July 31

Joe Sugden (1870)
Laughing Larry Doyle (1886)
Art Nehf (1892)
Allen Russell (1893)
Elmer Riddle (1914)
Curt Gowdy (1919)
Hank Bauer (1922)
Vic Davalillo (1936)
John Vukovich (1947)
Dave Dombrowski (1956)
Leon Durham (1957)
Mike Bielecki (1959)
Scott Bankhead (1963)
Ted Barrett (1965)
Gabe Kapler (1975)
Rene Rivera (1983)

Hall of Fame broadcaster Curt Gowdy was the voice of the NBC Game of the Week from 1965-1975.

Dave Dombrowski has been the general manager of the Montreal Expos/Florida Marlins and of the Detroit Tigers.

Ted Barrett has been a major league umpire since 1994.

Catcher Rene (Rivera) Rivera appeared in forty-five games for the Twins in 2011.  Born and raised in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, he was drafted by Seattle in the second round in 2001.  He spent the next seven years in the Mariners organization not doing much on offense, but still got three stints in the majors.  One assumes he was considered an excellent defensive catcher.  His best year in the minors appears to have been 2003, when he hit .275 with nine home runs for Class A Wisconsin.  He had a decent partial season at AA San Antonio in 2005 as well.  He actually hit .396 for Seattle that season, but it was only in 48 at-bats.  The next year, given 99 at-bats in the majors, he hit .152.  He became a minor league free agent after the 2007 season and started bouncing around.  He was in the Dodgers’ organization in 2008, in the Yankees’ system in 2009, and in the Mets’ chain in 2010.  The Twins signed him for 2011.  Rivera split the season between Rochester and Minnesota.  His half-season in Rochester was actually one of his better ones, as he hit .268 with an OPS of .775.  It did not translate to the majors, however, as he hit .144/.211/.202 for the Twins in 104 at-bats.  He stayed in the Twins’ organization through 2012, serving as a part-time catcher for Rochester, then signed with the Padres for 2013.  He actually was having a pretty good year in AAA Tucson when he was called up to the Padres as a reserve catcher in early July.  He stayed the rest of the year and had what by his standards was a good year, batting .254 (with an OPS of .596).  He made the Padres in 2014 and is again their backup catcher.  His major league numbers, at this writing, are .209/.252/.327 in 465 at-bats. He turns 31 today, and there’s no real reason to think he belongs in a major league uniform.  On the other hand, there never really has been, yet there he is, so you never know.  He may be one of these guys who hangs around as a backup catcher forever.

July 30

Casey Stengel (1890)
Frankie Pytlak (1908)
Tony Lucadello (1912)
Joe Coleman (1922)
Paul Minner (1923)
Joe Nuxhall (1928)
Gus Triandos (1930)
Bud Selig (1934)
Bob Barton (1941)
Pat Kelly (1944)
Doug Rader (1944)
Jim Spencer (1946)
Ellis Valentine (1954)
Clint Hurdle (1957)
Steve Trout (1957)
Scott Fletcher (1958)
Tom Pagnozzi (1962)
Scott Diamond (1986)

Tony Lucadello was a major league scout for forty-eight years.

Allan Huber "Bud" Selig has been the commissioner of baseball since 1992.

The brother of Hall of Fame football player LeRoy Kelly and the brother-in-law of Andre Thornton, Pat Kelly had a solid professional career of his own.  Outfielder Harold Patrick “Pat” Kelly appeared in 20 games for the Twins in 1967-1968.  Born and raised in Philadelphia, he signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1962.  He had a huge year in 1964, hitting .357 with 16 homers in Class A Wisconsin Rapids.  He did not duplicate that, but he did hit .321 in AA Charlotte in 1966.  He reached AAA in 1967 and made his major league debut that season as a September call-up.  He appeared in eight games that year, seven as a pinch-runner and one as a pinch-hitter (he struck out).  He came back to hit .306 in Denver in 1968, getting another September call-up.  He played a little more, but did not play particularly better, going 4-for-35.  Two of his hits were doubles and one was a home run, so his line as a Twin was .111/.200/.450.  Kelly was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was chosen by Kansas City.  He was a mostly-regular for two seasons, used primarily in right field but also playing some center.  His offensive numbers were rather pedestrian, and he was traded to the White Sox after the 1970 season.  He started 1971 in the minors, but after hitting .355 in AAA Tucson he was brought up to Chicago on July 1 and stayed there for five and a half years.  Again playing mostly right field, he had some decent years for the Sox, generally hitting around .280 with OBPs in the .350s and around 20-25 stolen bases, although with little power.  In 1973 he got off to a hot start and made the all-star team; he was hitting .327 on June 24, although he would finish at .280.  In 1976, he was used as a reserve outfielder and part-time DH, but hit only .254.  Kelly was traded to Baltimore after that season and had some productive years for the Orioles as a part-time player, seeing most of his playing time in left field.  He became a free agent after the 1980 campaign and signed with Cleveland.  He was a seldom-used outfielder/DH for the Indians in 1981, hit only .213, and his playing career came to an end.  After that, he moved to Towson, Maryland and went into the ministry, working for Lifeline Ministries.  Pat Kelly passed away from a heart attack on October 2, 2005 in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

Left-hander Scott Michael Diamond pitched for the Twins from 2011-2013.  He was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada and signed with Atlanta as a free agent in 2007.  He pitched very well in the Braves’ system, never posting an ERA above 3.50 at any level.  While a Brave, he actually pitched better in AAA than he had in AA, although it was only ten starts.  After the 2010 season the Twins claimed him in the Rule 5 draft.  Wanting to keep him around, but not wanting to keep him in the majors, the Twins traded minor league pitcher Billy Bullock to Atlanta for him.  He spent most of 2011 at Rochester and did not do particularly well, to put it mildly:  4-14, 5.56 with a 1.58 WHIP.  He made one start with the Twins in mid-July, filling in for an injured Scott Baker, and came back to the Twins’  rotation in late August.  There was nothing about the results that was particularly impressive:  seven starts, 39 innings 1-5, 5.08, 1.74 WHIP.  He started 2012 back in Rochester, and did amazingly well, going 4-1, 2.60, 1.21 WHIP.  He was called back to Minnesota in early May and did well there, too:  12-9, 3.54, 1.24 WHIP.  Over the winter, he had surgery to have bone chips removed from his elbow.  That may or may not be related, but for whatever reason he has never been the same pitcher since.  He pitched well in six starts in Rochester in 2013, but was awful for the Twins.  He started 2014 in Rochester and was even awfuller, getting released in mid-July.  He signed with Cincinnati five days later and was sent to AAA Louisville.  As a Twin, Scott Diamond was 19-27, 4.43, 1.41 WHIP in 343 innings (58 starts).  He turns 28 today.  One hopes he can get things turned around, but it does not look particularly promising.

July 29

Earl Moore (1877)
George Cutshaw (1886)
Cedric Tallis (1914)
Felix Mantilla (1934)
Don Wert (1938)
Bill Whitby (1943)
Hisashi Yamada (1948)
Dan Driessen (1951)
Greg Minton (1951)
Ken Burns (1953)
Dave LaPoint (1959)
Luis Alicea (1965)
Mike Williams (1968)
Seth Greisinger (1975)
Mike Adams (1978)
Ryan Braun (1980)

Cedric Tallis was the general manager of the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees.

Submarine pitcher Hisashi Yamada won 284 games in Japan.

Ken Burns made an Emmy-award winning documentary about the history of baseball.

I had completely forgotten that there was a Ryan Braun who pitched for Kansas City in 2006 and 2007, but it’s his birthday today.

Right-hander William Edward Whitby appeared in four games for the Twins in 1964.  He was born in Crewe, Virginia, went to high school in Victoria, Virginia, and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1961.  A starter for most of his minor league career, he did not do a lot in his first few years, but had a solid year at AA Charlotte in 1964.  He was promoted to Minnesota for about two weeks in June that year, at the age of 20.  He made four relief appearances, pitching a total of 6.1 innings.  He gave up six runs on eight hits with a walk, giving him a line of 0-0, 8.53, 1.42 WHIP.  He had another good year at Charlotte in 1965 and pitched well at AAA Denver in 1966, but that was as good as it got for him.  He threw 247 innings in Denver that year, at age 22.  It is unclear how that affected him, but he never had another good year and he never got back to the majors.  Whitby stayed with the Twins’ organization until 1969, having a couple fair-to-middling seasons, then he moved on to St. Louis.  He was with the Washington chain in 1970, and then his playing career came to an end.  At last report, it appeared that Bill Whitby was living in Huntersville, North Carolina.  He is apparently in decent health, as he will be appearing at a promotion in Charlotte, North Carolina next week.

Right-hander Seth Adam Greisinger appeared in twelve games for the Twins in 2004.  He was born in Kansas City, Kansas, went to high school in McLean, Virginia, and attended the University of Virginia.  He was drafted by Detroit with the sixth pick in the 1996 draft.  He did not play in the minors, that season, opting to play for the United States Olympic team instead.  He didn’t do much at AA in 1997, but his won-lost record looked good, and when he got off to a good start at AAA in 1998 he came up to Detroit in early June and went into the starting rotation.  He stayed there the rest of the season, going 6-9, 5.12.  He then suffered a serious injury and had Tommy John surgery, pitching only briefly in 1999 and not at all in 2000 or 2001.  He came back in 2002, starting eight games in the majors and seven in the minors, but did not pitch very well.  He spent all of 2003 in AAA Toledo and pitched fairly well, but by then the Tigers no longer considered him a prospect.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota for 2004.  He was the Twins’ fifth starter until mid-June, making nine starts and three relief appearances.  He went 2-5, 6.18, 1.63 WHIP in 51 innings.  Greisinger went to AAA Rochester the rest of the season, did not pitch well, and became a free agent again.  He had a fine half-season for AAA Richmond in the Atlanta organization in 2005, making one appearance in the majors.  The Braves had no plans for him, however, and gave him his release so he could pitch in Korea.  He stayed there through 2006, then signed with the Yakult Swallows in the Japan Central League.  He moved on to the Yomiuri Giants in 2008, and was with them through 2011.  He did well in 2008 and 2009, but was again hit by injuries, making only fifteen starts in 2011 and 2012 combined.  Greisinger moved on to Chiba Lotte for 2012, stayed healthy and had an excellent year.  He was back with Chiba Lotte in 2013, but missed part of the season with injury and did not pitch as well when he did pitch.  It appears that he is still with Chiba Lotte, but is again injured and has not pitched yet in 2014.  He hasn't exactly had a lot of luck, but he's stuck with it, and you at least have to give him credit for that.

July 28

Bullet Joe Rogan (1893)
Morrie Silver (1909)
Harry Dalton (1928)
Ted Lepcio (1929)
Masaaki Koyama (1934)
Marty Brennaman (1942)
Vida Blue (1949)
Wayne Krivsky (1954)
Carmelo Martinez (1960)
Bob Milacki (1964)
Derek Lee (1966)

Bullet Joe Rogan, given name Charles Wilber Rogan, was a star in the Negro Leagues from 1920-1938.

Morrie Silver is credited with having saved baseball in Rochester when the St. Louis Cardinals threatened to drop their team there.  He is a member of the International League Hall of Fame.

Harry Dalton was the general manager of the Baltimore Orioles, California Angels, and Milwaukee Brewers.

Masaaki Koyama won 320 games in Japan, third on the all-time list.

Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Brennaman has been with the Cincinnati Reds since 1974.

Wayne Krivsky was an assistant general manager of the Twins until 2006, when he became the general manager of Cincinnati.  He has since returned to the Twins as an assistant to the general manager.

Infielder Thaddeus Stanley “Ted” Lepcio played for the Twins in 1961.  He was born in Utica, New York, attended Seton Hall, and was signed as a free agent by Boston in 1951.  He was only in the minors one year and spent over half of that year in Class B.  Still, when 1952 started, Ted Lepcio was in Boston.  He was a reserve infielder, playing mostly at second but also some at third.  Actually, that statement would pretty much sum up his career in Boston, as he only got more than 300 at-bats in a season once.  The exception was 1954, when he made 78 starts at second base, 22 at third, and nine at short.  Most of the time, he would hit around .250 with moderate power and draw a decent number of walks:  not good enough to be a starter, but someone who’d help as an extra player.  He had a bad year in 1958, hitting only .199 in 136 at-bats, and was traded to Detroit just after the 1959 season started.  He bounced back there, hitting .280 as a reserve infielder, but it was his last good season.  Lepcio moved on to Philadelphia for 1960, was sold to the White Sox before the 1961 season, was released in late May, and signed with Minnesota in June.  He played third and second for the Twins, hitting .170/.230/.402 in 112 at-bats.  He signed with the Mets for 1962 but was released in April, and when you weren’t good enough to play for the 1962 Mets, it meant your career was over.  After leaving baseball, Ted Lepcio worked for Honeywell and then became the vice president of St. Johnsbury Trucking Company.  He often chaired Red Sox-related charity events.  At last report, he was living in Dedham, Massachusetts and working part-time as a transportation consultant for Stonepath, a global logistics company.

Outfielder Derek Gerald Lee had 33 at-bats for the Twins in 1993.  He was born in Chicago, attended the University of South Florida, and was drafted by the White Sox in the forty-second round in 1988.  He had some solid seasons in the minors, hitting .341 in Class A Utica in 1988 and .305 with 11 homers in a 1991 season split between AA and AAA.  Chicago waived him after the 1992 season, however, and Minnesota claimed him.  He had a solid season in Portland, hitting .315 with 10 homers.  He came up to the Twins for about a month beginning in late June and was used as a reserve outfielder, mostly in left.  He played in fifteen games and hit .152/.176/.182.  The Twins traded him to Montreal that off-season for Joe Norris.  He stayed in AAA for a long time but moved around a lot.  He was in the Expos’ organization in 1994, the Mets in 1995, Texas and Oakland in 1996, San Diego in 1997, and Baltimore in 1998.  He played in Mexico in 1999 and played in independent ball in 2000 before his playing career came to an end.  His career AAA line, in almost 3,000 at-bats, is .289/.377/.471.  Not that he’d have been a superstar, but it seems like he might have helped someone if he’d been given a chance.  He was a scout for the Texas Rangers for several years, but was not retained for 2014.  No information about what Derek Lee is doing in 2014 was readily available.

July 27

Davy Force (1846)
Joe Tinker (1880)
Rube Walberg (1896)
Biz Mackey (1897)
Benny Bengough (1898)
Zack Taylor (1898)
Leo Durocher (1905)
Kazuto Tsuruoka (1916)
Ray Boone (1923)
Harry Wendelstedt (1938)
Larry Biittner (1945)
Bump Wills (1952)
Rich Dauer (1952)
Brian Kingman (1954)
Shane Rawley (1955)
Len Barker (1955)
Dave Dombrowski (1956)
Tom Goodwin (1968)
Shane Bowers (1971)
Enrique Wilson (1973)
Alex Rodriguez (1975)
Tsuyoshi Nishioka (1984)

Biz Mackey was a star in the Negro Leagues from 1923-1945.

Kazuto Tsuruoka was a star in Japan from 1939-1952 and was a very successful manager from 1953-1966.

Harry Wendelstedt was a National League umpire from 1966-1998.

Dave Dombrowski has been the general manager of the Montreal Expos, the Florida Marlins, and the Detroit Tigers.

Left-hander Shane William Rawley pitched for the Twins in his last season, 1989.  Born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin and drafted by Montreal in the second round in the 1974 June Secondary draft.  He had some pretty good years in the Expos’ organization; the best was 1976, when he went 11-6, 2.69 for AA Quebec.  He would not reach the majors for them, though, because in late May of 1977 he was traded to Cincinnati, and after the 1977 campaign he was traded again, this time to Seattle.  He started 1978 in the Mariners’ bullpen, where he stayed for four years.  He was never spectacular, but he did a decent job four them, generally posting ERAs around four.  Shortly before the 1982 season, the Mariners traded him to the Yankees in a multi-player deal.  He started 1982 as a reliever, but was converted to starting (which he had done in the minors) in early July.  He was a solid starter for them through 1983, but got off to a terrible start in 1984 and was traded to Philadelphia.  It was a good trade for the Phillies, as Rawley had some fine years for them, making the all-star team in 1986 and winning seventeen games in 1987.  His ERA was up in the latter year, however, and when he did not improve in 1988 he was traded with cash to Minnesota for Eric Bullock, Tom Herr, and Tom Nieto.  Rawley did not have a very good year for the Twins in 1989, going 5-12, 5.21, 1.57 WHIP.  He became a free agent after the season, but no one signed him and he retired.  He was never a big star, but Shane Rawley was a solid big leaguer for more than a decade, and there are not a lot of people who can say that.  After his playing career ended, he founded Fielders’ Choice Sports Complex in Racine, Wisconsin.  He currently owns and operates Shaners Sports Bar and Pizzeria in Sarasota, Florida.

Two of the three Twins named "Shane" were born on this day.  Right-hander Shane Patrick Bowers made five starts for the Twins in 1997.  He was born in Glendora, California, attended Loyola Marymount, and was drafted by Minnesota in the twenty-first round in 1993.  He pitched well in the low minors, attracting attention by going 13-5, 2.16 at Class A Ft. Myers.  He did fairly well in AA in 1996 and 1997, and given the state of Twins pitching at that time, that was good enough to get him a shot at the big leagues.  He came up in late July and made five starts, pitching fairly well in the first one but poorly after that.  He went 0-3, 8.05, 1.84 WHIP in 19 innings.  He finished 1997 in AAA Salt Lake and stayed there through 1999.  He had good won-lost records, but high ERAs and high WHIPs.  He became a free agent after the 1999 season and signed with Philadelphia.  He was in AAA for them in 2000 and did somewhat better, but not enough.  Bowers went to Japan for two seasons, playing for the Yokohama Bay Stars in 2001-2002.  He was out of baseball in 2003, then tried to make a comeback with the Phillies in 2004.  He again pitched well in AA but could do nothing in AAA, and his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Shane Bowers was scouting in southern and central California for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Infielder Enrique (Martes) Wilson was in the Twins’ organization for his first two professional seasons.  Born and raised in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, he was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1992.  He did pretty well in their low minors, hitting .341 in 44 at-bats in the GCL in 1992 and batting .289 with 13 homers in Elizabethton in 1993.  The Twins apparently did not think that much of him, however, sending him to Cleveland in March of 1994 as the player to be named later in a trade that brought Shawn Bryant to the Twins’ organization.  Wilson did not develop power, but he hit .304 at AA in 1996 and .306 in AAA in 1997, earning a September call-up.  He was in Cleveland for three games at the start of 1998, then spent a few months in AAA before being recalled for good in early August.  He started nearly half of the Indians’ games in 1999, but did not have a regular position, playing short, third, and second.  He was playing well as a reserve infielder for Cleveland in 2000, but was traded to Pittsburgh in late July.  He was off to a slow start in 2001 when the Pirates traded him to the Yankees in mid-June.  He stuck with the Yankees through 2004 despite the fact that he did very little offensively for them.  He became a free agent after the 2004 season, and that was the beginning of the end for him.  Wilson signed with Baltimore, was released in mid-May, went to the Cubs, and was released in late July.  When he did play in 2005, it was mostly in the minors, as he got only 22 major league at-bats that season, all with the Cubs.  They were the last big league at-bats he wold get.  Wilson signed with the Red Sox, went to AAA, and was released at the end of July, ending his playing career in the United States.  He returned to the Domincan Republic, however, and continued to play baseball.  Wilson played for the Dominican Republic team in the 2007 Pan-American Games and has been playing in the Dominican Winter League, playing for Toros Del Este through 2010.  No information about what Enrique Wilson has done since then was readily available.

Infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka was with the Twins from 2011-2012 and remains in their organization.  Born and raised in Osaka, Japan, he began playing for Chiba Lotte in the Japanese Pacific League in 2003 at the age of eighteen.  He was a part-time player his first couple of seasons, becoming a regular in 2005.  He played both second base and shortstop in Japan early in his career, but became a full-time shortstop in 2006.  He hit for high averages in Japan and showed decent power, although it is difficult to say how Japanese numbers translate.  He was highly regarded in Japan, however.  After the 2010 season, Chiba Lotte put him up for bids from American teams, and the Twins won the right to sign him, which they did.  He was installed as the Twins’ second baseman at the start of the 2011 season, but was had his leg broken on a slide into second base in the year’s sixth game.  When he came back, he was the team’s shortstop, but he didn’t hit, nor did he field the position as well as expected.  He was with Rochester in 2012, appearing in only three major league games in August.  He hit better in Rochester, but not particularly well.  He was released after the 2012 season and returned to Japan, where he is doing better but has not returned to his pre-Twin levels of production.  As a Twin, he hit .215/.267/.236 in 233 at-bats.  He turns 30 today.  It was nice to see the Twins try to make a strong move, but it clearly didn't work out very well.  We wish Tsuyoshi Nishioka the best of luck with the rest of his career in Japan.

July 26

Sam Breadon (1876)
Sad Sam Jones (1892)
Brick Eldred (1892)
Larry Woodall (1894)
Paul Gallico (1897)
Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons (1901)
Alex Radcliffe (1905)
Sam Leslie (1905)
Ellis Kinder (1914)
Jimmy Bloodworth (1917)
Sibby Sisti (1920)
Hoyt Wilhelm (1922)
Norm Siebern (1933)
Pete Ward (1937)
Ken Kaiser (1945)
Jody Reed (1962)
Greg Colbrunn (1969)
Joaquin Benoit (1977)
Alex Burnett (1987)

Sam Breadon owned the St. Louis Cardinals from 1917-1947.

Brick Eldred got over two thousand hits in the Pacific Coast League, playing there thirteen years.

Paul Gallico was a sportswriter from 1919-1936.  He went on to become a noted writer and is best known as the author of The Poseidon Adventure.

The brother of Double Duty Radcliffe, Alex Radcliffe played in the Negro Leagues from 1932-1946 and played in eleven all-star games.

Ken Kaiser was an American League umpire from 1977-1999.

First baseman Gregory Joseph Colbrunn was with the Twins for about two-thirds of the 1997 season.  Born and raised in Fontana, California, he was drafted by Montreal in the sixth round in 1987.  He moved up to AA midway through 1989 and had an excellent season there in 1990, hitting .301 with 13 homers at age 20.  He was injured all of 1991, but when he came back in 1992 he picked up where he left off, hitting .306 with 11 homers in a half season at AAA.  He came up to Montreal in early July and stayed there, but could not win a full-time job, sharing time with such stalwarts as Archi Cianfrocco, Frank Bolick, and Oreste Marrero.  The Expos continued to undervalue Colbrunn, placing him on waivers after the 1993 season.  Florida picked him up, and at first they refused to give him much time either, as he shared first base with Dave Magadan, Orestes Destrade, and Russ Morman.  The Marlins finally made him their regular first baseman in 1995 and he responded with two solid seasons, averaging .281 with 20 homers.  He became a free agent after the 1996 season and signed with Minnesota.  He again had to share the first base job, this time with Scott Stahoviak, until the middle of August, when he was traded to Atlanta for a player to be named later (Mark Lewis).  A free agent after the season, he signed with Colorado for 1998 but was again traded to Atlanta at mid-season.  He signed with Arizona for 1999 and finally found a home, spending most of the rest of his career there.  He was always a part-time player there, but he was productive, hitting over .300 three times and producing double digit home runs twice.  He became a free agent after the 2002 season and signed with Seattle, but was traded back to Arizona (for ex-Twin Quinton McCracken) for 2004.  He played in AAA for Texas in 2005, but then his career came to an end.  He lacked the power one wants iin a first baseman, which probably kept teams from considering him a regular, but he had a long career as a part-time player.  As a Twin, Colbrunn hit .281/.307/.415 in 217 at-bats.  Greg Colbrunn is currently the batting coach of the Boston Red Sox.

Right-hander Alex James Burnett made his debut with the Twins in 2010.  He was born in Anaheim and was drafted by Minnesota in the twelfth round in 2005.  Given his youth, he was brought along slowly, spending a full season at “low rookie” ball (the GCL), a year at Elizabethton, a year at low A, and a year at high A.  He was a starter through 2008 and did all right, but it was when he was shifted to the bullpen in 2009 that he really started to attract attention.  He went 2-1, 1.99  with 4 saves and a 0.93 WHIP in 22.2 innings at Ft. Myers, then went 1-2, 1.79 with 9 saves and a 0.99 WHIP in 55.1 innings at AA New Britain.  He was a surprise addition to the big league staff in 2010 when Clay Condrey went down with an injury.  He pitched pretty well early in the year, but struggled more as the season went on and was sent back to AAA Rochester in late July, coming back as a September call-up.  He was with the Twins for nearly all of 2011 and was given a more prominent role, but fared little better.  In 2012, in what is so far his only full season in the majors, he was significantly better, posting a 3.52 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP, although he was much better in the first half than in the second half.  He was waived by the Twins in late March of 2013, was chosen by Toronto, was waived again in mid-April, was chosen by Baltimore, was waived once more in late May, and was chosen by the Cubs.  He made only one appearance as a Cub before getting injured and missing most of the rest of the season,  He became a free agent, went unsigned, and is currently playing for Sioux City in the American Association.   As a Twin, Alex Burnett was 8-11, 4.61, 1.43 WHIP 170 innings (174 appearances).  He turns 27 today.  He's still pitching, and sometimes pitchers figure things out later in their careers, but it appears that Alex Burnett's chances to return to the big leagues are not very good.

July 25

John Tener (1863)
Cy Williams (1913)
Whitey Lockman (1926)
Larry Sherry (1935)
Buddy Bradford (1944)
Fred Scherman (1944)
Mick Kelleher (1947)
Biff Pocoroba (1953)
Marc Sullivan (1958)
Doug Drabek (1962)
Torey Lovullo (1965)
Ed Sprague (1967)
Billy Wagner (1971)
Guillermo Mota (1973)
Javier Vazquez (1976)
Santiago Casilla (1980)
Alex Presley (1985)

Pitcher/outfielder John Tener was the president of the National League and also became governor of Pennsylvania.  For 1914-1915, he did both jobs at the same time.

Cy Williams was a long-time major league scout, working for the Detroit Tigers for thirty years.

Left-hander Frederick John Scherman, Jr. did not play for the Twins, but started his career in their organization.  Born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, he had a rare bone disease when he was young, and wore a leg brace from age six to age nine, walking only with crutches.  As soon as the leg brace was removed, he began playing little league baseball.  Eventually, he attended Ohio State and was signed by Minnesota as a free agent in 1964.  He had a fine year at Class A Orlando, going 14-13, 2.33 with a WHIP of 1.11 in 201 innings.  He was then drafted by Detroit in the first-year player draft.  He spent the bulk of his career with the Tigers.  He pitched well throughout his minor league career but was promoted slowly, reaching AA for two games in 1966 and reaching AAA in 1968.  He had been a starter, and had pitched fairly well in that role, but was shifted to the bullpen in 1967.  He flourished in that role, but went back to the starting rotation at AAA in 1969.  He made ten starts there and was in the big leagues for a substantial part of the season, but was rarely used.  In 1970, however, Scherman became an integral part of the Detroit bullpen and remained one for four years.  He had twenty saves in 1971 (when he threw 112 relief innings) and twelve more in 1972.  He had a down year in 1973, though, and was traded to Houston after the season.  The leg disease had left one leg shorter than the other, and at this point in his career this caused him to develop back trouble.  He did not do much for the Astros and was sold to Montreal in June of 1975.  He was with the Expos for a year and a month and was released in July of 1976.  He pitched in AAA for Pittsburgh in 1977, but had a nondescript year and his playing career came to an end.  He apparently coached in Japan for a while.  At last report, Fred Scherman was the owner of Fred Scherman Jr. Lab Consultants in Tipp City, Ohio.

Outfielder Alexander Crawford Presley was with the Twins for about a month at the end of 2013.  Born and raised in Monroe, Louisiana, he went to the University of Mississippi and was drafted in the eighth round by Pittsburgh in 2006.  He wasn't terrible in his early years, but he didn't really start to hit until 2010, when he hit .350 with a .932 OPS in half a season at AA and then hit .294 with an .809 OPS when promoted to AAA for the second half of the season before getting a September call-up.  He started 2011 back in AAA, but when he hit .333 there he came back to the majors in late June and was the Pirates starting left fielder except for a month he missed due to injury, batting .298.  He was again the starting left fielder in 2012 but did not hit, eventually losing playing time to Starling Marte.  He was splitting 2013 between the majors and AAA when he was traded along with a player to be named later (Duke Welker) for Justin Morneau at the end of August.  He was the Twins starting center fielder the rest of the season, batting .283/.336/.363 in 113 at-bats.  He went into spring training of 2014 with a shot at retaining the job, but was waived at the end of March and claimed by Houston.  He has been a fourth outfielder for the Astros but has played more often than not, starting at all three outfield positions.  He turns 29 today.  He probably won't hit enough to hold a starting job, but a team could do a lot worse for a fourth outfielder.  Alex Presley may be in the big leagues for several more years, although he may have to play for several more teams to do it.

July 24

Tommy McCarthy (1863)
Jack Clements (1864)
Joe Schultz (1893)
Cotton Nash (1942)
Mike Port (1945)
Shigeru Takada (1945)
Mike Adams (1948)
Jerry Augustine (1952)
Barry Bonds (1964)
Joe Oliver (1965)
Jim Wolf (1969)
Brent Stentz (1975)

Outfielder Joe Schultz, who played in parts of eleven major league seasons, is the father of the Joe Schultz made famous by Jim Bouton in Ball Four.  He is also a cousin to big-leaguers Hanz and Frank Lobert.

Mike Port is a long-time major league baseball executive, serving as the general manager of the California Angels from 1984-1991.

Shigeru Takada was a star in Japan from 1968-1980.  He also was a manager, general manager, and television commentator.

Jim Wolf has been a major league umpire since 1999.

Pitcher Brent Stentz did not play in the majors, but was in the Twins’ minor league system from 1997-2001.  In 1998, he set an Eastern League record with 43 saves.

First baseman Charles Francis ”Cotton” Nash had 13 at-bats for the Twins from 1969-1970.  A tall man (6’6″), he was born in Jersey City, went to high school in Port Charles, Louisiana, and attended the University of Kentucky, where he starred in basketball as well as baseball.  He was nicknamed “Cotton” as a child because of his bright blond hair. He was signed by the Angels as a free agent in 1964.  He spent 1964 at Class A San Jose, hitting .292 with 11 homers.  He also played in the NBA, playing a total of 357 minutes for the Lakers and the San Francisco Warriors in the 1964-65 season.  He had a solid year in AA in 1965, hitting .294 with 20 homers, but flopped when promoted to AAA in 1966.  The Angels gave up on him, trading him in early May of 1967 for a fading Moose Skowron.  He bounced back that season, hitting .274 with 28 homers in AAA, and got a September call-up, going 0-for-3.  He also gave pro basketball another shot that off-season, playing 786 minutes for the ABA’s Kentucky Colonels (he later regretted trying to juggle the two sports, wishing he had stuck to baseball).  He had a bad year in 1968, and in April of 1969 was traded to Pittsburgh for pitcher Ed Hobaugh.  The trade was voided on July 8 because Hobaugh quit, and the players involved were returned to their original clubs.  The White Sox really didn’t want Nash, though, and traded him to Minnesota on July 15 for a player to be named later (Jerry Crider, who wasn’t sent to the White Sox until May of 1970).  He got September call-ups in 1969 and 1970, but his timing was bad:  the Twins had Harmon Killebrew and Rich Reese, so they had no use for another first baseman.  Nash had his best year in AAA in 1971, hitting .290 with 37 homers for Portland, but Bill Rigney had taken a dislike to him and refused to call him to the majors.  Nash moved on to the Texas organization for 1972, but after a down year in AAA his playing career was over.  As a Twin, he went 3-for-13 with two walks and two RBIs.  He appeared in three minor league games as a pitcher, giving up one hit and three walks, but no runs.  Billy Martin had toyed with the idea of making  Nash a pitcher in 1969, but the idea ended when Martin was fired.  Nash was a minor league batting instructor for the Angels in 1967 and managed in their organization in 1978, but then left baseball for good.  He returned to Kentucky, settling in Lexington, and became a real estate salesman.  Eventually, he owned his own real estate and investment company.  Cotton Nash is currently living in retirement in Lexington, Kentucky.  The University of Kentucky retired his number, and he is a member of both the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame.  His son, J. Richey Nash, played minor league baseball for three years and is currently an actor and writer.

Outfielder Robert Michael ”Mike” Adams had 72 at-bats for the Twins from 1972-1973.  The son of big league infielder Bobby Adams and the nephew of big league first baseman Dick Adams, he was born in Cincinnati, went to high school in Anaheim, and was drafted by Detroit with the second pick of the January Secondary draft in 1967.  He had a couple of undistinguished years in the Tigers’ organization and missed the 1969 season due to military service.  He did well on his return, however, hitting .278 with 18 home runs for Class A Rocky Mount in 1970.  After that season, however, he was traded to Minnesota with a player to be named later (Art Clifford) for Bill Zepp.  He hit over .300 in consecutive AAA seasons for the Twins, and when he also hit 21 homers in 1972 he got a September call-up.  Adams was with the Twins for the entire 1973 season but was generally used as a pinch-hitter or pinch-runner.  He appeared in 55 games but had only 66 at-bats.  Not surprisingly, he did not hit well, although he did draw 17 walks.  He had another solid year in AAA in 1974, but the Twins preferred to stick with such superstars as Jim Holt, Bobby Darwin, and Steve Brye, and refused to give Adams a chance.  After the season, Adams was traded to the Cubs for Tom Lundstedt.  As a Twin, he hit .222/.378/.375 in 72 at-bats.  He continued to hit well in the minors, but continued to not get a chance in the majors:  despite hitting over .300 with power every year at AAA, he got only 31 at-bats with the Cubs in 1976-1977.  He was sold to Oakland just prior to the 1978 campaign but got only 15 at-bats in about a month with the big club.  Adams retired after that season.  In seven AAA seasons, Mike Adams hit .309/.433/.507.  It’s hard to understand why no one would put him in a major league lineup to see what he could do, but no one did.  No information about Mike Adams’ life since his playing career ended was readily available.

July 23

Ginger Beaumont (1876)
Hod Ford (1897)
Jimmie Wilson (1900)
Ival Goodman (1908)
Ray Scarborough (1917)
Pee Wee Reese (1918)
Johnny Groth (1926)
Anthony Gubicza (1928)
Bert Convy (1933)
Don Drysdale (1936)
Dean Look (1937)
Hank Allen (1940)
Chuck Crim (1961)
Nomar Garciaparra (1973)

Anthony Gubicza, a pitcher in Class D and C leagues from 1950-1951, is the father of Mark Gubicza.

Actor/singer/game show host Bert Convy was an outfielder in Class D and C leagues from 1951-1952.

White Sox’ catcher Dean Look is the brother of ex-Twin Bruce Look.

Outfielder Hank Allen, who played for Washington, Milwaukee, and the White Sox, is the brother of Dick Allen and Ron Allen.

There do not appear to be any major league players with connections to the Minnesota Twins who were born on this day.

June 22

Jack Glasscock (1857)
George Gibson (1880)
Jesse Haines (1893)
Doc Cramer (1905)
Jungle Jim Rivera (1922)
Sparky Lyle (1944)
Bill Zepp (1946)
Cliff Johnson (1947)
Tim Johnson (1949)
Scott Sanderson (1956)
Dave Stieb (1957)
Mike Sweeney (1973)
Scot Shields (1975)
Ryan Vogelson (1977)

Right-hander William Clinton Zepp pitched for the Twins from 1969-1970.  Born and raised in Detroit, he attended the University of Michigan, played in the Basin League for the Valentine Hearts, and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1968.  A starter in the minors, he pitched very well there, posting an ERA of three in Class A Wisconsin Rapids in 1968 and going 15-3, 2.34 with a 1.08 WHIP in 1969 in AA Charlotte.  He was with the Twins for about three weeks in August of 1969, working 5.1 relief innings.  The next year, 1970, was his only full season in the majors.  He started the season in the bullpen, pitched extremely well there, and went into the rotation in early July, where he continued to pitch well.  For the season, he made 20 starts and relieved 23 times.  In 151 innings, he went 9-4, 3.22 with a 1.36 WHIP, which is pretty good for an undrafted 23-year-old.  It didn’t impress the Twins much, though, because he was taken out of the rotation at the end of the year and traded to Detroit in spring training of 1971 for Mike Adams and a player to be named later (Art Clifford).  He was probably excited to be going home, but it didn’t work out well.  He started the season with Detroit, posted a 5.12 ERA, and was sent back to AAA in late June.  He pitched six times in AAA Toledo, not doing particularly well.  It appears that he needed Tommy John surgery.  The procedure was still new then, and Zepp decided to retire rather than risk the surgery.  At last report, Bill Zepp was retired and living in Plymouth, Michigan.  He frequently attends Detroit Tigers and University of Michigan alumni events.

July 21

Johnny Evers (1881)

Howie Shanks (1890)

Moe Drabowsky (1935)

John Bateman (1940)

Denis Menke (1940)

Mike Hegan (1942)
Jim Manning (1943)
John Hart (1948)
Al Hrabosky (1949)
Mike Cubbage (1950)
Dave Henderson (1958)
Mike Bordick (1965)
Lance Painter (1967)
Kimera Bartee (1972)
Brian Buchanan (1973)
Geoff Jenkins (1974)
Willie Eyre (1978)
C. C. Sabathia (1980)

John Hart was the general manager of the Cleveland Indians from 1999-2001 and of the Texas Rangers from 2001-2005.

Right-hander James Benjamin Manning made five appearances with the Twins in 1962.  He was born in L’Anse, Michigan, went to high school in Ewan, Michigan, where he starred in basketball as well as baseball, and signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1961.  He had a fairly mediocre year in Class D Wytheville in 1961, but started 1962 in the majors.  He lasted almost a month, making four relief appearances and one start.  He did not give up any earned runs in the relief appearances, but allowed six runs (four earned) on seven hits in 2.1 innings in the start, so his stats show an ERA of 5.14 in seven innings.  Those are also his lifetime numbers, as he never made it back to the big leagues again.  He spent the rest of 1962 in Class A Charlotte, had solid years in AA in 1963-1965, but never got any higher and was let go by the Twins after the 1965 season.  He was at AA York in the Washington organization in 1966, then his playing career was over at age 23.  It seems odd that the Twins would jump him from Class D to the majors at age 18, but not give him another chance when he was a little older and had some success at AA.  As you might guess, there are lots of people in the world named “Jim Manning”.  No information about what this Jim Manning has done since his playing career ended was readily available.

Infielder Michael Lee Cubbage played for the Twins from 1976-1980.  Born and raised in Charlottesville, Virginia, he attended the University of Virginia and was drafted by Washington in the second round of the June Secondary draft in 1971.  He played more second base than third in the minors, although he saw time at both positions.  He hit for high averages throughout the minors, topping .300 every year but 1972, when he hit .281 for Class A Burlington.  Cubbage was in the majors with Texas briefly at the start of 1974 and came up to stay in mid-June of 1975, playing as a reserve second baseman.  On June 1 of 1976, he was traded to Minnesota with Jim Gideon, Bill Singer, Roy Smalley, and $250,000 for Bert Blyleven and Danny Thompson.  He was the mostly regular third baseman for the next few years, sharing the position with Dave McKay, Jerry Terrell, and Larry Wolfe but getting the majority of the playing time.  He hit for a decent average with a fair number of walks, but had little power.  In 1979 he began losing playing time to John Castino, and in 1980 he actually saw more playing time at first base than at third, starting 59 games there.  He really didn’t hit enough for a third baseman, so his offense was completely inadequate at first.  As a Twin, he hit .266/.336/.378 in 1,681 at-bats.  Cubbage became a free agent after the 1980 season and signed with the Mets.  He was mostly a pinch-hitter for the Mets, missing two months with an injury.  He played in AAA for them in 1982, then his playing career came to an end.  He remained in the Mets’ organization, however, managing for them in the minors from 1983-1989 and coaching for them in the majors from 1990-1996.  He then coached for Houston in 1997-2001 and for Boston from 2002-2003.  At last report, Mike Cubbage was a scout for the Tampa Bay Rays.  He is a cousin of former major league players Chris Haney and Larry Haney.

Outfielder Kimera Anotchi Bartee did not play for the Twins in either the majors or the minors, but did belong to their team for a short time.  Born and raised in Omaha, he went to Creighton, then was drafted by Baltimore in the fourteenth round in 1993.  A speedy singles hitter, Bartee hit fairly well in the minors through 1995.  At that point, he came to the Twins with Scott Klingenbeck as the player to be named later in the trade that sent Scott Erickson to Baltimore.  This happened in mid-September; that December, the Twins left Bartee unprotected in the Rule 5 draft and Baltimore took him back.  They waived him in spring training, and he was chosen by Detroit.  He stayed with the Tigers all of the 1996 season and wasn’t awful as a reserve outfielder, hitting .253 in 217 at-bats and stealing 20 bases.  He went back and forth from AAA Toledo to Detroit from 1997-1999, but never hit above .200 again in a major league season.  Bartee went to the Reds’ organization for 2000, signed with Anaheim for 2001, was traded to Colorado in mid-July for Chone Figgins (a trade that worked out well for the Angels), went to the Cubs for 2002, and played for Long Island in the independent Atlantic League from 2003-2004 before ending his playing career.  His major league numbers are .216/.282/.298 in 416 at-bats.  Bartee has remained in baseball since his playing career ended.  He was a coach in the Baltimore minor league organization from 2005-2007, and is currently the minor league outfield/baserunning coordinator for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Outfielder Brian James Buchanan played for the Twins from 2000-2002.  He was born in Miami, went to high school in Fairfax, Virginia, attended the University of Virginia, and was drafted by the Yankees in the first round in 1994.  He hit well in the minors for them, but without as much power as one might suspect; his best home run season in the Yankees’ system was 14 in 1997.  In February of 1998, Buchanan was traded to Minnesota with Cristian Guzman, Eric Milton, Danny Mota, and cash for Chuck Knoblauch.  Sent to AAA Salt Lake, he hit well for them.  His best year was 2000, when he hit .297 with 27 homers and 103 RBIs despite being in the majors for a month of that season and again in September.  2001 was Buchanan’s first full year in the majors, and he didn’t do badly as a reserve outfielder, hitting .274 with 10 homers in 174 at-bats.  He remained with the Twins through mid-July of 2002, when he was traded to San Diego for Jason Bartlett.  As a Twin, he hit ,258/.319/.428 in 414 at-bats.  He did a decent job as a reserve outfielder for the Padres in 2003 but slumped in 2004, went to AAA, and was released in late August.  The Mets signed him the next day and he finished the season for them.  Buchanan signed with Tampa Bay for 2005, was released at the end of spring training, signed with Colorado, was released in late July, signed with Minnesota, and was in Rochester through the end of the season.  He signed with Cincinnati for 2006, was released in mid-May, finished the season with the St. Paul Saints, and played in Japan in 2007.  He then signed with Kansas City and played in AAA Omaha from 2008-2009, retiring after the 2009 campaign.  Brian Buchanan then became a manager in the Kansas City minor league system, and is currently the manager of the Lexington Legends of the South Atlantic League.

Right-hander William Mays Eyre pitched for the Twins in 2006.  He was born in Fountain Valley, California, attended the College of Eastern Utah (the only major league player that school has produced), and was drafted by Minnesota in the twenty-third round in 1999.  He started slowly, but began pitching well when shifted to the bullpen in 2001.  He reached AAA in 2003 and had a fine year for Rochester in 2005, going 10-3, 2.72 with seven saves and a WHIP of 1.29.  Eyre then spent all of 2006 in Minnesota, his only full year in the majors to date.  He did not do particularly well, going 1-0, 5.31 with a WHIP of 1.64 in 59.1 innings spread over 42 games.  He was allowed to become a free agent after the 2006 season and signed with Texas.  He began 2007 in AAA, but was quickly called up to the majors, where he remained most of the season.  His numbers were not any better than they had been with Minnesota, and in late August he was injured.  He missed all of 2008 with Tommy John surgery but came back in 2009, reaching the majors for about two months in four different stints.  Eyre remained in the Texas organization in 2010, pitching well for AAA Oklahoma City.  He moved on to the Oakland system for 2011, was allowed to become a free agent at the end of July, and signed with Baltimore a few days later, not only making it back to the big leagues but pitching quite well in nineteen appearances.  He signed with Baltimore again for 2012, was sent to AAA, was released in mid-June, and signed back with Texas, for whom he did not pitch well in AAA.  His playing carre came to an end after that.  As a Twin, he was 1-0, 5.31 in 42 games (59.1 innings).  At last report, it appeared that Willie Eyre was living in the Fort Myers area, where he was coaching youth sports and working as a teacher in Exceptional Student Education.  He is the brother of former major league pitcher Scott Eyre.

July 20

Heinie Manush (1901)
Bob Short (1917)
Mike Ilitch (1929)
Dick Stello (1934)
Tony Oliva (1938)
Mickey Stanley (1942)
Mike Witt (1960)
Charles Johnson (1971)
Bengie Molina (1974)
Jason Miller (1982)
Alexi Casilla (1984)
Stephen Strasburg (1988)

Bob Short owned the second Washington Senators franchise and moved them to Texas.  He also owned the Minneapolis Lakers and moved them to Los Angeles.

Mike Ilitch purchased the Detroit Tigers in 1992.

Dick Stello was a National League umpire from 1968-1987, when he died in a car accident.

Outfielder Tony Pedro Oliva played his entire career for the Twins, playing briefly in 1962-1963, making the team for good in 1964 and staying through 1976.  He was born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, and signed as a free agent with Minnesota in 1961, one of the last Cubans allowed to leave the country to play major league baseball.  The Twins released him, but he continued to train with a friend who was playing for the Twins’ Class A team in Charlotte.  Charlotte manager Paul Howser encouraged the Twins to re-sign Oliva, which they did.  His minor league numbers are impressive:  in three seasons, he hit .342 with 50 home runs.  He got September call-ups in 1962 and 1963, then became the Twins’ starting right fielder in 1964.  He was the Rookie of the Year, leading the league in batting (.323), runs (109), hits (217), doubles (43), and total bases (374).  He finished fourth in MVP voting.  He again led the league in batting in 1965 and finished second in MVP voting to teammate Zoilo Versalles.  Oliva made the all-star team his first eight seasons in the majors, 1964-1971.  He finished in the top twenty in MVP voting each of those years, finishing in the top ten five times, in the top five three times, and finishing second twice (1965 and 1970).  He also won the Gold Glove in 1966.  He suffered a devastating knee injury in 1972, missing almost the entire season, and when he returned he was not the same player.  He was strictly a DH after that, he never topped .300 again (after having done so in six of his first eight seasons), and never hit 20 homers again.  He fell to part-time status in 1976 and his playing career ended after that.  Tony Oliva hit .304/.353/.476 with 220 home runs in 6,301 at-bats.  For eight seasons, he was as good a player as there was in the major leagues.  After his playing career ended, Oliva remained with the Twins as a coach in both the major and minor league teams at various times.  He is currently living in Bloomington, Minnesota, and continues to make public appearances for the Twins.

Left-hander Jason Douglas Miller made four appearances for the Twins in 2007.  Born and raised in Sarasota, Florida, he was drafted by Minnesota in the fourth round in 2000.  He both started and relieved in the minors, as the Twins’ organization never seemed to really settle on a role for him.  He pitched pretty well on his way up, only once posting an ERA over four (4.05 at Elizabethton in 2001) and never posting a WHIP as high as 1.4 until 2007.  He was with the Twins for about ten days in 2007, appearing in four games.  His numbers show an ERA of 18, allowing eight runs and seven hits in four innings, but that’s somewhat misleading.  He was unscored upon in his first three appearances, giving up no hits and one walk in 3.2 innings, then gave up eight runs, seven hits, and two walks in a third of an inning his last time out.  The Twins were trailing 8-3 to the Angels in the eighth, and Gardy obviously did not want to burn up another reliever, so he let Miller get beat on for a while.  Miller went back to AAA the rest of the season, did not do particularly well, had a bad year in AA in 2008, and then the Twins let him go.  He signed with Detroit for 2009 but was released in April, and his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Jason Miller had returned to his home town of Sarasota. where he works as a pitching instructor for Extra Innings, which offers both baseball and softball instruction.

Infielder Alexi (Lora) Casilla played for the Twins from 2006-2012.  He was born and raised in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, and signed with Anaheim as a free agent in 2003.  He had a big year in 2005, hitting .325 at Class A Cedar Rapids.  That off-season, Casilla was traded to Minnesota for J. C. Romero.  He was a September call-up for the Twins in 2006 and has gone back and forth between AAA and the majors ever since.  Casilla was the Twins’ starting second baseman the last two months of 2007, but did not hit.  He began 2008 in the minors, came up to the Twins in mid-May, took over the starting second base job about a week later, and had his best season, hitting .281 with 50 RBIs.  The Twins thought they had their second base position filled for several years, but it did not work out that way.  He did not hit in 2009, lost the starting job in early May, spent some time in the minors, got the starting job back a couple of times but couldn’t hold it, and ended up hitting just .202 for the season.  He was a reserve for the Twins in 2010 and did fairly well in that role.  He began 2011 starting at shortstop, but did not hit.  He was moved to second base in early May and continued to not hit for a few weeks, then started doing better, although he wasn’t exactly getting all-star consideration.  He began 2012 as the starting second baseman again, but lost the job in early June and was a reserve the rest of the year.  As a Twin, Alexi Casilla hit .250/.305/.334 in 1580 major league at bats.  He was placed on waivers after the 2012 season and chosen by Baltimore, for whom he was a backup second baseman in 2013.  He didn't do much, and while the Orioles re-signed him for 2014 they sent him to AAA Norfolk, where he has remained.  He has done okay in AAA, but nothing to shout about.  He turns 30 today.  He has had stretches in which he has played well, he has never been able to sustain a major league level of play over the course of a season.  At this point, one has to assume that he is what he is, and will never be more than a temporary fill-in or utility infielder in the major leagues, which is still better than the vast majority of us will ever do.

July 19

Jim Donnelly (1865)
Harry Davis (1873)
Earl Hamilton (1891)
Bob Meusel (1896)
Mark Koenig (1904)
Jackie Hayes (1906)
Phil Cavarretta (1916)
Billy Gardner (1927)
Jayson Stark (1951)
Dan Graham (1954)Mark Carreon (1963)
David Segui (1966)
Gus Gandarillas (1971)Preston Wilson (1974)
Yorvit Torrealba (1978)
Rick Ankiel (1979)

Jayson Stark is a long-time baseball writer and ESPN commentator.

Infielder William Frederick Gardner played for the Twins for a couple of months in 1961, then managed them from 1981-1985.  He was born in Waterford, Connecticut and signed with the New York Giants as a free agent in 1945.  He was up and down a lot in a lengthy minor league career, reaching AA in 1945, dropping back to Class A through 1948 (with one year missed for military service), played in AAA in 1949, went back to Class A in 1950, was back in AAA from 1951-1952, and then went to AA for 1953.  He hit well at lower levels, but did not do much in AAA.  Gardner was with the Giants as a reserve infielder for all of 1954 and part of 1955 (spending the rest of the season in AAA Minneapolis), then was sold to Baltimore at the start of the 1956 season.  He was the Orioles' regular second baseman for four years; the best of those four was easily 1957, when he hit .262, led the league with 36 doubles, and finished twelfth in MVP voting.  He hit around .220 his other years in Baltimore.  Gardner was traded to Washington just prior to the 1960 season for Clint Courtney and Ron Samford.  He was their regular second baseman that year and came to Minnesota with the team in that role in 1961, but was traded to the Yankees on June 14 for Danny McDevitt.  As a Twin, Billy Gardner hit .234/.280/.312 in 154 at-bats.  He was with the Yankees for about a year, then moved on to Boston, where he hit well as a reserve for the rest of the 1962 campaign.  He remained with the Red Sox through 1963, was in the minors for them in 1964, and then his playing career was basically over, although he made brief appearances at AA in the Red Sox' organization, where he was managing, through 1971.  He was a coach and manager for various teams until 1981, when he was first a coach and then manager for the Twins, replacing Johnny Goryl.  He remained the Twins' manager through 1985.  He also managed Kansas City for part of 1987, replacing a terminally ill Dick Howser.  His son, Billy Gardner, Jr., has been a minor-league manager for twenty years and is this year the manager of the Syracuse Chiefs.  Billy Gardner, Sr. is presumably retired now, but no information about where he might be living was readily available.

Catcher Daniel Jay Graham appeared in two games for the Twins in 1979.  He was born in Ray, Arizona, attended the University of La Verne, and was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 1975.  He was a power hitter early in his career, hitting .320 with 29 home runs at Class A Reno in 1976 and .277 with 23 home runs at AAA Toledo in 1978.  He came up to the Twins briefly in early June of 1979, catching in two games and going 0-for-4.  He had a bad season in AAA that year, hitting just .213 with nine homers.  The Twins traded him to Baltimore after the season for Tom Chism.  He started the 1980 season at AAA Rochester, but when he hit .346 with 4 homers in a month, the Orioles brought him to the majors, where he shared the catching job with Rick Dempsey.  He actually had a very good year in Baltimore, hitting .278 with 15 homers and 54 RBIs in 266 at-bats.  He couldn't sustain it, though, batting just .176 in 142 at-bats in his only full season in the majors in 1981.  He went back to Rochester for 1982 and was okay, hitting .272 with 11 homers, but he never got another chance at the majors.  His playing career ended after the 1982 season.  At last report, Dan Graham was living in Winkelman, Arizona.

Right-hander Gustavo Gandarillas did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them.  He was born in Coral Gables, Florida, went to high school in Hialeah, Florida, and then attended the University of Miami.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1992.  Almost exclusively a reliever, he pitched very well at Class A, but stumbled at higher levels.  He reached AAA Salt Lake in 1997 and stayed there (other than 18 games at AA in 1999) through 2000.  He did not get much accomplished there.  Gandarillas became a free agent after the 1998 season and signed with Pittsburgh, but when the Pirates released him in spring training the Twins took him back.  He became a free agent again after 2000 and signed with Boston for 2001, but was released in late May.  Milwaukee picked him up and he had his first good season in AAA.  The Brewers called him up for a week in July and brought him back in late August, this time keeping him the rest of the season.  He went 0-0, 5.49, 1.78 WHIP in 19.2 innings over 16 games.  He made three appearances in the minors for Milwaukee in 2002, then was released.  Gandarillas pitched in the Mexican Leauge in 2003, then his playing career was over.  Gus Gandarillas is currently living in Miami, where he is part owner of Hit Zone Batting Cages.

July 18

Larry McLean (1881)
Johnny Hopp (1916)
Joe Torre (1940)
Rudy May (1944)
Harry Spilman (1954)
Razor Shines (1956)
Mike Greenwell (1963)
Torii Hunter (1975)
Glenn Williams (1977)
Ben Sheets (1978)

Left-hander Rudolph May was in the Twins’ organization for his first year of professional baseball.  He was born in Coffeyville, Kansas, went to high school in Oakland, California, and signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1962.  He played for Bismarck-Mandan in the Northern League, going 11-11, 4.29.  The White Sox chose him in the first-year player draft but traded him to Philadelphia after a year.  He never played at all for the Phillies, moving on to California in a trade for Bo Belinsky.  He was with the Angels all of 1965, starting some and relieving some, but not doing all that well for that time.  He may have suffered from injuries, as he did not pitch much in 1966-1967.  He had a decent, unpsectacular year at AA El Paso in 1968 and made it back to the majors at the start of 1969, this time to stay.  He both started and relieved for a while, but went into the Angels’ rotation for good in August of 1969.  He was never a star, but was a solid contributor, working 180-200 innings every year.  He got off to a bad start in 1974, was removed from the rotation, and then was sold to the Yankees.  He pitched even better for them for two years, then was traded again, this time to Baltimore in a ten-player deal that also included ex-Twin Rick Dempsey.  He was a solid member of their rotation, too, but was traded after the 1977 season to Montreal.  He continued to pitch well, and did even better when shifted to the bullpen in 1979.  He became a free agent after that season and signed with the Yankees.  He had the best year of his career in 1980.  May made 17 starts and 24 relief appearances, went 15-5, and led the league in ERA (2.46), ERA+ (160), and WHIP (1.04).  He did not match that, but had two more solid years for the Yankees.  He had a bad year in 1983, and his playing career came to an end.  In that career, he had 152 wins, an ERA of 3.46, a WHIP of 1.25 in 2,622 innings, and an appearances in the World Series.  That’s not bad for a guy who moved around a lot and seemed to be kind of taken for granted throughout his career.  It appears that he is living in the Fresno area and is available to give pitching instruction or to make personal appearances.

Outfielder Torii Kedar Hunter was with the Twins from 1997-2007.  Born and raised in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, he was drafted by Minnesota in the first round in 1993.  He was really not all that special in the minors, although he had some solid years.  He progressed at more or less the rate of a level a year until reaching AA, where he stayed until late in the 1998 season.  He appeared in one game for the Twins in 1997 as a pinch-runner, was in Minnesota for about a week and a half in 1998, and played his first full season in 1999.  He did not have much power early in his career, and frequently batted leadoff.  He had a decent year in 1999, but got off to a bad start in 2000 and was sent back to AAA Salt Lake for a couple of months.  He hit .368 there and came back to Minnesota, playing much better the rest of the way.  He was restored as the Twins’ starting center fielder, a position he held through the 2007 season.  His best season was probably 2002, when he hit .289 with 29 homers and an OPS of .859.  In those years, he received MVP votes four times, finishing as high as sixth in 2002.  He made the all-star team twice, in 2002 and 2007, and won the Gold Glove seven times.  As a Twin, he hit .271/.324/.469 in 4,492 at-bats.  Hunter became a free agent after the 2007 season and signed with the Angels.  He continued to play at about the same rate he did in Minnesota through 2010, making two more all-star teams, winning two more Gold Gloves, and winning his first Silver Slugger.  He significantly declined in 2011, batting only .262 with an OPS of .765, but bounced back in 2012 to hit .313, although he failed to hit 20 homers for the first time since 2005.  A free agent again after the 2012 season, he signed with Detroit.  He hit about the same in 2013 as he had in 2012, but because he was on a winning team he got more recognition for it, getting named to the all-star team again and winning another Silver Slugger award.  So far this season his batting average is down, and while it's nothing to be ashamed of, it could be an indication that he's nearing the end.  He turns 39 today.  He's had a fine career, and he certainly could bounce back, but it also could be that Torii Hunter is finally nearing the end of the line.

Third baseman Glenn David Williams had forty at-bats with the Twins in 2005.  Born and raised in New South Wales, Australia, his father, Gary, was heavily involved in the development of baseball in that country.  He was signed by Atlanta as a free agent in 1993.  His first year was in rookie ball; he then spent four years in Class A.  He moved up to AA in 1999 (when he was still just 21), but when he flopped there the Braves released him.  Williams signed with Toronto and went back to Class A.  He then started to make a normal progression, going up to AA in 2001 and to AAA in 2002.  He had a good year in 2002 in Syracuse, hitting .274 with 15 homers, and appeared to be ready to move forward.  He went back to Syracuse in 2003, however, and had a bad year.  He bounced back at Syracuse in 2004, hitting .264 with 23 homers, but was allowed to become a free agent after the season.  Minnesota signed him for 2005.  He hit .303 in 48 games in Rochester and came up to the Twins in early June.  He played for about three weeks, hitting .425/.452/.450 in 40 at-bats over 13 games.  He then dislocated his shoulder and missed the rest of the season.  The above line is his career major league line, as he never made it back.  He stayed in Rochester two more years, but his numbers declined each year, and his playing career came to an end.  Since then, he  has returned to Australia, playing for their Olympic qualifying team in 2008 and coaching for Australia in the 2009 World Youth Championship.  Glenn Williams has the post-1900 record for most at-bats with a lifetime average over .400.  He was inducted into the Australian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.  At last report, he was a coach for the Sydney Blue Sox, was the national hitting coordinator for Baseball Australia, was a scout for the Detroit Tigers, and was the manager of High Performance Baseball in New South Wales.

July 17

Hugh “One Arm” Daily (1847)
Ernest Barnard (1874)
Judge Emil Fuchs (1878)
Lou Boudreau (1917)
Roy McMillan (1929)
Jerry Lynch (1930)
Toni Stone (1931)
Deron Johnson (1938)
Don Kessinger (1942)
Charley Steiner (1949)
Pete Ladd (1956)
Bobby Thigpen (1963)
Jason Jennings (1978)

Ernest Barnard was the general manager of the Cleveland Indians from 1003-1926.  He was also the second president of the American League.

Judge Emil Fuchs was the owner of the Boston Braves from 1923-1935.  He was a magistrate judge in New York City from 1915-1918.

Toni Stone was the first woman to play in the Negro Leagues.  She played from 1949-1954.

Charley Steiner has been broadcasting Los Angeles Dodger games since 2005.

No players with connections to the Minnesota Twins appear to have been born on this day.

July 16

Shoeless Joe Jackson (1889)
Doc Prothro (1893)
Jim Odom (1921)
Norm Sherry (1931)
Eddie Fisher (1936)
Lee Elia (1937)
Terry Pendleton (1960)
DeMarlo Hale (1961)
William VanLandingham (1970)

The father of former NFL coach Tommy Prothro, third baseman Doc Prothro played in the majors for parts of five seasons and had a lifetime batting average of .318.

Jim Odom was an American League umpire from 1964-1974.

DeMarlo Hale was a minor league manager from 1993-2001 and has been a major league coach since 2002.

No players with connections to the Twins appear to have been born on this day.

July 15

John Clapp (1851)
Dan McGann (1871)
Bubbles Hargrave (1892)
Shirley Povich (1905)
Jake Powell (1908)
Bruce Edwards (1923)
Donn Clendenon (1935)
Mike Shannon (1939)
Kirt Manwaring (1965)
Brett Merriman (1966)
James Baldwin (1971)
Miguel Olivo (1978)

Shirley Povich was a sportswriter for the Washington Post from 1923-1993.  He continued to write for them for twenty-five years after he "retired".

Right-hander Brett Alan Merriman pitched for the Twins in 1993 and 1994.  He was born in Jacksonville, Florida, went to high school in Nevada, Missouri, attended Grand Canyon University, and was drafted by Cleveland in the ninth round in 1988.  He did not pitch that badly in two years in the minors, although he had problems with his control, but was released by the Indians late in 1990 spring training.  California signed him a few days later, converted him from a starting pitcher to a reliever, and he pitched well in their system for three season, rising as high as AAA.  He was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was chosen by Colorado in November of 1992.  During spring training of 1993, Merriman was traded to Minnesota for Rob Wassenaar and Gary Wayne.  He started the season with the Twins, but was sent down after a month with an ERA of 19.00.  He went to AAA Portland, had a good season there, and came back for the last month of the season, pitching substantially better.  He got off to a bad start in 1994 in Salt Lake but was called up to the Twins anyway, staying for nearly two  months and not pitching very well.  A free agent after the season, he signed with San Diego for 1995, pitched poorly in AAA for them, and then his playing career was over.  In his major league career, all with the Twins, Brett Merriman was 1-2, 8.39 in 44 innings spread over 34 appearances.  No information about Brett Merriman’s life after baseball was readily available.

Right-hander James Baldwin, Jr. made ten appearances for the Twins in 2003.  He was born in Pinehurst, North Carolina, went to high school in Southern Pines, North Carolina, and was drafted by the White Sox in the fourth round in 1990.  He started slowly in the minors, but came on strong in 1992 and reached AAA in mid-season of 1993.  He got a full year there in 1994 and was in the majors for about a month of 1995.  He had a bad year in 1995, but after two strong AAA starts in 1996 he was in the majors for good.  He went into the White Sox’ rotation and stayed there until he was traded in mid-2001.  He did so despite the fact that he really was not very good:  his ERA was over five for three consecutive years, 1997-1999, and the lowest ERA he ever posted for the White Sox was 4.42 in 1996.  He had some good won-lost records, though, going 11-6 in 1996 (when he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting), 13-6 in 1998, and 14-7 in 2000.  He made the all-star team in 2001, despite not pitching any better then than he had any other time, and was traded to the Dodgers in late-July of that season.  He was a free agent after the season, went to Seattle for 2002, pitched about the same as he had before, and became a free agent again.  He signed with Kansas City for 2003, went to AAA, was released June 1, and signed with Minnesota ten days later.  He made five starts in Rochester, then came up to the Twins.  He was in the bullpen for about five weeks, going 0-1, 5.40 in 15 innings. Minnesota released him in mid-August.  He signed with the Mets for 2004, made two major league starts for them, and was released in mid-May.  He was in AAA for Detroit the rest of the season.  In 2005, he signed with Baltimore, was chosen off waivers by Texas in late July, and was chosen off waivers by Baltimore again in late August.  He went to Toronto for 2006 and was released in late April, finally ending his career.  He pitched for a long time and got a couple of honors, which isn’t bad for a guy who never really had a good year.  At last report, James Baldwin had moved back to North Carolina and was a baseball coach at Pinecrest High School.  His son, James Baldwin III, was drafted as an outfielder by the Dodgers and is currently playing for Class A Rancho Cucamonga in the California League.

July 14

Jesse Tannehill (1874)
Happy Chandler (1898)
Johnny Murphy (1908)
Robert Creamer (1922)
Ralph Rowe (1924)
Bob Purkey (1929)
Billy McCool (1944)
Steve Stone (1947)
Danny Walton (1947)
Vic Rodriguez (1961)
Robin Ventura (1967)
Derrick May (1968)
Jose Hernandez (1969)
Tim Hudson (1975)

Albert "Happy" Chandler was the commissioner of baseball from 1945-1951.

Author Robert Creamer wrote a biography of Babe Ruth which is still considered to be one of the best baseball books ever.

Ralph Rowe was a coach for the Twins from 1972-1975.

Outfielder Daniel James Walton played for the Twins in 1973 and 1975.  He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in La Puente, California, and was drafted by Houston in the tenth round in 1965.  He hit very well in the minors, hitting over .300 with 45 homers combined in 1966-1967.  He started 1968 with Houston, but got only two at-bats as a pinch-hitter before being returned to the minors.  He did not really get going all season, but came back in 1969 to hit .332 with 34 homers for AAA Oklahoma City.  In late August, Walton was traded to the Seattle Pilots in a deal that also involved ex-Twin Sandy Valdespino.  He was the Pilots’ regular left fielder the rest of the year and held that position in 1970 for the new Milwaukee Brewers.  That was the only year of his career that he got regular play, and was also his best year, as he hit .257 with 17 homers and an OPS of .790.   Walton injured his knee late in the season, however, and was never the same player again.  He began 1971 with Milwaukee, but was traded to the Yankees in early June and was in the minors most of the rest of the year.  He had a solid year in AAA Syracuse in 1972, but was traded to Minnesota after the season for Rick Dempsey.  Walton was in the big leagues most of the season but did not play much and did not hit when he did play, batting .177 with four homers.  He went back to AAA in 1974 and had a strong year, hitting .263 with 35 homers and 109 RBIs.  He was back with the Twins in 1975, but again did not hit, and was sent back down in mid-July.  After the season, the Twins traded Walton to the Dodgers for Bobby Randall.  As a Twin, he hit .176/.272/.302 in 159 at-bats.  He was with the Dodgers organization for two seasons and had a huge year at AAA Albuquerque in 1977, hitting .289 with 42 homers and 122 RBIs.  All it got him was a trade to Houston in early September.  He stuck with the Astros the rest of the season, but was released late in spring training in 1978.  He went to Japan that year, then came back to AAA with Seattle in 1979 and with Texas in 1980.  He was in the big leagues for one more month in 1980, but that was the end of the line for him.  After his playing career ended, he became a welder and pipe fitter in Utah.  At last report, Danny Walton was retired and raising horses near Ogden, Utah.

Infielder Victor Manuel (Rivera) Rodriguez had eleven at-bats for the Twins in 1989.  He was born in New York and signed with Baltimore in 1977 at age 16.  He did not show a lot of power, but his other numbers are not bad, especially when one considers how young he was.  He reached AAA in 1982 and hit .274 there in 1984, earning a September call-up in which he hit .412 with 3 doubles in 17 at-bats.  The Orioles apparently weren’t overly impressed, as they traded him to San Diego the following February.  He spent one season in the Padres’ organization, hitting .312 with 11 homers in AAA Las Vegas, and they weren’t impressed either, allowing him to become a free agent after the season.  Rodriguez then signed with St.  Louis, playing two seasons for AAA Louisville, and became a free agent again.  He signed with Minnesota in January 0r 1988.  He played in AAA Portland for four seasons, averaging close t0 .300.  He was with the Twins for about a week and a half in late July of 1989, going 5-for-11 with two doubles as a third baseman.  His line was .455/.455/.636.  The Twins let him go after he hit .304 in Portland in 1991.  He then went to Philadelphia, playing in AAA for two seasons and hitting .305 with 12 homers in 1993.  He was in AAA for Florida in 1994 and Boston in 1995, then his playing career came to an end.  In thirteen AAA seasons, Vic Rodriguez hit .290/.310/.408; in 28 major league at-bats he hit .429/.429/.607.  He obviously was a free-swinger, and he would not have been a star, but it seems like he hit well enough that he could have helped somebody if he’d been given a chance.  After his playing career he got into coaching, and is currently the assistant batting coach for the Boston Red Sox.