June 15

Babe Dahlgren (1912)
Bernice Gera (1931)
Mario Cuomo (1932)
Billy Williams (1938)
Ty Cline (1939)
Bruce Dal Canton (1941)
Champ Summers (1946)
Ken Henderson (1946)
Dusty Baker (1949)
Lance Parrish (1956)
Brett Butler (1957)
Wade Boggs (1958)
Ramiro Mendoza (1972)
Tony Clark (1972)
Andy Pettitte (1972)
Zach Day (1978)Jeremy Reed (1981)
Tim Lincecum (1984)
Trevor Plouffe (1986)Jake Locker (1988)

Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo was an outfielder for the Brunswick Pirates of the Georgia-Florida League in 1952.

Quarterback Jake Locker was drafted by the Angels as an outfielder in the tenth round in 2009.  He signed a contract with them, but never played a game of professional baseball.

Right-hander Stephen Zachary Day did not pitch for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for about a month in 2008.  Born and raised in Cincinnati, he was drafted by the Yankees in the fifth round in 1996.  He advanced slowly, not getting out of A ball until 2000.  When he did, he was no longer in the Yankees’ system; he was traded to Cleveland in late June of 2000.  He reached AAA for the Indians in 2001, but after one game there he was traded to Montreal at the July deadline.  He made his major league debut with the Expos in 2002, spending about two and a half months with the team that year.  He was mostly used as a relief pitcher in 2002, but was in the starting rotation in 2003-2004.  He was decent in those years, not great but not terrible.  He moved to Washington with the team in 2005, but was traded to Colorado in July.  He spent time in the minors that year as well, and also split 2006 between AAA and the majors.  He was waived in late April of 2006 and went back to Washington.  He made five mediocre starts with the Nationals, then had rotator cuff surgery and never made it back to the majors.  He kept trying for a while, though.  He signed with Kansas City for 2007, was in AAA that season, then signed with Minnesota for 2008.  The Twins sent him to Ft. Myers due to his continuing shoulder problems.  The hope was that the shoulder would improve, but it was not to be.   He made six relief appearances for Ft. Myers and went 1-0, 5.62, 1.88 WHIP in eight innings.  The Twins released him in early May, bringing his playing career to an end.  At last report, Zach Day had moved back to his home town of Cincinnati.  He is the owner of Naked Dingo, a company which provides home delivery of wholesome pet foods.  He is also the pitching coordinator for TrackMan A/S, which consults with software development experts to translate principles of peak athletic performance into teaching applications.

Outfielder Jeremy Thomas Reed did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 2011.  He was born in San Dimas, California, went to high school in LaVerne, California, then attended Cal State—Long Beach.  He was drafted by the White Sox in the second round in 2002.  He hit very well in his first couple of years in the minors, reaching AAA in 2004.  In late June of that season he was traded to Seattle and made his major league debut for the Mariners that September.  He was their starting center fielder in 2005, but hit only .254 with no power.  It was his only year as a major league regular.  He was a reserve for Seattle in 2006, then spent most of 2007 in AAA, coming back to the majors only as a September call-up.  He started 2008 in the minors again but came back to Seattle in late May and stayed the rest of the season.  He was traded to the Mets for the 2009 season.  He was in the majors all year, playing in 126 games but getting only 161 at-bats.  Fifty-three of those games were as a pinch-hitter.  Given his use, he didn’t do badly, batting .242, but it was his last full season in the majors.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Toronto for 2010, played seldom, and was released in early July.  The White Sox picked him up and sent him to AAA for the rest of the season.  He signed with Milwaukee for 2011, went 0-for-7 as a pinch hitter, was sent to the minors, then was traded to Minnesota in early June for future considerations.  He played in four games for Rochester, went 0-for-15, and then got hurt and did not return.  He was a free agent after the season, but does not appear to have signed with anyone  He’s only thirty-one, so you never know, but one has to think that Jeremy Reed’s playing career has probably come to an end.

Infielder Trevor Patrick Plouffe has played for the Twins in 2010 and 2011.  He was born in West Hills, California and was selected by Minnesota in the first round of the 2004 amateur draft.  He progressed at a pace of roughly a level per season.  His minor league numbers are not bad but not terribly impressive, either.  His highest batting average is .274 and his highest OPS is .736 (both at New Britain, 2007); his lowest batting average is .223 and his lowest OPS is .645 (both at Beloit, 2006).  He had four brief stints with Minnesota in 2010, getting a few days in May, a week in June, about a week in August, and coming back for a September call-up.  He was with the Twins for about a month in 2011, spending most of the season in Rochester.  He started to develop some power in 2009, hitting 13 homers in Rochester that season and 15 there in 2010.   He split 2011 between Rochester and Minnesota, hitting 15 more homers in Rochester in just 220 at-bats and eight more in Minnesota in 286 at-bats.   He has been with the Twins for all of 2012 so far, and while he started very slowly he has picked up the pace significantly in recent weeks.  At this point in his major league career, he has played the rough equivalent of a full season and has hit .228/.294/.424 with 21 home runs.  He turns 27 today, and is getting what could turn out to be his last shot at being a regular player.  What Trevor Plouffe does this season will go a long way toward determining what the rest of his career will be.