Jack O’Connor (1866)
Frank Verdi (1926)
Bob Lillis (1930)
Larry Jackson (1931)
Bob Bennett (1933)
Jerry Lumpe (1933)
Gene Michael (1938)
Horace Clarke (1940)
Jim Maloney (1940)
Roger Freed (1946)
Jack O’Connor (1958)
Darnell Coles (1962)
Bryan Harvey (1963)
Mike Stanton (1967)
Kurt Abbott (1969)
Raul Ibanez (1972)
Neifi Perez (1973)
Jared Burton (1981)
Tim Stauffer (1982)
Frank Verdi (1926)
Bob Lillis (1930)
Larry Jackson (1931)
Bob Bennett (1933)
Jerry Lumpe (1933)
Gene Michael (1938)
Horace Clarke (1940)
Jim Maloney (1940)
Roger Freed (1946)
Jack O’Connor (1958)
Darnell Coles (1962)
Bryan Harvey (1963)
Mike Stanton (1967)
Kurt Abbott (1969)
Raul Ibanez (1972)
Neifi Perez (1973)
Jared Burton (1981)
Tim Stauffer (1982)
Bob
Bennett was the baseball coach at Fresno State for many years, winning 1,302
games.
Roger
Freed was drafted by Minnesota in 1966, but the pick was voided.
Infielder Frank Michael Verdi
did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system in
1961. He was born in Brooklyn and signed with the Yankees as a free agent
in 1946. His minor league stats vary widely form one year to the next,
with averages of over .300 mixed with averages in the .250s and .260s.
There were a lot more levels in the minors back then, so Verdi did not reach
AAA until 1953. He also made his big league debut that season, coming
into a game on May 10 in the sixth inning as a defensive replacement. He
played one inning at shortstop, handling zero chances, and was pinch-hit for in
the seventh. That was the sum and substance of his major league
career: he never played in another big league game. He was in the
minors for several years after that, perhaps hoping for another chance at the
majors or perhaps just enjoying making a living by playing baseball. He
was known for his ability to pull off the hidden ball trick, executing it successfully
seven times in 1949. He was in AAA most of that time. He stayed
with the Yankees through 1954, went to Kansas City in 1955-56, was with the
Cubs toward the end of 1956, was with the Cardinals from 1957-59, then was
signed by the then Washington franchise for 1960, playing for AAA
Charleston. He was still with the franchise when it moved to Minnesota in
1961, and spent the season with AAA Syracuse, not only playing but also
managing the team. He hit .287/.362/.308 in 195 at-bats as a reserve infielder
and as a manager went 44-44. That started him on a long career as a minor
league manager. He was the manager again in Syracuse in 1962 (it was no
longer a Twins farm team that year), then went into the Yankees organization
from 1963-1970, winning three league championships (two with AAA
Syracuse). He continued to manage (with a couple of years off) in the
minors through 1985, winning another league championship with AAA Columbus in
1981. He retired after the 1985 season, but came out of retirement in
1993 to manage the Sioux Falls Canaries in the Northern League from
1993-1995. He was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame in
2008. His son, Mike, also managed for several years in the minors.
Frank Verdi passed away from a heart attack on July 9, 2010 in New Port Richey,
Florida.
There
have been two major league players named “Jack O’Connor”; both of them were
born on this day. Left-hander Jack William O’Connor pitched for the Twins
from 1981-1984. He was born in Twenty-nine Palms, California, and went to
high school in Yucca Valley, California. He was drafted by Montreal in
the ninth round in 1976. He was in the Expos organization for five
years. O’Connor pitched mostly in Class A and did fairly well there, but did
not do so well in brief trials at higher levels. The Twins took a chance
on him in the Rule 5 draft after the 1980 season and kept him in the majors all
of 1981. He was kept in the bullpen all season and did not get a lot of
work, appearing in 28 games and pitching only 35.1 innings. O’Connor
started 1982 in the majors but was sent back to AAA after two scoreless
innings. He returned in early June and was in the starting rotation by
July, staying there the rest of the season. He wasn’t terrible, which is
about as good as it got for the Twins’ rotation in 1982. He began 1983 in
the rotation, but after a couple of decent outings things fell apart for him,
and he was in the bullpen by mid-May. He was not much better there, went
back to AAA for a couple of months, and did not do a lot better upon his return
either. O’Connor had an excellent year in the Toledo bullpen in 1984 and
pitched well in two appearances in his September call-up. By then,
however, the Twins had given up on him, and after the season they traded him to
Montreal for Mike Stenhouse. He got about two months in the majors in
1985 with the Expos, had mediocre numbers, and was released the following
March. O’Connor signed with Seattle for 1986, pitched badly in AAA, and
became a free agent after the season. He signed with Baltimore for 1987
and battled his way back to the majors, spending nearly half the year with the
Orioles. His pitching in the majors was not significantly better,
however, and O’Connor once again became a free agent after the season. He
signed with Toronto and was with AAA Syracuse for two years, not pitching badly
but not getting another chance at the big time, either. Jack O’Connor’s
playing career came to an end after the 1989 season. As a Twin, he was
13-14, 4.99 with a WHIP of 1.62. He pitched 249 innings and made 80
appearances, 27 of them starts. No information about Jack O’Connor’s life
after the close of his playing career was readily available.
Infielder
Kurt Thomas Abbott did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with
them in 2002. He was born in Zanesville, Ohio, went to high school in St.
Petersburg, Florida, and was drafted by Oakland in the fifteenth round in
1989. He did not hit much until 1993, when he hit .319 with 12 homers and
11 triples for AAA Tacoma, numbers which got him a September call-up.
They also got him a trade, as he was sent to the Florida Marlins that
off-season. He was their mostly-regular shortstop the next two seasons
and had a pretty good year in 1995, batting .255 with 17 homers in 420
at-bats. It did not lead to any more playing time, however, as he became
a frequently-used utility player over the next two seasons. Abbott was
traded to Oakland before the 1998 season and was traded again in early June,
this time to Colorado. He stayed with Colorado through the 1999 season
and did pretty well as a part-time player, batting .273. That was as good
as it would get for him, though. He became a free agent after the season
and was a reserve infielder for the Mets in 2000, but batted only .217. A
free agent again, he signed with Atlanta for 2001 but missed most of the season
with injuries. The Twins signed Abbott for 2002, but he continued to be
bothered by injuries and was released in spring training. He played a few
games in AAA for the Yankees that season and was in AAA for St. Louis in 2003,
but then his playing career was over. Kurt Abbott then became a deputy
sheriff in Martin County, Florida. Unfortunately, he was arrested in 2013
for DUI and was placed on administrative leave. Its unclear whether he
lost his job because of that or if he left for other reasons, but at last
report, Kurt Abbott was a coach for Major League Players Academy in Stuart,
Florida.
Right-hander
Levi Jared Burton joined the Twins in 2012. Born and raised in
Westminster, South Carolina, he attended Western Carolina University and was
drafted by Oakland in the eighth round in 2002. A reliever most of his
career, he struggled in the low minors, not reaching AA until 2006. He
reached the majors in 2007, however, and has been there for at least part of
every season since. It did not happen with the Athletics, though.
Instead, he was taken by Cincinnati in the Rule 5 draft after the 2006
season. Pitching a limited number of innings, he was pretty good in 2007
and 2008, but not so good in 2009. He battled injuries in 2010 and 2011,
and was mostly in AAA when he was healthy enough to pitch. He became a
free agent after the 2011 season and signed with Minnesota. He had an
excellent year for the Twins in 2012, a not-as-excellent but still pretty good
year in 2013, and did not pitch well, although he wasn't terrible, in 2014.
As a Twin Jared Burton was 8-16, 3.47, 1.16 WHIP in 192 innings (203
appearances). He became a free agent after the 2014 season, signed with
the Yankees, was released in spring training, re-signed with the Yankees three
days later, was released in May, and signed with Texas. He pitched well
in twelve appearances for AAA Round Rock, but was released at the end of June. It
appears that this brought his playing career to an end, as he has not pitched
anywhere since. If he ever does sign with someone, he's facing a
fifty-day suspension for a positive test for "a drug of abuse", which
makes it even more likely that it's time for him to move on with his life.
No information about what Jared Burton has done since his release last
summer was readily available.
Right-hander
Timothy James Stauffer appeared in thirteen games for the Twins in 2015.
He was born in Portland, Maine, went to high school in Saratoga Springs,
New York, attended the University of Richmond, and was drafted by San Diego
with the fourth pick of the 2003 draft. A starter early in his career, he
did very well in the low minors but struggled when he reached AAA. He made
his major league debut in 2005 but spent most of his time in AAA through 2007.
He missed the entire 2008 season, but came back in 2009 to pitch well in
both the minors and the majors. He spent most of 2010 pitching out of the
San Diego bullpen and had an excellent season. Returned to a starting
role in 2011, he had another solid year. He again missed most of 2012
with injury, but came back in 2013 to have a decent season in relief for the
Padres. He was not as good, but wasn't terrible, in the Padres bullpen in
2014. A free agent after that season, he signed with Minnesota for 2015.
One suspects that he may still not have been healthy: he missed a
month due to injury, and when active he was pretty bad. His numbers as a
Twin were 1-0, 6.60, 2.07 WHIP in fifteen innings. The Twins released him
in mid-June, he signed with the Mets in August, continued to not pitch well,
and became a free agent after the season. He signed with Arizona for 2016
but was released at the end of spring training. If, indeed, he is still
injured, it's possible that some forced rest might help him heal. It
seems more likely, though, that Tim Stauffer's playing career is over.
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