March 31

Bill Hallman (1867)

Jack Stivetts (1868)

Big Jeff Pfeffer (1882)

Brick Owens (1885)

Tom Sheehan (1894)

Carson Bigbee (1895)

Mule Suttles (1900)

Marv Grissom (1918)

Dave Koslo (1920)

Moises Camacho (1932)

Moose Stubing (1938)

Balvino Galvez (1964)

Chien-Ming Wang (1980)

Jeff Mathis (1983)

Peter Bourjos (1987)

Josmil Pinto (1989)

There have been two players in the majors named Jeff Pfeffer.  They were brothers.  "Big Jeff" Pfeffer was actually Francis Xavier Pfeffer.  Plain old Jeff Pfeffer was actually Edward Joseph Pfeffer.  "Big Jeff" was 6'1", 185 pounds.  Plain old Jeff was 6'3", 210.

Brick Owens was a longtime major league umpire.  His first name was Clarence.  He got the nickname "Brick" after being hit by one while umpiring a game in Pittsburg, Kansas early in his career.

Mule Suttles is sometimes credited as the all-time Negro Leagues home run leader with 237.  He swung a fifty-ounce bat.

One of the top second basemen in the history of the Mexican League, Moises Camacho played  there from 1951-1975.  He was known as the Rogers Hornsby of Mexico.

Right-hander Marvin Edward Grissom did not play for the Twins, but was a coach for them from 1970-1971.  He was born in Los Molinas, California and signed with the New York Giants as a free agent in 1941.  He made ten appearances with Class C San Bernardino that season, then went to the Army for four years during World War II.  He came back in 1946 and spent the next three years primarily in AAA, although he made four appearances for the Giants in 1946.  After the 1947 season, he went to independent Sacramento, and then was chosen by Detroit in the Rule 5 draft for 1949.  He made occasional appearances for the Tigers out of the bullpen and was largely ineffective.  Back in AAA the next season, he had two strong years there, winning 20 games and pitching 252 innings for Seattle in the Pacific Coast League in 1951.  He was traded to the White Sox for 1952 and finally, at age 34, was in the big leagues to stay.  He was in the starting rotation that year and did fairly well, but was traded to Boston after the season.  He got off to a slow start, we placed on waivers, and went back to the Giants.  They moved him to the bullpen, where he was an effective reliever for the next four years.  Grissom won ten games and saved 19 in 1954, making the all-star team and receiving minor consideration for MVP.  His best year, though, was 1956, when he posted an ERA of 1.56 and a WHIP of 1.08.  He moved to San Francisco with the team in 1958 but had a down year and was traded to St. Louis after the season.  He struggled in three appearances with the Cardinals and his playing career ended at age 41.  He was the first pitching coach of the Los Angeles Angels, staying with the Angels through 1966.  He moved to the White Sox for 1967 and 1968, went back to the Angels for 1969, was with the Twins for 1970 and 1971, was with the Cubs in 1975 and 1976, and went back to the Angels again in 1977 and 1978.  He retired to Red Bluff, California, where he regularly showed up at local high school baseball practices to help youngsters with their pitching.  Marv Grissom passed away in Red Bluff, California on September 18, 2005.

Right-hander Balvino (Jerez) Galvez did not play for the Twins, but pitched in their minor league system in 1988.  Born and raised in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, he signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1981.  His minor league numbers were pretty mediocre, but he kept getting promoted a level per season, reaching AAA in 1986.  He also pitched for the Dodgers that year, spending two weeks with the big club in May and then getting a September call-up.  He did not pitch particularly worse or better in the majors than he had in the minors.  Galvez was traded to Detroit in early May of 1987, and was traded to the Twins in March of 1988 for Billy Beane.  He spent most of the year in AAA Portland and went 11-7, 3.77, but with a WHIP of 1.48.  In March of 1989 the Twins traded Galvez to the Yankees for Steve Shields.  He pitched poorly for AAA Columbus in 1989, pitched both poorly and briefly in the Montreal organization in 1990, pitched fairly well in AAA for the Dodgers in 1992, but pitched briefly and poorly in AA for the Cubs in 1993.  He moved to the Chinese Professional Baseball League for 1994, pitching for the Brother Elephants.  He stayed for two years, then moved to Japan for 1996, pitching for the Yomiuri Giants, staying through 2000.  He attempted to return to the United States in 2001, and appeared to have made the rotation for Pittsburgh, but got into an argument with pitching coach Spin Williams, stormed out of the clubhouse, and flew to the Dominican Republic.  He did not appear in organized baseball again.  His son, Brian Cavazos-Galvez, was an outfielder in the Dodgers' organization, reaching AAA in 2012 and again in 2014.  At last report, Balvino Galvez was the owner of a baseball training facility in San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic.  His son, Brian Cavazos-Galvez, was an outfielder in the Dodgers' organization.

Catcher Josmil Oswaldo Pinto played for the Twins in 2013.  He was born in Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 2006.  He did not show a lot in his first couple of years, although he was very young.  He did well in 85 at-bats in the Gulf Coast League in 2008 and attracted attention in 2009 with Elizabethton, hitting .332 with thirteen home runs.  He had a poor year with Beloit in 2010 and was only somewhat better with Fort Myers in 2011, but got things going again in 2012, hitting .295 with fourteen homers in a year spent mostly at Fort Myers.  He had a strong 2013 in New Britain, hitting .308 with fourteen homers, continued hitting when given 70 at-bats in Rochester, and kept it going in a September call-up to Minnesota, hitting .342/.398/.566 with four home runs in 76 at-bats.  He started 2014 with the Twins and started well, but suffered from inconsistent playing time and was sent back to AAA in early June, once again getting a September call-up.  He was not considered a good defensive catcher, and it appears that the Twins held him back for that reason.  He was hit on the head with a bat early in 2015, and the effects of that probably contributed to him having a poor season in AAA.  The Twins waived him after the season, he was claimed by San Diego, was waived again a month later, and was claimed by Milwaukee.  He had a fine year in AAA for the Brewers, but got only five major league at-bats as a September call-up.  He became a free agent and signed with San Francisco, but did not play in 2017 and was released after the season.  He continues to play winter ball in Venezuela, but we assume his playing career in American baseball is over.  As a Twin, Josmil Pinto batted .257/.339/.436 in 250 at-bats.  There's no real reason to think he couldn't have hit in the majors if he'd been given the chance, but for a variety of reasons he wasn't.  We wish him well in whatever the future may hold for him.