Saturday, October 6, 2012

October 6


Pop Snyder (1854)
Jerry Grote (1942)
Gene Clines (1946)
Gary Gentry (1946)
Victor Bernal (1953)
Alfredo Griffin (1957)
Oil Can Boyd (1959)
Rich Yett (1962)
Ruben Sierra (1965)
Archi Cianfrocco (1966)
Darren Oliver (1970)
Freddy Garcia (1976)


Right-hander Victor Bernal was drafted by the Twins in the 1975 January draft, but the pick was voided. He went on to be chosen by San Diego in the June draft of 1975 and played in fifteen games for the Padres in 1977.

Right-hander Richard Martin Yett made one start for the Twins in 1985 and appeared in four games for them in 1990. He was born in Pomona, California, went to high school in Chino, California, and was drafted by the Twins in the 26th round in 1980. A starting pitcher for his entire minor league career, Yett moved up one level every year, posting unspectacular but fairly decent numbers at each stop along the way. His best year appears to have been with AAA Toledo in 1984, when he went 12-9 with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Yett made the Twins out of spring training in 1985 and started the fifth game of the season. He lasted just one-third of an inning, walking two, throwing a wild pitch, having one man reach on an error, and givine up a single before being removed. He was then sent back to Toledo, where he was unable to repeat his success of the prior year there. After the AAA season he was the player to be named later in the deal which also sent Jay Bell, Curt Wardle, and Jim Weaver to Cleveland for Bert Blyleven. Yett was a reliever for the Indians in 1986 and most of 1987, and did not pitch particularly well for them, but these were the mid-80s Indians, so rather than being sent back to the minors he was moved into the starting rotation in August of 1987. He stayed in the rotation for all of 1988 and the first couple of months of 1989, but when he continued to not pitch well, he was finally sent to the bullpen. Yett was released by the Indians after the 1989 season, and was re-signed by the Twins. He made the Twins out of spring training and pitched well in four relief appearances in 1990, but was sent back to AAA Portland, where he reverted to form. His career came to an end after that season. As a Twin, Rich Yett had no decisions, and had an ERA of 3.86 in 4.2 innings. At last report, Rich Yett was a high school pitching coach in Phoenix, Arizona.

Outfielder Ruben Angel (Garcia) Sierra appeared in fourteen games for the Twins in 2006, at the end of his long career. He was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, went to high school in Carolina, Puerto Rico, and was signed by the Texas Rangers as a free agent in 1982. He was always young for his league, getting promoted to AA at age 19 and AAA at age 20. He was in AAA for only two months before being promoted to the Rangers, where he was instantly installed as a regular outfielder. He remained in the Rangers' outfield until August 31, 1992. Sierra finished sixth in the rookie of the year balloting in 1986. His best year as a Ranger was 1989, when he led the league in RBIs, slugging percentage, total bases, and triples and finished second in the MVP voting to Robin Yount. Sierra made his first all-star team that year, and also won a silver slugger award. He would make two more all-star teams as a Ranger, and finished eighth in the MVP voting in 1991. He was traded to the Athletics at the 1992 trade deadline, and remained there for about three years. His average declined when he left Texas, but he continued to hit for power and drive in runs, making the all-star team again in 1994. Sierra began to move around quite a bit after that. He was traded to the Yankees at the July trading deadline in 1995, to the Tigers at the July deadline in 1996, and to Cincinnati after the 1996 season. After a slow start in 1997, the Reds released him in May; he signed with Toronto, but was released again in June. Sierra moved on to the White Sox for 1998, but was again released a couple months into the season, and finished out the year with Norfolk in the Mets' organization. He spent 1999 playing for Atlantic City in the independent Atlantic League, and it looked like he was probably done. He signed with Cleveland for 2000, was released in spring training, and went to the Mexican League. In May, however, his original team, the Rangers, took a chance on him. Sierra had a big year at AAA Oklahoma that year, and made it back to the big leagues with the Rangers in September. He had a strong 2001 for Texas, but was released after the season. On the move again, he went to Seattle for 2002, came back to the Rangers in 2003, and was traded to the Yankees in June of 2003. Sierra remained fairly productive through 2004, but age finally caught up to him in 2005. The Twins signed him before the 2006 season, but at age 40, he had nothing left, and he was released in July. He got a spring training invitation with the Mets in 2007, but did not make the team. Ruben Sierra played only 14 games as a Twin, all as a DH or pinch-hitter. He had only 28 at-bats, and hit .179 with no homers and four runs batted in. For his career, however, Sierra hit .268/.315/.450, with 2,152 hits and 306 home runs. He was elected to the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2009. He now owns show horses and has recorded three CDs. His son, Ruben Sierra, Jr., spent three years as an outfielder in the Texas Rangers’ organization.

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