September 16

Heinie Mueller (1899)

Hillbilly Bildilli (1912)

Gary Ross (1947)

Robin Yount (1955)

Orel Hershiser (1958)

Tim Raines (1959)

Mickey Tettleton (1960)

Mel Hall (1960)

Chris Pittaro (1961)

Mark Parent (1961)

Paul Shuey (1970)

Desi Relaford (1973)

Bobby Korecky (1979)

Infielder Christopher Francis Pittaro played in twenty-five games for the Twins from 1986-1987. Born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey was drafted out of the University of North Carolina by the Tigers in the sixth round in 1982. He had a couple of solid, but certainly not eye-popping, years in the minors, but after a hot spring training in 1985 he was proclaimed the Next Big Thing by Sparky Anderson. He wasn't. Pittaro batted .242 with an OPS of .621 in 28 games for the Tigers in 1985 and had an awful year in AAA Nashville, hitting .194. It seems likely that he could not handle the pressure placed on him, although it also seems likely that he was really never all that good in the first place. In January of 1986, Pittaro was traded to the Twins with Alejandro Sanchez for Dave Engle. He spent three years at AAA for the Twins, posting decent but unspectacular numbers. Pittaro appeared briefly for the Twins in 1986 and 1987, playing in 25 games but getting only 33 at-bats. In those at-bats, he hit .182/.206/.182 with no extra-base hits and no RBIs. After his playing career ended in 1988, Pittaro became a minor-league coach and manager, was the director of professional scouting for the Oakland Athletics, and at last report was a special assistant to the general manager for Oakland.  He lives in Hamilton, New Jersey. His father, Francis “Sonny” Pittaro, was an infielder in the Washington/Minnesota organization from 1960-1962, reaching as high as Class B.

Right-hander Robert John Korecky appeared in sixteen games for the Twins in 2008. He was born in Hillside, New Jersey, went to high school in Saline, Michigan, and was chosen in the 19th round of the 2002 draft by Philadelphia out of the University of Michigan. He had a couple of good years in the low minors for the Phillies, becoming a full-time reliever in 2003. After that season, Korecky became the player to be named later in the trade that also sent Nick Punto and Carlos Silva to the Twins for Eric Milton. He has continued to post good numbers in the minors, with the exception of 2005 when he had Tommy John surgery and missed almost the entire season. Korecky appeared in 16 games for the Twins in 2008, notching a 2-0 record and a 4.58 ERA with a 1.53 WHIP in 17.2 innings. He was placed on waivers in February of 2009 and was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He spent most of the 2009 season at AAA Reno, although he did appear in five games for Arizona. A free agent after the season, he signed with the Angels for 2010, but did not make the team and instead played for the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the Northern League.  He signed with Toronto in 2011 and has had two fine years in the minors for them, but has not gotten another chance in the majors.  A fine batter in high school, Bobby Korecky holds the Michigan High School record for most hits in a season and was the first pitcher to get a hit in an American League game since the designated hitter rule was implemented in 1972. Korecky turns 33 today; time has probably run out on him, but he has always pitched well in the minors. If he got another chance and had a good stretch, he might yet have some sort of decent big-league career. What seems more likely, though, is that being a pitching coach somewhere is in his future.