September 11

Con Daily (1864)

James Dunn (1866)

Steve Brodie (1868)

Frank Kitson (1869)

Ellis Clary (1916)

Eddie Miksis (1926)

Luis Garcia (1929)

Jackie Hernandez (1940)

Larry Bearnarth (1941)

Dave Roberts (1944)

Larry Cox (1947)

Jeff Newman (1948)

Yoshinori Soto (1954)

Brad Lesley (1958)

Scott Patterson (1958)

Don Slaught (1958)

Ellis Burks (1964)

Quinn Mack (1965)

Eduardo Perez (1969)

Toby Gardenhire (1982)

Infielder Ellis Clary was a scout for the Twins for over two decades.

Actor Scott Patterson, best known for his role on The Gilmore Girls, was a minor league pitcher for seven seasons, pitching 373 AAA innings but not reaching the majors. He was in the Yankees and Braves systems.

Quinn Mack is Shane Mack’s brother and got 21 at-bats with Seattle in 1994.

Brad Lesley was drafted by the Twins in seventh round in the 1977 January draft, but did not sign.

Toby Gardenhire, of course, is the son of the current Twins’ manager.  He was a player in the Twins’ minor league system, reaching AAA, and is currently the baseball coach of the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

We also want to wish a very happy birthday to Rhubarb_Runner.

Additionally, it seems appropriate on this day to mention former minor league players Marty Boryczewski and Brent Woodall, both of whom were killed in the terrorist attacks of 2001.

Shortstop Jacinto (Zulueta) “Jackie” Hernandez played for the Twins from 1967-1968. He was born in Central Tinguaro, Cuba, and was signed by the Cleveland Indians as a free agent in 1961. Originally signed as a catcher, he was quickly converted to shortstop. Hernandez had a reputation as an excellent fielder, which he needed, because he did not hit much as he came up through the ranks--his highest average was .260 at AA Charleston in 1964, his second year in AA. In May of 1965 the Indians released him, and he was signed by the California Angels the same day. Hernandez batted only .229 in AAA that year, but still was given a September callup with the Angels. He was with California all of 1966, but was strictly a pinch-runner/defensive replacement--he played in 58 games, but had only 26 plate appearances, scoring 19 runs while getting only one hit and one walk. At the start of the 1967 campaign, Hernandez was selected as the player to be named later in the trade which sent Dean Chance to the Twins for Pete Cimino, Jimmie Hall, and Don Mincher. He was with AAA Denver for most of 1967, and when he was with the Twins, he was used in pretty much the same role he'd had with California, playing in 29 games, but making only 30 plate appearances. In 1968, Hernandez became a part-time player, batting .176 in 199 at-bats as a sometimes shortstop. He was then left unprotected in the expansion draft, and was chosen by Kansas City. 1969 was his only year as a regular, and he hit about like he always did, batting .222 with 4 homers and 40 RBIs in over 500 at-bats. Reduced to part-time status in 1970, Hernandez was traded to Pittsburgh after the season in a multi-player deal that brought Fred Patek to the Royals. He played three seasons with the Pirates as a part-time player, including the World Championship year of 1971. He was back in the minors in 1974, calling it quits after batting .199 at AAA Charleston. As a Twin, Jackie Hernandez batted .172 in 227 at-bats spread over 112 games, with 2 home runs and 20 RBIs. Hernandez has done a lot of managing and coaching in independent leauges, including coaching for the St. Paul Saints in 2003-2006 and managing the Charlotte County Redfish in the South Coast League in 2007.  At last report, Jackie Hernandez was operating a hitting school in Miami.

Catcher Larry Eugene Cox did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league organization in 1976. He was born in Bluffton, Ohio, went to high school in Ottawa, Ohio, and signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1966, making his professional debut with Huron, SD in the Northern League that season. He hit .219 that season, the highest average he would have until 1971. He was converted into a pitcher in 1968 and did fairly well in Class A, but returned to catching the following season. He was loaned to the San Diego organization in 1972, but was back with the Phillies in 1973. Cox made his major league debut that year, catching one inning of a game in April without getting a chance to bat before being returned to AAA. He was with the Phillies for about half of 1974 and half of 1975, backing up Bob Boone. After the 1975 season, Cox was traded to Minnesota for Sergio Ferrer. He spent the 1976 campaign in AAA Tacoma and had his best minor league season, hitting .265 with 12 home runs for a .748 OPS, but was unable to beat out Glenn Borgmann for the backup catcher role on the big club. He was sold to Seattle after the season and spent the full year with the Mariners, the first of four full seasons Cox spent in the big leagues. He was traded to the Cubs after the 1977 season, but was traded back to Seattle in the spring of 1979. He is listed as the regular catcher for the Mariners in 1979 and 1980, and was the most used, but shared the position with Bob Stinson, Jerry Narron, and Marc Hill. He was traded to Texas after the 1980 season in a multi-player deal that included such notables as Rick Honeycutt, Willie Horton, and Richie Zisk. Cox was a seldom-used reserve in the first half of 1981, then was released in August as soon as the player strike ended. He signed with the Cubs for 1982, spending most of the season in the minors, and then his playing career came to an end. In parts of nine major league seasons, Larry Cox batted .221/.280/.314 in 825 at-bats. After his playing career ended, he became a minor league manager and coach in the Cubs’ organization. Larry Cox passed away on February 17, 1990 in Bellefontaine, Ohio, of a heart attack suffered while playing racquetball.