Dutch Zwilling
(1888)
Chief Hogsett (1903)
Travis Jackson (1903)
Johnny Vander Meer (1914)
Al Campanis (1916)
Ron Reed (1942)
Tom Paciorek (1946)
Scott Boras (1952)
Paul Hartzell (1953)
Greg Harris (1955)
Willie McGee (1958)
Sam Horn (1963)
Orlando Merced (1966)
Travis Miller (1972)
Orlando Cabrera (1974)
Sidney Ponson (1976)
Wilson Betamit (1981)
Yunel Escobar (1982)
Daryl Thompsn (1985)
Chief Hogsett (1903)
Travis Jackson (1903)
Johnny Vander Meer (1914)
Al Campanis (1916)
Ron Reed (1942)
Tom Paciorek (1946)
Scott Boras (1952)
Paul Hartzell (1953)
Greg Harris (1955)
Willie McGee (1958)
Sam Horn (1963)
Orlando Merced (1966)
Travis Miller (1972)
Orlando Cabrera (1974)
Sidney Ponson (1976)
Wilson Betamit (1981)
Yunel Escobar (1982)
Daryl Thompsn (1985)
Dutch Zwilling holds the record for last major leaguer in
alphabetical order.
Al Campanis was the general
manager of the Dodgers from 1969-1987.
Scott Boras has been a player
agent for many years.
Right-hander Paul Franklin
Hartzell was in the Twins' starting rotation for one season (1979). He was born
in Bloomsberg, Pennsylvania and attended Lehigh University. Hartzell was drafted
by the Angels in the 10th round in 1975. He spent only one season in Class A,
mostly pitching out of the bullpen, and was jumped to the majors in 1976. He
was a "swing man" for the Angels for three seasons, and pitched
pretty well. Hartzell posted a 3.27 ERA for the Angels, with a 1.28 WHIP and a
111 ERA+ in 132 games, 50 of them starts. On February 3, 1979, he was traded to
the Twins along with Dave Engle, Brad Havens, and Ken Landreaux for Rod Carew.
Maybe it was a different park, maybe it was the pressure of being traded for
Carew, maybe it was a worse defense, but for whatever reason, Hartzell's career
went straight downhill after that. He was 6-10 with a 5.36 ERA for Minnesota
and was released the following April. He signed with Baltimore and had a good
year at AAA, but flopped in six outings in the majors. The Orioles released him
after the season, and he moved on to the Brewers. He was released by them after
a poor 1981 at AAA. He tried to come back in 1984, and had another good year at
AAA, but pitched poorly in a September call-up and his career was over. Paul
Hartzell was a senior vice-president with Merrill DataSite Services of Palo
Alto, California, then became vice president of EVault, a cloud-connected
business data backup and recovery company. Later the senior director for
the Asian/Pacific Market for Seagate Technology. At last report, he was
General Manager of The Perfect Pitch, which has nothing to do with
baseball--it's a company that helps analyze markets and train sales teams.
He's also on the board of Game Theory Group, which helps athletes transition
from high school to college to the work force. Paul Hartzell is a member
of the Lehigh University Hall of Fame.
Outfielder/first baseman Orlando
Luis (Villanueva) Merced played for the Twins for four months in 1998. He had a
longer career than you might remember, as he played in parts of 13 seasons in
the big leagues. Born in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, he went to high school in San
Juan and was signed by Pittsburgh as a free agent in 1985. He started very
slowly in the minors, possibly due to injuries. He began his career as an
infielder, then moved to first base and the outfield. His minor league numbers
are not all that impressive, but after a stint as a pinch-hitter in 1990,
Merced became the more-or-less regular first baseman for the Pirates in 1991,
finishing second in the Rookie of the Year balloting to Jeff Bagwell. He
remained a more-or-less regular first baseman/outfielder for Pittsburgh through
1996. He never put up eye-popping numbers, but he was a steady, solid
contributor, hitting for a decent average, drawing a good number of walks, and
providing occasional power. Traded to Toronto prior to the 1997 season, he
continued to be a steady, solid contributor for the Blue Jays. He became a free
agent after that season, and signed with the Twins in January of 1998. Merced
continued to produce at about the same rate for the Twins, but his playing time
was cut down. The 1998 Twins were going nowhere, so at the end of July, Merced
and Greg Swindell were traded to Boston for Joe Thomas, John Barnes, and Matt
Kinney. The Red Sox really didn't have a spot for Merced, and released him on
September 1. The Cubs picked him up for their September playoff drive, but
allowed him to become a free agent after the season. Signing with Montreal,
Merced again had a solid season as a part-time player, but he again was allowed
to become a free agent. Merced went to Japan for most of 2000, but signed with
Houston on August 15. He did not play for the Astros that year, but spent
2001-2003 with them. He again had a couple of solid seasons as a part-time
player. He had a down year in 2003, which may have had as much to do with
sample size as anything, but he was now 36, and no one was willing to give him
another chance. As a Twin, Orlando Merced hit .289/.345/.422, numbers which are
quite close to his career numbers. After his playing career ended, Merced did
some minor-league coaching, most recently with the Tulsa Drillers in 2007.
He is currently the owner of the Orlando Merced Seven Tools Baseball
Training Center in Kissimmee, Florida.
Left-hander Travis Eugene Miller
pitched for the Twins from 1996-2002. He was born in Dayton, went to high
school in New Paris, Ohio, and attended Kent State University. The Twins drafted
him in the first round in 1994. A starting pitcher in the minors, his numbers
were not all that impressive, but this was the late '90s Twins--anyone who
looked like he might possibly be a pitcher was given a chance. Each year, from
1996 to 1998, Travis Miller was given a chance. He made the Twins to stay in
May of 1999, and was a not-awful left-handed bullpen option for the Twins for
the next three seasons. He never developed into anything more than that,
however, and after spending most of the 2002 at AAA Edmonton, the Twins let
Travis Miller go. He moved on to the Cubs, Indians, Reds, and Brewers
organizations, but never got back to the big leagues. He was out of baseball
after 2003. In his big league career, Travis Miller made 203 appearances and pitched
267.1 innings. He had a 5.05 ERA, a 1.66 WHIP and an ERA+ of 97. At last
report, he was the athletic director for Eaton Community Schools in Eaton,
Ohio, but it appears that he no longer holds that position. No
information about what Travis Miller is doing now was readily available.
The brother of former big-leaguer
Jolbert Cabrera, shortstop Orlando Luis Cabrera played for the Twins for two
months in 2009. Born and raised in Cartagena, Colombia, he was signed by
Montreal as a free agent in 1993. His minor-league record is somewhat mixed,
but on the whole appears to be fairly average, although he started somewhat
young. He made his debut with Montreal in 1997, and was in the majors to stay
by June of 1998. He was a part-time player in 1998, but was the regular
shortstop for the Expos from 1999 until the end of July of 2004. As an Expo, he
hit about the way he has hit his entire career: a decent but unspectacular
batting average, not a lot of walks, a little power but not significant power.
On July 31, 2004, Cabrera was traded to Boston as part of a four-team trade
that saw Doug Mientkiewicz also go to Boston. This is apparently when Cabrera
began learning how to win, because he certainly didn't learn it with the Expos.
He became a free agent after the 2004 season and signed with the Angels, where
his education in winning continued. He had some good years with the Angels: he
hit over .300 for the only time in his career in 2007, a year in which he
finished 15th in the MVP balloting and won his second Gold Glove (his first
came in 2001). He was traded to the White Sox after the 2008 season, signed
with Oakland as a free agent for 2009, and was traded to Minnesota on July 31
for Tyler Ladendorf. As a Twin, he hit .289/.313/.430 in 242 at-bats. A
free agent after the season, Cabrera signed with Cincinnati, batting .263 for
the Reds. A free agent again after the 2010 campaign, he signed with Cleveland
for 2011, then was traded to San Francisco just before the July deadline.
Cabrera was an extremely durable player: he played in over 160 games four
times, and in over 150 games three more times. He had the worst year of
his career in 2011, however, batting just .238 with an OPS of .573. He retired
after that season. He holds the record for most career doubles (459) by a
player who never made an all-star game roster. No information about what
Orlando Cabrera has been doing since then was readily available.
Sir Sidney Alton Ponson made
seven starts for the Twins in 2007. Born and raised in Noord, Aruba, he is one
of four major league players to be born in Aruba and is the most successful of
the four. Baltimore signed him as a free agent in 1993. He did not have a lot
of success in the minors, but came to the majors in April of 1998 and stayed
there. He finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1998, and was a
durable rotation starter for the Orioles through July of 2003, consistently
posting ERAs in the fours. Near the end of his contract, Ponson was traded to
the Giants on July 31, 2003, and finished out the season with them. 2003 was
Ponson's best year: he won 17 games, posting an ERA of 3.75. He returned to
Baltimore as a free agent in 2004, but his ERA went over five, and then over
six the next year. The Orioles released him on September 1, 2005, and Ponson
began bouncing around. He was with St. Louis and the Yankees in 2006, the Twins
in 2007, Texas and the Yankees again in 2008, and Kansas City in 2009. His
stint with the Twins in 2007 consisted of seven games, all starts. He was 2-5
with a 6.93 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP. He played briefly for the Long Island Ducks in
the Atlantic League in 2010, but was placed on the retired list in mid-June. No
information about what he has done since then was readily available.
Right-hander Daryl Marcelus
Thompson did not play for the Twins, but he was in their organization for part
of 2012. Born and raised in LaPlata, Maryland, he was drafted by Montreal
in the eighth round in 2003. He had not gotten out of Class A in 2007,
and was now in the Cincinnati organization, having been traded after the 2006
season. In 2008, though, he made ten excellent starts at AA, seven fine
starts in AAA, and ended the season in the majors, where he went 0-2, 6.91.
He was injured much of 2009, making only seven minor league starts, and
made only fifteen minor league starts in 2010. The Reds thought enough of
him to send him to the Arizona Fall League, though, and in 2011, even though he
wasn't pitching that well in the minors, they brought him back to the majors
for one relief appearance. After that season, though, the Reds released
him. He signed with Minnesota for 2012 and was sent to Rochester, where
he went 1-5, 4.71 in nine starts. The Twins released him on the first of
June. He didn't give up, though. He had a fine year in the Atlantic
League in 2013 and signed with the Mets after the season, but was released
before 2014 spring training. He continues to pitch in the Atlantic League
and also in Mexico. He turns thirty-two today. His career major
league record is 0-3, 8.31 in 17 innings. I guess as long as you're still
playing someplace, there's still a chance, but it seems extremely unlikely that
we'll see Daryl Thompson in a big league uniform again.
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