November 30

Mordecai Davidson (1845)

Frank Killen (1870)

Josh Billings (1891)

Firpo Marberry (1898)

Clyde Sukeforth (1901)

Steve Hamilton (1935)

Craig Swan (1950)
Juan Berenguer (1954)
Dave Engle (1956)
Steve Shields (1958)
Bob Tewksbury (1960)
Bo Jackson (1962)
Gary Wayne (1962)
Mark Lewis (1969)
Ray Durham (1971)
Matt Lawton (1971)
Shane Victorino (1980)
Rich Harden (1981)
Luis Valbuena (1985)

Mordecai Davidson was the owner of the Louisville Colonels in the late 1880s.  Under financial pressure, he tried to save money in a variety of ways, including fining players each time the team lost.  As a result, he is credited with inspiring the first baseball players' strike.  Nobody ever seems to name their kid "Mordecai" any more.

Right-handed reliever Juan Bautista Berenguer pitched four solid years for Minnesota, from 1987-1990, and is still remembered fondly by Twins fans. Born in Aguadulce, Panama, Berenguer was signed by the Mets as a free agent in 1975. He was a starting pitcher throughout his minor league career. He pitched well there, striking out more than a batter per inning, although his walk totals were uncomfortably high. He pitched briefly with the Mets in 1978-1980, with varying success, but totalling only 53 innings. The Mets traded him to Kansas City at the end of March, 1981. This was Berenguer's first full season in the big leagues, but it was not all with they Royals; they sold him to Toronto in early August. He did not have a good year, going 2-13 with a 5.26 ERA, and was released the following March. Detroit signed him, and sent him to AAA, where he had a mediocre season. He made the team in 1983, however, and pitched well for them for two years, mostly as a starter. In 1985, however, he slipped, and was traded to San Francisco after the season. He pitched very well out of the bullpen for the Giants in 1986, posting a 2.70 ERA in 73.1 innings. It didn't impress the Giants, though; they released him, and he was signed by Minnesota. Given his previous ups and downs, Berenguer was remarkably consistent in his four years with the Twins, posting ERAs in the mid-to-upper threes and WHIP of around 1.3 to 1.4. As a Twin, he was 33-13 with nine saves, an ERA of 3.70, an ERA+ of 115, and a WHIP of 1.36 over 211 appearances. At the end of the 1990 season, Berenguer became a free agent, signing with Atlanta. He was a Brave for a season and a half. He pitched well in 1991, but broke his pitching arm while wrestling with his children and missed the Braves' playoff run. He pitched poorly in 1992, was traded to Kansas City in July, and was released after the season. He played for independent teams in Minnesota from 1994-1997 before hanging up the spikes for good. At last report, Juan Berenguer was working for a Ford dealership and for a Spanish-language television station in Minnesota.

Catcher/outfielder Dave Engle's father, Roy, was a high school teammate of Ted Williams. Ralph David Engle is the brother-in-law of Tom Brunansky. Born and raised in San Diego, he went to U.S.C. and was drafted by California in the third round in 1978. A third baseman at the start of his minor league career, Engle was only in the Angels organization for one year. In February of 1979, he was traded to Minnesota with Paul Hartzell, Brad Havens, and Ken Landreaux for Rod Carew. He batted over .300 in two of his three minor league seasons, reaching the Twins in 1981. He was fifth in Rookie of the Year balloting that season, despite hitting only .258. An outfielder his first couple of years with the Twins, he was converted to catching in 1983 because a scar in his eye, the result of a childhood accident, made it difficult for him to see fly balls in the Metrodome. His bat responded to the move, as he had what was easily his best season, batting .305. The next year, however, he dropped to .266 (although he made the all-star team that year), and he never came close to batting .300 again. He also developed a problem throwing the ball back to the pitcher, limiting his ability to catch. Engle remained with the Twins until January of 1986, when he was traded to Detroit for Chris Pittaro and Alejandro Sanchez. The Tigers used him mostly at first base, but seldom used him at all; he had only 86 at-bats when he was released in August. He was with Montreal for a couple of years and Milwaukee for one, not seeing much playing time with either team. He went into coaching in 1990, although he still played a little in the minors through 1991. He remained active as a minor league manager and coach at least through 2000 and was the Mets hitting coach from at least 2001-2002.  At last report, Dave Engle was a scout for the Baltimore Orioles.

Right-hander Stephen Mack Shields came to Minnesota in 1989, at the end of his major league career. Born and raised in Gadsden, Alabama, he was drafted by Boston in the tenth round in 1977. His minor league record is a rather mixed bag, as was his usage, as he was sometimes a starter, sometimes a reliever. He did not get to AAA until his seventh minor league season, in 1983. He was a free agent after that season and signed with the Braves. He was in their organization for three seasons, reaching the majors for the first time in 1985 and spending parts of that and the next season with Atlanta. 1985 was the only year he was used as a spot starter; the rest of his career was in the bullpen. He was traded to Kansas City at the end of 1986, and was traded again that off-season to Seattle. Shields again split the year between the majors and AAA in 1987, became a free agent, and signed with the Yankees for 1988. He came the closest he would come to a full season in the majors that year, coming to New York May 1 and staying there the rest of the year. He pitched 82 innings that year, the most he had in a major league season. The Yankees traded him to Minnesota in March of 1989 for Balvino Galvez. Shields spent about a month with the Twins that season, from mid-May to mid-June. He made eleven appearances, pitching 17.1 innings and posting a 7.79 ERA. He was with AAA Portland the rest of the season, did not do particularly well there either, and was released after the season ended, bringing his playing career to a close. At last report, Steve Shields had returned to Gadsden and was the Environmental Services Supervisor for the city.

Right-hander Robert Alan Tewksbury was with the Twins from 1997-1998, at the end of a fairly substantial career. Born in Concord, New Hampshire, he attended Merrimack Valley High School in Penacook, New Hampshire. He went to both Rutgers and Saint Leo University and was drafted by the Yankees in the 19th round in 1981. He pitched very well throughout his minor league career, making his major league debut with the Yankees in April of 1986. He pitched well for them in 20 starts that year, but got off to a poor start in 1987 and was traded to the Cubs as part of a package for Steve Trout. Tewksbury was apparently injured much of 1988, as he made only 11 appearances, ten of them in the minor leagues. He pitched well in those appearances, but became a free agent at the end of the year. Tewksbury signed with the Cardinals and pitched well again in AAA in 1989, posting a 2.43 ERA in 28 starts. That convinced the Cardinals, and Tewksbury was in their starting rotation for the next five years. Control had never been a problem for him, but he became an extreme control pitcher in those years, twice leading the league in fewest walks per nine innings with 0.8 and twice leading the league in strikeout/walk ratio despite striking out fewer than 100 batters. He made the all-star team in 1992, when he won 16 games, led the league in winning percentage, and finished third in Cy Young voting. He had a poor year in 1994, however, and was allowed to become a free agent. He did not sign until early April, when he joined the Texas Rangers. He was fairly average for the Rangers, and was fairly average the next year with San Diego. Tewksbury was again a free agent after the 1996 season, and signed with Minnesota. He was a Twin for two years, and was fairly average for them, too. In two seasons for bad Twins teams, Bob Tewksbury was 15-26 with a 4.49 ERA and an ERA+ of 104. The Twins would likely have brought him back in 1999 had he chosen to continue his career, but he had shoulder problems and elected retirement instead.  He then went back to school and got a masters' degree in psychology at Boston University. At last report, Bob Tewksbury was doing commentary on Red Sox games and was working for the Red Sox as a sports psychologist. He also does a lot of charitable work, primarily with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He was inducted into the Saint Leo Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.

Left-hander Gary Anthony Wayne was with the Twins from 1989-1992. A native of Dearborn, Michigan, Wayne attended the University of Michigan and then was drafted by Montreal in the fourth round. He was a starter early in his minor league career and struggled in that role. Switched to relief in 1986, he had consecutive strong years, first in Class A, then in AA. He suffered a broken foot in 1988, making only eight appearances, and was left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft. Minnesota selected him, and he was with the Twins at least part of the next four seasons, spending all of 1989 in Minnesota and splitting 1990-1992 between the Twins and AAA. For the most part, he did a solid job for the Twins. In 147 appearances, he posted an ERA of 3.44, an ERA+ of 120, and a WHIP of 1.31. In March of 1993, the Twins traded Wayne along with Rob Wassenaar to Colorado for Brett Merriman. His career went downhill after that; he had a poor year for the Rockies in 1993, became a free agent, signed with the Dodgers, was sent to the minors in early June of 1994, and never made it back to the majors. Gary Wayne's career ended after the 1994 season. At last report, Gary Wayne was the managing director of Integrity Debt Solutions in Denver and was also a licensed investment advisor for Infinity Wealth Management.

Outfielder Matthew Lawton played for the Twins from 1995-2001. He is variously listed as Matthew Lawton Jr. and Matthew Lawton III. Lawton was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, attended Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, and was drafted by the Twins in the 13th round in 1991. He had some solid, though unspectacular, years in the minor leagues, advancing a level per season. He made a brief appearance with the Twins in September of 1995, was a part-time player in 1996, and won a starting spot in the Twins' outfield in 1997. In 1998, he hit .278 with 21 homers, and the Twins promoted him as a rising superstar. Possibly trying to live up to that, Lawton hit only .259 with 7 homers in 1999. The next year, 2000, was Lawton's best as a Twin--he topped .300 for the only time in his career and made his first all-star appearance. He was having another solid season in 2001 when the Twins traded him to the Mets at the end of July for Rick Reed. Lawton finished out the year with the Mets, then was traded to Cleveland, where he stayed for three seasons. He was a part-time player his first two years, partly due to injuries, and hit for more power (15 homers each season) but a lower average. A regular again in 2004, he responded with a fine season, hitting .277 with 20 homers and making his second all-star appearance. The Indians traded Lawton to Pittsburgh after the season, and he began bouncing around. He was traded to the Cubs at the end of July of 2005 and moved to the Yankees at the end of August. A free agent after the season, he was suspended for ten games in November for using steroids, a charge which he admitted. Lawton signed with Seattle for 2006, but was seldom used and was released at the end of May, bringing his playing career to a close. As a Twin, Lawton hit .277/.379/.428 with 72 homers and an OPS+ of 107. At last report, Matt Lawton had returned to his his hometown of Gulfport.  In April of 2013, he was arrested in what apparently was some sort of domestic dispute, although details are hard to come by.  It appears, though, that either the charges were dropped or it was never that serious to begin with, because in 2015 he coached his son's 11-12-year-old team to the Southwest Regional in Cal Ripken Baseball.

Right-hander James Richard Harden did not pitch for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 2013 and was on their disabled list for a while.  Born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, he attended Central Arizona College and was drafted by Oakland in the seventeenth round in 2000.  A starter his entire career, he reached AA in 2002 and AAA in 2003.  He got to the majors in late July of 2003 and was there to stay with the exception of rehab starts, of which he had at least one every year.  He was not the most durable of pitchers, but he was always effective when healthy.  His best year for Oakland was 2005, when he went 10-5, 2.53 with a 1.06 WHIP in 128 innings.  He then made only thirteen starts over the next two seasons.  He came back in 2008 and was doing very well when he was traded to the Cubs in mid-season.  2008 was the best year of his career; he went a combined 10-2, 2.07, 1.06 WHIP in 25 starts.  He only pitched 148 innings, but he struck out 181 men in those innings.  He was still decent in 2009, but slid to 9-9, 4.09, 1.34 WHIP.  It was all downhill for Harden after that.  A free agent, he signed with Texas for 2010 but had a poor year.  A free agent again, he went back to Oakland for 2011 but could not get much done for them, either.  He missed all of 2012 while recovering from shoulder surgery, but signed with Minnesota for 2013.  Unfortunately, it did not go well for him.  He did not throw a pitch in either the majors or the minors and was released around the first of August, ending his playing career.  No information about what Rich Harden is currently up to was readily available.

November 29

Tom Hughes (1878)

Irv Noren (1924)

Minnie Minoso (1925)
Vin Scully (1927)
George Thomas (1937)
Dick McAuliffe (1939)
Bill Freehan (1941)
Otto Velez (1950)
Mike Easler (1950)
Rick Anderson (1956)
Joe Price (1956)
Dennis Burtt (1957)
Howard Johnson (1960)
Bob Hamelin (1967)
Mariano Rivera (1969)
Brian Wolfe (1980)
Guillermo Quiroz (1981)

Outfielder George Edward Thomas played for the Twins for the second half of 1971. He was born in Minneapolis, went to high school in Bloomington, and went to the University of Minnesota. He was signed by Detroit as a free agent in 1957 and was classified as a “bonus baby”, which meant he had to be on the major league roster all that season. It was a wasted year for Thomas, as he got only one at-bat. Sent back to the minors in 1958, he hit decently, but not outstandingly for the next few seasons. In 1960, he hit .275 with 13 homers in AA Birmingham. That was enough to get him to the majors with the Tigers in 1961 but he was used almost exclusively as a pinch-runner, appearing in seventeen games through late June but getting only six at-bats. At that point, he was sold to the Los Angeles Angels, where for the next two years he saw a decent amount of playing time as a fourth outfielder. He hit .280 in that role in 1961, but nowhere close to that in the rest of his time with the Angels. In mid-June of 1963 he was traded back to Detroit in a trade that involved future Twin Frank Kostro. Continuing in a reserve role, he had a good year in 1964, hitting .286 with 12 homers, but slumped in 1965 and was traded to Boston after the season. He was used primarily as a pinch-hitter and had a couple of outstanding years in that role, hitting .347 from 1969-1970 in 150 at-bats. When he started at 1-for-13 in 1971, however, Thomas was released by the Red Sox in late June. The Twins signed him and continued him in the pinch-hitting role, as he played in 23 games but got only 30 at-bats. He hit .267/.300/.353, not bad for a pinch-hitter, but after the season, in his words, “they asked me not to come to spring training”. He remained involved in baseball for a while, and was the head coach at the University of Minnesota from 1979-1981.  Later, he went into business selling audio/video software packaging.  At last report, George Thomas was spending his summers in Wisconsin, about an hour from the Twin Cities, and spending his winters in Florida.

Right-hander Richard Arlen Anderson never played for the Twins, but was a minor league pitching coach for them for several years and was their major league pitching coach from 2002-2014. He was born in Everett, Washington and went to high school there. He then attended the University of Washington and was drafted by the Mets in the 24th round in 1978. It would be interesting to hear him talk about his playing days; he had good numbers throughout his minor league career, but got very few chances in the majors. Anderson was at AAA for the Mets for over five years, never posting an ERA over four and twice posting an ERA under three, before getting a chance in the majors. He was with the Mets for about two months in 1986 and did well, going 2-1 with a 2.72 ERA in 49.2 innings. In March of 1987, however, the Mets traded Anderson to Kansas City. Anderson started the season with the Royals, but was soon sent back to AAA. This must be when he decided that pitching to contact was key--he struck out 12 in 13 innings for Kansas City, but had an ERA of 13.75. In 1988 he was again mostly in AAA, getting just over a month with the Royals. His playing career ended after the season, and he was immediately hired by the Twins as their pitching coach in the Gulf Coast League. Anderson worked his way up the Twins' minor league system, becoming their major league pitching coach in 2002.  He held the job through 2014.  His reputation grew as the Twins pitching staff prospered and diminished as the staff struggled, but of course it is difficult to know how much of either the successes or the failures of the Twins pitchers were the result by Rick Anderson's coaching.  He left with Ron Gardenhire after the 2014 season, stayed out of baseball for three years, and now has returned with Ron Gardenhire as the pitching coach of the Detroit Tigers for the 2018 season.

Right-hander Dennis Allen Burtt was with the Twins for all of his major league career, which consisted of eight games in 1985-1986. He was born in San Diego, attended Santa Ana College, and was drafted by Boston in the second round of the January draft of 1976. Mostly used as a starter in the minors, he largely topped out at AA. He posted an ERA of around five with a WHIP over 1.5 in three years at AAA for Boston. Burtt became a free agent after the 1984 season, and was signed by Minnesota. He did not pitch a lot better at Toledo in 1985, but he won 14 games, so he got a September call-up. He actually pitched pretty well in 28.1 innings, going 2-2 with a 3.81 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. Burtt started 1986 with the Twins, but after three appearances was sent back to AAA. Minnesota released him after the season, and he signed on with the Dodgers, pitching for their AAA team for three years. He pitched for Detroit's AAA team in 1990, and then retired, although he pitched briefly in an independent league in 1996. As a Twin, Dennis Burtt was 2-2 with a 5.64 ERA in 30.1 innings. He was a minor league pitching coach for a while, then left baseball and went into the financial services industry. He is currently on the board of directors of Sunflower Presents and is a registered representative with Transamerica Financial Advisors.  He also is a volunteer pitching coach for Stagg High School in Stockton and a volunteer youth golf coach for The First Tee of San Joaquin, California.  In addition, he is a recruiter for WealthWave, whose vision is "To disrupt the status-quo of the financial industry so families can dream again".

Right-hander Brian Thomas Wolfe never appeared for the Twins, but was in their organization for several years. Born in Fullerton, California, he attended high school in Anaheim and was drafted by the Twins in the sixth round in 1999. Initially a starting pitcher, he was converted to relieving in 2003. He had his ups and downs in the minors, with the record revealing more downs than ups. He flopped at AA in 2003, was hurt much of 2004, and was not pitching well at AA in 2005 when the Twins released him in May. He signed with Milwaukee, and pitched well in A and AA the rest of the season. The next January, however, the Brewers traded Wolfe to Toronto for Corey Koskie. He pitched poorly in 2006, but seemed to put something together in 2007, posting an ERA of 1.04 and a WHIP of 0.92 in 26 innings for AAA Syracuse. Wolfe was brought up the big leagues at the end of May, and was with the Blue Jays for the rest of 2007 and about half of 2008. He pitched much better for them than they had any right to expect, although in limited duty. He posted an ERA under three and a WHIP of around one in 67.1 innings. In 2009, however, he lost whatever he had found; he pitched poorly in AAA and worse in a couple of months in the big leagues. He moved on to Japan in 2010, playing for the Nippon Ham Fighters, for whom he pitched well through 2013.  He was pitching well in 2014 for Softbank, but in June he underwent Tommy John surgery.  He made a couple of appearances for Softbank in 2015 and made four starts for the Seibu Lions in 2016, pitching quite well--4-0, 3.04, 1.27 WHIP.  He came back with Seibu in 2017 to make twenty-three starts, and while he wasn't quite as good as he'd been he still had a productive season.  He turns thirty-seven today.  One assumes he will pitch in Japan again this year if that's what he wants to do.

November 28

Heinie Pietz (1870)

Frank O'Rourke (1894)

Jerry Gardner (1920)

Wes Westrum (1922)

Sixto Lezcano (1953)

Dave Righetti (1958)

Walt Weiss (1963)

John Burkett (1964)

Matt Williams (1965)

Pedro Astacio (1969)

Robb Nen (1969)
Jose Parra (1972)
Carlos Villaneuva (1983)
Miguel Diaz (1994)

Jerry Gardner spent most of his life in baseball as a minor-league player and manager and as a scout.

Right-hander Jose Miguel Parra pitched for the Twins in 1995 and 1996. He may not have spent a lot of time in the majors, but he stretched that time over several years. Born in Jacagua, Dominican Republic, Parra was signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 1989 at age 16. He had a good year in 1990 in the Gulf Coast League, but struggled quite a bit after that. Despite posting an ERA near five in just over a season at AAA, the Dodgers gave him about a month in the big leagues in June of 1995. At the end of July, Parra was traded to the Twins along with Ron Coomer, Greg Hansell, and Chris Latham for Mark Guthrie and Kevin Tapani. Parra was in the Twins' starting rotation through the end of 1995, and was in Minnesota for the bulk of 1996, beginning the year in the rotation and going to the bullpen after five starts. His time in Minnesota did not go well: he posted a 6.77 ERA in 131.2 innings. He was no better in AAA Salt Lake in 1997, and the Twins released him after that season. Parra did not give up, however; he went to Korea for a year, and was in Japan for another year. In 2000, he found himself back in the majors with Pittsburgh. It would be wonderful to report that he went on to big league success, but in reality he pitched about the same for the Pirates as he had for Minnesota, and was back in the minors a month later. He spent 2001 in the Mexican League, but in 2002 was back in the big leagues, getting a month with Arizona. He posted a 3.21 ERA in 16 relief appearances, but had a WHIP of 1.71. Returned to the minors, he went back to Mexico for 2003, but came back again in 2004, getting another month in the majors with the Mets. Parra again had a 3.21 ERA, but again had a high WHIP, and went back to AAA. He was back in Japan for 2005, and then ended his playing career. It took a long time, but he pitched in 82 major league games, which is something a lot of people wish they could say. He also is tied for an all-time batting record: most walks in a career without an official at-bat (2, tied with Ernie Rudolph). Jose Parra is currently the pitching coach for the DSL Tigers.

Right-hander Miguel Angel Diaz did not play for the Twins, but was in their organization for part of December 8, 2016.  He was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic and signed by the Milwaukee Brewers in December of 2011.  He spent two years in the Dominican Summer League and two years in the Arizona Summer League, in both cases doing substantially better in his second year.  He spent 2016 with Class A Wisconsin, going 1-8, but posting an ERA of 3.71 and a WHIP of 1.18.  He was left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft and was claimed by Minnesota, but was traded to San Diego that same day for Justin Haley.  He started the season in the majors with the Padres, presumably because of the Rule 5 rules, but apparently was injured in late June.  He came back in September when the rosters expanded.  He made thirty-one appearances, three of them starts, and went 1-1, 7.34, 1.66 WHIP in 41.2 innings.  He turns twenty-three today.  In the minors he has struck out 8.4 batters per nine innings while walking 3.4.  It seems fairly clear that he wasn't ready to be in the majors last year.  Whether he eventually will be is anyone's guess.

November 27

Bullet Joe Bush (1892)

Johnny Schmitz (1920)

Billy Moran (1933)

Jose Tartabull (1938)

Dave Giusti (1939)

Dan Spillner (1951)

Mike Scioscia (1958)

Randy Milligan (1961)

Tim Laker (1969)

Ivan Rodriguez (1971)

Willie Bloomquist (1977)

Jimmy Rollins (1978)

No players with connections to the Minnesota Twins appear to have been born on this day. The closest we come is Billy Moran, who was part of a three-team trade involving Minnesota, Cleveland, and the Los Angeles Angels. Minnesota acquired Frank Kostro and Jerry Kindall and sent Lenny Green and Vic Power to Los Angeles. Billy Moran was sent from the Angels to Cleveland in that trade.

November 26

Hugh Duffy (1866)

Fred Tenney (1871)

Bob Johnson (1905)
Lefty Gomez (1908)
Howard Easterling (1911)
Bob Elliott (1916)
Eddie Miller (1916)
Jeff Torborg (1941)
Larry Gura (1947)
Richie Hebner (1947)
Jorge Orta (1950)
Jay Howell (1955)
Bob Walk (1956)
Mike Moore (1959)
Harold Reynolds (1960)
Chuck Finley (1962)
Brian Schneider (1976)
Matt Garza (1983)

Infielder Howard Easterling was a star in the Negro Leagues in the 1930s and 1940s.

Right-hander Matthew Scott Garza appeared in 26 games for the Twins in 2006-2007.  He was born in Selma, California, went to high school in Washington Union, California, went to Cal State-Fresno, and was drafted by Minnesota in the first round in 2005.  He played at every level in the Twins’ minor league system, but did not stay anywhere very long, as he was promoted rapidly.  He reached the majors in mid-August of 2006 and went 3-6, 5.76, numbers which are made to look much worse by a terrible first outing (his ERA drops by a run if you throw it out).  He started 2007 back in AAA, but was in the Twins’ rotation by mid-season and did okay.  As a Twin, he was 8-13, 4.47, although with a 1.60 WHIP.  It appeared that he might be in the Twins’ rotation for some time, but instead he was traded to Tampa Bay with Eduardo Morlan and Jason Bartlett for Brendan Harris, Jason Pridie, and Delmon Young.  Garza was immediately installed into the Rays’ rotation and was a solid starter for three seasons, posting ERAs in the high threes and WHIPs around 1.25.  After the 2010 season, he was traded again, this time to the Cubs.  He again had a solid season as a member of their starting rotation in 2011, and was doing so in 2012 until he suffered an elbow injury in late July that forced him to miss the rest of the season.  He came back in 2013 and was pitching well for the Cubs when he was traded to Texas in late July, for whom he pitched not quite as well but still decently.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Milwaukee and had another good year for them in 2014.  He stumbled badly in 2015, however, having by far the worst season of his career and missing significant time due to a shoulder injury.  He came back in 2016 and did better, but nothing special.  He took a small step backward in 2017, not pitching particularly well in twenty-two starts.  For his career, Matt Garza is 93-106, 4.09, 1.32 WHIP.  He turns thirty-four today, has had injury problems, and hasn't had a good year since 2014.  He is currently a free agent.  Assuming he's healthy, one assumes he'll get some kind of contract from somebody, but if he doesn't get things going again he may be on his last chance.

November 25

Bert Cunningham (1865)

Jakie May (1895)

Charles Baron (1913)
Joe DiMaggio (1914)
Mike Ryan (1941)
Bucky Dent (1951)
Dave Baker (1956)
Chico Walker (1958)
Mark Whiten (1966)
Octavio Dotel (1973)
Nick Swisher (1980)

First baseman Charles Baron played in the minors from 1931-1951, batting .306 with 2,319 hits.  He was a player-manager for the last five of those seasons.

The brother of ex-Twin Doug Baker, third baseman David Glenn Baker did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system for two seasons. He was born in Lacona, Iowa, went to high school in Grenada Hills, California, attended UCLA, and was drafted by Toronto in the eleventh round in 1978. He advanced quickly through the Blue Jays minor league system, reaching AAA in 1979, despite not really doing anything to deserve that. It was not until his fourth year at AAA, 1982, that he actually had a good year there, hitting .279 with 16 homers and an OBP of .364. He got a September call-up that year, going 5-for-20 with three walks in nine games. After the season, he was traded to Minnesota for Don Cooper. He had a good year in AAA Toledo in 1983, hitting .278 with 14 homers and an OBP of .352, but did not get a call-up. He slumped to .226 in Toledo in 1984, and as he was now twenty-seven and the Twins had Gary Gaetti at third base, they let him go. No one signed him, and his playing career was over.  At last report, Dave had returned to Lacona and was the owner of "Baker Baseball", a baseball instructional organization based in Omaha.

November 24

George Burns (1889)
Billy Rogell (1904)
Joe Medwick (1911)
Danny Ozark (1923)
Bob Friend (1930)
Jim Northrup (1939)
Steve Yeager (1948)
Randy Velarde (1962)
Ben McDonald (1967)
Al Martin (1967)
Cal Eldred (1967)
Dave Hansen (1968)
Chris Herrmann (1987)

Danny Ozark was the manager of Philadelphia from 1973-1979.

Catcher/outfielder Christopher Ryan Herrmann was with the Twins off and on from 2012-2015.  He was born and raised in Tomball, Texas and is one of two big-league players to come out of Tomball High School (Troy Patton).  He attended the University of Miami and was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in 2009.  He hit well in Elizabethton that season, struggled in Fort Myers in 2010, but did well when he started the season in Fort Myers in 2011.  He was promoted to New Britain fairly early in the 2011 campaign and was there again for all of 2012, with the exception of his September call-up.  He was okay in New Britain, but was nothing special, batting .268 with an OPS of .754.  Promoted to Rochester for 2013, he did not do particularly well there, batting .227, but was in Minnesota for about half of 2013 anyway.  He hit about like you'd expect him to, going .204/.286./.325.  He was in Minnesota for about half of 2014, too, and while he hit better in the half spent in Rochester that did not translate into better numbers at the major league level.  He was in Minnesota for nearly all of 2015 despite batting a sub-Buteran .146/.214/.272.  After the 2015, the Twins traded Herrmann to Arizona for Daniel Palka.  He was the reserve catcher for the Diamondbacks for 2016, with the exception of time on the disabled list.  His April was typical Chris Herrmann, but in May he suddenly started to hit and kept hitting the rest of the season.  It was only 148 at-bats, but he hit .284/.352/.493, numbers that were far above anything anyone had any reason to expect.  In 2017 he came back to earth, batting .181, although he did hit ten home runs in 226 at-bats.  He turns thirty today.  Nobody wants a lot of .181, even from a backup catcher, but if he can get somewhere close to the midpoint of 2016 and 2017, Chris Herrmann may be in the majors for several years yet.

November 23

Due to personal time constraints, this is a reprint from last year which has not been updated.

This is a great day for names:

Chief Zimmer (1860)

Hi Church (1863)

Socks Seybold (1870)

George Stovall (1877)

Jimmy Sheckard (1878)

Runt Marr (1891)

Freddy Leach (1897)

Beans Reardon (1897)

Bubber Jonnard (1897)

Prince Hal Schumacher (1910)

Bill Gates (1918)

Charlie Osgood (1926)

John Anderson (1929)

Jack McKeon (1930)
Luis Tiant (1940)
Tom Hall (1947)
Ken Schrom (1954)
Brook Jacoby (1959)
Dale Sveum (1963)
David McCarty (1969)
Adam Eaton (1977)
Jonathan Papelbon (1980)

Runt Marr played in the minor leagues for nineteen years, managed in the minors for fifteen years, and was also a scout for many years.

Beans Reardon was a National League umpire from 1926-1949.

Bubber Jonnard was a long-time coach and scout.

Bill Gates was a minor league pitcher from 1938-1940 and 1946-1951.

Jack McKeon was a long-time manager and general manager, leading the Florida Marlins to a World Series victory in 2003.  In 2011, he became the second-oldest manager in major league history at age 80.  He also managed in the minor leagues for the Senators/Twins from 1957-64 and again in 1968, scouting for the Twins from 1965-67.

We would like to wish everyone a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.

Right-hander Luis Clemente (Vega) Tiant played for Minnesota in 1970, one of his 19 major league seasons. His father had been a star in the Negro Leagues, pitching for the New York Cubans as well as pitching in Cuba in the winter. Born in Marianao, Cuba, the younger Tiant pitched 26 games in the Mexican League in 1961, then went into the Cleveland farm system. He pitched very well in the minors, culminating in a 15-1 season with a 2.04 ERA in only 17 starts for AAA Portland in 1964. Tiant was promoted to Cleveland in mid-July, and was in the big leagues to stay. He spent six years in Cleveland; the best was 1968, when he went 21-9 with a 1.60 ERA and an 0.87 WHIP. The next year, however, was a poor one--while Tiant's ERA was still only 3.71, he lost twenty games and led the league in both home runs and walks. After that 1969 season, Cleveland traded him to Minnesota along with Stan Williams for Dean Chance, Bob Miller, Graig Nettles, and Ted Uhlaender. Tiant missed the middle two months of the season with a fractured shoulder blade, making only 17 starts, but went 7-3 with a 3.40 ERA. At the end of March, 1971, the Twins released the 30-year-old Tiant, apparently thinking his career was nearing an end. They were only off by 12 years. The Twins weren't the only ones to make this mistake, however; Atlanta signed Tiant in April of 1971, only to release him in May. He then went to Boston and converted himself from a hard thrower to a junkballer. He was successful, staying in Boston for eight years and winning 122 games for the Red Sox. He led the league in ERA in 1972, in WHIP in 1973, and in shutouts in 1974. From 1973-76 he averaged 280 innings per season. A free agent after the 1978 season, he moved on to the Yankees for two years, Pittsburgh in 1981, the Mexican League in 1982, and California in August of 1982 before retiring at age 42. He did some coaching in college after his playing days ended. At last report, Luis Tiant was living in Southborough, Massachusetts and working for the Red Sox as a pitching advisor. He is a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame and the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame. He also has founded a charitable foundation, the Luis Tiant Charitable Foundation, which provides assistance to various children’s and family programs.

Nicknamed "The Blade", left-hander Tom Edward Hall pitched the first four of his ten major league seasons, 1968-1971, with Minnesota. He was born in Thomasville, North Carolina, but attended high school in Riverside, California. He was thin, standing six feet tall but weighing only 150 pounds. Hall was drafted by the Twins in the third round in January of 1966. He moved through the Twins system very quickly, never posting an ERA as high as three at any stop. Hall was with the Twins for about a month and a half in 1968, and made the team to stay in 1969. The Twins seem to have been unsure how to use him, but he did well in any role in which he was placed. A Twin through 1971, he posted an ERA of 3.00, a record of 25-21 with 13 saves, a WHIP of 1.19, an ERA+ of 121, and struck out 8.5 batters per nine innings. He appeared in 139 games, 44 of them starts. After the 1971 season, Minnesota traded him to Cincinnati for Wayne Granger. Hall pitched well for Cincinnati for two years, but then suffered injury problems and was never as good again. The Reds traded him to the Mets in April of 1975, and the Mets sent him to Kansas City in May of 1976. The Royals released him in June of 1977. The Twins signed Hall and sent him to AAA Tacoma, but he did not pitch well there and his career was at an end after the season. After his retirement, he returned to the Riverside area and worked at Rohr Aero Space as a prefit supervisor for three years. He then began a new career with the United States Post Office where he was a mail carrier for over twenty years. In November 2002, Tom Hall retired from the working force to spend more time with his family and became more involved with the community.  He was inducted into the Riverside Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

Right-hander Kenneth Marvin Schrom pitched for the Twins from 1983-1985, in the middle of his major league career. Born and raised in Grangeville, Idaho, he then attended the University of Idaho, playing quarterback as well as pitching, and was drafted by California in the 17th round in 1976. He did well as a reliever his first two seasons in the minors, but did less well when changed to starting at AA in 1978-1979. Returned to the bullpen in 1980, Schrom was off to a good start in AAA when he was traded to Toronto. He made his big-league debut in August for the Blue Jays, but his control, which had never been particularly good, caused him substantial problems at the big league level. Returned to AAA for 1981 and 1982, his control improved, but he flopped in a brief trial with Toronto in August of 1982 and was released. Minnesota signed him in December and converted him back to starting. He did not get off to a great start in AAA, but he was 3-1 in five starts, and the 1983 Twins were desperate for pitching, so he came up to Minnesota in May. He did better than would have been expected, going 15-7 with a 3.71 ERA. His WHIP, however, was 1.41, indicating that he might have gotten some luck, and indeed, his ERAs got progressively higher each of the next two years, though his WHIP remained about the same. As a Twin, he was 29-31 with a 4.34 ERA in 87 appearances, 75 of them starts. In January of 1986, Schrom was traded to Cleveland with Bryan Oelkers for Ramon Romero and Roy Smith. Schrom bounced back to win 14 games for Cleveland in 1986 with the lowest WHIP of his career, though his ERA was around four and a half. He made his only all-star appearance that season. The next year, however, Schrom soared to a 6.50 ERA, and his major league career was over. He was out of baseball in 1988; he tried to come back with Milwaukee in 1989 and actually did well for AA El Paso in five starts, but then hung up the spikes for good. Ken Schrom is the president of the Corpus Christi Hooks AA baseball team.

Outfielder/first baseman David Andrew McCarty was a can't-miss prospect who mostly missed, although he did play in parts of eleven major league seasons. Born in Houston, McCarty attended Stanford and was drafted by Minnesota with the third pick in the 1991 draft. He hit very well at Class A and less well, though still respectably, at AA. He was off to a hot start at AAA Portland in 1993 when he was called up to the Twins. He was a semi-regular for Minnesota that year, but batted only .214 in 350 at-bats. McCarty would never get that many at-bats in the majors again. He started 1994 with the Twins, but batted .260 with only one home run in limited play and was sent back to AAA. He began 1995 in Minnesota, but again failed to hit, and was traded to Cincinnati in June for John Courtright. After a month in AAA for the Reds, he was traded again, this time to San Francisco in a trade that involved Mark Portugal. McCarty stuck with the Giants in 1996 as a reserve, but again did not hit, and was in AAA Phoenix in 1997. He moved to the Seattle organization for 1998, to the Detroit organization for 1999, and was signed as a free agent by Oakland after the 1999 season. Oakland sold him to Kansas City before the 2000 season started, and he stuck with the Royals for all of 2000 and 2001, the only two consecutive years that he spent in the big leagues. They were also his best years, as he hit .255 with 20 homers in 502 at-bats with Kansas City. Off to a poor start in 2002, the Royals released him. He was in the Tampa Bay organization for a few months, was released again, went to the Oakland organization for 2003, was placed on waivers in August, and went to Boston. He managed to stick with Boston in a reserve role in 2004, but was released in May of 2005, and his career was over. As a Twin, David McCarty hit .226/.275/.310 in 536 at-bats. Since retiring as a player, McCarty has done some television work, most recently as an analyst for NESN. David McCarty is currently a principal at Lee & Associates, a commercial real estate firm, and is living in Piedmont, California.

November 22

Harry Rice (1901)

Dick Bartell (1907)

Lew Burdette (1926)

Wade Blasingame (1943)

Rich Chiles (1946)

Greg Luzinski (1950)

Lyman Bostock (1950)

Wayne Tolleson (1955)

Lee Guetterman (1958)

Mike Benjamin (1965)

Jay Payton (1972)

Ricky Ledee (1973)

Joe Nathan (1974)

Jonny Gomes (1980)

Yusmeiro Petit (1984)

Mike Benjamin was drafted by Minnesota in the seventh round in January, 1985, but did not sign.

Outfielder/DH Richard Francis Chiles came to the Twins at the end of a career that covered parts of six seasons. A cousin of Hall of Famer George “High Pockets” Kelly, he was born in Sacramento, went to high school in Winters, California and was drafted by Houston in the second round in 1968. Chiles had a few fairly good years in the Astros' system. In 1970, he hit .304 with 11 triples for AAA Oklahoma City. On the strength of that, Chiles was in the majors in 1971. He was seldom used and did not have a particularly good season, hitting .227 in only 119 at-bats, although he did have 11 pinch-hits. Chiles was back in the minors in 1972, getting only a September call-up in the big leagues. That offseason, he was traded to the Mets. 1973 was another year of AAA with the exception of two weeks in April. The Mets released Chiles in April of 1974, and he was out of baseball for over a month until San Diego signed him. He did nothing particularly exceptional at AAA for the Padres, was released again in March of 1975, and was out of baseball that season. The Astros signed him for 1976, and things got better, as Chiles hit .302 in AAA Memphis. Left unprotected, the Twins signed Chiles in the Rule 5 draft, and kept him for two years. He was primarily a DH in 1977 and a left fielder in 1978, although he never got as many as 300 at-bats either season. As a Twin, Chiles hit .266/.328/.357 in 459 at-bats. The Twins released Chiles in February of 1979. He was in AAA in the Cleveland organization in 1979, and in the Pittsburgh organization in 1980, but never made it back to the major leagues. Since his retirement as a player, Rich Chiles did some scouting and also has operated youth baseball clinics in California; one of the youth who attended was Dustin Pedroia. At last report, Rich Chiles was living in Yolo County, California.

Outfielder Lyman Bostock got off to a tremendous start in his career, only to have that career cut tragically short. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, his father, Lyman Bostock Sr., was a star in the Negro Leagues. The elder Bostock left when Lyman was four, and the family relocated to Gary, Indiana. The family moved to Los Angeles four years later. Bostock went to high school in Los Angeles and then attended college at Cal State-Northridge. He did not play baseball his first two years in college. He was drafted by the Twins in the 26th round in 1972. Bostock came through the minors quickly, not hitting for much power but posting high batting averages with a good number of walks. In parts of four minor league seasons, Bostock averaged .326 with an OBP of .389. He started1975 in Minnesota, but after a slow start was sent back to AAA for a couple of months. Brought back in late June, he continued to struggle for a few weeks, but caught fire in mid-July, raising his average from .191 on July 11 to .282 by the end of the year. He hit .323 in 1976 and .336 in 1977, adding 14 homers and 12 triples and finishing 27th in MVP voting. Bostock became a free agent after the 1977 season and signed with California. He started very slowly, possibly as a result of putting pressure on himself due to his free agent contract. Bostock donated his first month's salary to charity, because he did not believe he had earned it. He was still hitting only .209 at the end of May, but had raised that to .296 by September 23. The Angels were playing Chicago that day; Bostock traveled to Gary, Indiana to visit his uncle. While there, Bostock went to visit a childhood friend. He was shot by the estranged husband of the friend's sister, who apparently mistook him for the estranged wife's boyfriend. Taken to a hospital, Lyman Bostock passed away two hours later. We will obviously never know what he might have done, but in his major league career, he hit .311/.365/.427. As a Twin, he hit .318/.366/.446. Lyman Bostock died at the age of 27.

Right-hander Joseph MIchael Nathan pitched for the Twins from 2004-2009 and again in 2011.  He was born in Houston. He attended Pine Bush High School in Circleville, New York. He then went to Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York, and is the only major league player the school has ever produced. He was drafted by the Giants in the fifth round in 1995. Originally a shortstop, Nathan hit .232 at Class A Bellingham that year. The Giants then decided to convert him to pitching, but Nathan refused and did not play in 1996, choosing instead to go back to college and get his degree. He returned to baseball as a pitcher in 1997, and by 1999 was in the big leagues with the Giants. Nathan was in San Francisco most of the next two seasons, mostly as a starter, and was not particularly impressive. Sent back to the minors for 2001 and 2002, he continued to struggle, although he still got a September call-up the latter season. Nathan was converted to relief pitching in 2003, and the results were immediate. Used mostly as a set-up man, he posted an ERA of 2.96 and a WHIP of 1.06 in 78 appearances. In November, he was traded to the Twins with Boof Bonser and Francisco Liriano for A. J. Pierzynski. He immediately became the Twins' closer, a role he filled for six years. He had 246 saves in those six years, with an ERA of 1.87, a WHIP of 0.93, and an ERA+ of 236. He made the all-star team four of those six years, received MVP consideration twice, and twice finished in the top five in Cy Young balloting. Nathan missed all of 2010 with a torn ulnar collateral ligament. He struggled in the first part of 2011 and gave up the closer role, but reclaimed it after the All-star break.  He pitched better over the second half of the season, although not well enough for the Twins to pick up his option.  A free agent, he signed with Texas in 2012 and had a couple of fine seasons, making the all-star team in both years.  Again a free agent after the 2013 season, he signed with Detroit.  It did not go well for him, as he had the worst season of his career.  He was injured for nearly all of 2015, appearing in one game for the Tigers and one game for AAA Toledo.  He signed with the Cubs in May 2016 and played in three games in July, picking up a win and posting a 0.00 ERA in two innings.  The Cubs released him in August and he finished the season with San Francisco, getting another win and again post a 0.00 ERA, this time in 4.1 innings (7 games).  He signed with Washington for 2017 and was in AAA for a couple of months, but didn't get much accomplished and was released.  He signed a contract with the Twins in September so that he could retire as a Twin, which I guess is nice if that means something to him.  At the time of his retirement he was planning to coach his thirteen-year-old son's team, but was open to returning to organized baseball if the right opportunity should arise.

November 21

Bobby Mathews (1851)

Charlie Bennett (1854)

Billy Clingman (1869)

Andy High (1897)

Freddie Lindstrom (1905)

Paul Richards (1908)

Stan Musial (1920)

Warren Hacker (1924)

Tom McCraw (1940)

Bill Almon (1952)

Rick Peters (1955)

Mike Mason (1958)

Mark Eichhorn (1960)

Dick Schofield (1962)

Ken Griffey (1969)

Todd Erdos (1973)

Brian Meadows (1975)

Hank Blalock (1980)

Rick Peters was drafted by Minnesota in the eighteenth round in 1973, but did not sign.

Left-hander Michael Paul Mason made five appearances for the Twins in 1998, at the end of his major league career. A native Minnesotan, he was born in Faribault and went to high school at Benilde-St. Margaret's of Minneapolis. He then attended Oral Roberts University. He was drafted by Texas in the first round of the secondary draft in June of 1980. Mason moved quickly through the Rangers' system and made his major league debut as a September call-up in 1982. He began 1983 in the Rangers' bullpen, but after three lackluster appearances he was returned to AAA, where he spent the rest of the season until another September call-up. Mason made the Rangers' rotation in 1984, and stayed there for over three years. 1984 was his best year: he posted a 3.61 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 184 innings, although his record was only 9-13. That was his only year with an ERA under four, however, and when Mason got off to a poor start in 1987 he was traded in May to the Cubs for a player to be named later. He did little for the Cubs and was let go after the season. Minnesota signed him in April of 1988. He made five appearances with the Twins, pitching 6.2 innings and giving up eight runs. He went to Portland, but did not pitch well there. Mason's career was effectively over after that season, although he made sporadic minor-league appearances through 1996. He has been a pitching coach most of the time since 1991, serving as pitching coach of the Iowa Cubs from 2008-2013.  In 2014, Mike Mason became the assistant minor league pitching coordinator for the Chicago Cubs.

Right-hander Todd Michael Erdos did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 2003 and early 2004. He was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, went to high school in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and was drafted by San Diego in the ninth round in 1992. Initially a starter, he pitched very well in rookie ball in 1992 and low A in 1993, but flopped when promoted to high A midway through 1993. He then missed all of 1994 with an injury. When he returned in 1995, he was in the bullpen. He did pretty well there in Class A in 1996 and AA in 1997. He made his big-league debut in the latter season, coming up for a week in June and then getting a September call-up. He was left unprotected in the expansion draft and chosen by Arizona. He went to spring training with the Diamondbacks, then was traded to the Yankees in March of 1998. He did not pitch well in AAA in either 1998 or 1999, but got cups of coffee in the majors both seasons. In 2000, he made the big club and stuck all season, his only full year in the majors. It wasn’t all with the Yankees, though; they put him on waivers in mid-July and he was selected by San Diego, where he finished the season. It was not a good season, as he posted an ERA of nearly six, and he became a free agent after the season, signing with Boston. He had a fine year in Pawtucket and came up to the Red Sox in mid-August, finishing the season there. He again had a good AAA season in 2002, but this time he did not get a call to the majors and became a free agent after the season. Minnesota signed him and sent him to Rochester. He did nothing to attract anyone’s attention in 2003 and in late April of 2004 was sold to Milwaukee. He pitched poorly in AAA Indianapolis and was released. Erdos then pitched three seasons for the independent Long Island Ducks and also played briefly in Taiwan before ending his playing career after the 2007 season. At last report, Todd Erdos was a financial advisor for Edward Jones in the Pittsburgh area.

Right-hander Matthew Brian Meadows did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 2002. He was born in Montgomery, Alabama, went to high school in Troy, Alabama, and was drafted by Florida in the third round in 1994. He pitched well in the low minors, but struggled some when he reached AA in 1997. Still, he made the Marlins at the start of 1998 and was a major league rotation starter for three full seasons despite never posting an ERA below five or a WHIP below 1.5. The Marlins traded him to San Diego after the 1999 season, and the Padres traded him to Kansas City at the end of July of 2000, but he still remained in the rotation. He began 2001 in the starting rotation, too, but after ten starts in which he posted an ERA of nearly seven he was finally sent to AAA. Meadows was a free agent after that season and signed with Minnesota for 2002, but was released at the end of March. Pittsburgh picked him up and sent him to AAA, where he pitched fairly decently, getting called up to the majors in August. He was in the Pirates’ bullpen for most of 2003 and all of 2004 and 2005 and had the only major league “success” of his career, putting up an ERA of 4.28 and a WHIP of 1.32. He was a free agent after the season, signed with Los Angeles for 2006, was released in spring training, signed with Tampa Bay, but had a bad year in the bullpen. He went to spring training with Cincinnati in 2007, but was released in spring training and his playing career was over. When you see guys who succeed in the minors for years but can never get a shot, it’s hard to understand how Brian Meadows was able to make 122 starts in the major leagues. At last report, it appeared that Brian Meadows was involved in doing a variety of charitable work in Alabama.

November 20

Joe Sommer (1958)

Kenesaw Landis (1866)

Clark Griffith (1869)

George McBride (1880)

Leon Cadore (1890)

Larry Benton (1897)

Jay Ritchie (1936)

Herm Starrette (1938)

Jay Johnstone (1945)

Rick Monday (1945)

Ron Cash (1949)

Alex Arias (1967)

Gabe White (1971)

J. D. Drew (1975)

Sam Fuld (1981)

Brock Peterson (1983)

Kenesaw Landis, as I'm sure you know, was the first commissioner of baseball, holding the job from 1920 until his death in 1944.

Pitcher Clark Griffith was a star for the Cubs before jumping to the White Sox when the American League was formed. Later, of course, he was the owner of the Twins franchise while it was still in Washington. His adopted son, Calvin, brought the team to Minnesota.

Ron Cash was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in 1969, but did not sign.

Outfielder Samuel Babson Fuld was with the Twins for about half of the 2014 season.  He was born in Durham, New Hampshire, went to high school in Exeter, New Hampshire, attended Stanford University, and was drafted by the Cubs in the tenth round in 2004.  He never showed much power, but he hit for a high average, drew a good number of walks, and stole some bases throughout his minor league career.  He got his first taste of major league ball as a September call-up in 2007, was with the Cubs for the second half of 2009, and finally made the majors to stay in mid-August of 2010.  That off-season, he was traded to Tampa Bay in a multi-player trade that included ex-Twin Matt Garza.  He started 2011 as the Rays' regular left fielder, but could not hit enough to hold the position.  He was injured much of 2012, was a reserve for the Rays in 2013, was a free agent after the season, and signed with Oakland.  The Athletics waived him three weeks into the season and was claimed by Minnesota.  He was a mostly regular outfielder for them when healthy and didn't do badly, hitting ,274/.370/.354 in 164 at-bats.  The Twins traded him to Oakland at the end of July for Tommy Milone and he was a regular outfielder for them for the rest of the season.  He was again with Oakland in 2015 and started nearly half the team's games, starting at all three outfield positions, but hit only .197.  He missed all of 2016 with a shoulder injury.  He played for Israel in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, but that was the end of his playing career.  Still, he was in the big leagues for parts of eight seasons, overcoming type 1 diabetes to get there, and he made a number of highlight-reel catches during his career.  In November of 2017 he was hired by the Philadelphia Phillies as their Major League Player Information Coordinator.

First baseman/outfielder Brock Alan Peterson did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them and was in their farm system for eight years.  He was born in Centralia, Washington, went to high school in Chehalis, Washington, and was drafted by Minnesota in the forty-ninth round in 2002.  He was initially a third baseman, but switched to first in 2004.  He rose very slowly, spending one year in rookie ball and three in Class A.  After hitting .291 with 21 home runs in Fort Myers in 2006, he finally reached New Britain in 2007.  He had a couple of decent years there, reaching AAA briefly in 2008 before going there for all of the following two seasons.  The Twins let him go after the 2010 campaign.  When one looks at his minor league career, one doesn't really see any bad years, but one doesn't really see much to make him sit up and take notice, either.  He was a consistently good minor league player, but not really any more than that.  He played in Bridgeport in the Atlantic League for most of the next two years before signing with the Cardinals in mid-August of 2012.  They sent him to AAA Memphis, and in 2013 he had the best minor league season of his career, hitting .296/.364/.531 with twenty-five home runs.  He got two stints in the majors that season, playing in St. Louis for about three weeks from mid-July to early-August and then getting a September callup.  He was used mostly as a pinch-hitter, playing in 23 games but getting only 26 at-bats.  He did not do well in those at-bats, going 2-for-26 with no extra-base hits, two walks, and two RBIs.  He once again became a free agent after the season, signed with Washington, was sold to the Dodgers in July, and spent the entire season at AAA, doing much better in Albuquerque than he had done in Syracuse.  He signed back with the Twins for 2015 but hit only ,186 in Rochester and was released in late May.  He signed with the Mets a couple weeks later and finished out the season in AAA for them.  He was a free agent after the season and went unsigned, ending his playing career.  Twenty-six big league at-bats isn't a lot, but it's not bad for a forty-ninth round draft choice, and it's twenty-six more than you or I will ever get.  No information about what Brock Peterson has done since he stopped playing baseball was readily available.

November 19

Billy Sunday (1862)

Everett Scott (1892)
Roy Campanella (1921)
Joe Morgan (1930)
Manny Jimenez (1938)
Larry Haney (1942)
Bobby Tolan (1945)
Bob Boone (1947)
Dickie Noles (1956)
Mike Winters (1958)
Gary Disarcina (1967)
Mario Valdez (1974)
Clay Condrey (1975)
Ryan Howard (1979)
Jeff Gray (1981)
Jonathan Sanchez (1982)
Michael Tonkin (1989)

The Joe Morgan listed above is not Hall of Famer Joe Morgan. The Joe Morgan born today is the Joe Morgan who once managed the Red Sox.

Larry Haney is the cousin of ex-Twin Mike Cubbage.

Mike Winters has been a major league umpire since 1990.

First baseman/outfielder Mario A. Valdez did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for about four months in 2000. He was born in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, went to high school in Hialeah, Florida, and was drafted by the White Sox in the forty-eighth round in 1993. He had some fine seasons in the minors, hitting .330 with 13 homers in a 1996 split between A and AA and .330 with 20 homers in Calgary in 1998. He was in the majors for a little less than half of 1997, allowing Frank Thomas to spend time at the DH spot. He got 115 at-bats, hitting .243/.350/.330. Despite his 1998 AAA season, he never got another chance with Chicago and was allowed to become a free agent after the 1999 campaign. The Twins signed him and sent him to AAA Salt Lake, where he hit .366 with 18 homers through the end of July, at which point he was traded to Oakland for Danny Ardoin. He got a September call-up with the Athletics in 2000 and started 2001 in Oakland. He was used largely as a pinch-hitter and hit .278 in 54 at-bats, but was sent back to AAA in June and never got back to the majors. He stayed in the Athletics’ organization through 2002, played in AAA for San Diego in 2003, went to Japan in 2004, then went to Mexico, where he continued to hit well.  He played sparingly in 2013 and 2014, played in winter ball in 2014-15, and then his playing career came to an end. There were surely reasons he didn’t play more in the majors, but it seems like he could have helped somebody if he’d been given a chance.  At last report, Mario Valdez was living in Sonora, Mexico.

Right-handed reliever Clayton Lee Condrey did not play for the Twins, but was on their disabled list in 2010. He was born in Beaumont, Texas, went to high school in Navasosta, Texas, and then attended McNeese State, the same college attended by ex-Twin Danny Ardoin. He signed with San Diego as a free agent in 1998. He was strictly a relief pitcher through 2001, pitching well in the low minors but not so well above Class A. He never pitched as many as ninety innings in a season in those years, averaging around 55 innings. He became a starter in 2002 and did well, going 10-4, 3.50, 1.26 WHIP for AAA Portland. He made his major league debut in late August and continued to do well, posting an ERA of 1.69 and a WHIP of 1.05 in 26.2 innings. Condrey began 2003 as the Padres’ fifth starter, but flopped and was sent back to AAA in May. In late March of 2004, Condrey was sent to Philadelphia as part of a “conditional deal.” He had a couple of mediocre years at AAA for the Phillies, but they did not give up on him, instead shifting him back to the bullpen for 2006. Now 30, he suddenly flourished there, spending nearly half of 2006 and almost all of 2007 in the majors. He had two full seasons in the majors in 2008 and 2009 and did very well, posting a combined ERA of 3.16 in 111 innings. A free agent after the 2009 campaign, he signed with Minnesota but was injured in spring training, missing the entire season except for 9.1 innings on an aborted minor league rehab assignment.  That brought his playing career to an end.  He apparently is now giving private pitching instruction to young players through OOSinker Pitching Lessons.

Right-handed reliever Jeffrey Michael Gray pitched for the Twins in 2012.  He was born in Texas City, Texas, went to high school in Wildwood, Missouri, attended Missouri State University, and was drafted by Oakland in the thirty-second round in 2004.  He became a reliever for good in 2006 and was rather up and down in his minor league career.  He first reached the majors as a September call-up in 2008 and got over two months in the majors in 2009.  He did pretty well in 2009, but was traded to the Cubs after the season.  He started the year in Chicago but was in AAA by early May and spent the rest of the year there.  He got his first full season in the majors in 2011, but with two different teams:  the White Sox had signed him as a free agent in November of 2010, waived him in mid-May, and he was claimed by Seattle.  He did not have a very good year, was waived again, and was claimed by Minnesota for 2012.  He appeared in 49 games and was 6-1, which is the good news.  The bad news is that he posted an ERA of 5.71 and a WHIP of 1.54.  He was again a free agent after the season, signed with the White Sox, went to AAA, and was released in mid-July, bringing his playing career to an end.  It may not have been a great career, but he appeared in 115 games over five big league seasons, which is not bad for a thirty-second round draft choice.  There are a lot of people in the world named Jeff Gray, and several of them are involved in baseball in some capacity.  No information about what our Jeff Gray is doing now was readily available.

Right-handed reliever Michael Harvey Tonkin as pitched for the Twins in 2013 and 2014.  He was born in Glendale, California, went to high school in Palmdale, California, and was drafted by Minnesota in the thirtieth round in 2008.  He was primarily a starter through 2010 and did not do badly in that role, but became a relief pitcher in 2011.  He did not reach AA until 2013, but was promoted to AAA that same season and ended the year in the majors.  He pitched very well for the Twins in 11.1 innings, going 0-0, 0.79, 1.06 WHIP with three walks and ten strikeouts.  He started 2014 in the majors and pitched very well in April, but stumbled in May and was sent to AAA. returning as a September call-up.  He split 2015 pretty evenly between AAA and the majors, pitching extremely well in AAA and not badly in Minnesota.  He was with the Twins for all of 2016 and started the season quite well, but ultimately did not have a good season, although he did strikeout quite a few batters.  A year ago, we said, "He has a good chance to be in the Twins' bullpen at the start of 2017, but he's probably going to have to pitch better than last year if he wants to stay there."  Well, he was in the Twins' bullpen at the start of 2017, but he didn't pitch better and he didn't stay there, regardless of how much he may have wanted to.  He was with the Twins for about five weeks and then went back to Rochester, where he pitched very well and earned a spot as a September call-up.  The Twins released him after the season, however.  As a Twin, he was 3-3, 4.43, 1.43 WHIP, 4.57 FIP in 146.1 innings (141 games).  He turns twenty-eight today.  There's a good chance that he'll get a minor league contract with someone, probably with an invitation to spring training, but if he doesn't get things turned around pretty soon he's going to run out of chances.

November 18

Deacon McGuire (1863)

Jack Coombs (1882)

Les Mann (1892)
Gene Mauch (1925)
Roy Sievers (1926)
Danny McDevitt (1932)
Cal Koonce (1940)
Jim Shellenback (1943)
Steve Henderson (1952)
Luis Pujols (1955)
Mike Felder (1961)
Jamie Moyer (1962)
Dante Bichette (1963)
Ron Coomer (1966)
Tom Gordon (1967)
Gary Sheffield (1968)
Shawn Camp (1975)
David Ortiz (1975)
Steve Bechler (1979)
C. J. Wilson (1980)

Roy Sievers was a star for the franchise when it was in Washington in the 1950s.

There are seventy-six current and former major league players born on this day. I'm pretty sure that's the most on any day.

Gene William Mauch managed the Twins from 1976-1980. He became much more famous as a manager than he had ever been as a player. Born in Salina, Kansas, he attended Fremont High School in Los Angeles and was signed as a free agent by Brooklyn in 1943. An infielder, he had a very good year for Class B Durham in 1943, and started 1944 with the Dodgers. After five games, Mauch went briefly to AA Montreal, and then went into the military. Upon his return in 1946, he was sent to AAA St. Paul. Mauch was traded to Pittsburgh in 1947. He began that year in AAA as well, but after hitting .300 there in 58 games, he was promoted to the Pirates. He stayed in the big leagues through 1950, spending time with Brooklyn, the Cubs, and the Boston Braves. Mauch was apparently injured for some of 1951, as he played only 19 games for Boston and 37 games at AAA. Most of the rest of his career was spent in the minors, with the exception of 1957, when he played in 65 games for the Red Sox. Mauch posted a lifetime batting line of .239/.333/.312, with an OPS+ of 75. His playing career ended with two years as the player-manager of AAA Minneapolis in 1958-59. He became a major league manager in 1960, when he was hired to manage the Philadelphia Phillies. He remained their manager through 1968, most famously in 1964, when his team lost a 6 1/2 game lead with 12 games to play. He became manager of the expansion Montreal Expos in 1969, holding that job through 1975. Mauch became the manager of the Twins in 1976, replacing Frank Quilici. With the Twins, Mauch did his best to make a lot out of a little, twice keeping the Twins in contention for much of the season despite limited talent. By 1980, however, the loss through free agency of pretty much every good player on the team became too much for him, and he resigned in August. Mauch moved on to twice manage the California Angels, from 1981-82 and from 1985-87. In 1982 and 1986 Mauch had the Angels within one game of the World Series, but never was able to win that one game. As a manager, Mauch was known for emphasizing fundamentals and small ball and using the entire roster. He was criticized for not getting to the World Series, but many times he got his team closer to it than it had any right to be.  As Bill James once said, Mauch's problem was that he took over too many challenges and not enough ball clubs. Gene Mauch passed away from lung cancer on August 8, 2005.

Left-hander Daniel Eugene McDevitt appeared in sixteen games for the Twins in 1961, near the end of his major league career. Born in New York, he attended St. Bonaventure University and was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 1951. He spent two years in the low minors, posting a 2.35 ERA for Class C Greenwood in 1952, and then missed two years due to service in the United States Army. Upon his return in 1955, he struggled for a couple of years, but put things together in 1957, posting a 2.30 ERA in 94 innings of AAA before being promoted to Brooklyn, where he went 7-4 with a 3.25 ERA the rest of the way. McDevitt was the starting pitcher for the last Dodgers home game in Brooklyn, winning 2-0. He started 1958 with the Dodgers, now moved to Los Angeles, but struggled early and was sent back to AAA. He came back to the majors in 1959, and this time stayed there for three years. He had a couple of decent seasons for the Dodgers as a sometime starter, sometime reliever. After the 1960 season, McDevitt was sold to the Yankees, and after he got off to a poor start in New York, he was traded to Minnesota in mid-June of 1961 for Billy Gardner. He did not suffer from overwork, pitching only 26 innings in 16 appearances the rest of the way. He did well for the Twins when given the chance, posting a 2.36 ERA. Control trouble, however, was a problem throughout his career, and it showed up in Minnesota as well, as McDevitt walked 19 batters.  Arm injuries contributed to his problems as well. He was sold to Kansas City the following off-season. He made 33 appearances for the Athletics in 1962, was in AAA in 1963, and then his playing career ended.  He did not immediately leave baseball, however, embarking on a career as a minor league umpire.  Danny McDevitt passed away in Covington, Georgia on November 20, 2010, two days after his 78th birthday.

Left-hander James Philip Shellenback appeared for the Twins in five games in 1977, at the end of his playing career. He was born in Riverside, California, attended Ramona High School in Riverside, and was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 1962. After his first minor-league season, Shellenback was drafted by Pittsburgh in the 1962 first-year draft. He pitched very well in the Pirates' minor-league system, but someone must have decided he couldn't pitch in the bigs: in almost four full seasons of AAA, from 1965-1968, Shellenback posted an ERA of 3.08, but he got only 8 games and 26 innings in the big leagues in that period. In May of 1969, he was traded to Washington, and finally was given a shot in the majors. He spent four years with Washington/Texas from 1969-1972 as a swing man, and did a decent job, consistently posting ERAs in the mid-threes. In 1974, however, he found himself back in AAA, which is where he remained for most of the rest of his career. After the 1975 season, he was sold to San Diego, but never got a shot at the big leagues there. The Padres released him in before the 1977 season, and he was out of baseball until Minnesota signed him in August. He started at AA Orlando, but got a September call-up with the Twins. He pitched only 5.2 innings, giving up five earned runs for a 7.94 ERA. The Twins released him after the season, and his playing career was over. He appears to be another player who might have been better had he been given more of a chance. After he quit playing, Jim Shellenback then went into coaching, and was for several years the pitching coach for the Elizabethton Twins until his retirement after the 2011 season.  No information about what he has done since then was readily available, which seems a little odd to me given how long he was in baseball, but perhaps he prefers it that way.  It is to be hoped that wherever he is, he is enjoying his retirement.

Corner infielder Ronald Bryan Coomer played for the Twins from 1995-2000. Born in Crest Hill, Illinois, he attended high school in Lockport Township, Illinois. He attended Taft College in Taft, California, and was drafted by Oakland in the 14th round in 1987. He was in Class A for three years, hitting over .300 in two of them, but struggled when promoted to AA in 1990, and was released by Oakland in August of that year. He was signed by the White Sox and had a couple of nondescript seasons in their minor league system, but came alive in 1993, hitting .319 in a season split between AA and AAA. Coomer was traded to the Dodgers after that season. He hit .338 at AAA Albuquerque in 1994, and was hitting .322 there in 1995 when he was finally called up to the big leagues. It wasn't with the Dodgers, however; on July 31, he was traded to the Twins, along with Greg Hansell, Jose Parra, and Chris Latham, for Mark Guthrie and Kevin Tapani. A third baseman throughout his minor league career, Coomer played first base and outfield his first couple of years with the Twins, was the regular third baseman in 1997-98, and played mostly first base in 1999-2000. He hit in the .290s with double-digit homers in 1996 and 1997 before dropping to the .270s for the remainder of his time with the Twins. He did not draw very many walks--his career high was 36 in 2000. As a Twin, Ron Coomer posted a line of .278/.315/.431 with one all-star appearance, in 1999. He became a free agent after the 2000 season, and began bouncing around: he was with the Cubs in 2001, the Yankees in 2002, and the Dodgers in 2003. His playing time diminished, as did his effectiveness, and after 2003, he called it a career. He then went into broadcasting.  He was an analyst for Fox Sports North for several seasons before becoming a radio broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs in 2014.

Designated hitter/first baseman David Americo (Arias) Ortiz was born in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, went to high school in Haina, Dominican Republic, and was originally known as David Arias. Ironically, he would go on to become a player to be named later. He was signed by Seattle as a free agent in 1992. He hit .332 in rookie ball in 1995, and followed it up by hitting .322 with 18 home runs in the Midwest League in 1996. In September, he came to Minnesota as the PTBNL in a trade that sent Dave Hollins to Seattle. He had a big year in 1997, split between A and AA, and made his big-league debut as a September call-up that season. He made the Twins out of spring training in 1998, and got off to a good start, but got hurt in early May, missing two months. He did not do as well upon his return, but for the season, he hit .277 with an .817 OPS as a 22-year-old, and appeared ready to move forward. Instead, he went backward. After a poor spring training in 1999, Ortiz was sent to AAA and stayed there the whole season despite hitting .315 with 30 homers and despite the fact that Doug Mientkiewicz was posting a .229 average as the Twins' first baseman. Back in Minnesota in 2000, he stayed there through 2002. Ortiz was better with the Twins than some would have us believe: he hit .266/.348/.461 with a 107 OPS+. Still, the Twins soured on him and gave him his release after the 2002 season. Teams were not falling all over themselves to sign him, either; he was unemployed for over a month before signing with Boston on January 22, 2003. Given regular playing time in Boston, he exploded: from 2003-2007, Ortiz averaged 42 homers and 128 RBIs, finishing in the top five in MVP voting each year. He had a couple of down (though still productive) years from 2008-2009, but bounced back in 2010 and remained a good batter for the rest of his career.  In fact, his final season, 2016, at age forty, was one of his best, as he batted .315 with 38 homers and led the league in doubles, slugging percentage, and OPS.  He did some broadcasting for Fox Sports during the 2017 post-season.  He'll have to overcome some anti-DH sentiment and also some steroid rumors (although no solid evidence of his use has ever been found), but David Ortiz may very well end up in the Hall of Fame.