August 31

Dad Clarkson (1866)

Duke Farrell (1866)

Red Ehret (1868)

Monte Cross (1869)
Eddie Plank (1875)
Sarge Connally (1898)
Ray Berres (1907)
Ray Dandridge (1913)
Danny Litwhiler (1916)
Frank Robinson (1935)
Boots Day (1947)
Claudell Washington (1954)
Tom Candiotti (1957)
Von Hayes (1958)
Mike Hartley (1961)
Hideo Nomo (1968)
Pat Howell (1968)
Ramon Santiago (1979)
Tim Raines (1979)
Armando Gabino (1983)

Ray Dandridge is considered by some to be the greatest Negro League third baseman.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to brianS’ son.

Pitcher Michael Edward Hartley played for the Twins in 1993.  He was born in Hawthorne, California, went to high school in El Cajon, California, attended East Carolina University, and was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals in 1981. He had a good year in rookie ball in 1982, but then spent the next four years at Class A before being drafted by the Dodgers in the minor league draft. They started him at Class A in 1987, but advanced him to AA and then pitched him in two games in AAA that year. Hartley split 1988 between AA and AAA. In 1989, after an excellent year at AAA Albuquerque, he earned a September call-up with the Dodgers, and had a fine year for them in 1990, pitching mostly in relief. The Dodgers traded Hartley to Philadelphia mid-way through the 1991 season, and after a year and a half there, he was traded to the Twins for David West. Hartley was not awful as a long reliever for the Twins in 1993, pitching in 53 games, all in relief, and going 1-2 with an ERA of 4.00 and a WHIP of 1.51 in 81 innings. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed with the Angels, but was sold to the Chiba Lotte Marines three days later. After pitching in Japan in 1994, Hartley returned to the United States and signed with the Red Sox organization, spending most of 1995 in the minors but making five appearances with Boston and three with Baltimore, who signed him after he was released by the Red Sox. He played independent ball in 1997, and later got into coaching. He was the pitching coach for the Reno Silver Sox from 2005-2007, making one appearance for them in 2005. From 2008-2010 Mike Hartley was a coach and part-time pitcher for a German professional team, the Heidenheim Heidekopfe, becoming the first former big-leaguer to play in Germany.  He managed the Croatian national team in 2011, was manager of Grosseto in the Italian Baseball League in 2012, moved back to Heidenheim for the 2013-2014 seasons, and is the pitching coach for the Dutch National team in 2015.

Outfielder Patrick O’Neal Howell did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 1991 and in their minor league system in 1993.  He was born in Mobile, Alabama, attended high school in Prichard, Alabama, and was drafted by the Mets in the ninth round in 1987.  A speedy outfielder with no power, he advanced slowly up the Mets’ system, playing in rookie ball for two years and Class A for two more.  His best season at that point had been in Class A in 1989, when he hit .290 (with a .346 slugging percentage).  The Twins thought they saw something in him, though, and took him in the Rule 5 draft after the 1990 season.  The Twins clearly wanted to keep him, but simply could not justify leaving him on the major league roster, and on April 5 returned him to the Mets.  He reached AA that season and AAA in 1992, and while he neither hit nor walked much he stole a lot of bases, including 64 of them in 1991.  The Mets even called him up for about two months in 1992 and used him as a reserve outfielder.  He did about what you’d expect from his minor league record:  .187/.218/.200 in 75 at-bats.  The Twins still liked him, though, and after the 1992 season they traded Darren Reed for him.  They sent him to AAA Portland, and while he stole 36 bases he hit .209 with an OPS of .505, which was enough to finally convince the Twins that there was nothing there.  He went back to the Mets for 1994, played in Mexico from 1995-1997, to Taiwan in 1998, and then played in independent leagues for eight seasons before finally ending his playing career after the 2004 season.  At last report, Pat Howell had returned to the Mobile area and was working with baseball clinics there.

The son of the all-star, outfielder Timothy Raines Jr. was in spring training with the Twins for a couple of weeks in 2006.  He was born in Memphis, went to high school in Sanford, Florida, and was drafted by Baltimore in the sixth round in 1998.  His minor league record is rather unimpressive, but after hitting .274 for three minor league teams in 2001 he got a September call-up and appeared in seven games.  In 2003, still only twenty-three years old, he hit .304 in a season split between AA and AAA and was called up to the Orioles in late August, playing in twenty more games.  He had three stints in the majors in 2004, totalling roughly half the season, hitting .255 in 94 at-bats.  He had a down year in 2005 in AAA Ottawa, hitting .254, and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with the Twins as a free agent on January 31, 2006, but was released on March 2.  He bounced around after that, going to the Washington organization in 2006, Houston in 2007, Arizona in 2008, and Kansas City in 2009, spending time both in AA and AAA but never making it back to the majors.  He also played briefly in Taiwan.  He played in the Atlantic League in 2010 and moved to Newark of the Can-Am League for 2011, where he was managed by his father.  Tim Raines, Jr. was a coach for Newark in 2012, with his father becoming director of player development.  At last report, he was an instructor for IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

Right-hander Armando Leisdeker (Garcia) Gabino made two appearances for the Twins in 2009.  He was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and signed with Cleveland as a free agent in 2001.  He may have spent a couple of years in the Dominican Summer League or something, because his official minor league statistics do not begin until 2004, when he pitched five games in the Appalachian League.  He came to the Twins organization the following year in the minor league draft. He had a poor 2005, but has pitched well in the minors since, posting a 2.94 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in AAA Rochester in 2009. He has been predominantly a relief pitcher in the minors, making only 13 starts in 176 minor-league appearances.  He made one start and one relief appearance for the Twins, pitching 3.2 innings and allowing seven runs on nine hits and five walks.  The Twins placed Gabino on waivers after the season and he was claimed by Baltimore.  He has spent most of the 2010 season at AAA Norfolk but made five appearances for the Orioles, again allowing seven runs on nine hits, but this time in 4.2 innings.  He has had a fine year for Norfolk, however, posting a 2.09 ERA in 77.1 innings.  He continued to pitch well in the minors for the Orioles in 2011, but did not gotten a shot back in the majors.  He was a free agent after the season, but no major league team signed him.  He did not give up, though, pitching in the Mexican League in 2012 and in the Atlantic League in 2013.  He signed with Camden of the Atlantic League for 2014 but was placed on the inactive list in mid-April and does not appear to have pitched for them.  His playing career came to an end at that point.  Armando Gabino is currently a pitching coach for the DSL Cubs.

August 30

Cal McVey (1849)

Pol Perritt (1891)

Bing Miller (1894)
Kiki Cuyler (1896)
Johnny Lindell (1916)
Ted Williams (1918)
Frank Funk (1935)
Tug McGraw (1944)
Roger Erickson (1956)
Randy O’Neal (1960)
Marlon Byrd (1977)
Cliff Lee (1978)
Luis Rivas (1979)
Roberto Hernandez (1980)
Adam Wainwright (1981)

Frank Funk served as a pitching coach for five major league teams (not all at the same time).

Randy O’Neal was drafted by Minnesota in 1979, but did not sign.

Right-hander Roger Farrell Erickson played for Minnesota from 1978-1982.  He was born in Springfield, Illinois, and was drafted by the Twins out of the University of New Orleans in the third round in 1977. He had an excellent year in AA Orlando, going 8-4 with a 1.98 ERA, and found himself in Minnesota at the start of the 1978 season. He went 14-13 that year with a 3.96 ERA in 256 innings, but could not replicate his success the following year, falling to 3-10 with a 5.63 ERA. The next two years he had good ERAs but poor won-loss records, and in May of 1982 he was traded to the Yankees with Butch Wynegar for Pete Filson, John Pacella, Larry Milbourne, and cash. Erickson was decent for the Yankees, posting ERAs in the mid-fours, but was sent to Columbus for part of the 1983 season and traded in the off-season with Steve Balboni to Kansas City for Duane Dewey and Mike Armstrong. He spent time in the Detroit and St. Louis organizations, but never did make it back to the big leagues, and retired following the 1989 season. Erickson is the nephew of former major league pitcher Don Erickson. As a Twin, Erickson appeared in 114 games, 106 of them starts. He was 31-47 with a 4.10 ERA in 712 innings.  He was a pitching coach in the Cardinals organization for a couple of years in the early 1990s.  At last report, Roger Erickson was operating Erickson Baseball School in Georgia.

Infielder Luis Wilfredo Rivas played for the Twins from 2000-2005.  Born and raised in LaGuaira, Venezuela, he signed with the Twins as a free agent at age 16. He came through the minors one level at a time, never hitting a lot until 2000, when he batted .318 at AAA Salt Lake in 41 games. That earned him a September call-up, and in 2001 Rivas became the Twins’ regular second baseman. He consistently posted batting averages in the .250s and .260s, not drawing a lot of walks and not hitting for much power. The Twins kept waiting for him to improve, but it did not happen, and in 2005 Rivas was sent to AAA Rochester for part of the season and was released after the season. He spent 2006 in the Tampa Bay organization, was with the Cleveland organization in 2007, appearing in four major-league games, was with Pittsburgh in 2008, and was with AAA Iowa in the Cubs organization in 2009.  He became a free agent after the 2009 season, and does not appear to have signed with anyone, ending his major league career.  Luis Rivas played 565 games as a Twin, batting .262/.307/.383 with 30 home runs and 177 RBIs in 1884 at-bats.  He apparently was shot in the leg during a robbery while he was visiting his family in Venezuela.  No information about what Luis Rivas is doing these days was readily available.

August 29

Pep Young (1907)

Joe Schultz (1918)

Orval Grove (1919)

Billy Cox (1919)

Swish Nicholson (1939)

Doug DeCinces (1950)
Bill Latham (1960)
Jeff Kellogg (1961)
Henry Blanco (1971)
Steve Lomasney (1977)
Aaron Rowand (1977)
Roy Oswalt (1977)

Jeff Kellogg has been a major league umpire since 1993.

Left-hander William Carol Latham played for the Twins in 1986.  Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, he was signed out of Auburn University as a free agent by the Mets in 1981.  He did well in the minors, winning 13 games in both 1984 and 1985 with an ERA under 3.00 both years, mostly at AAA Tidewater.  Latham started 1985 with the Mets and did not do badly, posting an ERA of 3.97 and a WHIP of 1.24 in 22.2 innings, starting three games and relieving four.  In the off-season, the Mets traded him along with Billy Beane and Joe Klink to the Twins for Pat Crosby and Tim Teufel.  Latham pitched well in AAA Toledo, and appeared in seven games for the Twins in 1986, two of them starts, going 0-1 with a 7.31 ERA in 16 innings.  He started poorly in 1987 with AAA Portland and was traded back to the Mets in May for Jayson Felice.  He spent the rest of 1987 and all of 1988 in the Mets’ minor-league organization, and then his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Bill Latham was a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers after having done that job for several years for the Red Sox.

Catcher Henry Ramon Blanco played for the Twins in 2004.  He was born in Caracas, Venezuela, went to high school in Miranda, Venezuela, and was signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 1989.  He did not hit much in the minors, but slowly moved up, making his AAA debut in 1995.  A .313 average at AAA Albuquerque in 1997 earned him a cup of coffee with the Dodgers, but he was back in Albuquerque for all of 1998.  Blanco became a minor-league free agent after that season, and was signed by the Rockies.  His first full year in the majors came in 1999 for Colorado, but it was his only season there, as he was traded to the Brewers as part of a three-team deal that also included future Twin Jeff Cirillo.  Blanco spent two seasons as a part-time player in Milwaukee, and then was traded to Atlanta in spring training of 2002.  After two years in Atlanta, he became a free agent.  Minnesota signed him during the 2003-04 off-season to back up Joe Mauer, but when Mauer was hurt, Blanco became the regular, playing 114 games, the most he has ever played in a season.  He had never hit well in the majors and did not do so in Minnesota, batting .206/.260/.368 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs, but he gave the Twins good defense behind the plate.  The Twins let him go after that season, and Blanco moved on to the Cubs, where he spent four years as a part-time catcher.  Let go by the Cubs after 2008, he signed with the Padres for 2009, moved on to the Mets for 2010, was with Arizona in 2011-2012, signed with Toronto for 2013, was released in mid-June, signed with Seattle three days later, and signed with Arizona for 2014, but retired shortly before the season started and became a coach for the Diamondbacks.  He is currently the quality control coach for the Chicago Cubs.  Henry Blanco threw out 43 percent of opposing base stealers for his career, throwing out 58 percent in 2000 and twice leading the league in that category.  Needless to say, the Twins still miss him.

Catcher Steven James Lomasney did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for about four months in 2006.  He was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, went to high school in Peabody, Massachusetts, and was drafted by Boston in the fifth round in 1995.  He was not too bad in the low minors, hitting 20 homers or more in consecutive seasons in 1998-1999.  In 1999, after hitting .259 with twenty home runs in a season split between Class A and AA, Lomasney got a September call-up.  He made his major league debut in the last game of the season, replacing Jason Varitek in the fifth inning.  He went 0-for-2, striking out against B. J. Ryan and Brian Falkenborg.  Unfortunately, that was Lomasney’s major league swan song as well, as he never got back to the major leagues.  He struggled when he got to AAA, posting a batting average of .220 and an OPS of .590 with seven home runs in 631 career AAA at-bats.  He suffered a serious eye injury near the end of 2001 when he was struck by a batted ball and his eyesight never fully recovered, which partly explains his struggles in the high minors.  He became a free agent after the 2002 season and signed with Baltimore for 2003.  After one year in their farm system, he moved on to the Cincinnati chain for 2004-2005.  He signed with Minnesota for 2006, spending most of the season at New Britain with ten at-bats in Rochester.  The Twins released him in August 3, bringing his playing career to an end.  At last report, Steve Lomasney was running The Show, a baseball academy in Lawrence, Massachusetts.  He is also the coach of an under-fifteen baseball team which won the New England championship in 2010 and finished second in the national AAU championship for under-sixteen (there was no under-fifteen division).

August 28

Joe Yeager (1875)

Dode Paskert (1881)

Aaron Ward (1896)

Charlie Grimm (1898)

Paul Bowa (1918)

Tony Gonzalez (1936)

Tom Satriano (1940)

Lou Piniella (1943)

Mike Torrez (1946)

Ron Guidry (1950)

Joel Youngblood (1951)

Darren Lewis (1967)

Jay Witasick (1972)
Tom Shearn (1977)
Ryan Madson (1980)
Carlos Quentin (1982)

Paul Bowa is the father of Larry Bowa and the grandfather of Nick Johnson.  He was a minor league infielder who reached as high as AAA, and later became a minor league manager in the St.  Louis Cardinals’ organization.

Right-hander Thomas Aaron Shearn did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for about six weeks in 2008.  Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, he was drafted by Houston in the twenty-ninth round in 1996.  He was a starter for the first five years of his minor league career and did fairly well, but took a very long time to advance, not getting above Class A until his fifth minor league season.  He stumbled a bit in his first shot at AA in 2000, although he wasn’t awful.  He went to the bullpen after that and had a decent year in 2002 at AAA New Orleans, posting a 2.92 ERA in 83.1 innings.  He was only 25, but the Astros gave up on him and released him.  He needed Tommy John surgery and was out of baseball all of 2003, then signed with Cincinnati for 2004.  He stayed in the Reds organization for four and a half years, most of which was spent in AAA, and was consistently mediocre.  Still, they kept him around, and he hung in there, going back to starting in 2006.   In 2007, while he was living in a trailer outside the Louisville ballpark, he was called up to the majors, and two days before his thirtieth birthday, Tom Shearn made his major league debut with Cincinnati.  He was the Reds’ fifth starter the rest of the season, going 3-0, 4.96 with a 1.38 WHIP in 32.2 innings.  He began 2008 in AAA Louisville and went 6-2, 4.53 for about two months, then asked for his release to play in Korea.  Things did not go well there and he came back to the United States, signing with the Twins in late July.  He was in AAA Rochester the rest of the season.  He made six starts, going 1-2, 5.34 with a 1.57 WHIP.  He became a free agent after the season, went unsigned, and his playing career ended.  It was only a short time in the majors, but he’s a twenty-ninth round draft choice who went 3-0 in the majors, and that’s more than a lot of people can say.  At last report, Tom Shearn was living in the Austin, Texas area and was working for Dell Computers.

August 27

Hal Janvrin (1892)

Peanuts Lowrey (1917)

Joe Cunningham (1931)

Jim King (1932)

Ernie Broglio (1935)
Joe McCabe (1938)
Ed Herrmann (1946)
Buddy Bell (1951)
Mike Maddux (1961)
Brian McRae (1967)
Jim Thome (1970)
Jose Vidro (1974)
A. J. Achter (1988)

Catcher Joseph Robert McCabe played for the Twins in 1964.  He was born in Indianapolis, went to high school in Lebanon, Indiana, and attended Purdue University.  He was signed as a free agent by the then Washington franchise in 1960.  He did not hit with power, even in the minors, but was up and down as far as batting average; for example, he hit .309 in 1962 in AAA Vancouver, but .216 in 1963 for AAA Dallas-Ft. Worth.  Despite that, McCabe began 1964 with Minnesota backing up Earl Battey.  He appeared in fourteen games, starting three of them.  He went 3-for-19 with two RBIs.  Sent to AA Charlotte for the remainder of the season, McCabe was traded to the new Washington franchise after the season for Ken Retzer.  He appeared in fourteen more games for the Senators in 1965 with similar results, although he did hit a home run.  His playing career ended after the 1965 season.  It appears that Joe McCabe has retired to Naples, Florida.

First baseman/designated hitter James Howard Thome played for the Twins from 2010-2011.  He was born in Peoria, Illinois, went to high school in Bartonville, Illinois, and was drafted by Cleveland in the thirteenth round in 1989.  He did little in rookie ball that year (when he played shortstop), but then was shifted to third base and came on strong:  he hit .340 with 16 homers in a 1990 season split between rookie and Class A and batted .319 (although with only seven homers) in a 1991 campaign split between AA and AAA.  He made his big league debut as a September call-up in 1991 at age 21 and was in the majors for about two months in 1992.  In 1993 he hit .332 with 25 homers and an OPS of 1.026 at AAA Charlotte.  That was enough for him to leave the minors behind for good, but the Indians apparently still did not realize what they had, as Thome shared third base in 1994 with Alvaro Espinoza and Rene Gonzales.  He hit 20 home runs in 321 at-bats that season, the first of twelve consecutive years and sixteen of seventeen in which he hit at least twenty home runs.  He also had nine consecutive years and twelve out of thirteen in which he hit over thirty homers, and four consecutive years and five out of six in which he hit over forty home runs.  He became the regular third baseman for the Indians in 1995 and 1996, moving to first in 1997.  He remained a regular with Cleveland through 2002, making the all-star team three times, getting MVP consideration five times, and finishing in the top seven in MVP voting three times.  He became a free agent after that season and signed with Philadelphia for 2003.   He was with the Phillies for three seasons, getting MVP consideration in two of them and making another all-star team.  He was injured much of 2005 and was traded to the White Sox after the season.  Thome became a full-time DH in 2006 and continued to hit, making another all-star team and again receiving MVP consideration.  He started to slip in 2008, and in August of 2009 to the Dodgers.  A free agent after that season, he signed with Minnesota, where he was a part-time DH and pinch hitter.  He hit his six hundredth home run in 2011, and was a productive player for the Twins when healthy, hitting .266/.387/.562 in 482 at-bats.  He was traded to Cleveland on in late August 0f 2011 for a player to be named later.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Philadelphia.  Used mostly as a pinch-hitter there, he was still productive in limited playing time.  He was traded to Baltimore in late June, was used as a DH, and again was productive in limited playing time.  A free agent after the season, he did not sign with anyone.  He became a special assistant to the general manager for the White Sox in July of 2013, although at the start of the 2014 season he indicated that he believed he could still hit and would be willing to do so if someone would give him a chance.  His career numbers are .276/.402/.554, for an OPS of .956.  He hit 612 home runs.  His top ten similarity scores according to b-r.com include five Hall of Famers, at least one more who will be, and one who would've been if not for PED use.  We can safely say that Gentleman Jim had an excellent playing career.

Right-handed reliever Adam Joseph Achter has appeared in thirteen games for the Twins so far from 2014-2015.  He was born in Toledo, went to high school in Oregon, Ohio, attended Michigan State, and was drafted by the Twins in the forty-sixth round in 2010.  He was a starter in Beloit in 2011 but has been a reliever the rest of his career.  The move seemed to help him quite a bit--he was a pretty average starter, but has excelled as a reliever at every stop along the way.  He was promoted to Fort Myers at mid-season of 2012, started 2013 in New Britain, went to Rochester later that season, and got a September call-up in 2014.  He has spent most of 2015 in Rochester, but was with the Twins for a couple of weeks in August and will probably get a September call-up again.  His AAA numbers are 9-8, 21 saves, 2.60, 0.97 WHIP with 134 strikeouts in 141.2 innings (97 games) at this writing.  Those numbers have not yet translated to major league success:  in 18.1 innings (13 games) he is 1-0, 4.91, 1.47 WHIP with 14 strikeouts.  He turns twenty-seven today, which does not mean quite as much for a pitcher as it does for a position player but still indicates that the clock is ticking.  He may be one of those pitchers who finds success late, or he may be the next Anthony Slama.  Still, for a forty-sixth round draft choice, he's done pretty well already.

August 26

Chick Fraser (1873)

Jesse Barnes (1892)

Sparky Adams (1894)

Gene Moore (1909)

Alex Kellner (1924)

Alex Trevino (1957)

Jeff Parrett (1961)

Angel Hernandez (1961)

Chad Kreuter (1964)

Ricky Bottalico (1969)
Brendan Harris (1980)
Eric Fryer (1985)
David Price (1985)
Darin Mastroianni (1987)
Mario Hollands (1988)

It is reported that Angel Hernandez has been a major league umpire since 1993.  We continue to search for evidence of this.

Mario Hollands was drafted by Minnesota in the 24th round in 2009 but did not sign.

Infielder Brendan Michael Harris was with the Twins from 2008-2010.  Born and raised in Queensbury, New York, he was drafted out of the College of William and Mary by the Cubs in the fifth round of the 2001 draft. He hit well throughout the minors, usually averaging over .300 with double-digit home runs, and played mostly second base and third base. He made his major-league debut with the Cubs in 2004, playing in three games for them before being sent to Montreal in the four-team trade that involved Doug Mientkiewicz going to Boston. Harris spent most of 2005 and 2006 in the minors, making brief appearances in both years with Washington before being traded to Cincinnati in August of 2006 in a multi-player deal that involved Austin Kearns and Ryan Wagner. The following off-season, Harris was traded to Tampa Bay in what baseball-reference.com describes as “a conditional deal”. The conditions must have been met, because Harris was with the Devil Rays all year, his first full season in the majors. After one season with Tampa Bay, he was traded to the Twins in the deal that sent Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Eduardo Morlan to Tampa Bay for Harris, Delmon Young, and Jason Pridie. Harris was a semi-regular utility infielder for the Twins from 2008-2009, seeing time at second, short, and third.  He seemed likely to see most of his time at third base in 2010 but got off to a horrible start, batting just .157 in 108 at-bats before being sent to Rochester in mid-June.  Things did not go well in Rochester, either, as he hit just .233.  After the season, he was traded to Baltimore with J. J. Hardy and cash for Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey.  He did no better in AAA for the Orioles, hitting .225.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Colorado and has had a good year for AAA Colorado Springs, hitting .317.  A free agent again after the season, he signed with the Angels and somewhat surprisingly made the team out of spring training.  He didn't do much for them, though, and was released in late July.  He signed with the Yankees three days later, was sent to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, was released a month after that, signed with Texas, was sent to AAA Round Rock, and became a free agent again after the season.  He signed with the Dodgers for 2014 but was released after playing in only six AAA games.  He spent the rest of the season with Long Island of the Atlantic League but signed with Detroit for 2015 and has been in their minor league system this season, not doing much for either AA Erie or AAA Toledo.  One would think that he's out of chances, but you never know.

Catcher Eric Joseph Fryer, has been with the Twins since 2013.  He was born in Columbus, Ohio, went to high school in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, attended an Ohio State University, and was drafted by Milwaukee in the tenth round in 2007.  He didn't do much in rookie ball that season, but hit .335 in the Sally League in 2008.  He was traded to the Yankees that off-season, and in the middle of 2009 was traded to Pittsburgh in a deal involving Eric Hinske.  He had a solid year in the Florida State League in 2010, although he was twenty-four by then.  He did really well in the Eastern League in 2011 and got called up to the majors for about six weeks in the middle of the season.  He had a poor year in AAA in 2012, but still got a couple more weeks in the majors as a backup catcher.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Minnesota and spent 2013 in Rochester, getting a September call-up.  He started 2014 back in Rochester, but came up to Minnesota at mid-season and was the Twins' reserve catcher the rest of the season.  He's had a fine season in Rochester in 2015, which earned him another month in the majors and presumably will see him brought back as a September call-up.  As a Twin, he has hit .226/.305/.340 in 106 at-bats.  He turns 30 today, so he is what he is.  One assumes he'll never hit, his AAA season this year notwithstanding, but it's possible that he'll get continue to get work as a backup/AAA catcher for some time yet.

Outfielder Darin Paul Mastroianni was in the Twins organization from 2012-2014.  He was born in Mount Kisco, New York, went to high school in Bedford, New York, attended the University of Southern Indiana, and was drafted by Toronto in the sixteenth round in 2007.  His numbers in the low minors were decent, but not outstanding.  He stole a lot of bases, though–seventy of them in 2009 in a season split between A and AA.  He had a very good year in AA in 2010, hitting .301 with an OBP of .390 and 46 steals, and it looked like he was poised to make a move.  He was disappointing in a 2011 split between AA and AAA (plus one game for the Blue Jays, going 0-for-2), however, and the Blue Jays gave up on him, putting him on waivers.  The Twins claimed him in February of 2012.  He started the season in the minors, but after hitting .346 twenty games in Rochester he came up to the big leagues.  Following the trades of Denard Span and Ben Revere he was in the mix for the Twins' center field job in 2013, but was injured in spring training and missed half the season.  When he came back, he was optioned to Rochester, not getting back to Minnesota until late August.  He started 2014 with Minnesota but was placed on waivers early in the season and was claimed by Toronto.  He signed with Philadelphia for 2015, spent about a month in AAA, then was sold to Washington, continuing to play in AAA.  As a Twin, he hit .222/.291/.297 in 239 at-bats.  He turns thirty today.  He’s fast and plays good defense, but that's about all he has to recommend him.  Darin Mastroianni may be able to carve out a major league career as a reserve outfielder, but he'll never be any more than that.

August 25

Dick Rudolph (1887)

Darrell Johnson (1928)

Choo Choo Coleman (1937)

Dooley Womack (1939)
Rollie Fingers (1946)
Dave Heaverlo (1950)
Stan Perzanowski (1950)
Pete Redfern (1954)
Oddibe McDowell (1962)
Albert Belle (1966)
Doug Glanville (1970)
Gary Matthews (1974)
Justin Upton (1987)

The less successful cousin of ex-Twin Ron Perranoski, right-hander Stanley Perzanowski pitched for the Twins in 1978.  He was born in East Chicago, Indiana, went to high school in Hammond, Indiana, and was drafted in the 16th round by the White Sox in 1968. He was apparently rather thin: he is listed as 6′ 2″, 170 pounds. He pitched well in the minors, and made his major-league debut in June of 1971 with Chicago. He did not do well, however, and he spent 1972, 1973, and most of 1974 (other than another brief major league trial) at AAA Iowa. In spring training of 1975, Perzanowski was traded to the Texas Rangers. He again was in AAA most of the year, but pitched well in 12 games (eight starts for the Rangers, going 3-3 with a 3.00 ERA. He got off to a poor start in 1976, however, and was traded to Cleveland in May, pitching for their AAA team the rest of the season. At the end of 1977 spring training, Perzanowski was traded to California, and was immediately sent to their AAA team. He pitched poorly in his sixth year of AAA, and was released in August. The Twins signed him near the end of spring training in 1978, and after pitching well in Toledo, he was called up to the Twins. It did not go well in Minnesota; in 13 games, seven of them starts, he went 2-7, 5.24, 1.50 WHIP (he did pitch one complete game). He began 1979 in Toledo again, but started poorly and released. Perzanowski pitched over a thousand innings in AAA, but only 142.2 in the majors. In 1997, he was inducted into the Hammond (IN) High School Sports Hall of Fame, and in 2008, he was named as the catcher on the all-tournament team at the Amateur Softball Association’s Men’s 50 and over Class AA slow-pitch national tournament, playing for the Indiana Old Stars.  At last report, Stan Perzanowski was still living in Indiana.

Right-hander Peter Irvine Redfern pitched for the Twins from 1976-1982.  He was born in Glendale, California, went to high school in Sylmar, California, and was drafted by the Twins out of the University of Southern California with the first pick of the secondary phase of the 1976 draft. Redfern made four starts with AAA Tacoma that year, and was with the big club the rest of the season, going 8-8 with an ERA of 3.51 in 23 starts. He was unable to repeat his success the next year, posting an ERA of 5.18, and spent most of 1978 with AAA Toledo. He came back to the Twins the next year and had a good season, going 7-3 mostly in relief, with an ERA of 3.49 in 40 games. He was decent the next couple of years, mainly as a starter, but fell apart in 1982, going 5-11 with an ERA of 6.58. The Twins released him toward the end of spring training in 1983. He pitched briefly in AAA for the Dodgers, but did poorly and called it a career at the age of 28. In his big league career, all of which came with the Twins, he was 42-48 with a 4.54 ERA in 714 innings. He made 111 starts in 170 appearances, and was the starting pitcher in the Twins’ first game at the Metrodome. Sadly, he was paralyzed in a diving accident in October of 1983, and remains confined to a wheelchair. Redfern remains interested in baseball, however, and has coached American Legion, high school, and small college teams. His son, Chad was signed as a free agent by the Braves, but did not get out of rookie league.  At last report, Pete Redfern was living in his home town of Sylmar, California.  His son, Chad, has pitched in the low minors in the Atlanta and Tampa Bay organizations.

August 24

Harry Hooper (1887)

Hank Gowdy (1889)

Hal Woodeshick (1932)

Tony Bernazard (1956)
Cal Ripken (1960)
Tim Salmon (1968)
Kevin Correia (1980)
Brett Gardner (1983)
Nick Adenhart (1986)

Right-hander Kevin John Correia pitched for the Twins from 2013-2014.  He was born in San Diego, went to high school in La Mesa, California, attended Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, and was drafted by San Francisco in the fourth round in 2002.  He had an indifferent time in low class A that season, but started 2003 in AA, was promoted to AAA, and reached the majors by mid-August.  He did well there, too, going 3-1, 3.66 in 39.1 innings.  He split 2004 between AAA and the majors, not doing particularly well in either place.  2005 was similar.  In 2006, however, he was shifted to the bullpen and spent the whole year in San Francisco, going 2-0, 3.49, 1.23 WHIP in 69.2 innings.  He continued to do well as a reliever in 2007.  2008, however, was pretty much a disaster for him, and he became a free agent after the season.  He signed with San Diego and spent two years with them, doing all right in 2009 but not so well in 2010.  A free agent again, he signed with Pittsburgh and spent two years there as well.  He made the all-star team in 2011, but was not particularly good (although not awful, either) in both years.  His career numbers at that point were 60-65, 4.54, 1.41 WHIP.  Once again a free agent, he signed with Minnesota for 2013.  He got off to a hot start, but for the season pitched pretty much as he had his whole career--adequately, but no more.  He repeated that performance for the Twins in 2014 until August, when he was traded to the Dodgers for a player to be named later or cash.  As a Twin, Kevin Correia was 14-26, 4.49, 1.44 WHIP, numbers pretty much in line with what his career has been.  He pitched poorly for the Dodgers, became a free agent, signed with Seattle for 2015, was released at the end of March, signed with the Giants, was granted free agency at the end of May, and signed with Philadelphia, for whom he made five mostly poor starts before being sent to AAA.  He turns thirty-five today.   People will fool you, but one has to think Kevin Correia's career is pretty close to being over.

August 23

George Davis (1870)

Guy Bush (1901)

Lonny Frey (1910)

Nels Potter (1911)

Carl Pohlad (1915)

Dale Mitchell (1921)
George Kell (1922)
Sherm Lollar (1924)
John Romano (1934)
Marty Martinez (1941)
Ron Blomberg (1948)
Jerry White (1952)
Mike Boddicker (1957)
Julio Franco (1958)
Randy St. Claire (1960)
Casey Blake (1973)
Mark Bellhorn (1974)

Carl Pohlad, of course, was the owner of the Twins for many years.

Infielder Orlando (Oliva) “Marty” Martinez played in 37 games for the Twins in 1962.  He was born in Havana, Cuba and was signed by Washington as a free agent in 1960.  An infielder, he made his major league debut in 1962 with the Twins as a bench player, appearing in 37 games but getting only 24 plate appearances, batting .167/.286/.278.  Sent back to the minors, Martinez did not start to hit until 1966, when he hit .313 as a 24-year-0ld at AAA Denver.  That was good enough to get him noticed, and the Atlanta Braves selected him at the end of the season in the Rule 5 draft.  Martinez spent the next six years in the big leagues, mostly as a reserve.  His only year as a semi-regular was in 1968, when he got 356 at-bats with the Braves and hit .230.  Traded to Houston that off-season for Bob Aspromonte, Martinez had his best year in 1969, batting .308 in 198 at-bats.  It did not translate into any more playing time, however, and after two less-productive seasons he was traded to St. Louis.  Martinez played for three teams in 1972, St. Louis, Oakland, and Texas, totalling only 88 at-bats.  Martinez then turned to coaching and managing, first as a player-coach, then taking a full-time job on the bench.  He managed in the Texas and Seattle organizations in the minor leagues, coached for Seattle at the major-league level, and was interim manager for Seattle for one game in 1986.  Marty Martinez passed away on March 8, 2007.

Outfielder Jerome Cardell White did not play for the Twins, but coached for them for several years.  He was born in Shirley, Massachusetts, went to high school in San Francisco, and was drafted by Montreal in the fourteenth round in 1970.  He quietly progressed about a level a season, never particularly standing out but never having a really bad year, either.  He got a September call-up in 1974 and started 1975 in Montreal as a rarely-used reserve; through May 20 he had played in fifteen games and gotten six at-bats.  The Expos finally decided that wasn’t particularly useful so they sent him back to AAA Memphis, where he hit .297 with ten homers at AAA Memphis.  He was again called up in September, was given a chance to play, and went on to hit over .300 the rest of the year.  He got his first full major league season in 1976, but could not take advantage of it, hitting only .245 as a part-time player.  White was back in AAA in 1977, getting just a September call-up.  He started 1978 in Montreal, but it was a rerun of 1975; through May 20, he played in eighteen games and had ten at-bats.  He was sent down and then traded to the Cubs in late June.  He stayed in the majors the rest of that season, but then the Cubs sent him back to the Expos.  He finally stuck with Montreal in 1979, staying through 1983.  Used as a reserve outfielder and pinch-hitter, he only once got as many as 200 at-bats and his averages varied quite a bit.  He became a free agent after the 1983 season and went to Japan for a couple of years, coming back to the United States with St. Louis in 1986.  That was his swan song; he batted twenty-four times, getting three hits, and was released in mid-June, ending his playing career.  He joined the Twins’ organization in 1987 as a roving outfield and baserunning coach.  He was with the Twins from 1987-2012 other than 1997, when he was the first base and baserunning coach for Detroit.   He was the Twins’ first base coach in 2012, but was let go after the season.  At last report, Jerry White was not working in baseball, and was enjoying his hobby of restoring classic cars.

Pitcher Randy Anthony St. Claire was with the Twins in 1989.  He was born in Glens Falls, New York, and was signed by the Montreal Expos as a free agent in 1978.  He stuggled in his first few years in the minors, but got things going in 1983, and earned a September callup to Montreal in 1994.  St. Claire bounced back and forth between AAA and Montreal until 1988, when he was traded to Cincinnati in a deal that also included ex-Twin Jeff Reed.  Released by the Reds at the end of spring training 1989, the Twins quickly signed him.  He again split the season between AAA and the majors, pitching well in Portland, but not so well in Minnesota.  St. Claire spent all of 1990 at AAA with Texas and Houston, 1991-92 bouncing between AAA and Atlanta, 1993 in AAA with Atlanta, Seattle, and Toronto, most of 1994 at AAA with a two-game cup of coffee with Toronto, and 1995 at AAA with Pittsburgh.  In all that bouncing around, he always pitched well in AAA (3.38 ERA), and not all that badly in the majors, really (4.14 ERA, 1.37 WHIP).  St. Claire never spent a full season in the big leagues, but he was there in parts of nine seasons.  As a Twin, he was 1-0 with a 5.24 ERA in 22.1 innings.  Randy St. Claire also got into coaching at the end of his playing days, and was the pitching coach for the Montreal/Washington franchise for 6 1/2 years until he was fired in June of 2009.  He was the pitching coach for the Miami Marlins from 2010-2012.  Randy St. Claire was the pitching coach for the Las Vegas 51s in the Mets organization in 2013 and has been the pitching coach for the Buffalo Bisons in the Toronto organization since 2014.

Third baseman William Casey Blake played for the Twins from 2000-2002.  He was born in Des Moines, went to high school in Indianola, Iowa, went to Wichita State, and was drafted in the seventh round by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1996.  He struggled his first two years in the minors, then had a big year in 1998 hitting a combined .357 with 18 homers and 103 RBI, although as a 24-year-old at advanced A and AA.  Promoted to AAA in 1999, Blake hit only .245, although with 22 home runs.  He played 14 games with Toronto that year, but was back in AAA at the start of 2000, and batting only .217 there, when he was taken off waivers by the Twins in June.  The move seemed to help him, as he hit .317 with AAA Salt Lake and made a brief appearance in Minnesota.  2001 was similar, with Blake hitting well in Edmonton and appearing briefly with the Twins.  Blake was put on waivers in September of that year, and selected by Baltimore,  He played for the Orioles the rest of the season, but was again waived in October and the Twins took him back.  Blake again played mostly for Edmonton, with a brief appearance in Minnesota, in 2002.  As a Twin, he hit .241/.338/.310 in 58 at-bats.  Released by the Twins after that season, he signed with Cleveland, where he became the regular third baseman at the age of 29 and stayed there for all but one of the next 5 1/2 seasons (he played right field one year).  In July of 2008, Blake was traded to the Dodgers.  He played well for them through 2009, but struggled in 2010 and became a part-time player in 2011.  He signed with the Rockies for 2012 but was released in late March, could not find another playing job, and announced his retirement in early May.  Casey Blake was never a star, but he was a solid major league regular for several years.  Blake lives in both Indianola and Los Angeles.  He owns Casey Blake Baseball Camps of Indianola.

August 22

Ned Hanlon (1857)

Howie Camnitz (1881)

Wally Schang (1889)

Happy Felsch (1891)
Carl Yastrzemski (1939)
Doug Bair (1949)
Ray Burris (1950)
Paul Molitor (1956)
Darrin Jackson (1962)
Mike Everitt (1964)
Gary Scott (1968)
Hipolito Pichardo (1969)
Steve Kline (1972)
Jeff Weaver (1976)
Randy Wolf (1976)

Mike Everitt has been a major league umpire since 1999.

Hall of Famer Paul Leo Molitor played for the Twins from 1996-1998.  Born and raised in St. Paul, he attended the University of Minnesota and was chosen by Milwaukee with the third pick of the 1977 draft. He spent only one year in the minors, hitting .346 with Class A Burlington, before jumping to the big leagues. He was a fixture in the Brewers lineup for the next fifteen years, playing regularly at second base, center field, third base, and designated hitter, as well as playing a little shortstop. He made the all-star team five times in Milwaukee, received MVP consideration five times, finishing as high as fifth in 1987, and twice won the Silver Slugger award. After the 1992 season, Molitor became a free agent and went to Toronto, where he helped the Blue Jays win a world championship in 1993 and finished second in the MVP balloting to Frank Thomas. He made the all-star team in 1993 and 1994, but his average dropped to .270 in 1995, so the Blue Jays allowed him to again go the free-agent route. This time he came to Minnesota, and showed that his bat had plenty of life left. In his first year with the Twins, a year in which he turned forty, Molitor batted .341, led the league in hits, had 113 RBIs, won his fourth Silver Slugger award, and finished thirteenth in the MVP balloting. He played with the Twins for two more seasons before retiring at age 42. As a Twin, Paul Molitor hit .312/.362/.432 in exactly 1700 at-bats, driving in 271 runs. For his career, he batted .306 and had 3,319 hits. He was elected to the major league baseball Hall of Fame in 2004.  He is currently in his first year as the manager of the Minnesota Twins.

Outfielder Darrin Jay Jackson played in 49 games for the Twins in 1997.  He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in Culver City, California, and was drafted by the Cubs in the second round in 1981. He was fairly nondescript in the minors, with his best year prior to his major league debut coming in 1984, when he hit .270 with 15 homers at AA Midland. He got a brief cup of coffee with the Cubs in 1985, but then started to pick up the pace a little, and after a solid season with AAA Iowa in 1987 (.274, 23 homers), he spent all of 1988 with Chicago, getting 188 at-bats as a bench player. In August of 1989, he was sent to the Padres in a multi-player deal, and saw his playing time gradually increase, becoming a semi-regular in 1991 and a full-time regular in 1992, the only season in which he got more than 403 at-bats. He was decent that year, but that’s all, .249 with 17 homers and 70 RBIs. Jackson was traded to Toronto at the end of 1993 spring training, and in June the Blue Jays sent him to the Mets for Tony Fernandez. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed with the White Sox, where he had easily his best season in 1994, batting .312 as a semi-regular. Jackson played for the Seibu Lions in 1995-96, but returned to the United States in 1997, when the Twins signed him as a free agent. He played in 49 games for the Twins, batting .254/.272/.354 with 3 homers and 21 RBIs, before the Twins traded him to Milwaukee in August for the immortal Mick Fieldbinder. He stayed with the Brewers in 1998 before rounding out his career back with the White Sox, batting decently (.275) in a reserve role in 1999. His numbers are not particularly impressive, but he spent parts of 12 years in a big-league uniform, and a guy could do a lot worse. Darrin Jackson is currently a broadcaster for the White Sox radio network.

Third baseman Gary Thomas Scott did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for a short time.  He was born in New Rochelle, New York, went to high school in Pelham, New York, and then attended Villanova.  Scott was drafted by the Cubs in the second round in 1989. He had a couple of solid years in A and AA, and after a tremendous spring training in 1991, he was installed with much fanfare as the regular third baseman with the big club. Unfortunately, he was not up to the task, and was sent back to the minors after hitting only .165 in 31 games. He did poorly in the minors that year, too, hitting only .208 at AAA Iowa. He came back some in 1992, but when promoted to the Cubs late in the season he was awful again, batting .156 in 36 games. The Cubs gave up on Scott and traded him to Florida at the end of the season. He never played for Florida, however, as the Marlins traded him to Cincinnati for Hector Carrasco just prior to the 1994 season. The Reds sent him to AAA Indianapolis, and at the end of June traded him to the Twins for Tom Houk and Alan Newman. He hit .291 at AAA Portland, but it did not convince the Twins of anything, and they let him go after the season. Scott then played at AAA for the Giants, Braves, and Padres with mixed results, but never got another chance in the majors. Overall, he played in 67 big league games and had a batting line of .160/.250/.240, with 3 home runs and 16 RBIs.  At last report, Gary Scott was an oil broker for Compagnie Financiere Tradition in the New York area.

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)
Melvin Upton (1984)

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 and made nine minor league starts.  Once again a free agent, he signed with Cincinnati and made the team, but was pretty bad in nine starts and was released in June.  He does not appear to have signed with anyone.  He turns 37 today.  His career is probably over, but I couldn't find anything that said he had retired, and teams are always looking for pitching, so you never know.

August 20

Al Lopez (1908)
Fred Norman (1942)
Graig Nettles (1944)
Bobby Cuellar (1952)
Tom Brunansky (1960)
Mark Langston (1960)
Andy Benes (1967)
Todd Helton (1973)

Third baseman Graig Nettles played for the Twins in parts of seasons from 1967-1969.  Born and raised in San Diego, he was drafted by the Twins out of San Diego State in the fourth round in 1965. He showed instant power, hitting 69 home runs in three minor league seasons. He made his debut with Minnesota as a September callup in 1967 and reached the big leagues for good in 1969, his first full season, when he was a part-time player with the Twins. Nettles played more outfield than third base as a Twin, which seems surprising until one remembers that Harmon Killebrew was the Twins’ third baseman at the time. Nettles did not do a lot in 1969, and the Twins were trying to win now, so they traded him, along with Dean Chance, Bob Miller, and Ted Uhlaender, to Cleveland for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams. Tiant and Williams helped the Twins win the division in 1970, but after that the trade does not look so good for Minnesota. On the other hand, how does it look for Cleveland? After Nettles put up three solid seasons for the Indians, hitting a total of 71 homers and getting a tenth-place vote for MVP in 1971, Cleveland traded him to the Yankees with Jerry Moses for John Ellis, Jerry Kenney, Charlie Spikes, and Rusty Torres. New York, of course, is where Nettles became a star. He hit over 20 homers in each of his first seven seasons for the Yankees, twice hitting over 30; drove in over 90 runs four times, made the all-star team five times, and won a pair of Gold Gloves. At the end of 1984, the Yankees traded Nettles to San Diego, a trade many said was prompted by the release of a book Nettles wrote in which he was critical of George Steinbrenner. In San Diego, he became the starting third baseman for the Padres’ World Series team. He made the all-star team the next year, at age 40, but it was his last productive season. After the 1986 season, the Padres let Nettles go, and he spent 1987 with Atlanta and 1988 with Montreal, mostly as a pinch-hitter. As a Twin, Graig Nettles hit .224/.314/.401 with 12 homers and 34 RBIs in 304 at-bats. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007, but had surgery and at last report was cancer-free. Nettles is a spring training instructor for the Yankees. At last report, he was living in Lenoir City, Tennessee, just outside Knoxville, but also traveled frequently.

Robert Cuellar never pitched for the Twins, but has been a minor league pitching coach and manager for them for several years.  He was born in Alice, Texas, and was drafted out of the University of Texas by the Rangers in the 29th round in 1974.  Cuellar pitched well in relief for eight years in the minors, five of them at AAA. He posted a minor-league ERA of 3.06 during this time, with a AAA ERA of 3.20, but never really got a chance in the majors. Cuellar’s only time in the big leagues was as a September call-up in 1977; he gave up only one run and four hits in 6.2 innings spread over four games, for an ERA of 1.35. He left the Rangers organization after the 1978 season, playing three years for the Cleveland organization and one year in the Mexican League. After his playing career ended in 1982, he turned to coaching. He has been a minor league coach, minor league manager, and major league coach, including serving as the pitching coach for Seattle and Montreal and as the bullpen coach for Pittsburgh. For the Twins, Cuellar was the pitching coach for the Rochester Red Wings from 2003-2005, managed the New Britain Rock Cats in 2008, and returned to the Red Wings as their pitching coach in 2009-2012. Among the minor leaguers Cuellar has coached are Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana, both of whom credit Cuellar for teaching them the changeup.  Bobby Cuellar was the bullpen coach of the Minnesota Twins from 2013-2014.  He is currently the bullpen coach of the Ogden Raptors, the rookie league team of the Dodgers.

The brother-in-law of Dave Engle, outfielder Thomas Andrew Brunansky played for the Twins from 1982 through the first part of 1988.  He was born in Covina, California, went to high school in West Covina, California, attended Cal Poly–Pomona, and was drafted by the California Angels with the 14th pick of the 1978 draft. He hit well in his four minor league seasons, average more than 20 homers and hitting over .300. He made the Angels out of spring training in 1981, but hit .152 over 41 at-bats and was returned to the minors. He started 1982 in the minors, but in May was traded with Mike Walters to the Twins for Doug Corbett and Rob Wilfong. The Twins immediately installed him in their outfield, and Brunansky had what was arguably his best season, batting .272 with 20 homers. He never hit for as high an average again, but his power numbers increased, as he hit over 20 homers each year through 1989. After winning the World Series in 1987, the Twins got off to a slow start in 1988, and Brunansky was traded to St. Louis for Tom Herr in what even Andy McPhail would later admit was a panic move. Brunansky continued to be a solid player, but his low-average slugging did not really fit with the Cardinals running style, and after a poor start in 1990 he was traded to Boston for Lee Smith. He was a productive player for the Red Sox through 1992, went to Milwaukee as a free agent in 1993, and returned to the Red Sox in June of 1994 to finish his career. As a Twin, Tom Brunansky batted .250/.330/.452 with 163 homers and 469 RBIs in what works out to be about six full seasons, and holds the distinction of being the only Twin to hit an inside-the-park grand slam. Brunansky is coached high school baseball in Poway, California.  He became the batting coach for the GCL Twins in late June of 2010, was the batting coach for the New Britain Rock Cats in 2011, was the batting coach for the Rochester Red Wings in 2012, and became the batting coach for the Minnesota Twins in 2013, a job he continues to hold.

August 19

Bobby Richardson (1935)
Fred Lasher (1941)
Mike Phillips (1950)
Luis Gomez (1951)
Tim Blackwell (1952)
Ned Yost (1955)
Ron Roenicke (1956)
David Palmer (1957)
Gary Gaetti (1958)
Ron Darling (1960)
Woody Williams (1966)
Rob Augustine (1970)
Chris Capuano (1978)
J. J. Hardy (1982)

Rob Augustine played for a couple of years in the Cleveland organization, never rising above Class A.  He was (and maybe still is) an assistant baseball coach at Dakota Valley High School in my former home of North Sioux City.  Happy birthday, Rob.

Right-handed reliever Frederick Walter Lasher appeared in eleven games for the Twins in 1963.  He was born in Poughkeepsie, New York and was signed by Washington as a free agent in 1960. A submariner, he had problems with wildness in his first couple of years in the minors, but gradually improved, although he never had what you would call pinpoint control. Lasher made the Twins out of spring training in 1963, jumping all the way from Bismarck-Mandan in the Class C Northern League. He was used as a relief pitcher, which had been his primary role in the minors as well, but his wildness returned–Lasher walked 11 in 11.1 innings with the Twins. Sent back to the minors, he did well in 1965 and 1966, but as a 23-24-year-old in Class A. After the 1966 season, he was selected by Detroit in the minor-league draft. The Tigers must have helped Lasher figure something out, because his control improved and he became an effective reliever for the Tigers from 1967-69. His control vanished again in 1970, however, and this time it was gone for good. The Tigers traded him to Cleveland midway through the 1970 season, and California selected him in the Rule 5 draft, but by 1971 he was finished. As a Twin, he had no record and a 4.76 ERA, but for his career he was 11-13 with 22 saves and an ERA of 3.88. After leaving baseball, Lasher operated a drywall company and served as a recreation therapist for youth with drug and alcohol problems in Merillan, Wisconsin, where he still lived at last report.

Shortstop Luis (Sanchez) Gomez played for the Twins periodically from 1974-1977.  He was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and was drafted by the Twins in the seventh round in 1973 out of UCLA, where he had played freshman basketball on the same team as Bill Walton.  He was the first Mexican native selected in the major league baseball amateur draft.  He hit very little in the minors, but made his major league debut with Minnesota in April of 1974, where he continued to not hit. He spent part of 1974, all of 1975, and parts of 1976 and 1977 with the Twins, playing for AAA Tacoma the rest of the time.  In 1975, he set a record with 89 games played without an extra-base hit, a record which still stands.  Gomez’ best year was 1977, when he hit .285 for Tacoma and .246 for the Twins in 65 at-bats. The Twins let him go after that year, and he signed with Toronto and was their regular shortstop in 1978, his only year as a starter. Gomez continued not hitting, became a part-time player in 1979, and was traded that off-season along with Chris Chambliss to Atlanta, where he became a member of the LDS church due to the influence of Dale Murphy. He was a semi-regular for the Braves in 1980 and played sparingly in 1981. He was released at the end of spring training in 1982, and did not return to organized baseball. Gomez’ career OPS was .500, the lowest of any non-pitcher with as many plate appearances since Bill Bergen retired in 1911. As a Twin, Gomez had 362 at-bats, and hit .199/.246/.211 with no homers and 22 RBIs.  He did not hit a home run in either the majors or the minors (1,781 at-bats).  No information about Luis Gomez’ current life is readily available.

Third baseman Gary Joseph Gaetti played for the Twins from 1981-1990.  Born and raised in Centralia, Illinois, he was drafted by the Twins out of Northwest Missouri State University with the 11th pick in the 1979 June Secondary draft. He did not hit for a high average in the minors, but showed good power, which was basically true for much of his major league career as well. After a September callup in 1981, Gaetti became the Twins’ regular third baseman in 1982, a position he held through 1990. He averaged 27 homers a season from 1982-1988, a figure which would be higher if you threw out the 1984 season, when for some reason he only hit 5. Gaetti’s best season as a Twin was 1988, when he hit .301 with 28 homers and 88 RBIs. He started to decline after that, and became a free agent after the 1990 season. He signed with California, played two-plus years for the Angels, and was released in June of 1993. Signed by Kansas City, Gaetti resurrected his career in his mid-30s, hitting 35 home runs for the Royals in 1995. He became a free agent again after that season, and signed with the Cardinals, where he was a productive player for two and a half years. Released by the St. Louis in August of 1998, Gaetti signed with the Cubs and helped them with their playoff push, hitting .320 in 37 games. That was his last hurrah, however, as he batted only .204 for the Cubs in 1999, and went 0-for-10 for Boston in 2000, at which point he retired. Gaetti hit 360 home runs in a 20 year career. As a Twin, he batted .256 with 201 homers and 758 RBIs and won four Gold Gloves. Gaetti was placed in the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2007. After retiring, he served as the hitting coach for the Houston Astros and the Durham Bulls.  He became the manager of the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League in 2012, a job he currently holds.

Shortstop James Jerry “J. J.” Hardy played for the Twins in 2010.  Born and raised in Tucson, he was drafted by Milwaukee in the second round in 2001.  His early minor league numbers are not that strong, probably due to his age.  He began to develop in 2003, hitting .279 with twelve homers in AA Huntsville.  Hardy was apparently injured much of 2004, as he got only 101 at-bats in AAA.  Healthy in 2005, he made the Brewers out of spring training and was their starting shortstop that season.  He was again injured in 2006, he came back strong in 2007 and had back-to-back solid seasons, averaging .280 with 25 home runs in those two years.  He slumped in 2009, hitting just .229 with 11 homers and spending some time in AAA.  After that season, he was traded to Minnesota for Carlos Gomez.  He battled injuries again in 2010, but was solid defensively and not bad offensively when healthy.  Hardy’s numbers as a Twin were .269/.320/.394 in 340 at-bats.  Still, the Twins didn't seem to like him, and so after the season Hardy was traded with Brendan Harris and cash to Baltimore for Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey.  Hardy responded with one of the best seasons of his career, batting .269 with a career high 30 home runs.  He had a down year in 2012, hitting only .238 (although he did hit 22 homers and won a Gold Glove).  He did substantially better in 2013, batting .263 with 25 homers at this writing and making his second all-star team, winning his second Gold Glove, and winning his first Silver Slugger.  His homers were down in 2014 and are farther down in 2015.  He turns 33 today.  He's a fine defensive player, but if he wants to remain a starting shortstop, he's going to need to find his batting stroke pretty soon.

August 18

Sam Wise (1857)

Wally Gerber (1891)
Burleigh Grimes (1893)
Bernie Friberg (1899)
Max Lanier (1915)
Bob Kennedy (1920)
Roberto Clemente (1934)
Billy Consolo (1934)
Joe Azcue (1939)
Paul Popovich (1940)
Bucky Guth (1947)
Bruce Benedict (1955)
Mike LaValliere (1960)
Jack Howell (1961)
Marcus Lawton (1965)
Bobby Higginson (1970)
Albie Lopez (1971)

Marcus Lawton is the brother of Matt Lawton.  He played in ten games for the Yankees in 1989.

Infielder William Angelo Consolo was one of the original Minnesota Twins, playing in eleven games for them in 1961.  He was born in Cleveland, went to high school in Los Angeles, and was drafted by Boston as a bonus baby in 1953, meaning he was required by rule to be on the big league club for all of 1953 and 1954. The amount of cash he received was actually under the limit, but part of the deal was that the Red Sox purchased the barber shop at the Los Angeles Hilton for his father, a professional barber. Consolo was first used primarily as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement, but later saw more playing time, getting 242 at-bats (his career high) in 1954. He spent nearly all of 1955 at AAA, but was back with the Red Sox in 1956 and achieved one of the odder lines you’ll find: 48 games, 11 at-bats, 2 hits, 13 runs. Consolo worked his way up to part-time status in 1957, but was back to being a pinch-runner/defensive replacement in 1958 and the first part of 1959 before being traded in June to the then Washington Senators for Herb Plews. He saw part-time duty for the Senators the rest of 1959 and in 1960, but was back to pinch-runner/defensive replacement at the start of 1961 before being traded to Milwaukee on June 1 for Billy Martin. As a member of the Washington/Minnesota franchise, Consolo played in 190 games, batted 381 times, and hit .207/.318/.281 with 3 homers and 25 RBIs. Strictly as a Minnesota Twin, he played in 11 games and was 0-for-5. Consolo was in the minors the rest of that year, then was taken by Philadelphia in the Rule 5 draft. In May of 1962 he was purchased by the Angels, and then was selected off waivers by Kansas City in June. The Athletics released him at the end of the season, and his playing career ended.  Given how seldom he played while on a major league roster, it’s odd that he was never given extended time in the minors to see if he could develop. Consolo left baseball for a while, becoming a barber in Los Angeles. He came back to baseball in 1979, serving as a coach for the Tigers from 1979-1992 and again in 1995. Billy Consolo passed away on March 27, 2008 in Westlake Village, California, at the age of 73.

Infielder Charles Henry “Bucky” Guth had three at-bats for the Twins in 1972.  He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, attended the University of West Virginia, and was drafted by the Braves in the twentieth round in 1969.  Baseball-reference.com says that in June of 1970 he was “sent from the Atlanta Braves to the Minnesota Twins in an unknown transaction.”  Sadly, despite his awesome name, Bucky Guth was not particularly good. He was never much of a batter, either for average or power–his “best” year in the minors was 1971, when he batted .272/.336/.373 with 8 homers and 53 RBIs for AA Charlotte. The next year he batted .218 for AAA Tacoma, but was still given a September call-up, wearing number 27.  Bucky Guth appeared in three games, twice being used as a pinch-runner and once starting at shortstop. He went 0-for-3, but reached on an error, scored a run, and fielded all four chances flawlessly. He spent 1973 in Tacoma, but was out of baseball after that. No information about Bucky Guth’s post-baseball life is readily available.