Outfielder Alejandro Oms was a star in Cuba and in the Negro Leagues.
C. Arnholt Smith was the original owner of the San Diego Padres.
Doug Harvey was a National League umpire from 1962-92.
Infielder Yoshihiko Takahashi has the longest hitting streak in Japanese professional baseball.
Not the Steve Barber who played in the majors for fifteen years, this is right-handed reliever Steven Lee Barber, who played for the Twins in 1970 and 1971. B-r.com lists them as having both attended high school in Blair, Maryland, but this seems unlikely, as the more famous Steve Barber was actually born in Maryland while "our" Steve Barber was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He attended both the University of Arizona and the University of LaVerne before signing with the Twins as a free agent in 1969. He had a very good year in Class A Wisconsin Rapids in 1969, and started 1970 in Minnesota. He was there most of the year but was used sparingly, logging only 27.1 innings in 18 appearances. Add in only 24 minor league innings, and it was pretty much a wasted year for the 22-year-old. Barber started 1971 in the majors, again was used sparingly, and was sent back to the minors after about a month. He would never make it back to the majors. He had a poor year at AAA Portland in 1971, but bounced back for a good year at AA Charlotte in 1972. He was still only 24 that season, so you'd think he’d have gotten another chance. Instead, that was his last season in organized baseball. No information about Steve Barber's life since then was readily available.
First baseman Randy William Bass had 19 at-bats with the Twins in 1977. A native of Lawton, Oklahoma, he attended high school there and then was drafted by Minnesota in the seventh round in 1972. He was in the Twins' minor league system for six years. He hit for power every year, belting 30 homers for Class A Lynchberg in 1974, but had no speed due to fractures in both feet when he was eight years old. He was jumped to AAA the next year and continued to hit for power and a decent average. He did not get a chance in the majors until 1977, when a .321 average with 25 homers and an OPS of 1.016 at AAA Tacoma resulted in a September callup. He went 2-for-19 in nine games, with both hits singles. Just before the 1978 season, Bass was sold to Kansas City and sent to Omaha. The stadium there took away some of his power, but he still hit 22 homers and had an OPS of .916. He also drew 100 walks, the third consecutive season he was in triple digits in walks in the minors. He only got two at-bats in the majors, however, and just before the 1979 he was sold again, this time to Montreal. Playing in hitter-friendly Denver, Bass really took off, batting .333 in consecutive years and hitting 73 homers in two seasons. Again, though, it did not translate into a chance in the majors--Bass got one major league at-bat in 1979, and in September of 1980 he was traded to San Diego. 1981 was Bass' only full season in the majors, but he still never really got a chance to play, hitting .210 in only 176 at-bats. He was waived in May of 1982 and selected by Texas. The Rangers returned him to AAA Denver in early June, where he had another good year. It did him no good, however, and after the season, Bass went to Japan, where he became a star. In six seasons in Japan, Randy Bass hit .337/.418/.660. He hit 54 home runs in 1985, one shy of Sadaharu Oh's single season record (in a season-ending series against the Oh-managed Tokyo Giants, Bass was walked every time he came to bat). His career in Japan came to an end in June of 1988 when he was released over a dispute with management over whether it was responsible for paying medical bills for his son. Upon ending his playing career, Bass moved back to the Lawton, Oklahoma area, where he purchased a farm, raising cattle and wheat. He was also a scout for the Tokyo Giants from 1998-2003. In 2004 he was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate, where he served until 2019, when he was forced out by term limits.
Right-handed submariner Terry Hester Leach pitched for the Twins in the early 1990s. He was born in Selma, Alabama and attended Auburn University. An arm injury at Auburn led Leach to develop his submarine delivery. He signed as a free agent with Atlanta in 1977. Used primarily in relief, Leach pitched very well in the minors for the Braves. His best year was 1979, when he posted a 1.95 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 106 innings, mostly in AA. His reward for that was to be sent to AA again 1980 and to be released in July despite a 3.21 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP that season. The Mets signed him four days later and he pitched very well again. Finally, in 1981, after he went 10-3 with a 2.28 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in AA and AAA, Terry Leach was brought to the majors in mid-August. He pitched very well, but just like with Atlanta, the Mets clearly had no faith in him. He split 1982 between AAA and the majors, was in the minors all of 1983 and 1984 (despite going 11-4, 3.03 in 1984), and split 1985 and 1986 between AAA and the majors. He always pitched well in the majors when given the chance: his major league ERA through 1986 was 3.21 in 143 innings. Finally, in 1987, at age 33, Terry Leach got his first full year in the big leagues. In 44 games, twelve of them starts, he went 11-1, 3.22 with a 1.23 WHIP. He had another good year in 1988, used exclusively out of the bullpen. In 1989, however, Leach got off to a poor start and was traded to Kansas City in early June. The Royals released him on April 2, 1990, and the Twins signed him five days later. Leach was a valuable member of the Minnesota bullpen for two years: in 105 games, he posted an ERA of 3.38 and a WHIP of 1.35. He became a free agent after the 1992 season and signed with Montreal, but was released at the end of spring training. The White Sox picked him up, and he finished his career with two years in Chicago. Leach was still an effective relief pitcher at the end of his career: in his final two seasons, he posted an ERA of 2.11 and a WHIP of 1.05 in 89.2 innings. In 2000, Leach wrote his autobiography: "Things Happen For A Reason". At last report, Terry Leach was involved with a construction and interior design company in West Palm Beach, Florida. He is also involved in raising money for autism awareness.
Johan Alexander Santana pitched for the Twins from 2000-2007. He was born in Tovar Merida, Venezuela and attended high school there. Santana was signed by Houston as a free agent in 1995. He did not enter American organized baseball until 1997. In three years in the Astros' organization, Santana never had an ERA below 4.50, although he had a high number of strikeouts. He never got above Class A in those three seasons. The Astros left him unprotected after the 1999 season, and he was selected by Florida. The Marlins then traded Santana to Minnesota for Jered Camp. Many analysts believe the Twins got the better end of the trade. Only twenty-one years old in 2000, Santana was used sparingly, and he was injured part of 2001. When he came back from injury in 2002, however, he was ready to be a major league pitcher. He pitched in 27 games, 14 as a starter and 13 in relief, and posted a 2.99 ERA in 108.1 innings, with a WHIP of 1.23 and 137 strikeouts. Santana felt he had earned a spot in the starting rotation for 2003, but the Twins disagreed and kept him in the bullpen until mid-July, when it became obvious that he was simply too good to be used in relief. Santana remained in the Twins' starting rotation through 2007. He led the league in victories once, in ERA twice, in starts once, in innings once, in strikeouts three times, in ERA+ three times, in WHIP four times, in fewest hits per nine innings three times, and in strikeouts per nine innings three times. He made the all-star team three times, won the Cy Young award twice, finished in the top five in Cy Young voting two other times, finished in the top seven an additional time, and twice finished in the top seven in MVP voting. He also won a Gold Glove. Unfortunately, after the 2007 season it appeared that Santana wanted more money that the Twins would pay, and so on February 2, 2008, Johan Santana was traded to the Mets for Deolis Guerra, Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, and Kevin Mulvey. Johan Santana pitched in 251 games as a Twin, 175 of them starts. He went 93-44, 3.22 with a WHIP of 1.09 and struck out 1,381 batters in 1,308.1 innings. With the Mets, Santana continued to pitch well, leading the league in starts, ERA, and innings in 2008, a year in which he finished third in Cy Young balloting and received support for MVP. He also pitched well in 2009 and 2010, although he was been hampered by injuries and a lack of run support. He missed all of 2011 due to injury. He came back strong at the start of 2012, but injuries again struck shortly before the all-star break. He tried to keep pitching but was ineffective, making five awful starts before being shut down in mid-August. He missed all of the 2013 season, signed with Baltimore for 2014, but missed all of the 2014 season as well. He signed with Toronto for 2015 but was again unable to pitch and his playing career ended. It was a pretty fine career, though. He went 139-78, 3.20, 1.13 WHIP. He was in the top five in Cy Young voting six times, was in the top ten in MVP voting twice, made four all-star teams, and won a Gold Glove. He's not going into the Hall of Fame, but he's in the Twins Hall of Fame. At last report, Johan Santana was living in Florida and was helping the Twins during spring training.
Right-hander Robinson Leyer has not played for the Twins, but was in AAA for them in 2021. He was born in El Saibo, Dominican Republic, and signed by the White Sox as a free agent in 2011. His early minor league numbers are not impressive, but the White Sox stuck with him through 2017. After an average year in AA, they sold him to Cincinnati for 2018. He had his first really good year that season, but he was still in AA at age 25. He became a free agent and signed with Seattle for 2019. He pitched poorly in AAA, was released in mid-June, and signed with Boston. He did well for them, but he did it back in AA. There were no minor leagues in 2020, of course, but he made six appearances for the Red Sox. He was, well, not good--six games, 4.2 innings, 11 runs, 12 hits, 8 walks. He was 0-0, 21.21 with a WHIP of 4.29, which has to be one of the worst career lines for someone who played in at least six games. He signed with the Twins for 2021 and spent the summer in AAA, putting up a line of 1-4, 6.95, 1.63 WHIP. He is again a free agent. He strikes out a lot of batters, which is probably why he keeps getting chances, but when someone doesn't strike out against him they usually get on base. He's twenty-nine today and has yet to succeed above AA. Unless he suddenly figures something out, I see no reason to think he'll ever be successful in the majors.
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