Bob Ewing (1873)
Howard Ehmke (1894)
Harry Harper (1895)
Andy Cooper (1896)
Ed Musial (1922)
Frank Lucchesi (1927)
Lou DiMuro (1931)
Terry Tata (1940)
Ivan Murrell (1943)
Bill Singer (1944)
Pat Zachry (1952)
Bill Krueger (1958)
Mike Blowers (1965)
Omar Vizquel (1967)
Todd Jones (1968)
Chipper Jones (1972)
John Barnes (1976)
Carlos Beltran (1977)
Howard Ehmke (1894)
Harry Harper (1895)
Andy Cooper (1896)
Ed Musial (1922)
Frank Lucchesi (1927)
Lou DiMuro (1931)
Terry Tata (1940)
Ivan Murrell (1943)
Bill Singer (1944)
Pat Zachry (1952)
Bill Krueger (1958)
Mike Blowers (1965)
Omar Vizquel (1967)
Todd Jones (1968)
Chipper Jones (1972)
John Barnes (1976)
Carlos Beltran (1977)
Andy Cooper pitched in the Negro
Leagues from 1920-1939. He managed the Kansas City Monarchs to four
consecutive Negro American League Championships from 1937-1940. He also
holds the Negro Leagues career record for saves with 29.
The
brother of Stan Musial, Ed Musial played in the minors in 1941 and from
1946-1950.
Frank
Lucchesi managed in the minors for twenty-three seasons and in the majors for
seven seasons.
Lou
DiMuro was an American League umpire from 1963-1982.
Terry
Tata was a National League umpire from 1973-1999.
Right-hander William Robert Singer
was with the Twins for four months in 1976. He was born in Los Angeles,
went to high school in Pomona, California, and signed with the Dodgers as a
free agent in 1961. He advanced rapidly through the minors, reaching AAA
in 1964 at age 20. He averaged over 200 innings per season in three
years at AAA Spokane. His numbers weren’t that great, but it was the
Pacific Coast League, and the Dodgers thought enough of him to give him a cup
of coffee each of those three seasons. Singer made the team in 1967 and
was in the majors for good. He was part of some fine pitching staffs with
the Dodgers, and while he was never the ace he certainly contributed
well. His best year as a Dodger was 1969, when he was 20-12 with a
2.34 ERA and pitched 315.2 innings. He was injured part of 1970, but
remained in the Dodgers’ rotation through 1972. That off-season, the
Dodgers traded Singer to the Angels, where he played for three years. His
first season was there was his best; he went 20-14, 3.22 and again pitched
315.2 innings. He was again injured the following season, but remained in
the Angels’ rotation through 1975. The Angels traded him to Texas after
that season, and in June of 1976 he was traded to Minnesota along with Mike
Cubbage, Jim Gideon, Roy Smalley, and $250,000 for Bert Blyleven and Danny
Thompson. He finished the season with the Twins and pitched fairly well,
going 9-9, 3.77 in 172 innings. He was left unprotected in the expansion
draft, however, and Singer was selected by Toronto. He was the starting
pitcher in the Blue Jays’ inaugural game, but he did not pitch well, was
injured a couple of times, and was done by mid-July. He remained in
baseball after his playing career ended, working in the front office for
Florida, Arizona, Pittsburgh, and Washington. Bill Singer is currently a
scout for the Washington Nationals.
Left-hander
William Culp Krueger was with the Twins for five months in 1992. He was
born in Waukegan, Illinois, but attended high school in McMinnville,
Oregon. He attended the University of Portland and signed with Oakland as
a free agent in 1980. He rose rapidly through the Oakland system and made
his debut with the Athletics in 1983, jumping from AA to start the season in
the majors. He pitched pretty well but was injured in early August,
missing the rest of the season. He was a mediocre starter for Oakland in
1984 and 1985 and was injured much of 1986. He continued to pitch poorly
1987 and was traded to the Dodgers in June. Krueger spent much of 1987
and 1988 in AAA, but after a strong 1988 in Albuquerque he was traded to
Pittsburgh. The Pirates released him in spring training and he signed
with Milwaukee. He pitched well in the Brewers’ bullpen in 1989, having
his first good season in six years, and by mid-June of 1990 he was placed
in the starting rotation, where he continued to pitch well. After the
1990 season, Krueger became a free agent and signed with Seattle, where he had
another good year. He was a free agent again after 1991 and signed with
Minnesota. He made 27 starts as a Twin, going 10-6, 4.30 with a 1.31
WHIP. In late August, the Twins traded Krueger to Montreal for Darren
Reed. Once more a free agent after the 1992 season, he signed with
Detroit. He made four starts at the beginning of the season and three at
the end, pitching out of the bullpen the rest of the time, and did pretty
well. It was to be his last good season, however. He got off to a
poor start in 1994, was released in June, signing with San Diego ten days
later. He remained with the Padres until May of 1995, was released again,
and signed with Seattle in mid-June. He spent most of his time with the
Mariners in AAA, coming up to make five starts. His playing career came
to an end after that. Bill Krueger is the Strategic Relationship Officer
for Northwest Center, a nonprofit organization that helps people with
disabilities. He is also a broadcaster for Root Sports Northwest.
Right-handed
reliever Todd Barton Givin Jones made 24 appearances for the Twins in
2001. Born and raised in Marietta, Georgia, he went to Jacksonville State
and was drafted in the first round by Houston in 1989. He was a starter
for his first three years in the minors, then shifted to the bullpen in
1992. His minor league numbers are pretty underwhelming, but he was
called up to the majors in July of 1993 and had immediate success. His
role in the bullpen gradually increased in importance, as did his save
total: in his four years with Houston, his save numbers are 2, 5, 15,
17. Despite the saves, 1996 was his worst year as an Astro: an ERA
of 4.40 and a WHIP of 1.62. After that season, he was traded to Detroit
as part of a nine-player swap. His first year as a Tiger was a good one,
but after that had a fairly high ERA and a fairly high WHIP. By this
time, however, he was an established closer, and he remained in that role
through 2000, when he led the league with 42 saves. In 2001, however, he
lost the closer role and then was traded to Minnesota at the end of July for
Mark Redman. Jones appeared in 24 games for the Twins, going 1-0, 3.26
with a WHIP of 1.76 in 19.1 innings. He became a free agent after the
season and signed with Colorado. He stayed with the Rockies for a year
and a half, but did not pitch well and was released at the end of June
of 2003. He made one start as a Rockie in 2003, giving him the record for
most appearances prior to his first start (632). He finished the year
with Boston, continuing to not pitch well. He moved on to Tampa Bay for
2004, was released in spring training, signed with Cincinnati, and was traded
to Philadelphia in July. He signed with Florida for 2005 and had his
first good season in many years, posting a 2.10 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in 73
innings. He had 40 saves that year. He was once again a free agent
after that season and went back to Detroit. He was the Tigers closer for
three years and did about what he had done in his previous stint, posting high
ERAs and high WHIPs but getting a good number of saves. He finally lost
the closer role in 2008 and retired after the season. He is probably the
worst closer to compile 300 saves, but he still has the saves, and they
put him in some pretty good company. At last report, Todd Jones was
living in Pell City, Alabama. He coaches local youth baseball teams
and is very active in a number of charities. He also is part of a Jimmy
Buffett tribute band called "Come Monday".
Outfielder
John Delbert Barnes played in 20 games for the Twins from 2000-2001. He
was born in San Diego and went to high school in El Cajon, California. He
then attended Grossmont College in El Cajon and was drafted by Boston in
the fourth round in 1996. He put up decent but unspectacular numbers in
the minors for two and a half years for the Red Sox, rising as high as AA, and
then was traded to Minnesota along with Joe Thomas and Matt Kinney for Orlando
Merced and Greg Swindell. He was okay, but no more, for New
Britain. Then, in 2000, Barnes hit .365 with 13 homers at AAA Salt
Lake. He got a September call-up and hit .351 in 37 at-bats. He
fell to .293 in 2001 at AAA Edmonton, but got another two weeks with the
Twins. The Twins put him on waivers in September, however, and he was
chosen by Colorado. As a Twin, John Barnes hit .241/.313/.310 in 58
at-bats. He played in AAA for the Rockies in 2002, then was let go.
He moved on to Pittsburgh for 2003 and hit .323 with 13 homers in AAA, but was
not brought up to the majors. In 2004, he hit .348 in AAA with the
Dodgers, but it again did him no good. He moved on to the Braves’ AAA
team in 2005. He then signed with Boston and tried, at age 30, to become
a knuckleball pitcher. He had some success, rising as high as
AAA, but not enough to convince the Red Sox to bring him to the majors,
and he called it quits after the 2007 season. At last report, John Barnes
was the patient care coordinator for Pacific Pulmonary Services in Modesto,
California. He also was the owner of Baseball Lessons, offering private
hitting lessons and group clinics.
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