Red Kress (1905)
Pinky Whitney (1905)
Pinky Whitney (1905)
Ted Strong (1914)
Jim Essian (1951)
Bill Madlock (1951)
David Cone (1963)
Edgar Martinez (1963)
Greg
Swindell (1965)
Royce Clayton (1970)
Rick Greene (1971)
Jeff Suppan (1975)
Aaron Barrett (1988)
Royce Clayton (1970)
Rick Greene (1971)
Jeff Suppan (1975)
Aaron Barrett (1988)
Ted Strong was a star in the Negro Leagues,
making the all-star team seven times.
Aaron Barrett was drafted by Minnesota in the
20th round in 2008 but did not sign.
Left-hander Forest Gregory Swindell was a Twin
for roughly a season and a half in the late 1990s. A native of Ft. Worth, he
attended the University of Texas and was chosen by Cleveland with the second
pick of the 1986 draft. Swindell made three starts for Class A Waterloo and was
immediately promoted to the big leagues and placed in the Indians' starting
rotation. He struggled some early on, and was injured for the second half of
1987, but put things together in 1988, winning 18 games with a 3.20 ERA. That was
arguably the best season he would ever have as a starter, but he had some other
good ones, making the all-star team for the only time of his career in 1989.
Swindell remained in the Cleveland rotation through 1991, then was traded to
Cincinnati for one year. He had a fine 1992 for the Reds, became a free agent,
and signed with Houston. It seemed as if everything was coming together for
Swindell: a 28-year-old pitcher coming off a good year going to the best
pitcher's park in baseball. Instead, he went backward. He wasn't awful as
an Astro, but he was not what they expected him to be, either, posting ERAs in
the low-to-mid-fours over three seasons. He got off to a bad start in 1996, was
sent to the bullpen, and then was released in early June. He finished the
season back with Cleveland, then became a free agent again and signed with
Minnesota for 1997. His days as a starter were over, but he was a valuable
member of the Twins' bullpen. He made 117 appearances for Minnesota, pitching
182 innings. He went 10-7, 3.61 with three saves, a WHIP of 1.16 and an ERA+ of
129. At the end of July, 1998, with the Twins once again far from the pennant
race, Swindell was traded to Boston with Orlando Merced for Joe Thomas, John
Barnes, and Matt Kinney. He continued to be a valuable reliever, first for the
Red Sox and then, after becoming a free agent after the 1998 season, for the
Arizona Diamondbacks. He had three solid seasons for Arizona. Then, in 2002, he
battled injuries and decided to retire after the season, having pitched in the
majors for 17 seasons. Greg Swindell has been an assistant coach for the
University of Texas and an analyst for Arizona Diamondbacks television
broadcasts. He has also done some work in sports talk radio in the Phoenix
area. He is currently a baseball analyst for the Longhorn Network.
He was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1996 and into the
College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.
Right-hander Richard Douglas Greene did not
play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for part of the 2000 season.
He was born in Fort Knox, Kentucky, went to high school in Coral Gables,
Florida, attended LSU (where he set a school record for saves), played for the
1992 U. S. Olympic team, and was drafted by Detroit in the first round in 1992.
A reliever all along, he struggled for several seasons in the minors. Promoted
to AAA for the first time in 1997, he had his best year, going 6-8, 2.83, 1.16
WHIP in 70 innings. After the season, he was traded to Milwaukee. He had a
decent but not particularly impressive year in AAA for the Brewers in 1998 and
a similar year for Cincinnati in 1999. The latter year was when he made his
only major league appearance, a 5.2 inning relief stint against Milwaukee. He
allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk in a 10-1 loss (he
gave up a three-run homer to the first batter he faced, Jose Valentin, then
settled down some). He split 2000 in AAA with Cincinnati and Minnesota. As a
member of the Salt Lake Buzz, Rick Greene went 2-2, 5.81, 1.86 WHIP in 26.1
innings (22 appearances). He played in independent leagues in 2001 and 2002,
then his playing career was over. At last report, Rick Greene was the founder
and CEO of the 2 Seam Dream Foundation, which was founded "to help
cancer treatment centers and support services do the best job they possibly
can."
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