Gus Schmelz managed several teams in the late 19th century. He is one of the few who became a manager without having played professionally.
Bob Coleman managed in the minor leagues for thirty-five years. He had the most wins as a minor league manager when he retired, 2,496, a mark since passed by Stan Wasiak.
Former Knicks player Mel McGaha was the manager of the Kansas City Athletics from 1964-1965.
Right-hander James Leslie Gideon did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system for a few years. He was born in Taylor, Texas, went to high school in Bellaire, Texas, and attended the University of Texas. He was then drafted by Texas in the first round of the 1975 draft. He had two starts in rookie ball, where he pitched sixteen innings and allowed just three hits and no runs. He then was jumped to AAA, where he did not pitch well. Despite that, he was brought to the majors for one start in mid-September. He lasted 5.2 innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on seven hits and five walks. He started 1976 in AAA for Texas but was traded to Minnesota on June 1 along with Mike Cubbage, Bill Singer, and Roy Smalley for Bert Blyleven and Danny Thompson. He had a poor year in 1976 and then started to suffer injuries. He pitched badly in 1977, missed all of 1978, and was able to pitch only 43 innings of AA in 1979. The Twins released him after that season. He tried to make a comeback with the Rangers in 1982, but did not do well in AA and his playing career ended. The one start he made in September of 1975 turned out to be his only major league appearance. Still, he did get one, which is one more than most of us get. He was inducted into the University of Texas Hall of Fame in 1992 and into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020. Jim Gideon was an employee benefits broker at William Gammon Benefits and then with Higginbotham Associates, both in Austin, Texas, until his retirement.
Left-hander Brian James Looney did not pitch for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system in 1997. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, went to high school in Cheshire, Connecticut, attended Boston University, and was drafted by Montreal in the tenth round in 1991. Most of his first two years in the minors were spent in Class A, where he pitched very well. He made eight starts in AA in 1993, then was jumped to the majors for a September call-up, pitching six innings over three games. He had a fair-to-middling year in AAA in 1994, making one big league appearance in early June. The Expos then apparently gave up on him, sending him to Boston after the 1994 season “as part of a conditional deal”. He pitched decently, but no more in AAA for the Red Sox for two years, but pitched poorly in three appearances in the majors in 1995. After the 1996 season, Boston sent him to Minnesota as the player to be named later for Pat Mahomes. He was apparently injured part of the 1997 season, as he made only 17 relief appearances and pitched a total of 24.2 innings for AAA Salt Lake. He did well in the innings he pitched, but was let go after the season. He then bounced around the minors for several more years, but never made it back to the big leagues. He was in AAA with the Yankees in 1998, with Detroit and Philadelphia in 1999, with Florida and Cleveland in 2000, was back in the Yankees’ system in 2001, was with Pittsburgh and Baltimore in 2002, and with Colorado in 2003. He then pitched in the Atlantic League through 2005. It is unclear where he went after that, but he pitched in Italy in 2008. At last report, Brian Looney was the owner of Hamden Yards, a baseball instructional facility in Hamden, Connecticut.
Right-handed starter Christopher Alan Archer pitched for the Twins in 2022. He was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, went to high school in Clayton, North Carolina, and was drafted by Cleveland in the fifth round in 2006. He did not do much in the low minors, but he did strike out quite a few guys, so the Cubs traded for him before the 2009 season. He was much better for them, reaching AA in 2010 at the still young age of twenty-one. The Cubs then traded him to Tampa Bay before the 2011 season in a multi-player deal that included, among others, ex-Twins Sam Fuld and Matt Garza. He reached the majors in 2012 and came up to stay in 2013. He had some fine years for the Rays, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2013, making the all-star team in 2015 and 2017 (leading the league in starts both years), and finishing fifth in Cy Young voting in 2015. He also led the league in losses in 2016, but he had an ERA of 4.02, a FIP of 3.81, and a WHIP of 1.24, indicating that he was mostly the victim of bad luck. 2017, however, was the last really good year he had. He wasn't terrible in 2018, but was traded at the July deadline for Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows, and a player to be named later who turned out to be Shane Baz. That was quite a win for the Rays, although it clearly wasn't Archer's fault. 2018 is when he started having injuries that have plagued him the rest of his career to this point. He was okay the rest of 2018, had a down year in 2019, did not play in 2020, and became a free agent. The Rays signed him back for 2021, but could not work any magic with him and he became a free agent again after the season. The Twins signed him for 2022, and he went 2-8, but with an ERA of 4.56 and a WHIP of 1.32 in twenty-five starts. The downside, of course, is that he pitched only 102.2 innings in those starts, which is barely over four innings per start. He became a free agent again after the season and went unsigned, so his playing career is presumably over. At last report, Chris Archer was an assistant in baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Outfielder/first baseman Jordan Thomas Luplow played for the Twins for the last two months of 2023. He was born in Visalia, California, went to high school in Clovis, California, attended Cal State--Fresno, and was drafted by Pittsburgh in the third round in 2014. He took a while to get going, spending three years at various levels of Class A, but took off in 2017, starting at AA, moving up to AAA, and making his major league debut in late July of that year. He didn't hit, however, and so started 2018 back in AAA. He again got called up in July, and he again didn't hit. He was traded to Cleveland after the season. He spent most of the season in the majors and had his first good year, batting .276 with fifteen homers and an OPS of .923 as a part-time player. He went back not hitting in the COVID year of 2020, and when he did not hit again in the first part of 2021 he was traded to Tampa Bay. He was okay as a part-time player for the Rays but was traded to Arizona after the season. He again did not hit and became a free agent after the 2022 season. He signed with Atlanta for 2023, was waived in early April and claimed by Toronto, was waived again in early August and claimed by Minnesota. As a Twin, he batted .206/.315/.349, numbers which are in line with his career numbers. A free agent again after the season, he signed with Atlanta, was released in spring training, and signed with Philadelphia. He spent the 2024 season in AAA, where he was okay but nothing special. He turns thirty-one today. In the old days, when teams carried five or six outfielders, he might have had a role on a major league squad. Today, however, it appears that Jordan Luplow's playing career is probably about over.
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