April 25

John Henry “Pop” Lloyd (1884)

George Fiall (1900)

Bill Grieve (1900)

Roy Parmelee (1907)

Bobby Estalella (1911)

Red Flaherty (1917)

Ed Vargo (1930)

Lew Krausse (1943)

Kerry Taylor (1950)
Greg Wells (1954)
Larry Pashnick (1956)
Tony Phillips (1959)
Darren Holmes (1966)
Joe Buck (1969)
Brad Clontz (1971)
Jacque Jones (1975)
J. P. Howell (1983)
Garrett Mock (1983)
Robert Andino (1984)

Shortstop Pop Lloyd was called the Black Honus Wagner.

A member of the basketball hall of fame as part of the “Renaissance Five” team, shortstop George Fiall played in the Negro Leagues from 1918-1931.

Bill Grieve was an American League umpire from 1938-1955.

Red Flaherty was an American League umpire from 1953-1973.

Ed Vargo was a National League umpire from 1960-1983 and was an umpire supervisor from 1984-1997.

Kerry Taylor played for the GCL Twins in 1968.  He then went into the Army and was killed in the Vietnam War.

The son of Hall of Famer Jack Buck, some sources say that Joe Buck is also a professional baseball broadcaster.

Garrett Mock was drafted by Minnesota in the fourteenth round in 2002, but did not sign.

The original Boomer Wells, first baseman Gregory De Wayne Wells had 54 at-bats with the Twins in 1982.  Born in McIntosh, Alabama, he went to Albany State University (where he also played football and was drafted by the Jets in the sixteenth round) and signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent in 1976.  He signed with the Pirates on March 26 and was released on April 7, making one wonder why Pittsburgh bothered in the first place.  He played for independent Beeville in the Gulf States League that year, and was signed by Cleveland on February 14, 1977.  The Indians released him on March 27; apparently teams liked the idea of signing Wells a lot more than they liked actually having him around.  In mid-June, he signed with Toronto and finally got a chance to play for a major league organization.  He was dominant in the low minors, but was simply fairly good when he was jumped from Class A to AAA.  In 1981, though, he hit .292 with 20 homers at Syracuse and was called up to the majors once the strike ended.  He spent the rest of the season in Toronto.  After the season ended, he was traded to Minnesota as the player to be named later in a deal that sent Hosken Powell to the Blue Jays.  The Twins sent him to AAA Toledo, where he had his best minor league season, hitting .336 with 28 home runs.  He got a September call-up and was used in fifteen games as a first baseman and DH, but hit only .204 with no home runs.  The Twins released him after the season and he went to Japan, where he played for ten years.  He became a star in Japan, making the all-star team five times and becoming the first American to win the triple crown.  He was inducted into the Albany State University Hall of Fame in 2003.  At last report, Greg "Boomer" Wells was living in Cartersville, Georgia.

Right-hander Larry John Pashnick appeared in 13 games for the Twins in 1984.  He was born in Lincoln Park, Michigan, attended Michigan State, and was signed by Detroit as a free agent in 1979.  He did fairly well at every stop in the minors and reached the majors in 1982, beginning that season with the Tigers.  He was in the big leagues for most of the season, was used both as a starter and in relief, and did reasonably well in both roles, going 4-4, 4.01 in 94.1 innings.  He began 1983 in AAA, but had two stints in the majors totalling about two months.  He did not do as well this time and was traded to Minnesota after the season for Rusty Kuntz.  He started 1984 with the Twins and actually did pretty well, going 2-1, 3.52 with a 1.28 WHIP in 38.1 innings.  Still, the Twins sent him out in late June, and he never made it back to the major leagues.  In fact, 1984 was his last year, as his playing career ended after that.  Not that he would have been a superstar, but it seems odd, given his record, that he did not get more of a chance.  At last report, Larry Pashnick was living in Livonia, Michigan was the owner of Pashnick Sales LLC.  He was active in Detroit Tigers’ alumni events and also in various charitable events.

Outfielder Jacque Dewayne Jones played for the Twins from 1999-2005.  Born and raised in San Diego, he attended Kennesaw State University of Kennesaw, Georgia, one of five major league players the school has produced.  He was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 1996.  Jones played for the U. S. Olympic team that year, so his professional career did not really get going until 1997.  He hit well, showing double-digit home run power and narrowly missing .300 in both 1997 and 1998.  He started 1999 in AAA, but was in the majors by early June and didn’t look back.  He played center field in 1999, played both center and left in 2000, was in left field from 2001-2003, and moved to right for 2004-2005.  Jones was a solid big-league outfielder throughout his tenure with the Twins.  His best season was 2002, when he hit .300 with 27 home runs and 37 doubles.  His numbers dropped in his last two years in Minnesota, and Jones became a free agent after the 2005 season.  He had a fine season for the Cubs in 2006, but in 2007 his power disappeared:  he still hit .285, but had only five home runs.  The Cubs traded Jones to Detroit after the season, and he collapsed.  He hit only .165 in 79 at-bats for the Tigers in 2008 and was released in mid-May.  He signed with Florida and was with the Marlins for a month, but continued not hitting and was released again.  Jones spent 2009 with the independent Newark Bears, and was signed by Minnesota for 2010.  He had a fine spring training, but was sent to AAA Rochester, where he hit .280 but with few walks and little power.   He became a free agent after the season and was not signed, ending his playing career. It was a pretty good career, though.  As a Twin, he hit .279/.327/.455, numbers which are pretty much the same as his career numbers.  Jacque Jones was the batting coach for the AAA El Paso Chihuahaus in the San Diego organization at the start of 2014, but quit in mid-June for personal reasons.  He was the assistant batting coach of the Washington Nationals from 2016-2017, but was suspended during the 2017 playoffs after being named as the defendant in a revenge porn lawsuit.  We did not find the result of the lawsuit, but Jacque Jones is not listed as one of the Nationals coaches in 2018.