December 23

Mike Grady (1869)
Sam Leever (1871)
Tommy Thomas (1899)
Jerry Koosman (1942)
Dave May (1943)
Raul Cano (1945)
Jerry Manuel (1953)
Keith Comstock (1955)
Tim Leary (1958)
Frank Eufemia (1959)
Rick White (1968)
Brad Lidge (1976)
Jesus Colome (1977)
Victor Martinez (1978)
Hanley Ramirez (1983)

Left-hander Jerome Martin Koosman pitched for the Twins from 1979-1981, winning twenty games for them in 1979. He was born in Appleton, Minnesota, and attended high school in Morris, Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota—Morris and the North Dakota State College of Science, then was signed by the Mets as a free agent in 1964. Koosman struggled his first couple of years, but had a terrific year in 1966 at Class A Auburn. He jumped straight from Class A to the majors in 1967, but was not ready yet and was sent back to AAA in mid-May. He pitched very well at AAA Jacksonville, was back in New York in September, and never went to the minors again. Koosman was a member of the Mets' rotation for eleven consecutive years, posting an ERA just over three and averaging over 220 innings per season. He was second to Johnny Bench in Rookie of the Year balloting in 1968, when he won 19 games and had an ERA just over two. He made the all-star team in 1968 and 1969, got consideration for the MVP award three times, and was second in Cy Young voting (to Randy Jones) in 1976. In 1977-78, Koosman managed to go 11-35 despite an ERA of 3.62 a WHIP of 1.26. He also led the league in strikeouts per nine innings in 1977. After the 1978 season, he was traded to Minnesota for Greg Field and a player to be named later, which turned out to be Jesse Orosco. Finally given a little run support again, Koosman won 36 games over the next two seasons, twenty of them in 1979. At the end of August, 1981, he was traded to the White Sox for Ivan Mesa, Ronnie Perry, "not the" Randy Johnson, and cash. He pitched well for Chicago for the rest of 1981 and in 1982, but slipped a little in 1983 at age 40, although he still won 11 games and had a WHIP of 1.35. The White Sox sent Koosman to Philadelphia, where he pitched the final two seasons of his career before retiring at age 42. As a Twin, Jerry Koosman was 39-35 with a 3.77 ERA in 94 games, 83 of them starts. After retiring, he was a minor league pitching coach in the Mets' organization for a time. He was inducted into the Mets' Hall of Fame in 1989. Sadly, he pled guilty to income tax evasion in May of 2009. He was sentenced in September and served a six-month prison sentence, from which he was released in June of 2010. At last report, Jerry Koosman was living in the Twin Cities area and was working for Mesa Technologies, which provides information technology services to businesses.

Left-hander Keith Comstock began his major league career with the Twins in 1984. Born in San Francisco, Comstock was drafted by California in the fifth round in 1976. He struggled early in his minor league career, and was released by the Angels after a poor 1979 season at AA El Paso. Oakland signed him and kept him at AA West Haven for three years. He pitched pretty well there, but the Athletics clearly had no plans for him, and sold him to Detroit after the 1982 campaign. The Tigers also placed him in AA, and he had a fine year there, going 12-3 with a 3.21 ERA. All it got Comstock was his release. The Twins picked him up and started him in the big leagues in 1984, but sent him to AAA after only four relief appearances, in which he pitched 6.1 innings and gave up six runs. He had another excellent minor league season, going 12-6 with a 2.79 ERA, but again he only got a release out of it. Deciding he was never going to get a chance in the majors, Comstock went to Japan for two years. He came back to the United States in 1987, splitting the next three years between AAA and the majors. He was with the Giants at the start of 1987, went to San Diego in July, stayed there until his release in June of 1989, and then went to Seattle. In 1990, Comstock got his only full season in the majors and he made the most of it: in 60 relief appearances, he was 7-4 with a 2.89 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. As always, the excellent season did him no good. He spent almost the entire 1991 season at AAA, making only one appearance in the majors. That appearance would be his last, as his playing career ended after that season. He then went into coaching, and managed in the Giants' minor-league system from 1998-2001. Keith Comstock is currently the rehabilitation coordinator for the Texas Rangers.

Right-hander Frank Anthony Eufemia played his only major league season with the Twins in 1985. Born in the Bronx, he attended Ramapo College of New Jersey, one of two major league players that school has produced (the other is Mark Leiter). Eufemia was drafted by the Twins in the 18th round in 1982. A reliever throughout his career, Eufemia moved up the Twins farm system at a good pace and, after posting a 1.49 ERA in AAA Toledo in 36.1 innings, he was promoted to the majors in mid-May of 1985. He had a good season: in 61.2 innings spread over 39 games, Eufemia went 4-2 with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. That was as good as it would get, however, and after a poor 1986 season in Toledo, Eufemia was out of organized baseball at age 26. He tried to come back with the Mets, pitching for AAA Tidewater in 1992. His numbers weren't bad, but they led him nowhere. Eufemia was one of the replacement players during the 1995 players' strike. He also pitched for New Jersey in the independent Northeast League in 1998; then his playing career ended for good. One wonders if he might have pitched in Japan or someplace at least part of that time, but this could not be confirmed. Frank Eufemia currently teaches physical education at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, New Jersey.  He also works for the Joe Wladyka Baseball Camp in New Jersey, which was rated one of the nation's top five instructional camps by Baseball America. He is a member of the Ramapo College Hall of Fame.