September 21

Tom Brown (1860)

Elmer Smith (1892)

Eldon Auker (1910)

Max Butcher (1910)
Joe Haynes (1917)
John McHale (1921)
Jerry Zimmerman (1934)
Jerry Fosnow (1940)
Sudden Sam McDowell (1942)
Aurelio Lopez (1948)
Danny Cox (1959)
Cecil Fielder (1963)
D. J. Dozier (1965)
Jason Christianson (1969)
Scott Spiezio (1972)
Doug Davis (1975)
Jeremy Jeffress (1987)

Joe Haynes played for the Twins franchise while it was in Washington for four years, then coached for three, then was with the team as executive vice-president through 1967, when he passed away from a heart attack.

John McHale was the general manager of the Tigers, the Braves, and the Expos.

 Better known for his football career, William Henry “D. J.” Dozier played in 25 games for the New York Mets in 1992.

Catcher Gerald Robert Zimmerman played for the Twins from 1962-1968. He was born in Omaha, went to high school in Milwaukie, Oregon, and was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox in 1952. He spent nine years in the minors before reaching the major leagues. In those nine years, he hit as high as .302 with Class D Corning in 1954, and as low as .179 at AAA in 1959. He never hit with any power, with a high of seven home runs in a season. The Red Sox released him midway through that 1959 season. Zimmerman signed the same day with the Orioles organization, but they released him at the end of the year. In 1960, he was signed by the Reds, and hit .279 with AAA Seattle. The next year, Zimmerman was in Cincinnati. The Reds used five catchers in 1961, and he caught more than anyone with 76 games, although he batted only .206. He also caught in two games of the World Series that year, although he did not bat. Cincinnati apparently decided he was not the answer to their catching problems, and traded him to Minnesota after the 1961 season for Dan Dobbek. Zimmerman then embarked on a substantial career as the Twins’ reserve catcher, mostly backing up Earl Battey. He never hit a lot, but had a reputation as a fine defensive catcher and an excellent handler of pitchers. He was also very popular in the clubhouse. He made it to another World Series with the Twins, in 1965, and again caught in two games, this time getting to bat once (he was 0-for-1). In 1967, Zimmerman became the Twins’ bullpen coach while remaining an active player. That year, however, due to injuries to Battey, Zimmerman caught 104 games, the most he caught in a big league season. He was not up to the task, batting only .167. 1967, of course, was when the Twins came within one game of the World Series; one has to think that an average offensive performance out of the catching position might have made the difference. Zimmerman’s performance apparently told the Twins something; the next year, he got only 45 at-bats backing up Johnny Roseboro. He was released by the Twins in spring training of 1969, and his playing career was over. In seven years with the Twins, he batted .204/.273/.242 in 790 at-bats, hitting 3 home runs and posting an OPS of .514. After retiring as an active player, Zimmerman became a bullpen coach for Gene Mauch, first in Montreal (1969-75) and then with the Twins (1976-80). During an umpires’ strike in 1978, he and another coach, Don Leppert of the Blue Jays, umpired an inning of a major league game, the last two active coaches to do so. In the 1980s, Zimmerman was a scout for the Yankees and the Orioles. Jerry Zimmerman passed away on September 9, 1998, in Neskowin, Oregon.

Left-hander Gerald Eugene Fosnow played for the Twins from 1964-1965. Born and raised in Deshler, Ohio, he was signed by Cleveland as a free agent in 1959. He did reasonably well in his first couple of years in the low minors, but was injured for much of 1961, and found himself in the Twins organization for 1962. The move suited him, as he posted ERAs under 3.00 in his first two years in the Twins’ system. He was converted to relief pitching in 1964, and had an ERA of 3.23 and a WHIP of 0.94 for AAA Atlanta. He was with the Twins part of that season, but pitched poorly in only seven games. Fosnow appeared in 29 games with the Twins in 1965, and gave up well under a hit per inning, but had control trouble and was returned to the minors. The Twins released Fosnow after the 1966 season, and he signed with the Dodgers. He had a very good year pitching in relief for AAA Spokane in 1967, but when that good year did not result in another chance in the majors, Fosnow decided to retire at age 27. He apparently still makes appearances at card shows and baseball alumni events. Jerry Fosnow appeared in 36 major league games, all with the Twins. He pitched 57.1 innings, giving up 46 hits but 33 walks. He was 3-4 with a 5.65 career ERA.  At last report, Jerry Fosnow was living in DeBary, Florida and was the owner of Powerhouse Pressure Cleaning,