inconsistent at first, plus he struck out a lot, so he did not get to AA until 1974 and did not leave Class A behind for good until after the 1975 season.  After that season, when he hit .301 with 15 homers for Fresno at age 23, he was sold to California.  He had two fine years at AA El Paso and then went to AAA Salt Lake City, where he hit .325/.419/.535 in 1978.  Not only did that not earn him a call-up to the majors, Stroughter was released at the end of spring training in 1979.  He was out of baseball until the middle of June, when Seattle signed him.  He had a couple of solid years at AAA Spokane in 1979 and 1980, but was traded to Minnesota after the 1980 season for Mike Bacsik.  In 82 at-bats at Toledo, he hit .247/.317/.411 and then was sold back to Seattle at the end of May.  He finished the season in Spokane, then finally made his major league debut at the start of the 1982 season.  He was used almost exclusively as a bench player, getting only 40 at-bats by May 19.  He did not impress in those at-bats and was sent back to AAA Salt Lake City.  He was back with the Mariners for the month of July, but got only seven more at bats, hitting .170/.235/.255 for the season.  Those would be his career major league numbers; he was in AAA for Toronto and in Japan in 1983, and then his playing career ended.  He appears to have been limited defensively, but he hit .303/.377/.503 in 1,818 AAA at-bats.  Much of that was in the Pacific Coast League, but it’s still hard to think he couldn’t have helped somebody if he’d been given the chance.  After baseball, Steve Stroughter returned to Visalia, where he is an “independent entertainment professional.”

Outfielder/first baseman/third baseman Mickey Vaughn Hatcher played for the Twins from 1981-1986.  Hatcher was born in Cleveland, but went to high school in Mesa, Arizona and attended the University of Oklahoma, where he also played football.  He was drafted by the Dodgers in the fifth round in 1977.  He hit very well in the minors--his career minor league batting average is .339 in 1,403 at-bats.  He split 1979 and 1980 between AAA and the majors, but his minor league success did not immediately translate to the majors, as he hit only .243 in 177 at-bats.  In late March of 1981, Hatcher was traded to Minnesota with Kelly Snider and Matt Reeves for Ken Landreaux.  While he only had one season in which he played in over 120 games (1984), Hatcher was a semi-regular, at least, in his six years with the Twins.  He was generally used in the outfield, playing mostly in center in 1981, splitting time in the two corner outfield positions in 1982, playing mostly in right in 1983, and moving to left for 1984-1986.  He topped .300 in consecutive years, 1983-1984.  As a Twin, he hit .284/.315/.383 in 2,366 at-bats (672 games).  Despite hitting .278 in 1986, Hatcher was released by the Twins in March of 1987.  He signed with the Dodgers and played for them for four years as a reserve.  He continued to hit for a high average in his first three years, but in the fourth year he dropped to .212.  He played briefly for AAA Albuquerque in 1991, and then his playing career came to an end.  Hatcher remained in baseball, coaching for the Texas Rangers in 1993 and 1994, managing and coaching in the minors, and coaching for the Dodgers in 1998.  Since 2000, Mickey Hatcher has been a coach for the Los Angeles Angels.

Third baseman Michael Timothy Pagliarulo played for the Twins in the early 1990s.  Born in Medford, Massachusetts, he attended the University of Miami and then was drafted by the Yankees in the sixth round in 1981.  His batting averages in the minors were nothing special, but he hit for power (41 homers from 1982-1983) and drew a high number of walks.  He was actually having a poor year in AAA Columbus in 1984 when he was brought up to the majors in early July to replace Toby Harrah.  He remained the Yankees' third baseman through June of 1989.  He never hit for average, but he hit 105 home runs in a Yankee uniform.  When Pagliarulo hit in the .230s, his power numbers made him acceptable to the Yankees, but in 1988 both his power and his average dropped, and the next year he was traded to San Diego.  His power never did come back, but he was able to raise his batting average, hitting .254 as the mostly-regular third baseman for the Padres in 1990.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota.  Platooned with Scott Leius in 1991, Pagliarulo hit .279 for the World Champion Twins.  He missed much of 1992 with injury, but came back in 1993 and was hitting .292 in late August when he was traded to Baltimore for a player to be named later (Erik Schullstrom).  He finished the year at .303.  As a Twin, Mike Pagilarulo hit .272/.317/.376 in 723 at-bats (246 games).  He was a free agent in 1994 and played in Japan.  He came back in 1995 as a platoon third baseman for Texas, but hit only .232, and his playing career came to an end.  Mike Pagliarulo was the owner of the website dugoutcentral.com.  He is currently a principal in an international sports consulting company called The Baseline Group as well as the founder of a nonprofit corporation called the Baseball Institute of Development, which collaborates with leading experts from various fields of sports and medicine to provide qualified resources and develop solutions to advance athletic performance knowledge.  One of the officers of the Baseball Institute of Development is Dan Gladden.  Pagliarulo’s son, also named Mike, played baseball for Dartmouth College.

Right-hander Daniel Lee Perkins was with the Twins for much of 1999.  A native of Miami, Perkins was drafted by Minnesota in the second round in 1993.  His minor league numbers are not particularly impressive:  a career ERA of 4.98 and a career WHIP of 1.50.  He did have an excellent year at Ft. Myers in 1996, going 13-7, 2.96 with a 1.19 WHIP in 136 innings.  Perkins reach AAA late in 1998 and got attention by going 5-0 in seven starts; however, his ERA was 4.82 and his WHIP 1.46, leading one to believe he benefitted from good run support.  Still, he began 1999 in the Twins' bullpen, and became a member of the starting rotation for most of May and June.  In all, he made twelve starts and seventeen relief appearances, going 1-7, 6.54 with a 1.85 WHIP.  He was relatively effective as a reliever, with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP, but was disastrous as a starter.  Oddly, he was much more effective against lefties:  right-handers hit him at a .363/.419/.606 clip that year.  1999 would be Perkins' only year in the majors; after an awful 2000 at AAA Salt Lake the Twins let him go.  He signed with Cleveland, but made only one start at AA Akron before ending his career.  No information about what has happened to Dan Perkins since that time was readily available.

March 14

Candy Nelson (1849)
Bill Holbert (1855)
Marty McManus (1900)
Jack Rothrock (1905)
Santos Amaro (1908)
Dave McKay (1950)
Butch Wynegar (1956)
Steve Lake (1957)
Jerry Willard (1960)
Kirby Puckett (1960)
Kevin Brown (1965)
Brent Gates (1970)
Matt Kata (1978)
Bobby Jenks (1981)

Santos Amaro is the father of Ruben Amaro Sr. and the grandfather of Ruben Amaro Jr.  He was a star player in Cuba and in Mexico and is a member of the Salon de la Fama.

Matt Kata was drafted by Minnesota in the twentieth round in 1996, but did not sign.

Infielder David Lawrence McKay played for the Twins in 1975 and 1976.  He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, attended Creighton University, and signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1971.  He was never much of a hitter; his best year in the minors was 1974 in AA Orlando when he hit .278, significantly above his career minor league average of .245.  Despite that, the Twins brought him up in late August of 1975 and made him their regular third baseman the rest of the season, replacing the injured Eric Soderholm.  He began 1976 as the regular third baseman as well, but predictably failed to hit and lost the job to Mike Cubbage.  McKay was sent to the minors in late June and was left unprotected in the expansion draft after the season, being selected by Toronto.  As a Twin, he hit .228/.281/.281 in 263 at-bats.  McKay was a utility player for the Blue Jays in 1977, hit .197, and in 1978 was made the regular second baseman.  He hit .238, but was still the regular second baseman at the start of 1979, finally losing the job to Danny Ainge in late May and going back to the minors.  He was released after the season and signed with Oakland for 1980.  Moved back into a utility role, he actually did a decent job for a couple of years for the Athletics, hitting .244 and .263 in 1980 and 1981.  In 1982, however, he fell to .198, and after spending 1983 in AAA his career came to an end.  After that, he became a coach for Oakland from 1984 through 1995.  He then followed Tony LaRussa to St. Louis, where he was a coach throug 2011.  When LaRussa retired, however, McKay moved on, and he will be the first base coach for the Chicago Cubs in 2012.  Dave McKay was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.  His son, Cody McKay, was a catcher who got 77 at-bats in the major leagues, three with Oakland in 2002, 74 with St. Louis in 1974.

Switch-hitting catcher Harold Delano “Butch” Wynegar was the Twins' catcher from 1976 through 1982.  A native of York, Pennsylvania, Wynegar was drafted by Minnesota in the second round in 1974.  He had two excellent years in the low minors.  After hitting .314 with 19 homers in Class A Reno in 1975, Wynegar was jumped to the big leagues and made the Twins' regular catcher in 1976.  He had a good year for a twenty-year-old, hitting .260 with ten homers, making the all-star team, finishing second to Mark Fidrych for Rookie of the Year, and getting a tenth-place vote for MVP.  He had a nearly identical season in 1977 and made the all-star team again.  Given his age, Wynegar was considered a coming star, but it turned out that this was about as good as he got.  He remained the Twins' starting catcher until mid-May of 1982, although he was injured much of 1981.  As a Twin, Butch Wynegar hit .254/.340/.342 in 2,746 at-bats (794 games).  He was off to a poor start in 1982 when he was traded to the Yankees along with Roger Erickson for Pete Filson, Larry Milbourne, John Pacella, and cash.  He shared the catching position with Rick Cerone, playing mostly against left-handers, and had a couple of fine years, batting over .290 in his first two seasons as a Yankee.  He then began a slow slide, and after hitting only .206 in 1986, Wynegar was traded to the Angels.  He was a backup catcher for California for two seasons, ending his playing career after the 1988 campaign. Wynegar remained in baseball, becoming a minor league manager and coach in the Baltimore and Texas systems before becoming the batting coach for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2003.  In 2006, he became the batting coach for the Yankees' AAA team, currently known as the Empire State Yankees, a job he still holds.

Hall of Fame outfielder Kirby Puckett was a Twin for his entire major league career, 1984-1995.  Born and raised in Chicago, Puckett attended Bradley University and was chosen by the Twins with the third pick of the 1982 January draft.  He hit .382 in rookie-level Elizabethton in 1982, .314 at Class A Visalia in 1983, and was hitting .263 in AAA Toledo in 1984 when he was called up to Minnesota on May 8.  He was immediately installed as the starting center fielder, got four hits in his first game, and never went to the minors again.  He hit .296 in his first season, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting behind Alvin Davis and Mark Langston.  Puckett hit no homers in 1984 and only four in 1985, but jumped to 31 in 1986; that would be his career high, but he remained a power threat the rest of his career.  He was the Twins regular center fielder until 1994, when he moved to right with first Alex Cole and then Rich Becker taking over in center.  Puckett's best season was probably 1988, when he hit .356 with 24 homers and led the league in both hits and total bases.  For his career, Puckett hit .318/.360/.477 with 207 homers and 134 stolen bases in 7,244 at-bats (1,783 games in twelve seasons).  He received MVP consideration nine times, finishing in the top seven seven times and in the top three three times.  Puckett made the all-star team ten times, won six gold gloves, and won six silver slugger awards.  He led the league in at-bats twice, in hits four times, in RBIs once, in batting average once, and in total bases twice.  He played in the World Series twice, hitting a home run in 1991 which some people may remember.  Shortly before the 1996 season started, he woke up to find that he could not see out of his right eye.  He was diagnosed with glaucoma, and his playing career was suddenly over.  Kirby Puckett was elected to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2001.  In 2002, Puckett was charged with fifth-degree sexual criminal conduct and fifth-degree assault, charges for which he was found not guilty.  He moved to Scottsdale, Arizona in 2003.  Kirby Puckett passed away in Scottsdale on March 6, 2006, one day after suffering a stroke.

Infielder Brent Robert Gates played for Minnesota for two years in the late 1990s.  He was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, attended high school in Grandville, Michigan, and then went to the University of Minnesota.  He was drafted by Oakland in the first round in 1991.  He hit quite well in the minors; Gates hit .321 in Class A Modesto in 1992 and was hitting .337 in 102 at-bats split between AA and AAA in 1993 when he was called up to the majors in May.  He was the Athletics regular second baseman that year and hit .290, finishing sixth for Rookie of the Year.  He was having a similar year in 1994 when he was injured in mid-July.  He missed the rest of the season and never was as good again.  He got the second base job back in 1995 but hit only .254.  He was the starter at second in 1996 when he suffered another season-ending injury, this time in mid-June.  The Athletics released him in March of 1997.  He signed with Seattle and was a utility player for the Mariners that year.  A free agent after the season, Gates came to Minnesota.  He shared third base with Ron Coomer in 1998 (Coomer would replace Orlando Merced at first when Gates played) and backed up Todd Walker at second in 1999.  As a Twin, Brent Gates hit .252/.326/.330 in 639 at-bats (217 games).  On occasion, the stadium organist would play the Christian hymn "Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates" as his walk-up music.  He managed in Class A in 2001, then left baseball.  Brent Gates currently owns the Gates Insurance Agency in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  He was inducted into the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.