August 3

Silver Flint (1855)
Ed McFarland (1874)
Harry Heilmann (1894)
Jim Hegan (1920)
Roger Repoz (1940)
Dan Meyer (1952)
Bob Davidson (1952)
Jim Gott (1959)
Mike Jeffcoat (1959)
Sid Bream (1960)
Mackey Sasser (1962)
Kevin Elster (1964)
Rod Beck (1968)
Troy Glaus (1976)
Travis Bowyer (1981)
Mark Reynolds (1983)
Matt Joyce (1984)
Travis Blankenhorn (1996)

Bob Davidson was an umpire from 1985-1999 and 2005-2016.

The Twins have had four players named "Travis"; two of them were born on this day.  Right-hander Travis Charlton Bowyer made eight relief appearances for the Twins in 2005.  He was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, went to high school in Bedford, Virginia, and was drafted by Minnesota in the twentieth round in 1999.  He struggled as a starter, but turned things around when he was moved to the bullpen in 2002.  He had some outstanding seasons as a reliever in the Twins’ system; the best was the last one, 2005, when he went 4-2, 2.78 with 23 saves and a WHIP of 1.22 for AAA Rochester.  He got a September call-up with the Twins, pitching 9.2 innings.  He was 0-1, 5.59, but with a WHIP of 1.35.  He did very well until his last outing, in which he gave up five runs in one inning.  If you eliminate that, his numbers are 0-0, 1.04, 0.92 WHIP in 8.2 innings.  After the 2005 season, Bowyer was traded to Florida with Scott Tyler for Luis Castillo.  He was thought of as a potential closer but sadly, he suffered a torn rotator cuff that spring.  He spent a couple of years trying to come back, but was not able to do so.  It looked as if his career had come to an end, but apparently the desire to play ball had not left him.  He played amateur baseball for a few years, then attempted a comeback with Somerset of the Atlantic League in 2012.  He pitched in relief fifteen times and did fairly well before landing on the disabled list in mid-June.  No information was available regarding whether this injury was related to his previous injury, but he did not return and his playing career came to an end.  No information about what Travis Bowyer has been doing since 2012 was readily available.

Infielder/outfielder Travis Allen Blankenhorn appeared in two games for the Twins in 2020-2021.  Born and raised in Pottsville, Pennsyvania, he was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 2015.  His minor league numbers are not terrible, but not terribly impressive, either.  It should be pointed out that he was generally young for his league, however, so his numbers are probably better than they might appear at first glance.  His best year was 2016, when he batted .293 with an OPS of .850 in a season split between rookie ball and low A.  He also had a solid season in 2019, mostly in AA.  He appeared in one game for the Twins in 2020 and went 1-for-3 with a double and a hit-by-pitch.  He also appeared in one game for the Twins in 2021 as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement, scoring a run.  The Twins waived him in mid-May and he was claimed by the Dodgers.  They waived him ten days later and he was claimed by Seattle.  They waived him a week later and he was claimed by the Mets.  The good news in that for him is that someone has always wanted him.  He was with the Mets for about two months in 2021 and was used as a pinch-hitter/utility player, appearing in twenty-three games but getting just twenty-three at-bats.  He spent 2022 at AAA, getting into just one major league game.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Washington and is again spending the summer in AAA.  He has batted well there, as he did in 2022, but so far it has not turned anyone's head.  He turns twenty-seven today, and what we said a year ago still applies.  If he could get hot at the right time and catch someone's eye, he might be able to stick as a utility player for a few years.  If not, he can probably play at AAA for a while yet if he wants to.