July 29

Earl Moore (1877)
George Cutshaw (1886)
Cedric Tallis (1914)
Felix Mantilla (1934)
Don Wert (1938)
Bill Whitby (1943)
Hisashi Yamada (1948)
Dan Driessen (1951)
Greg Minton (1951)
Dave LaPoint (1959)
Luis Alicea (1965)
Mike Williams (1968)
Seth Greisinger (1975)
Ryan Braun (1980)

I had completely forgotten that there was a Ryan Braun who pitched for Kansas City in 2006 and 2007, but it's his birthday today.

Right-hander Bill Whitby appeared in four games for the Twins in 1964.  He was born in Crewe, Virginia, went to high school in Victoria, Virginia, and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1961.  A starter for most of his minor league career, he did not do a lot in his first few years, but had a solid year at AA Charlotte in 1964.  He was promoted to Minnesota for about two weeks in June that year, at the age of 20.  He made four relief appearances, pitching a total of 6.1 innings.  He gave up six runs on eight hits with a walk, giving him a line of 0-0, 8.53, 1.42 WHIP.  He had another good year at Charlotte in 1965 and pitched well at AAA Denver in 1966, but that was as good as it got for him.  He threw 247 innings in Denver that year, at age 22.  It is unclear how that affected him, but he never had another good year and he never got back to the majors.  Whitby stayed with the Twins' organization until 1969, having a couple fair-to-middling seasons, then he moved on to St. Louis.  He was with the Washington chain in 1970, and then his playing career came to an end.  No information about what happened to Bill Whitby after that was readily available.

Right-hander Seth Greisinger appeared in twelve games for the Twins in 2004.  He was born in Kansas City, Kansas, went to high school in McLean, Virginia, and attended the University of Virginia.  He was drafted by Detroit with the sixth pick in the 1996 draft.  He did not play in the minors, that season, opting to play for the United States Olympic team instead.  He didn't do much at AA in 1997, but his won-lost record looked good, and when he got off to a good start at AAA in 1998 he came up to Detroit in early June and went into the starting rotation.  He stayed there the rest of the season, going 6-9, 5.12.  He then suffered a serious injury and had Tommy John surgery, pitching only briefly in 1999 and not at all in 2000 or 2001.  He came back in 2002, starting eight games in the majors and seven in the minors, but did not pitch very well.  He spent all of 2003 in AAA Toledo and pitched fairly well, but by then the Tigers no longer considered him a prospect.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota for 2004.  He was the Twins' fifth starter until mid-June, making nine starts and three relief appearances.  He went 2-5, 6.18, 1.63 WHIP in 51 innings.  Greisinger went to AAA Rochester the rest of the season, did not pitch well, and became a free agent again.  He had a fine half-season for AAA Richmond in the Atlanta organization in 2005, making one appearance in the majors.  The Braves had no plans for him, however, and gave him his release so he could pitch in Korea.  He stayed there through 2006, then signed with the Yakult Swallows in the Japan Central League.  He moved on to the Yomiuri Giants in 2008, and was with them through 2011.  He did well in 2008 and 2009, but was again hit by injuries, making only fifteen starts in 2011 and 2012 combined.  Greisinger moved on to Chiba Lotte for 2012 and appears to once again be healthy and pitching well.  He had some bad luck in the United States, but has found success in Japan, so it appears that the Seth Greisinger story has at least had some semblance of a happy ending.