December 19

Ford Frick (1894)
Al Kaline (1934)
Tony Taylor (1935)
Walt Williams (1943)
Rob Gardner (1944)
Geoff Zahn (1945)
Kevin Stanfield (1955)
Stu Cliburn (1956)
Stan Cliburn (1956)
Tom Lawless (1956)
Clay Parker (1962)
Bill Wegman (1962)
Mike Fetters (1964)
Chito Martinez (1965)
Russell Branyan (1975)
Rafael Soriano (1979)

Clay Parker was drafted by Minnesota in the twenty-first round in 1984, but did not sign.

Left-hander Richard Frank "Rob" Gardner never pitched for the Twins, but started his professional career in their organization. Gardner was born in Binghamton, New York, and attended high school there.  Research did not indicate why he was called “Rob”; perhaps the story simply isn’t very interesting. He was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1963. He had a fine year for Class A Orlando (pitching 241 innings as an 18-year-0ld), but after the season was selected by the Mets in the first-year player draft. He struggled in 1964, but had another very good season in 1965, earning a September call-up. He spent all of 1966 with the Mets, but did not do very well. Back in the minors at the start of 1967, Gardner was traded to the Cubs in June. He made 18 appearances with Chicago, five of them starts, and did not do too badly. Gardner was on the move again the next year, traded to Cleveland right before the 1968 season. He was in AAA Portland most of that season and at the start of the 1969 campaign before being traded again, this time going to the Yankees in June. Gardner was mostly at AAA Syracuse through the 1972 season, pitching fairly well there, but getting only brief shots at the majors in 1970 (1 game), 1971 (six games, four of them with Oakland, to whom he was traded in April before being traded back to the Yankees in May), and 1972 (a longer stint--20 games). Gardner was traded back to Oakland before the 1973 season and made three more appearances before being sent to Milwaukee. He was in 10 games for the Brewers before being sent back to Oakland again. That was to be his last time in the big leagues--he was in the Detroit organization in 1974, back in the Yankees organization in 1975, and then his career was over. He may not have had a great major league career, but at least he got to see a lot of the country.  Each of the times the Yankees traded him, it was for one of the Alou brothers. No current information about Rob Gardner was readily available.

For a player who didn't have a full year in the majors until he was in his thirties, left-hander Geoffrey Clayton Zahn had a pretty decent major league career. He was a member of the Twins from 1977-1980. Born in Baltimore, he attended high school in Toledo, Ohio and then went to the University of Michigan. He was drafted by the Dodgers in the fifth round of the secondary phase of the January draft in 1968. Zahn pitched well in the low minors, stumbled in his first couple of tries at AAA, but had a strong year for Albuquerque in 1973, earning a September call-up. He battled injuries in 1974 and 1975, making sporadic appearances for the Dodgers before being traded to the Cubs in May in a trade involving Burt Hooton. He was with the Cubs through the end of 1975 and in April of 1976, but then was sent back to the minors and was released after the season. The Twins took a chance on Zahn, signing him for the 1977 season, and the chance paid off. He became a big league rotation starter for the first time at age 31, and was a solid member of the Minnesota rotation for four years, winning twelve to fourteen games every year and averaging over 200 innings per season. He became a free agent after the 1980 campaign and joined the exodus out of Minnesota, signing with the Angels. He pitched even better in California, posting ERAs under four for three consecutive years, winning 18 games in 1982 (when he finished sixth in Cy Young voting), and leading the league in shutouts in 1984 while continuing to average around 200 innings per season. He was off to a strong start in April of 1985 when he was injured, and while he tried to come back in August, he was clearly not himself any more, and retired after the season. As a Twin, Geoff Zahn was 53-53 with a 3.90 ERA in 133 games, 126 of them starts. He won 111 games in his career, which is not bad for someone who had eight career wins when he turned 31. After his retirement, Zahn went into coaching, and was the head coach at the University of Michigan from 1996-2001. Today, Geoff Zahn tours the country as a Christian motivational speaker.

Left-hander Kevin Bruce Stanfield spent his entire major league career with the Twins. He was born in Huron, South Dakota, and was drafted by the Twins in the seventh round of the January draft in 1976. He did well in 1976, had a poor year for Class A Visalia in 1977, but bounced back for a good year at AAA Toledo in 1978. He did less well in repeating AAA in 1979, but was given a September call-up to the Twins that year. Stanfield pitched three innings over three games, giving up two runs on two hits for an ERA of 6.00. Oddly, that's where Kevin Stanfield's baseball story ends; he developed a sore arm over the off-season and never pitched again in either the majors or the minors. While there are still several families of Stanfields living in Huron, Kevin Stanfield was at last report living in San Bernardino, California.

Right-hander Stuart Walker Cliburn never played for the Twins, but has been a pitching coach in their minor league system for some time. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and attended high school there. He then went to Delta State University and was drafted by Pittsburgh in the fourth round in 1977. He pitched well in the low minors, but looked as he was going to top out at AA, as he struggled in various tries at the AAA level and was released just before the 1982 season. The Angels picked him up, though, and in 1984 he had a fine year in the Edmonton bullpen, getting a September call-up. He followed that up with a good year for the Angels in 1985, going 9-3 with six saves and a 2.09 ERA in 44 appearances. For reasons that are not clear, however, he spent the next two years at AAA. Cliburn finally got another shot at the big leagues in 1988, and did not pitch too badly, although not as well as in 1985. It again got him nowhere; he was in the Angels' minor league system for two more years, pitched in the Seniors league in 1990, and then his career was over. He immediately got into coaching, and has been a minor league pitching coach ever sins his playing days ended. Often, he has been the pitching coach for teams managed by his twin brother Stan. Stu Cliburn is currently the pitching coach for the New Britain Rock Cats.

Catcher Stanley Gene Cliburn never played for the Twins, but has managed in their minor league system. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and attended high school there. He was drafted by the California Angels in the fifth round in 1974. He hit over .300 in consecutive years of Class A (1976-1977), but stumbled when he was promoted higher. He hit only .238 in AAA in 1979 and was hitting .125 in 1980, but the Angels were apparently desperate for a backup catcher, because Cliburn was promoted to the majors in early May of 1980. He appeared in 54 games, garnering 56 at-bats and batting .179 with two home runs. He moved on to the Pittsburgh organization after that, spending two years in AA and three years in AAA from 1981-1985. He returned to the California organization for 1986, then was traded to the Braves system for 1987. That was his last season as a player, other than a stint in the Seniors League in 1989. He began his career as a minor league manager in 1988. Cliburn managed in the Pittsburgh and Texas organizations and in the independent Texas-Louisiana League before coming to the Twins in 2000. He has managed in Class A, AA, and AAA for the Twins, often with his brother Stu as the pitching coach.  Since 2011, Stan Cliburn has been the manager of the independent Sioux City Explorers.

Right-handed reliever Michael Lee Fetters appeared with the Twins briefly in 2003. Born in Van Nuys, California, he attended high school in Honolulu. Fetters then went to Pepperdine, and was drafted by the Angels in the first round in 1986. Fetters was a starting pitcher throughout his minor league career, but was never given a chance in a major league rotation, starting only six big league games. He got a September call-up in 1989, spent most of 1990 and 1991 in the big leagues, but did not really develop until he was traded to Milwaukee after the 1991 season. Fetters went 5-1 in 1992 with a 1.87 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in 50 games. He never repeated that level of success, but he was a solid contributor to the Brewers' bullpen through 1997, spending three years (1994-1996) as the Milwaukee closer. After the season, he was traded to Oakland by way of Cleveland. Fetters struggled after leaving Milwaukee, and was on the move again in August, traded back to the Angels. He went to Baltimore for 1999 and to the Dodgers for 2000. In 2000, he had his first good season since 1997, going 6-2, 3.24 with a 1.20 WHIP. He could not sustain it, though, and at the end of July, 2001 he was traded to Pittsburgh. Fetters moved on to Arizona in July of 2002, became a free agent at the end of the season, and signed with Minnesota. Fetters appeared in five games in April, throwing six scoreless innings and giving up only two hits. Then, however, he got hurt, and was out the rest of the year. He went back to the Diamondbacks for 2004, but did not pitch well, and his career was over after the season. Mike Fetters is best remembered for the sudden jerk of his head toward home plate while in the stretch. Fetters is the cousin of opera baritone Steven Totter.  After his playing days ended, Fetters was a sports agent in Beverly Hills for a few years.  He is now a Special Assistant to the Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Outfielder Reyenaldo Ignacio “Chito” Martinez did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 1994. He was born in Belize, British Honduras (the first major league player born in Belize) and was drafted by Kansas City in the sixth round in 1984. It took him a while to develop power, as he hit no home runs in his first two minor league seasons. In 1986, however, he hit .304 with 11 homers for AA Memphis. His average fell off after that, but his power continued, as he hit over 20 homers in AAA in both 1989 and 1990. He did not get a call to the majors, however, and after the 1990 season he became a free agent. Baltimore signed him, and after an awesome half-season in Rochester (.322 average, 20 homers, 1.046 OPS in 211 at-bats) he got the call to the majors. He hit fairly well as a part-time outfielder for the Orioles through 1992, but after starting 1993 0-for-15 he was sent to the minors, never to return. A free agent after the season, he signed with Minnesota for 1994 but failed to make the team. He had a good year in AAA for the Yankees that year, moved on to the Colorado organization for 1995, and then his playing career was over. Chito Martinez is currently a territory representative for SimplexGrinnell, a company located in Memphis that designs, services, and installs fire protection systems throughout North America.