January 31

Bob "Death to Flying Things" Ferguson (1845)

Zane Grey (1872)

George Burns (1893)

Pinky Hargrave (1896)

Pedro Cepeda (1906)

Don Hutson (1913)

Jackie Robinson (1919)

Ernie Banks (1931)

Hank Aguirre (1931)

Nolan Ryan (1947)

Fred Kendall (1949)

Ted Power (1955)

Ed Wade (1956)

Francisco Oliveras (1963)

Yuniesky Betancourt (1982)

Caleb Thielbar (1987)

Tommy LaStella (1989)

Tyler Kinley (1991)

Alex Claudio (1992)

Better known as an author of western novels, Zane Grey played outfield for two years in the low minors, batting .323 in 86 games.  He also wrote several books about baseball.

Pedro Cepeda is the father of Orlando Cepeda and is considered by some to have been a better player; he was known as the Babe Ruth of Puerto Rico.

Don Hutson, a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, played in the low minors from 1936-1937, hitting .301 in 194 games.

Ed Wade was the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1998-2005 and the Houston Astros from 2007-2011.

Right-hander Francisco Javier (Noa) Oliveras made his major league debut with the Twins, pitching for them in 1989.  He was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico and signed with Baltimore as a free agent in 1980.  He played his first full season at AA in 1982 at age 19 and did quite well, posting a 3.55 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.  He struggled after that, however, not posting another ERA below four until 1987, when he again spent most of the season at AA.  He became a minor league free agent after the 1987 season and signed with Minnesota.  Most of his time in the Twins' organization was spent in AAA, but he was in the majors for the months of May and June of 1989.  He pitched about like you'd expect someone with his track record to pitch:  in 12 games, eight of them starts, he went 3-4, 4.53 with a WHIP of 1.42 and an ERA+ of 92.  Oliveras began 1990 with AAA Portland, but was traded to San Francisco at the end of May for a player to be named later, who turned out to be Ed Gustafson.  He played for the Giants most of the rest of 1990, nearly all of 1991, and most of 1992, working primarily as a reliever.  He did a good job for them, posting an ERA in the mid-threes and WHIPs around 1.2.  He became a free agent after the 1992 season and signed with Texas.  Things did not go well for him there:  he failed to make the team, had a poor year in AAA, and was released after the season.  He showed up in 1998, playing for Nashua in the independent Atlantic League, but other than that he was done as an active player.  No information about Francisco Oliveras since then was readily available.

Left-handed reliever Caleb John Thielbar pitched for the Twins from 2013-2015 and again from 2020-2023. He was born in Northfield, Minnesota, when to high school in Randolph, MInnesota, attended South Dakota State, and was drafted by Milwaukee in the eighteenth round in 2009.  He pitched very well in rookie ball, but struggled when promoted to Class A in 2010 and was released after the season.  He spent most of 2011 with St. Paul in the American Association, but signed with Minnesota in mid-August and made three good appearances with Fort Myers before the season ended.  He started 2012 in Fort Myers but got all the way to Rochester before the season ended.  He began 2013 in Rochester, was promoted to Minnesota in May, and stayed there the rest of the season.  He showed he belonged there, going 3-2, 1.76, 0.83 WHIP in 49 appearances (46 innings).  He was often used as a LOOGY, as he faced one batter in six of his appearances and two in five others.  However, he was also effective in getting right-handed batters out when given the chance.  He didn't do as well in 2014, but as often happens to relievers, a few bad outings made his numbers look worse than they otherwise would have been.  He started 2015 in Minnesota and pitched well except for one bad outing, but he was sent back to Rochester at the end of April.  He pitched well there, too, but was waived in early August and taken by San Diego.  He became a free agent after the season, went unsigned, and had an outstanding year for St. Paul in the American Association.  He signed with Miami for 2017, but was released at the end of spring training and went back to St. Paul, where he had an even better year.  He signed with Detroit for 2018 and pitched pretty well in a season split between AA and AAA, but did not get a call to the majors.  He again pitched very well in AAA for the Tigers in 2019, but again did not get a call to the majors and was sold to Atlanta at the August deadline.  He signed back with the Twins for 2020 and had an excellent season, going 2-1, 2.25 with a 1.15 WHIP.  He has continued to be very good ever since, although he missed some time in 2023 due to injury.  As a Twin, which is where he's done all of his major league playing, Caleb Thielbar is 21-8, 3.04, 1.12 WHIP in 272.2 innings (288 games).  He turns thirty-seven today and presumably will be part of the Twins' bullpen again this season.

Right-hander Tyler Harrison Kinley appeared in four games for the Twins in 2018.  He was born in Plantation, Florida, went to high school in Davie, Florida, attended Barry University (one of three major leaguers to have attended there), and was drafted by Miami in the sixteenth round in 2013.  He pitched well in the low minors, but didn't do much when moved to higher levels.  In 2017, in his second try at AA, he went 1-2, 8 saves, 5.19 ERA, 1.73 WHIP in his age twenty-six season.  That doesn't sound like a pitcher who's ready for the majors, but the Twins took him in the Rule 5 draft and started him out there in 2018.  He made four appearances in April, and to no one's surprise except, possibly, the Twins, he allowed nine runs in 3.1 innings for an ERA of 24.30.  The Twins returned him to Miami and he had a decent year in AAA.  He got a September call-up and did pretty well except for one disastrous appearance in which he gave up five runs in a third of an inning.  He started 2019 in the majors, did not do well, was sent back to AAA in early June, pitched very well there, came back in August, and was a very good reliever the last two months of the season.  The Marlins waived him, however, and he was taken by Colorado for 2020.  He was decent, but no more in 2020 and 2021, but was having a tremendous year in 2022 when he tore the flexor in his elbow.  He did not pitch in the majors again until August of 2023, and sadly was not very good in his comeback.  He turns thirty-three today and remains with the Rockies.  We hope that, another removed from surgery, he will be able to return to his previous form.

January 30

Tony Mullane (1859)

General Stafford (1868)

Walt Dropo (1923)

Sandy Amoros (1930)

Charlie Neal (1931)

Davey Johnson (1943)

Matt Alexander (1947)

Roger Cador (1952)

Joe Kerrigan (1954)

Dave Stegman (1954)

Jorge Cantu (1982)

Jeremy Hermida (1984)

Luis Garcia (1987)

Roger Cador was an outfielder in the Braves organization, reaching AAA.  He was the head baseball coach at Southern University from 1984-2017.   He was the first coach of a historically black university to win a game in the NCAA Division I baseball tournament, beating #2-ranked Cal State Fullerton 1-0 in 1987.

Dave Stegman was drafted by Minnesota in the tenth round in 1972, but did not sign.

There do not appear to be any other players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

January 29

Ray Hayworth (1904)

Wilson Redus (1905)

Pancho Coimbre (1909)

Bill Rigney (1918)

Hank Edwards (1919)

Frank Gravino (1923)

Bobby Bolin (1939)

Sergio Ferrer (1951)

Steve Sax (1960)

Mike Aldrete (1961)

John Habyan (1964)

Jason Schmidt (1973)

Jose Abreu (1987)

Alex Avila (1987)

Hank Conger (1988)

Pancho Coimbre was a star in the Caribbean Leagues and the Negro leagues in the 1940s.  Roberto Clemente said that Coimbre was a better player than Clemente was.  Coimbre played two full seasons in the Puerto Rican League in which he did not strike out.

Frank Gravino played in the minors from 1940-1942 and 1946-1954.  He has been called the greatest slugger in Northern League history, hitting 108 home runs in two seasons there.

William Joseph Rigney managed the Twins for approximately two and a half seasons from 1970-1972.  Born in Alameda, California, Rigney went to high school in Oakland.  He entered organized baseball in 1938, playing shortstop for various minor-league teams, mostly on the west coast.  As the farm system had not been fully developed yet, most of these teams were independent teams.  He went into the military after the 1942 season, serving in the Coast Guard, and did not return to baseball until 1946.  When he returned, it was in the majors--Rigney was a mostly regular infielder for the New York Giants, playing primarily at third base.  He spent his entire major league career with the Giants, a career which spanned eight seasons.  His best years were 1947-1949, when he averaged .271 and averaged 11 homers per season.  Rigney was primarily a second baseman the first two of those years, playing more shortstop in 1949.  He never was quite a full time player, playing between 110 and 130 games per season.  In 1950 he was replaced at shortstop by Alvin Dark, and became a reserve for the next four seasons.  After his major league career ended, he became the player-manager of the Minneapolis Millers from 1954-1955.  He became manager of the Giants in 1956, replacing Leo Durocher, and went to San Francisco with the club.  He was the first manager of the Angels, running the team from 1961-1969, and then became manager of Minnesota.  He won the division with the Twins in 1970, their second consecutive division title, but the team fell apart in 1971 and he was fired mid-way through the 1972 season.  He managed the Giants again in 1976.  Rigney also did some broadcasting for both the Giants and the Athletics, did some scouting, and worked in the Athletics' front office.  He was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.  Bill Rigney passed away on February 20, 2001, in Walnut Creek, California.

Infielder Sergio (Marrero) Ferrer played for Minnesota briefly from 1974-1975.  He was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1970.  He was quite small (5'7", 145 lbs), but hit for a good average with a pretty fair number of walks in the low minors.  His numbers dropped when he was promoted to AA in 1973 at age 22, and he was left unprotected after the season.  The Twins selected Ferrer in the Rule 5 draft.  He began 1974 as Minnesota's starting shortstop and did quite well, batting .313 for the first month of the season.  Oddly, he started only two more games after that, being replaced at shortstop first by Jerry Terrell and then by Danny Thompson.  He was still batting .281 when he was sent back to the minors in late May.  He had a good year in AAA, and was back with the Twins at the start of 1975.  He was their starting shortstop again for about three weeks and didn't do all that badly, but he again lost the job to Thompson and was back in the minors by early June.  After the season, Ferrer was traded to Philadelphia for Larry Cox.  He was in AAA for the Phillies in 1976 and was traded to the Yankees after the season, spending 1977 playing at AAA for them.  After that season he was traded to the Mets and pretty much stopped hitting.  Ferrer was in the big leagues for most of the 1978 season, but was used exclusively as a pinch runner and defensive replacement, appearing in only 37 games and getting only 33 at-bats.  He was back at AAA for 1979, getting only a September call-up.  Ferrer hung on in AAA through 1981, finishing his career in the Cincinnati organization.  As a Twin, Sergio Ferrer hit .261/.322/.326 in 138 at-bats.  He played in the Seniors League in 1989.  At last report, Sergio Ferrer had returned to Puerto Rico and was coaching youth baseball there.

Catcher Alexander Thomas Avila signed with the Twins for the 2020 season.  He was born in Hialeah, Florida, went to high school in Southwest Ranches, Florida, attended the University of Alabama, and was drafted by Detroit in the fifth round in 2008.  He played fifty-eight games in Class A that year, went to AA in 2009, and made his major league debut in August of 2009.  He was up and down in his early years with the Tigers, posting an OPS of .965 in 2009, .656 in 2010, ,895 in 2011, and .736 in 2012.  He then went into a prolonged down phase, at least at the plate, staying below a .700 OPS through 2015.  A free agent after that season, he went to the White Sox but took his hitting woes with him.  Returning to Detroit in 2017 he bounced back, batting .274 with an OPS of .869.  He was traded to the Cubs at the July deadline, then signed with Arizona and played for the Diamondbacks from 2018-2019.  A free agent again, he signed with Minnesota for 2020.  He did not hit, batting just .184, but he had an OBP or .355 in 62 plate appearances.  A free agent once more, he signed with Washington for 2021 and was their reserve catcher, missing a couple of months due to injury.  Even in his good years he was rarely a full-time catcher, topping four hundred at-bats only once, in 2011.  He also made his only all-star appearance that season.  He draws a good number of walks and has a little power, swatting double-digit home runs four times.  His career numbers are .233/.348/.393 in 3638 plate appearances (1052 games).   One suspects someone would've signed him for 2022, but he opted to retire instead.  At last report, Alex Avila was an analyst for MLB Network.

Catcher/first baseman Hyun Choi Conger did not play for the Twins, but has been their catching and first base coach since 2022.  He was born in Federal Way, Washington, went to high school in Huntington Beach, California, and was drafted by the Angels in the first round in 2006.  He hit very well throughout the minors, sporting high averages and decent power.  He made his major league debut as a September call-up in 2010.  He was a part-time catcher for the Angels in 2011, backing up Jeff Mathis, but did not hit, batting just .209 with an OPS of .638.  As a consequence, he spent most of 2012 in AAA, where he had a fine year.  He finally got his first full season in the majors in 2013, sharing time with Chris Iannetta.  He did okay, but was nothing special.  2014 was similar, and after that season he was traded to Houston.  He was again a part-time catcher, sharing time with Jason Castro, and again did not hit much.  He was sold to Tampa Bay after the season and shared time with Curt Casali in 2016, but when he again did not hit he was sent to AAA, never reaching the majors again.  He signed with Arizona for 2017, spent half the season in AAA, and was released in late July.  He played a handful of games in Mexico in 2018, then his playing career was over.  He batted .274/.334/.439 in AAA, but just .221/.294/.366 in the majors.  He was a catching coach in the KBO, and became the catching and first base coach for the Twins in 2022.  He is one of two major league players named "Conger", the other being 1940s pitcher Dick Conger.

January 28

George Wright (1847)

Ducky Holmes (1869)

Bill Doak (1891)

Michael Murray (1896)

Percy Miller (1897)

Lyn Lary (1906)

Bob Muncrief (1916)

Pete Runnels (1928)

Bill White (1934)

Fredi Gonzalez (1964)

Kevin Tolar (1971)

Jermaine Dye (1974)

Magglio Ordonez (1974)

Lyle Overbay (1977)

Nate Jones (1986)

Fredi Gonzalez managed the Florida Marlins from 2007-2010 and managed the Atlanta Braves from 2011-2016.

Left-hander Kevin Anthony Tolar did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 2004.  Born and raised in Panama City, Florida, he was drafted by the White Sox in the ninth round in 1989.  He definitely gets points for persistence, because it would take him eleven years to reach the majors.  He was in rookie ball in 1989 and in Class A from 1990-1993 for the White Sox; they didn’t hit him very well, but he struggled due to control problems, walking from six to eight batters per nine innings.  The White Sox gave up on him and released him in April of 1994.  He was out of baseball that year, but signed with Pittsburgh in 1995.  The Pirates converted him to relief, where he didn’t exactly get pinpoint control, but he did improve.  He split 1995 between Class A and AA with the Pirates, was in AA for Cleveland in 1996, mostly in AA with the Mets in 1997, with AA for Pittsburgh and AAA in Cincinnati in 1998, and in AAA with Pittsburgh in 1999.  He pitched well in AAA in 2000 for Detroit and finally made his major league debut, getting a September call-up.  He again pitched well in AAA for Detroit in 2001, spending about a month in the majors.  He was back in AAA in 2002 for Pittsburgh.  He went to Boston in 2003 and started the season in the majors, but lasted only three weeks before going back to AAA.  He signed with Minnesota for 2004, but was released at the end of spring training.  He signed with the Cubs and played in AAA with them that season.  He split 2005 in AAA with Arizona and Toronto, split 2006 between the Mexican League and the Atlantic League, and was in the Atlantic League at the start of 2007.  He signed to play for a team in Taiwan in June of 2007, and played for Aragua in the Venezuelan Winter League from 2006-2008.  He appeared in twenty major league games, going 0-0, 6.62.  He pitched 17.2 innings, allowing 13 hits and 16 walks.  He appeared in 680 minor league games, 307 of them in AAA.  Overall, he was 70-56, 3.50 with 45 saves in the minors; in AAA, he was 31-11, 3.73 with 22 saves.  It appears that Kevin Tolar is currently an affiliate for GeneWize, a health, beauty, and wellness company which is a subsidiary of Genelink, Inc. and is located in his home town of Panama City.

January 27

Andy Lotshaw (1880)

Milt Gaston (1896)

Bibb Falk (1899)

Fred Heimach (1901)

John Lowenstein (1947)

Tom Trebelhorn (1948)

Eric Wedge (1968)

Phil Plantier (1969)

Angel Berroa (1980)

Gavin Floyd (1983)

Julio Teheran (1991)

Andy Lotshaw had a thirteen-year minor league career as an outfielder/first baseman, leading his league in triples four times and in home runs five times.  He also played professional basketball.  He then became the trainer for the Chicago Cubs from 1922-1952.

Tom Trebelhorn managed the Milwaukee Brewers from 1986-1991 and the Chicago Cubs in 1994.

There do not appear to be any players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

January 26

Francis Richter (1854)

Kaiser Wilhelm (1877)

Tubby Spencer (1884)

George Blaeholder (1904)

Charlie Gelbert (1906)

Bob Nieman (1927)

Ray Knoblauch (1928)

Bob Uecker (1934) 

Mike Pazik (1950)

Rick Schu (1962)

Jeff Branson (1967)

Esteban German (1978)

Andres Torres (1978) 

Ryan Rowland-Smith (1983)

Kyle Garlick (1992)

Francis Richter was the editor of two  influential early baseball publications, the Sporting Life and the Reach Guide.

The father of Chuck Knoblauch, Ray Knoblauch pitched in the minors from 1948-1957, going 54-51.

Left-hander Michael Joseph Pazik appeared in 13 games for Minnesota from 1975-1977.  He was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, attended high school there, and then went to Holy Cross, the most recent major league player to come from that school.  Pazik was drafted by the Yankees in the 13th round in 1971.  He was used as a starter in the Yankees' minor league system and pitched pretty well, but did not get a chance in the majors with them.  In May of 1974, Pazik was traded along with cash to Minnesota for Dick Woodson.  He pitched pretty well at AAA Tacoma and came to the Twins for about a month in 1975, but got little chance to play, appearing in five games (three starts) and pitching 19.2 innings.  Pazik made the Twins out of spring training in 1976, but again appeared in only five games (all in relief) before going back to AAA.  In 1977, Pazik again made the Twins out of spring training and pitched very well in three starts, but then was seriously injured in an automobile accident which broke both his legs, and missed the rest of the season.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with the White Sox.  He pitched well in the minors, but was not brought back to the big leagues.  Pazik started 1979 still in the White Sox' organization, moved on to Pittsburgh, and then ended his career.  His entire major league career was with Minnesota:  he was 1-4, 5.79 in 46.2 innings.  After his career ended, Pazik went on to coaching and managing, and was the pitching coach for the White Sox from 1995 to 1998.  At last report, Mike Pazik was a scout for Kansas City and was living in the Washington, D. C. area.  His daughter, Kristen Pazik, is a model and is married to Ukrainian soccer player turned politician Andriy Shevchenko.

Outfielder Andres Vungo (Feliciano) Torres did not play for the Twins, but was in the minor league system in 2006.  He was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and was drafted by Detroit in the fourth round in 1998.  He started slowly and never did show any power, but hit .296 for Class A Lakeland in 2000 and .294 for AA Erie in 2001.  He started 2002 as a platoon center fielder for the Tigers, but hit only .211 in ten games and went back to AAA, coming back in September.  He was in the majors over half of 2003 as a reserve but again didn’t hit.  There was really no reason to think he would, because he was pretty average in AAA in those years as well, hitting around .260.  He again started 2004 in the majors, but played in only three games and never batted before being released in late April.  The White Sox signed him and sent him to AAA, where he had a good season, batting .295.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Texas and got off to a good start in AAA, hitting .302 before being brought up to the majors in mid-May.  He played in only eight games as a reserve outfielder, going 3-for-19, before being release in mid-June.  The Twins signed him for 2006 and sent him to Rochester, where he hit .236/.333/.353.  He spent 2007 in AAA for Detroit and was in AAA again in 2008 with the Cubs.  He hit for a good average both years, but did not get a call to the majors, and at age 30 it appeared his career might be over.  He signed with San Francisco for 2009, and was in the majors for all but a month of the season, hitting .270 as a reserve.  In 2010, at age 32, he spent his first full season in the majors, starting 124 games at all three outfield positions, 73 in center, 38 in right, and 13 in left.  He actually hit well, batting .268/.343/.479 with 16 home runs.  He did not repeat that performance in 2011, however, batting only .221 with four home runs in 348 at-bats and starting only 78 games, all in center field.  He was traded to the Mets after the season and was their mostly-regular center fielder in 2012, starting 101 games.  Unfortunately, his batting did not improve, as he hit .230, although with a .327 OBP.  A free agent after the season, he returned to the Giants for 2013 and did about the same, raising his batting average a little but dropping his OBP.  He again became a free agent after the season and did not sign with anyone until mid-June, when the Red Sox signed him.  They sent him to AAA but he opted out of his contract six weeks later, bringing his playing career to an end.  At last report he was living in the San Francisco Bay Area.  He was diagnosed with ADHD in 2002 and has since become a spokesperson to raise awareness of ADHD.  He is also involved in working with inner-city children.  He had hoped to play for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic in 2023, but did not make the roster.

Left-hander Ryan Benjamin Rowland-Smith never played for Minnesota, but was in spring training with them in 2005.  Born in Sydney, Austalia, he attended high school in Newcastle, Australia.  He was signed by Seattle as a free agent in 2000.  He alternated between starting and relieving through much of his early career.  Despite generally pitching well, he had not been above Class A through the 2004 season.  Following that season, Minnesota selected him in the Rule 5 draft; however, he did not make the team, and was returned to Seattle in late March.  He struggled in his AA debut in 2005, but did much better the second time around in 2006.  He split his time from 2007-2009 between Seattle and AAA Tacoma.  He was used in relief in 2007, but was converted back to starting in 2008.  He had pitched well in the majors through 2009, going 11-7, 3.62, 1.30 WHIP in 253.1 innings.  He appeared ready to be a major league starter in 2010, and was given every opportunity to be, but in 27 appearances, 20 of them starts, he went 1-10, 6.75, 1.69 WHIP.  He was, however, featured in a couple of humorous TV ads for Mariners baseball that season.  He was sent back to the minors for six starts and did not do much better there, going 2-4, 5.11.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with Houston for 2011.  He was released on April 1, but re-signed on April 4 and spent the season in the minors, where he did not pitch well.  He signed with the Cubs for 2012 and again spent the season in AAA, doing okay but nothing special.  He signed with Boston for 2013 and had a really good year in relief for AAA Pawtucket, became a free agent, and signed with Arizona for 2014.  He was released in late April, signed with Toronto, went to AAA, was released in mid-June, signed with Cincinnati a couple of weeks later, and was released again in early August.  He played with the EDA Rhinos in Taiwan in 2015.  That ended his summer baseball career, although he continued to play winter ball in Australia, where it was actually summer, through 2016.  He and Trent Oeltjen are co-owners of NxtGen Baseball, whose goal is to train and inspire the next generation of Australian baseball players.  He is also an analyst on Seattle Mariners games for Root Sports Northwest and 710ESPN in Seattle.

Outfielder Kyle Bruce Garlick has played for the Twins since 2021.  He was born in LaHabra, California, went to high school in Chino Hills, California, attended the University of Oregon and Cal Poly-Pomona, and was drafted by the Dodgers in the twenty-eighth round in 2015.  He did not hit particularly well for Oregon, though he did much better at Cal Poly-Pomona.  He was twenty-three when he started his pro career and batted quite well throughout his minor league career.  He reached AA in 2016, AAA in 2018, and made his major league debut with the Dodgers in May of 2019.  He was a bench player for them, appearing in thirty games but getting just forty-eight at-bats.  He got twelve hits, though, and seven of them were for extra-bases.  He was traded to Philadelphia in February of 2020 and had a similar role, appearing in twelve games and getting twenty-two at-bats.  Atlanta claimed him off waivers in January of 2021, waived him again a month later, and he was claimed by Minnesota.  The Twins removed him from their forty-man roster in January of 2023, but he went unclaimed and the Twins signed him again.   He has gone back-and-forth between AAA and the majors in his three seasons with the Twins.  He has appeared in 116 games for Minnesota and batted .227/.278/444 in 277 at-bats.  He became a free agent after the 2023 season and appears to be unsigned at this writing.  He hit well at AAA, and it would have been interesting to see what he would have done with consistent playing time in the majors.  That's never happened for him, though, and as he turns thirty-two today it seems pretty doubtful that it ever will.

January 25

Danny Richardson (1863)

Les Nunamaker (1889)

Kenichi Zenimura (1900)

Ernie Harwell (1918)

Bill Lucas (1936)

Jake O’Donnell (1939)

Wally Bunker (1945)

Vern Ruhle (1951)

Kerry Taylor (1971)

Dan Serafini (1974)

Kenichi Zenimura was a long-time player and manager in Japan as well as an ambassador of the game of baseball.  He helped organize Babe Ruth's tour of Japan in 1934 and is known as the Father of Japanese Baseball.

Ernie Harwell was a major league baseball broadcaster from 1948-1991 and 1993-2002, mostly for the Detroit Tigers.

Bill Lucas was the first African-American general manager, holding the position for the Atlanta Braves from 1976-1979.

Better known as an NBA referee, Jake O’Donnell was an American League umpire from 1969-1972.  He is the only person to have officiated both an NBA all-star game and a major league baseball all-star game.

Right-hander Kerry Thomas Taylor did not play for Minnesota, but he was in their organization at the beginning of his career.  He was born in Bemidji, Minnesota and went to high school in Roseau, Minnesota.  The Twins signed him as a free agent in 1989.  He pitched two years in rookie ball and two years in Class A, and did not do too badly.  The Twins did not place him on the forty-man roster, however, and he was selected by San Diego.  The Padres kept him in the majors all of 1993, giving him seven starts and 29 relief appearances, and he did about as well as you'd expect a 22-year-old who'd never pitched above Class A to do, which is to say not very well.  He went down to AAA in 1994, making one emergency start for San Diego, and did not do very well there, either.  He was doing better in 1995, but was hurt in his eighth start, missing the rest of that season and all of 1996 with Tommy John surgery.  He tried to come back, pitching at AAA for the Padres in 1997 and Detroit in 1998, in independent ball in 1999, and at AAA for the Blue Jays in 2000.  He actually had a pretty good year at Syracuse in 2000, but by then he was 29 years old and was no longer considered a prospect, so his career ended.  It appears that he then went back to school, attending North Dakota State, and at last report he was an Operations Manager for Heartland Ag Systems, Inc. in Hutchinson, Minnesota.

Left-hander Daniel Joseph Serafini pitched for Minnesota from 1996-1998.  Born in San Francisco, he attended high school in San Mateo, California, and was drafted by the Twins in the first round in 1992.  He was a starter in his minor league career.  Serafini pitched well in the low minors, but struggled upon his promotion to AAA, not posting an ERA under 4.90 there until 1998, when he pitched well for two months.  Despite that, he made brief appearances in Minnesota in 1996 (one emergency start) and 1997 (six games, in which he actually did fairly well).  The pitching-poor Twins called him up in early June of 1998.  Serafini was mostly used in the bullpen, although he was in the starting rotation for about a month.  He was not terribly effective in either role, and at the end of spring training of 1999 he was sold to the Cubs.  As a Twin, Dan Serafini was 9-6, 5.88 in 105.2 innings.  He did no better as a Cub, and was traded after the 1999 season to San Diego.  In June of 2000 the Padres traded him to Pittsburgh, where he pitched well in AAA but no better in the majors.  2001 was quite a year:  Serafini was released by Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and the Mets, finishing the year at AAA with Milwaukee.  He signed with Anaheim in November, but was released again before the 2002 season started.  Serafini was out of baseball in 2002, but signed with St. Louis in November.  He certainly hung in there--released by the Cardinals in April of 2003, he went to Mexico, and then signed with Cincinnati in August, getting a little over a month in the majors.  Serafini was a free agent after the 2003 season, but he kept plugging away, going to Japan and helping his team win a championship in 2005.  He came back to the United States in 2007 and signed with Colorado, appearing in three more major league games for the Rockies.  After that season, Serafini was found to have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, and was suspended for fifty games.  He pitched in Mexico for several years after that, closing out his playing career with four games early in the 2013 season in 2013.  Serafini was the owner of the Oak Tavern in Sparks, Nevada, which was featured in an episode of the television program "Bar Rescue" in 2015.  It appears, however, that the bar was not rescued and is now closed.  He was living in the Lake Tahoe area when he was arrested in October of 2023 and charged with the fatal shooting of his mother-in-law and father-in-law.  He remained in jail at last report.

January 24

Dave Brain (1879)

Pinch Thomas (1888)

Cliff Heathcote (1898)

Flint Rhem (1901)

Jean Yawkey (1909)

Johnny Dickshot (1910)

Ray Kelly (1914)

Jack Brickhouse (1916)

Walter Haas (1916)

Dick Stigman (1936)

Sandy Valdespino (1939)

Jumbo Ozaki (1947)

Tim Stoddard (1953)

Neil Allen (1958)

Atlee Hammaker (1958)

Rob Dibble (1964)

Scott Kazmir (1984)

Tyler Flowers (1986)

Franklin Morales (1986)

Jose Quintana (1989)

Mark Contreras (1995)

Chester "Pinch" Thomas got his nickname because he was frequently used as a pinch-hitter.

Jean Yawkey was the wife of Tom Yawkey and was owner of the Boston Red Sox from 1978 until her death in 1992.

Ray Kelly was a baseball writer in Philadelphia for fifty years.

Jack Brickhouse was a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs from 1948-1981.

Walter Haas was the owner of the Oakland Athletics from 1980 until his death in 1995.

Better known as a professional golfer, Jumbo Ozaki played professional baseball in Japan for three seasons, pitching for two seasons and playing outfield for one.

Right-hander Richard Lewis Stigman pitched for Minnesota for four years, 1962-1965.  A native of Nimrod, Minnesota, he attended high school in Sebeka, Minnesota and signed with Cleveland as a free agent in 1954.  Stigman was in Class D for three years.  The first two were pretty awful, but in 1956 he went 17-9 with a 1.44 ERA in 213 innings for Class D Vidalia.  That earned him a promotion to AA, where he pitched well for two years.  He was decent in AAA in 1959 (in one game he pitched 10 2/3 hitless innings) and made the Indians out of spring training in 1960, not returning to the minors until his major league career was over.  Stigman got off to a good start in 1960, even making the all-star team as a rookie, but faded badly in the second half.  He missed the first two months of 1961, and did not pitch very well when he was available.  On April 2, 1962, Stigman was traded to Minnesota with Vic Power for Pedro Ramos.  He started 1962 in the bullpen, pitched well there, and was moved into the starting rotation in mid-July.  He continued to pitch well, leading the league in winning percentage that year.  He was in the rotation for two more years, pitching a total of 431 innings in those two years and still pitching quite well.  In spring training of 1965, he lost his spot in the starting rotation to Jim Perry and moved back to the bullpen.  He was decent, but no more, and on April 6, 1966 Stigman was traded with a player to be named later (Jose Calero) to Boston for Russ Nixon and Chuck Schilling.  The Red Sox put him in their rotation, but after seven mostly mediocre starts moved him to the bullpen, where he finished out the year.  Stigman was traded to Cincinnati in the off-season and was in AAA for 1967, where he was adequate but nothing more.  He finished the year in the Philadelphia organization, and then his playing career ended.  As a Twin, Dick Stigman was 37-37, 3.69 in 138 games, 85 of them starts.  He had a WHIP of 1.24 and an ERA+ of 101.  In 1965-66, Stigman set a record for making ten consecutive starts without a decision.  After leaving baseball, he went into business in the Twin Cities area.  At last report, Dick Stigman was living in Burnsville and making occasional appearances at baseball-related events, including the Twins' Fantasy Camp.  A city park in Nimrod has been named in his honor, as has the local baseball field.

Hilario (Borroto) "Sandy" Valdespino was a left-handed hitting outfielder who played for Minnesota from 1965-1967.  Born in San Jose De Las Lajas, Cuba, he signed with Washington as a free agent in 1957.  He was nicknamed "Sandy" by a minor league manager who thought he resembled Sandy Amaros.  Valdespino produced rather pedestrian numbers for several years, but then started to figure some things out, hitting .284 for AAA Dallas-Ft. Worth in 1963 and jumping to .337 with 16 homers for AAA Atlanta in 1964.  In 1965 Valdespino played his first full season in the majors, being used primarily as a pinch-hitter and occasional outfielder--his first 13 appearances in the big leagues were as a pinch-hitter.  He was an odd choice for the role, as he was a small man with little power.  He hit .261 that year, and did start two games of the World Series, hitting a key double in game one.  He was used in a similar role in 1966, but did not hit and was sent back to the minors in late June.  He once again hit very well in AAA and was called back to the Twins in September.  Valdespino was once again with Minnesota for a full season in 1967, but did not get any more chances to play, and did not hit well in the chances he got.  That off-season he was left off the forty-man roster and was chosen by Atlanta in the Rule 5 draft.  Apparently something was worked out, because in late June he was sent back to AAA after hitting .233 as a pinch-hitter and reserve outfielder for the Braves.  He was traded to Houston in December of 1968, traded to Seattle in August of 1969, and was sold to Kansas City in July of 1970.  Much of that time was spent in the minors, although he did log some major league time with each of those teams.  He remained in the Royals' organization through 1972, and then his playing career came to an end.  As a Twin, Sandy Valdespino hit .220/.269/.284 in 450 at-bats.  He did some coaching in the minors before leaving baseball.  Sandy Valdespino passed away in Moultrie, Georgia on February 26, 2023.

Right-hander Neil Patrick Allen was the Twins' pitching coach from 2015-2017.  Born and raised in Kansas City, he was drafted by the Mets in the eleventh round in 1976.  He was a starter throughout his minor league career and did pretty well, although he stumbled when promoted to AAA in mid-1978.  Despite that, he made the Mets as a reliever at the start of 1979.  He became the Mets closer in 1980 and did pretty well, although he never racked up big save totals.  He had a poor start in 1983, lost the closer role to Jesse Orosco, and was traded to St. Louis in mid-June.  He never closed again, but went on to pitch several more years.  He pitched well through 1984, but did not do well in 1985 and was sold to the Yankees in mid-July.  He pitched well for them the rest of the year, but was a free agent after the season and signed with the White Sox.  He started the season in the bullpen but moved into the rotation in May and did well but got hurt in late July.  He came back to the rotation in 1987 but could not duplicate his success and was released in late August, signing with the Yankees in September.  He went back to the bullpen and was a good pitcher again, staying through the 1988 season.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with Cleveland but made only three appearances with them, spending most of the year in AAA.  That brought his playing career to an end, but he stayed in the game as a pitching coach.  He was in the minors through 2014 with the exception of 2005, when he was the bullpen coach for the Yankees.  He became the Twins' pitching coach in 2015 and held that position through 2017, being let go after the season.  No information about what Neil Allen has done since then was readily available.

Outfielder Mark Anthony Contreras appeared in twenty-eight games for the Twins in 2022.  He was born in Moreno Valley, California, attended the University of California at Riverside, and was drafted by the Twins in the ninth round in 2017.  He did not show much power in college, but batted close to .350 in his last two seasons.  He spent 2017 in rookie ball, reached Class A in 2018 and went to AA in 2019, but really did not show anything to suggest he would be a good major league player.  He missed the COVID season of 2020 and in 2021 suddenly showed some power, hitting twenty homers in a season spent mostly at AAA.  He was on a shuttle between St. Paul and Minneapolis in 2022, ultimately spending about a month in the majors, although it took four or five stints to get there.  He did not hit in the majors, posting a line of .121/.148/.293, although the sporadic playing time he received certainly didn't help any.  He stayed at AAA in 2023 and had a decent year, but nothing special, and the Twins released him in early August.  He signed with Boston for 2024.  We wish him well, but barring injuries it does not seem likely that Mark Contreras will see much more major league playing time.

January 23

Ben Shibe (1838)

Red Donahue (1873)

Bobby Burke (1907)

Sam Jethroe (1917)

Randy Gumpert (1918)

Chico Carrasquel (1926)

Frank Sullivan (1930)

Joe Amalfitano (1934)

Don Nottebart (1936)

Paul Ratliff (1944)

Kurt Bevacqua (1947)

Charlie Spikes (1951)

Alan Embree (1970)

Mark Wohlers (1970)

Erubiel Durazo (1974)

Brandon Duckworth (1976)

Juan Rincon (1979)

Jeff Samardzija (1985)

Ben Shibe was the owner of the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 until his death in 1922.  Shibe Park was named in his honor.

Right-hander Franklin Leal Sullivan came to Minnesota in 1962 and stayed the next year.  He was at the end of a pretty fair career.  A tall man (6'7"), he was born in Hollywood and attended high school in Burbank, California.  Sullivan then signed with Boston as a free agent in 1948.  He was up and down in his early minor-league career:  a strong 1949 campaign in Class C San Jose was sandwiched by poor years in 1948 and 1950.  He then lost two years to the Korean War (where he was awarded a combat infantry badge), returning in 1953.  He had a big year for Class A Albany in 1953, mostly in the bullpen, and made his big league debut at the end of July for the Red Sox.  The next year, Sullivan moved into the Boston rotation and stayed there for several years.  His best year was probably 1955, when he led the league with 18 victories and 260 innings pitched, made his first all-star team, and received minor consideration for Most Valuable Player.  Sullivan also made the all-star team in 1956, and had another strong season in 1957, when he posted the lowest ERA of his career, 2.73, the lowest WHIP of his career, 1.06, and led the league in fewest walks per nine innings at 1.8.  He slumped in 1960, losing 16 games and posting an ERA of 5.10, was traded to Philadelphia after the season.  He got off to a decent start with the Phillies, but then declined, and was released in July of 1962.  The Twins picked him up the same day and he pitched fairly well out of the bullpen the rest of the season, pitching 33.1 innings with an ERA of 3.24.  In 1963, however, Sullivan got off to a poor start and was released in June, ending his playing career.  As a Twin, Frank Sullivan was 4-2, 3.86 in 44.1 innings.  For his career, however, he won 97 games with a 3.60 ERA, pitched 73 complete games, and had 15 shutouts.  For good measure, he also had 18 saves.  After his playing career ended, Sullivan got more serious about golf, eventually becoming a golf pro in Hawaii, where he was still living at last report.  Frank Sullivan was elected to the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2008.  In September of that year, he published a book, "Life Is More Than Nine Innings," in which he told stories about his playing career.  He passed away on January 19, 2016.

Catcher Paul Hawthorne Ratliff played in parts of three seasons for Minnesota, playing for them in 1963 and again from 1970-1971.  He was born in San Diego, went to high school in Pasadena, and signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1962.  Ratliff never hit much in the minors, but made his debut for the Twins in 1963 at age 19, presumably due to injuries to other catchers.  He was with Minnesota for a little over a month, predictably did not hit, and was sent back to the minors.  It would be seven years before he came back to the big leagues.  In 1969, he had a pretty good year as a 25-year-old in AA Charlotte, hitting .302 with 11 homers.  That got him a spot as a reserve catcher for the Twins in 1970, backing up George Mitterwald.  In 149 at-bats, he had easily the best year of his major league career, hitting .268 with five homers.  He started 1971 as the Twins' backup catcher again, but was seldom used, hitting .159 in only 44 at-bats when he was traded to Milwaukee in early July for Phil Roof.  He finished the season with the Brewers and started 1972 there, but continued not hitting and was traded to California in July.  Ratliff finished the season with the Angels' AAA team, and then ended his playing career.   Wikipedia says that he appeared in a few episodes of "Cheers" in the 1980s, although that's the first I've heard of it.  There are more people in this world named "Paul Ratliff" than one might think; no further information about our Paul Ratliff was readily available.

First baseman/designated hitter Erubiel (Cardenas) Durazo did not play for Minnesota, but he was in their organization for about three weeks in 2006.  Born in Hermosillo, Mexico, he attended high school in Monterey.  He spent some time in the Mexican League, and then became a member of the Arizona organization in 1999.  He tore up the minors, hitting over .400 in 344 at-bats split between AA and AAA.  Durazo came up to the Diamondbacks in late July and became their regular first baseman almost immediately, hitting .329 the rest of the season.  He never hit that well again for Arizona, but consistently hit in the .260s as a platoon first baseman from 2000-2002, sharing time first with Greg Colbrunn and then with Mark Grace.  After the 2002 season, Durazo was traded to Oakland as part of a four-team deal.  The Athletics made him a regular, and while he was fairly good in 2003, he had his best year in 2004.  He hit .321 with 22 homers and an OPS of .919, getting minor consideration for Most Valuable Player.  Unfortunately, it was the last good year he would have.  Durazo got off to a poor start in 2005, was injured in late May, missed the rest of the season, and has not played in the majors since.  He became a free agent after the season and started bouncing around, signing with Texas in February of 2006, getting released near the end of spring training, re-signing with Texas just after the season started, getting released again in mid-May, signing with the Yankees, and getting released again in early July.  He signed with Minnesota on July 14 and was sent to Rochester.  He played in 17 games for the Red Wings, batting .264 with a homer and 12 walks in 65 plate appearances.  What the Twins were expecting is unclear, but they apparently weren't impressed, because they released him on August 5.  He signed with Oakland in the offseason, but was released at the end of spring training of 2007.  He signed with the Yankees in July, but was released after the season.  He spent a few season playing in Mexico and then his playing career ended.  At last report, Erubiel Durazo was living in Chandler, Arizona and was a special advisor for the Arizona Diamondbacks to help with the team's outreach to Mexico.

Right-handed reliever Juan Manuel Rincon pitched for the Twins for most of the past decade.  He was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, attended high school there, and signed as a free agent with Minnesota in 1996.  Rincon was a starter for almost all of his minor league career.  He did well in the minors, but advanced slowly, perhaps due to his young age.  Rincon did not reach AA until 2000.  He had a good year in New Britain in 2001 and was brought up to Minnesota briefly, pitching in four games in June.  He was having a poor year in 2002 in AAA Edmonton when he was brought up to the Twins in late June.  Used sparingly, Rincon did not pitch very well in Minnesota that year either.  In 2003, however, Rincon made the team out of spring training and pitched substantially better.  It was the first of four consecutive years in which he was a valuable member of the Twins' bullpen.  Over that period, he was 25-19, 2.93 with a WHIP of 1.22.  It should be noted that he was suspended for ten days in 2005 for using performance enhancing drugs.  He stumbled badly in 2007, and was pitching no better in 2008 when Minnesota released him in June.  He signed with Cleveland for the rest of the season, but continued to struggle.  He signed with Detroit for 2009, was released in May, and finished the season with Colorado, spending time in the minors in both 2008 and 2009.  He was in the minors for most of 2010 and pitched poorly, although he still made two appearances in the majors.  He signed with the Dodgers in 2011, was released, and spent the summer pitching for Bridgeport in the Atlantic League.  He signed with the Angels for 2012 and did fairly well in 26 innings in AAA, but was released on June 1 and went back to Bridgeport for the rest of the season.  He was again in the Atlantic League in 2013-14 and pitched pretty well there, but apparently retired after that season.  As a Twin, Juan Rincon was 30-26, 3.29 with an ERA+ of 121 in 386 games and 441 innings.  At last report, he was a consultant with PriveJets, a company which serves the travel needs of professional athletes.

January 22

Ira Thomas (1881)

Amos Strunk (1889)

Art Ehlers (1897)

Prince Oana (1910)

Chris Pelekoudas (1918)

Dave Leonhard (1941)

Senichi Hoshino (1947)

Mike Caldwell (1949)

Leon Roberts (1951)

Jeff Treadway (1963)

Jimmy Anderson (1976)

Chone Figgins (1978)

Carlos Ruiz (1979)

Ubaldo Jimenez (1984)

Art Ehlers did not play in the majors, but he spent his life in baseball.  He owned several minor league teams at various times and was the general manager of the Philadelphia Athletics and the Baltimore Orioles.  He also was a longtime scout for the Orioles.

Prince Oana played in the minors for twenty-three years, batting .304.  He also had a pitching record of 80-54.

Chris Pelekoudas was a National League umpire from 1960-1975.  He is best remembered for his run-ins with Gaylord Perry over the latter's use of illegal substances on the baseball.

Senichi Hoshino is a long-time player, manager, and executive in Japanese baseball.

Left-hander James Drew Anderson did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for two months in 2005.  He was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, went to high school in Chesapeake, Virginia, and was drafted by Pittsburgh in the ninth round in 1994.  He progressed slowly through the minors, seeming to struggle when first promoted to a higher level but doing better his second time around.  He went 11-2, 3.84 with AAA Nashville in 1999, although with a WHIP of 1.45.  He came up to the majors briefly in early July, then came back in early August, staying for the rest of the season.  He did decently enough in limited duty, going 2-1, 3.99, 1.40 WHIP in 29.1 innings.  He spent most of 2000 and all of 2001-2002 in the Pirates rotation despite going 22-41, 5.24, 1.57 WHIP.  He was remarkably consistent, at least:  his ERAs ranged only from 5.10 to 5.44, and his WHIP varied only from 1.53 to 1.64.  Pittsburgh finally gave up on him after the 2002 season and he signed with Cincinnati.  He was no better there, was released on July 1, signed with San Francisco, and was released again in mid-August.  He signed with the Cubs for 2004, was traded to Boston on July 2, was released a month later, and finished the season in AAA with the Cubs again.  He was still with the Cubs at the beginning of 2005, but was released in mid-April and signed with Minnesota.  He was in AAA for two months and didn’t do too badly there, going 4-4, 2.90 in 62 innings, although with a WHIP of 1.52.  The Twins released Anderson in mid-June and he went to AAA with Tampa Bay, was released after about two months there, and finished out the season in the Houston organization.  He started 2006 in AAA with Florida, went 2-3, 5.77 in 43.2 innings, and his playing career was over.  At last report, Jimmy Anderson was a coach for the Mid-Atlantic Pirates, a youth baseball program based in Chesapeake, Virginia.  He also offered private baseball instruction under the name Jimmy Anderson Baseball Training.  However, those last reports are a few years old now.

January 21

Mike Tiernan (1867)

Lew Fonseca (1899)

Sam Mele (1922)

Danny O'Connell (1927)

Johnny Oates (1946)

Bill Stein (1947)

Mike Krukow (1952)

Dave Smith (1955)

Mike Smithson (1955)

Jose Uribe (1959)

Andy Hawkins (1960)

Darryl Motley (1960)

Chris Hammond (1966)

Tom Urbani (1968)

Rusty Greer (1969)

Jason Ryan (1976)

Brandon Crawford (1987)

Jake Diekman (1987)

Tom Urbani was drafted by Minnesota in the twenty-ninth round in 1989, but did not sign.

The nephew of infielder Tony Cuccinello, Sabath Anthony "Sam" Mele was the second manager of the Minnesota Twins.  Born in Astoria, New York, he was listed for most of his career as having been born in 1923, a fib he attributed to his uncle Tony, who advised him to cheat a year on his age in order to have a longer career.  Mele attended high school in Queens and then went to New York University.  He then entered the Navy.  He was signed by Boston as a free agent in 1946.  After a big year in Class A Scranton, Mele made the Red Sox out of spring training in 1947, eventually becoming a regular outfielder, playing all over the outfield but mostly in right.  He batted .302 that year, the only year he would hit .300.  The next year, Mele clashed with manager Joe McCarthy, who insisted that he change his batting stance, a change Mele blamed for the fact that his average declined.  He fell to part-time status and was traded to Washington in June of 1949.  He had a couple of solid years in Washington, batting .274 and leading the league in doubles in 1951.  In May of 1952, Mele was traded again, this time to the White Sox.  He hit .274 for them in 1953, but was traded again after the season, this time to Baltimore.  He got off to a poor start with the Orioles, was placed on waivers in July, and was claimed by Boston.  He hit .318 for the Red Sox for the rest of 1954, but slumped in 1955 and was on the move again, sold to Cincinnati.  He was released by the Reds after the season, played for Cleveland in 1956, and was released again in mid-April of 1957.  Mele played for the White Sox' AAA team in 1957 and part of 1958, moving on to Kansas City's AAA team for the rest of 1958 before bringing his playing career to a close.  He then became a coach for Washington, coming to Minnesota with the team in 1961.  He took over from Cookie Lavagetto as manager in June.  He remained the Twins' manager into 1967, winning the American League pennant in 1965.  He was replaced as manager by Cal Ermer fifty games into the 1967 season.  Mele never managed again, but was immediately hired as an instructor and scout for the Red Sox, for whom he worked for the next 25 years.  Sam Mele passed away on May 1, 2017 at his home in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Tall (6'8") right-hander Billy Mike Smithson pitched for Minnesota from 1984-1987.  Born in Centerville, Tennessee, he attended the University of Tennessee and was drafted by Boston in the fifth round in 1976.  He struggled for two years in AA, and was converted to relieving in 1979.  He had an excellent year in AAA in 1980, and did well there again in 1981, but was traded to Texas just before the 1982 season.  The Rangers switched Smithson back to starting, and he had a decent year in AAA other than showing a tendency to give up home runs.  He got a September call-up that year and was with Texas all of the 1983 season.  He had a pretty good year for the Rangers, but was traded to Minnesota that offseason along with John Butcher for Sam Sorce and Gary Ward.  He spent most of the next four years in the Twins rotation.  Smithson started out pretty well, going 15-13 with a 3.68 ERA in 252 innings in 1984.  Unfortunately, he got a little worse every year.  He was still decent in 1985, and again pitched over 250 innings, but he had a poor 1986, and in 1987 he was sent to the minors at the end of July and left off the post-season roster.  The Twins released Smithson after the season, and he signed with Boston.  He played for the Red Sox for two more years, doing some starting and some relieving, but never had a good year for them.  He retired after the 1989 season.  As a Twin, Mike Smithson was 47-48, 4.46 in 128 games, 126 of them starts.  He had 26 complete games and five shutouts, pitching 816 innings.  He was named to the University of Tennessee's all-century team and is a member of the school's Hall of Fame.  At last report, Mike Smithson was the athletic director of Hickman County High School in his home town of Centerville, Tennessee, where the baseball field has been named after him, until his retirement.

Right-hander Jason Paul Ryan appeared in 24 games for Minnesota from 1999-2000.  A native of Long Branch, New Jersey, he attended high school in Sommerville, New Jersey and was drafted by the Cubs in the ninth round in 1994.  Ryan was up and down in the minors, pitching well in 1994 and 1995, but not very well in his second year at advanced Class A in 1996.  He had two more down years in advanced A and AA, but got off to a tremendous start in 1999, going 5-0, 1.41 in seven starts at AA West Tennessee.  At that point, Ryan was traded to the Twins with Kyle Lohse for Rick Aguilera and Scott Downs.  He did not pitch nearly as well at either AA New Britain or AAA Salt Lake, but was brought up to the Twins in late August anyway, going 1-4 in eight starts.  He had a better year in Salt Lake in 2000 and came back up to the Twins in late June.  His numbers that year are not as bad as they appear--over half his earned runs were given up in three outings--but they are not all that good, either.  He was released after the season, and never pitched in the majors again.  He kept trying for some time, though.  He pitched in AAA for Pittsburgh and the Dodgers in 2001, played independent ball in 2002, was in AAA with St. Louis in 2003, and split 2004 between the AAA teams of the Cardinals and Royals.  He actually had a very good year in 2003, going 8-6, 2.70 with a 1.27 WHIP, but it apparently not good enough to impress anyone who mattered.  No information about what Jason Ryan has done since his playing career ended was readily available.  However, his nephew, Ryder Ryan, is a pitcher who appeared in one game for Seattle in 2023.

January 20

Everett Mills (1845)

C. I. Taylor (1875)

William Eckert (1909)

Jimmy Outlaw (1913)

Joe Dobson (1917)

Gene Stephens (1933)

Camilo Pascual (1934)

Dave Boswell (1945)

Cecil Espy (1963)

Ozzie Guillen (1964)

Kevin Maas (1965)

Marvin Benard (1971)

Brian Giles (1971)

David Eckstein (1975)

Matt Albers (1983)

Geovany Soto (1983)

Everett Mills holds the record for most at-bats in a season without drawing a walk (342).

 C . I. Taylor founded the first African-American professional baseball team, the Birmingham Giants, in 1904.

General William Eckert was the commissioner of baseball from 1965-1968,

Marvin Benard played in the major leagues for nine years and could never get announcers to stop calling him "Marvin Bernard".

Right-hander Camilo Alberto Pascual, known for his outstanding curveball, was the ace of the early Twins' rotation, pitching for them from their inception through 1966.  Born in Havana, Cuba, he was signed by Washington as a free agent in 1951.  He had fine years in Class B in 1952 and 1953, which was apparently all the Griffith organization needed to see, because he began 1954 in the majors and never went back.  He was in the bullpen for most of 1954 and 1955, although he did make some starts both years.  Pascual became a rotation starter in 1956 and remained one through 1969.  Given his youth, he understandably struggled in his early years, not posting an ERA below four until 1958.  Once he figured things out, though, he really figured them out.  He led the league in strikeouts per nine innings in 1958 and in complete games and shutouts in 1959.  Pascual received some minor consideration for the MVP award in 1959 and made his first all-star team that year.  He also made the all-star team in 1960.  His combined ERA from 1958-1960 was 2.90.  He came to Minnesota with the team in 1961 and had the best years of his career.  Pascual made the all-star team in 1961, 1962, and 1964; was in the top fifteen in MVP voting in 1962 and 1963;  led the league in strikeouts three years in a row (1961-1963); led in shutouts in 1961 and 1962; led in complete games in 1962 and 1963; and won over 20 games in 1962 and 1963.  Pascual continued to pitch well in 1965, although he had numerous no-decisions and also missed a little over a month with injuries.  He had a down year in 1966, however, and after the season was traded with Bernie Allen to Washington for Ron Kline.  He came back to have two of his finest years, with a combined ERA under three and a combined WHIP under 1.2.  He got off to a poor start in 1969, however, and was traded in early July to Cincinnati.  The Reds released him at the start of the 1970 season, and he was signed the same day by the Dodgers.  He was released in August, however, and was out of baseball until April of 1971, when Cleveland picked him up.  In late May, Pascual was sent to San Diego as part of a conditional deal--the Padres kept him for four days and sent him back to Cleveland.  Pascual was released in early June, and his career was over.  It was a pretty good career, though--174 victories, 2,167 strikeouts, and a career ERA of 3.63.  His combined record for the Washington/Minnesota franchise was 145-141, 3.66 in 432 games, 331 of them starts.  After his retirement, he was the Twins' pitching coach for three years (1978-1980).  At last report, Camilo Pascual was living in Miami and scouting for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  He was inducted into the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2012.  He is also in the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame and Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame.

Right-hander David Wilson Boswell had several fine years with Minnesota.  He was born in Baltimore and went to high school there.  Boswell then signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1963.  He did not begin his professional career until 1964, and after a good year split between Class A and AA ended that season in the majors with a September call-up.  Although he was only 19, he was in the big leagues to stay.  In 1965, at age 20, Boswell began the year in the Minnesota bullpen, was placed in the rotation in mid-May, but was sent back to the bullpen in July despite not pitching badly as a starter.  The Twins had a hard rotation to break into:   Camilo Pascual, Jim Perry, Jim Kaat, and Mudcat Grant, plus Jim Merritt was there to make occasional starts as well.  In 1966, however, Boswell forced his way into the rotation, getting there in late May and staying there until the early August, when he was injured.  He was in the rotation until mid-1970 and had some very good years, consistently posting ERAs between 3.1 and 3.4.  While not necessarily his best year, his best numbers came in 1969, when Boswell won 20 games, made 38 starts, and pitched 256 innings.  1969 was also the year when Boswell had his famous fight with manager Billy Martin.  Those innings may have taken something out of him, though, because he hurt his shoulder during the ALCS and never had a good year again.  Boswell struggled through a series of poor starts in 1970 until he was finally placed on the disabled list at the end of July, staying there for the rest of the season.  Boswell was released at the end of 1971 spring training, went to Detroit (reuniting him with Martin), was released again at the end of May, was signed by Baltimore, and was released one more time before the 1972 season, finished as a player at age 27.  In his later years, Dave Boswell lived in Joppa, Maryland, helped at various fantasy camps, and enjoyed working in his garden.  Dave Boswell passed away in Joppa on June 11, 2012.

Left-handed first baseman/designated hitter Kevin Christian Maas was with Minnesota for about two months in 1995.  He was born in Castro Valley, California, attended the University of California, and was drafted by the Yankees in the 22nd round in 1986.  Maas hit pretty well throughout his minor league career, making his major league debut with the Yankees at the end of June of 1990.  He got off to a tremendous start, hitting 21 home runs in about four months and finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting to Sandy Alomar.  In 1991, his only year as a regular, he hit 23 homers, but batted only .220, although he had a .333 OBP.  He was reduced to part-time status in 1992 and 1993, going back to AAA in July of the latter year.  Maas was released by the Yankees in March of 1994, signed with San Diego, was released again in May, and finished the season with Cincinnati, although he was in the minors with all of those clubs.  Released again at the end of the season, Maas signed with Minnesota.  He played sparingly with the Twins:  in a little over two months, he appeared in 22 games, getting 64 at-bats.  He hit .193/.281/.316 with one home run, and was released in late June, his last appearance in the majors.  He continued playing for a couple more years, though.  Maas played for Columbus in the Yankees organization for the rest of 1995, went to the Brewers' AAA team in 1996 (playing briefly for Hanshin in Japan), and was in AAA for Houston and Cincinnati in 1997 before ending his playing career.  At last report, Kevin Maas was working as a vice president and financial consultant for Charles Schwab in his home town of Castro Valley, California.