September 17

Ezra Sutton (1850)

Willie Sudhoff (1874)

Frank Schulte (1882)

Sheriff Blake (1899)

Hughie Critz (1900)

Chase Riddle (1925)
Orlando Cepeda (1937)
Bobby Wine (1938)
Thad Bosley (1956)
John Franco (1960)
Dan Haren (1980)
Casey Crosby (1988)
Zack Granite (1992)

Chase Riddle played in the minors from 1943-1962, managed in the minors from 1951-1962, was a scout from 1963-1978, and was the baseball coach at Troy State University from 1979-1990.

Left-hander Casey W. Crosby has not played for the Twins yet, but was in their minor league system in 2018.  Born and raised in Maple Park, Illinois, he was drafted by Detroit in the fifth round in 2007.  He pitched well in the low minors for two seasons, but missed almost all of the 2010 season due to injury.  He had a middling year in AA in 2011 but attracted attention after an excellent Arizona Fall League campaign after that season.  He was not particularly good in AAA in 2012, either, but made three starts in the majors anyway.  He went 1-1, but with a 9.49 ERA and a 2.11 WHIP.  So far, those are his career major league numbers.  He was in AAA Toledo through 2014, putting up worse numbers each season, and was finally released after that 2014 season.  He signed with Boston for 2015 but was released in March and it appeared that his playing career was over.  He came back to play for Lincoln in the independent American Association in 2017 and did very well in sixteen relief appearances.  That was enough for the Twins to sign him for 2018.  He again had injury problems, appearing in just sixteen games among the GCL, AA, and AAA.  He posted a combined 2.95 ERA, but with a 1.73 WHIP.  He turns thirty today.  It would be wonderful if he could succeed, but his career AA numbers are 10-7, 4.14, 1.58 WHIP and his career AAA numbers are 9-14, 4.33, 1.50 WHIP.  We're rooting for him, and you have to admire his determination, but you also have to wonder if it's time for him to decide what the next phase of his life will be.

Outfielder Zachary Thomas Granite played about half the season the Twins in 2017 and remains in the organization.  Born and raised on Staten Island, he went to Seton Hall and was drafted by Minnesota in the fourteenth round in 2013.  He was in Elizabethton in 2013 and Cedar Rapids in 2014, batting in the .280s but not drawing many walks and not showing much power.  He got off to an outstanding start in Cedar Rapids in 2015, batting .358 in 67 at-bats, and was promoted to Fort Myers.  He hit his first home run there and started drawing some walks, but otherwise didn't do much the rest of the season.  He did substantially better in Chattanooga in 2016, batting .295 with an OBP of .347 and 56 stolen bases.  He was even better in Rochester in 2017, batting .338 with an OBP of .392, and was promoted to Minnesota in early July.  His numbers with the Twins were .237/.321/.290 in 93 at-bats.  Unfortunately, 2018 was a lost year for him.  He battled injuries and batted poorly in AAA when he did play, hitting just .211 with an OPS of .527.  He turns twenty-six today.  He's still young enough that, if he can get healthy, he could turn things around and have a decent major league career.  His chances of doing that appear to be significantly smaller than they were a year ago, though.