August 21

Frank Isbell (1875)

Murray Dickson (1916)

Jerry Staley (1920)

Jim Beauchamp (1939)

Felix Millan (1943)

John Ellis (1948)

John Stearns (1951)
Frank Pastore (1957)
John Wetteland (1966)
Mike Misuraca (1968)
Craig Counsell (1970)
Ismael Valdez (1973)
Akili Smith (1975)
Jason Marquis (1978)

Akili Smith, better known as an NFL quarterback, played for three seasons in the Pittsburgh organization, reaching AA.

Right-hander Frank Enrico Pastore pitched for the Twins in 1986.  He was born in Alhambra, California, went to high school in La Verne, California, and was drafted in the second round by Cincinnati in 1975, Pastore pitched well at every stop along the way in the minors, and made the Reds at the beginning of 1979. He pitched mostly out of the bullpen that year, but became a solid member of the rotation in 1980. That was his best year: he went 13-7 with an ERA of 3.27 in 27 starts. He pitched well in 1981 and 1982, but started to slip after that, and also apparently started to have injury problems. He was primarily a reliever in 1985, became a free agent, and signed with the Twins in April of 1986. The Twins ran through a lot of relief pitchers that year, and Pastore was actually one of the better ones they had: in 33 games, he was 3-1 with a 4.01 ERA and 2 saves, but walked 24 in 49.1 innings and had a WHIP of 1.58. He again became a free agent after the season, and signed with the Texas Rangers, but pitched poorly for AAA Oklahoma City and his career was over. After baseball, Frank Pastore went back to school and obtained degrees in business administration, philosophy of religion and ethics, political philosophy, and American government. He became the host of a radio program, The Frank Pastore Show, which was described by wikipedia as the largest Christian talk show in the United States.  Sadly, Frank Pastore passed away December 17, 2012 as a result of injuries following a motorcycle accident.

Right-hander Michael William Misuraca did not play for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for over seven years.  He was born in Long Beach, California and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1988.  A starter for most of his career, he pitched fairly well in the low minors, but never well enough to attract anyone’s attention.  He reached Class A in 1989, but did not advance past there until 1993, when he finally got to AA Nashville.  He reached AAA in 1994, but did not pitch well in Salt Lake, posting ERAs over five each season there.  He was sent to Milwaukee in a conditional deal in June of 1996 and sent to AAA New Orleans.  He did not pitch any better in AAA for the Brewers, but was brought up to the majors for about three weeks in 1997.  It did not go well:  in five appearances (10.1 innings), he put up an ERA of 11.32 and a WHIP of 2.13, allowing five home runs.  His playing career came to an end after that season.  He may not have been in the big leagues for long, but as an undrafted free agent, he beat the odds to get there at all.  He has stayed in baseball, and at last report was the supervisor of scouting in the greater Los Angeles area for the Cincinnati Reds.

Right-hander Jason Scott Marquis made seven starts for the Twins at the beginning of 2012.  He was born in Manhasset, New York, went to high school in Staten Island, and was drafted by Atlanta in the first round in 1996.  He advanced slowly, mostly because he really didn’t pitch all that well.  he had a good year in AA in 2000, though, and ended up spending nearly half the season in the majors.  2001 was his first full year in the majors and was one of his best years there.  He started in the bullpen, but made the rotation by mid-June and ended up posting a 3.48 ERA.  He came nowhere near those numbers in 2002 and was back in the minors for about half of 2003.  That off-season he was traded to St. Louis.  He had a fine year for the Cardinals in 2004, going 15-7, 3.71, though with a WHIP of 1.42.  He was still pretty good in 2005 but had a terrible 2006, leading the league in earned runs allowed and home runs allowed.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with the Cubs.  He was adequate for the Cubs for two seasons, then was traded to Colorado before the 2009 season.  Given that he was pitching in Coors Field, he actually had a pretty good year for the Rockies, but became a free agent again and signed with Washington.  He was on the disabled list much of 2010 and was pretty awful when he did pitch, but he bounced back in 2011 and was having a decent season when he was traded to Arizona at the deadline.  He again was injured and was awful in the three starts he did make for the Diamondbacks.  A free agent again, he signed with Minnesota for 2012.  It was hoped he would bring a veteran presence to the rotation, but his time with the Twins was a disaster:  2-4, 8.47, 1.94 WHIP in 34 innings.  He was released in late May and signed with San Diego the next day.  He was actually fairly good with the Padres the rest of the season and was adequate in 2013 as well, although he issued a lot of walks.  A free agent after that season, he did not sign for 2014 until early June, when he signed with Philadelphia.  He is currently pitching in AAA, doing okay but nothing special.  He turns 36 today, and as you can see, his career has been rather up-and-down. At his age, it’s possible that we won't seem him in the majors again, but as a veteran with some history of success it's at least equally possible that we will.