October 23

This is a reprint from last year.

William Hulbert (1832)

Mike Sullivan (1866)

Lena Blackburne (1886)

Rube Bressler (1894)

Felton Snow (1905)

Barney Brown (1907)

Billy Sullivan (1910)

Vern Stephens (1920)

Ewell Blackwell (1922)

Jim Bunning (1931)

Greg Thayer (1949)

John Castino (1954)

Dwight Lowry (1957)

Al Leiter (1965)

Todd Sears (1975)

David Riske (1976)

John Lackey (1978)

Bud Smith (1979)

Kyle Gibson (1987)

William Hulbert was one of the founders of the National League and was its president from 1877 until his death in 1882.

Infielder Lena Blackburne discovered and marketed the mud from the driver beds near the Delaware River in New Jersey that has been rubbed on every major league baseball used since the 1950s.

Right-hander Gregory Allen Thayer played for the Twins in 1978.. Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he went to high school in St. Cloud, Minnesota, attended St. Cloud State, and was drafted by the Giants in the 32nd round in 1971. He was small for a professional pitcher, standing 5' 11" and weighing 182 pounds. Thayer spent two years in the low minors for San Francisco, pitching neither well nor terribly, but was released in April of 1973. He was out of baseball that season, but the Twins signed him in September. Thayer was in AA Orlando most of the next four seasons, compiling an ERA of around 3.00.  For some of that time, his roommate was Terry Ryan. He was only promoted above AA once in that span, in 1975, when he pitched 39 innings for AAA Tacoma. One suspects the main reason for that was control problems; he averaged about 5 walks per nine innings. Thayer made the Twins at the start of the 1978 season, pitching in a middle relief/mopup role. He did about as well as you would expect someone in that role to pitch, but still walked too many batters: he was 1-1 with a 3.80 ERA in 20 appearances, giving up less than a hit per inning but walking 30 in 45 innings. He was sent back to the minors in late June. Thayer was in AAA Toledo through 1979, but continued walking people. He moved on to the Toronto organization in 1980, but his professional career was over after that. He did not give up baseball, however. In 1992, he pitched for the Sartell Muskies amateur team, helping them win the Class C state championship. He makes regular appearances at an annual Minnesota Twins alumni game hosted by the St. Cloud River Bats and at last report was a coach for the Sauk Rapids legion baseball team.

Infielder John Anthony Castino played for the Twins from 1979-1984. He was born in Evanston, Illinois and went to high school in Winnetka, Illinois. He then attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He was drafted by the Twins in the third round in 1976. In 1977, he hit .326 with 17 home runs at Class A Visalia. He continued to hit well the next year at AA Orlando, and was installed as the regular third baseman for the Twins in 1979. Castino hit .285 that year and shared the Rookie of the Year award with Alfredo Griffin. He hit .302 in 1980, but then began to decline, due partly to back problems. A move to second base in 1982 probably did not help matters, either. He bounced back with a solid 1983 campaign, hitting .277 with 11 homers, but after that his injuries became too much for him. He played eight games in 1984, and then his career was over. In just over five seasons, John Castino hit .277/.329/.398 for the Twins. After leaving baseball, he got an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and was the senior vice president of Wealth Enhancement Group, a Minneapolis-based financial planning and advisory services firm, until his retirement in 2013.  Upon retiring, he moved to New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

Catcher Dwight Lowry had seven at-bats for the Twins in 1988. He was born in Lumberton, North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina. He was drafted by the Tigers in the 11th round in 1980. He did not hit well in the minors; his best year was 1982, when he hit .277 in his second year at Class A Lakeland. He reached AA in 1983 and AAA in 1984, He was in the majors part of that year, serving as Lance Parrish's backup in April, May, and September for Detroit's World Championship team. Lowry was back in the minors in 1985, but spent most of 1986 with the Tigers, again as the backup catcher. He played sparingly in both AAA and the majors in 1987, but then was released by the Tigers. He actually had played about as well as you could expect a backup catcher to play: a .282 average with 5 homers in 220 at-bats. The Twins signed Lowry in October of 1987. He was with them coming out of spring training in 1988, but after going 0-for-7 was sent to the minors in late April, never to return. Out of baseball in 1989, Lowry came back in 1990, hitting .310 in 187 at-bats for the Expos' AAA team in Louisville. When that did him no good, however, he turned to coaching and managing in the Tigers' organization. He was the Tigers' Player Development Man of the Year in 1996. Sadly, while managing the Jamestown Jammers in 1997, Dwight Lowry died of a heart attack on July 10 at the age of 39. The Tigers named their player development award the Dwight Lowry award. Dwight Lowry was inducted into the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame in 1998.

First baseman Todd Andrew Sears played for the Twins in 2002-2003. He was born in Des Moines, went to high school in Ankeny, Iowa, and then attended the University of Nebraska. He was drafted by the Rockies in the third round in 1977. He spent three years in Class A, putting up solid and steadily increasing numbers. He started 2000 in AA, and was traded in July to Minnesota for Butch Huskey and Todd Walker. He was promoted to AAA Edmonton in 2001, and hit over .300 there for two consecutive years. He also hit 33 home runs in that span, and got a September call-up to the Twins in 2002. He had two stints with the Twins in 2003, totaling about a month and a half, and was with Rochester the rest of the year. In September, Sears was traded to the Padres for Alex Garcia. He spent the rest of the season in San Diego, but would never play in the majors again. He was with the Padres' organization in 2004, went to the Marlins for 2005, started 2006 with the Mariners, was released in June, and went back to the Marlins for the rest of 2006 and all of 2007 before finally calling it a career. As a Twin, Todd Sears hit .260/.326/.390, with two home runs and 11 runs batted in. Sears went back to college after his pro career ended, receiving a degree in business administration from the University of Nebraska in August of 2009. At last report, he was the owner and operations manager of Complete Game Baseball, a baseball instructional school in the Kansas City area.

Left-hander Robert Allan “Bud” Smith did not play for the Twins, but made three appearances at AAA Rochester in 2005. He was born in Torrance, California, went to high school in Bellflower, California, attended Los Angeles Harbor Community College, and was drafted by St. Louis in the fourth round in 1998. He pitched very well in the minors and advanced rapidly, reaching the majors in June of 2001 at age 21. He made sixteen appearances for the Cardinals, fourteen of them starts, and went 6-3, 3.83 with a 1.22 WHIP and a no-hitter. He finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting, and big things were expected. They didn’t happen. He developed shoulder problems. Smith underwent various surgeries over the years to repair the damage, but nothing really worked. He started 2002 in the Cardinals’ rotation and went 1-5, 6.94. He was sent to the minors and traded to Philadelphia in late July. He never got back to the big leagues. The shoulder continued to bother him; he stayed in the Phillies’ organization through 2004, but appeared in only 21 games. The Phillies let him go, and Smith signed with Minnesota as a free agent for 2005. He made three relief appearances in Rochester, going 1-0, 4.76 in 5.2 innings. He played for Long Beach in the Golden Baseball League in 2006-2007, then his playing career ended. At last report, Bud Smith was a scout in southern California for the Toronto Blue Jays.

October 22

Kid Carsey (1870)

Bill Carrigan (1883)

Johnny Morrison (1895)

Jumbo Elliott (1900)

Jimmie Foxx (1907)

Wilbur Wood (1941)

Jamie Quirk (1954)

Frank DiPino (1956)

Keith Osik (1968)

Hector Carrasco (1969)

Ichiro Suzuki (1973)

Michael Barrett (1976)

Brad Thomas (1977)

Eli Whiteside (1979)

Robinson Cano (1982)

Darren O'Day (1982)

Carlos Torres (1982)

Right-hander Hector (Pacheco) Carrasco pitched for the Twins from 1998-2000 and again in 2001. Born and raised in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, he was signed by the Mets as a free agent in 1988. After four seasons in their minor-league system, three of them in rookie ball, Carrasco was released. He signed with Houston and had a good year for Class A Asheville in 1992. He was then traded to the Marlins, and after spending 1993 in Class A was traded to the Reds. After six years in the minors, three in rookie leagues and three in Class A, Cincinnati decided Carrasco was ready for the big leagues. He made the most of the opportunity. Pitching exclusively out of the bullpen, he pitched in 45 games, posting an ERA of 2.24, a WHIP of 1.28, and an ERA+ of 187. Carrasco would remain in the Cincinnati bullpen for three and a half years, performing well in a middle relief/setup role. In July of 1997, he was traded to the Royals. After the season, he was chosen by Arizona in the expansion draft, but was placed on waivers at the end of spring training. Carrasco was selected by the Twins and spent nearly three seasons in the Twins' bullpen. He remained in the middle relief/setup role, and did a decent job for the Twins over that time. In September of 2000, he was traded to Boston for Lew Ford. A free agent after the season, Carrasco signed with the Blue Jays, but was released near the end of spring training and returned to Minnesota. His pitching in 2001 was about the same as it had been. A free agent again after the season, he was signed by Texas, but did not play for them, and was out of baseball in 2002. He signed with Baltimore for 2003 and appeared in 40 games for the Orioles, but was let go after the season and again was out of baseball in 2004. The Nationals took a chance on him in 2005, and Carrasco turned in what may have been his best season at age 35: a 2.04 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 199 ERA+ in 64 games, 5 of them starts. Once again a free agent, he signed with the Angels, for whom he had a good season in 2006. He did not do well in a half season in 2007, however, and was released. After that he pitched in the minors for Washington, Pittsburgh, the Cubs, and three teams in the Atlantic League.  He pitched in the Mexican League in 2011-12, doing well in 2011, but not so well in 2012.  His playing career was over after that.  It was a pretty good one, though.  It is unclear what Hector Carrasco is doing now, although one report indicated that he was living in Los Angeles.

Left-hander Bradley Richard Thomas pitched for the Twins in 2001 and again in 2003-2004. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, he was signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 1995. The Dodgers quickly soured on him, releasing him in May of 1997 after only one year of rookie ball. Minnesota signed him three days later, and he slowly worked his way up the Twins' system. In 2001, at AA New Britain, Thomas went 10-3 with a 1.96 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. He had a couple of brief trials with the Twins that year, making five starts. Thomas spent the next two years at AAA. He pitched poorly in 2002 and was hurt part of 2003, but did better when he came back. Thomas received a September call-up in 2003, working 4.2 innings over three games. He started 2004 in Minnesota, but after three ineffective relief appearances was sold to Boston. As a Twin, he appeared in 11 games, five of them starts, and went 0-3, 9.89 in 23.2 innings. He pitched briefly in AAA for the Red Sox and then went to Japan. He tried to come back to the United States in 2007, signing with the Mariners, but after a mediocre season in AAA he was released and it appeared his chances for a big league career had ended. He then went to Korea, where he became a star closer in the Korean league, setting a record for saves. He also pitched in the 2009 World Baseball Classic for Australia. After the 2009 campaign, he signed with Detroit and surprisingly enough made the team in 2010. Even more surprisingly, he didn’t do too badly, going 6-2, 3.89 in 49 appearances, two of them starts. He was injured for most of 2011 and did not pitch well in the majors when he did pitch, although he did not do too badly in eight AAA appearances.  He was a free agent after the 2011 season and went unsigned.  He played in Taiwan from 2012-2014, pitching for the Brother Elephants.  At last report, Brad Thomas had returned to Australia and had a number of business interests, including Brad Thomas' Big League Xperience Baseball Academy, Tickled Pink Travel, and The Core Group, which appears to be involved in mineral processing.

Catcher Dustin Eli Whiteside never played for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for a time. Born in New Albany, Mississippi, he attended Delta State University, and then was drafted by the Orioles in the sixth round in 2001. Whiteside never hit much in the minors, although he did hit 18 homers with AA Bowie in 2004. He reached AAA in 2005, and played in nine games for the Orioles that year, going 3-for-12. He went back to the Orioles' minor-league system for the next two years, becoming a free agent after the 2007 season. The Twins signed him and sent him to Rochester for 2008, but he was released at the end of April. Signed by the Giants, he came back to the majors with them at the end of May, and was their reserve catcher the rest of the season. As such, he caught a no-hitter by Jonathan Sanchez and hit his first major league home run, a grand slam. In 2010 he played his first full season in the majors at age 30.  He slumped to .197 as a part-time catcher in 2011, however, and spent most of 2012 in AAA, appearing in only twelve major league games.  He had an eventful off-season following 2012:  he was waived by the Giants in November and claimed by the Yankees, waived by the Yankees in December and claimed by Toronto, then waived by Toronto the same day and claimed by Texas.  He spent the year at AAA Round Rock but hit only .187 as a part-time catcher.  A free agent again after the 2013 season, he signed with the Cubs and got back to the majors again for about two weeks in 2014.  He signed with Atlanta for 2015, but chose instead to become the bullpen catcher for the San Francisco Giants.  He retained that job through 2017 but does not appear to have held it after that.  in 2021, however, he returned to the Giants as a roving minor league catching instructor.

October 21

Bill Lee (1909)

Bill Bevens (1916)

Whitey Ford (1928)

Johnny Goryl (1933)

Ted Uhlaender (1940)

Bill Russell (1948)

Jerry Garvin (1955)

George Bell (1959)

Franklin Stubbs (1960)

John Flaherty (1967)

Steve Holm (1979)

Casey Fien (1983)

Zack Greinke (1983)

Jose Lobaton (1984)

I always find it interesting that anyone who is even rumored to have used PEDs is condemned as a dirty rotten cheater, but Whitey Ford, who admitted to cheating by scuffing baseballs, is acclaimed as a hero and an all-around great guy.

Infielder John Albert Goryl played for the Twins from 1962-1964 and managed them from 1980-1981. Born and raised in Cumberland, Rhode Island, he was signed by the Boston Braves in 1951. Primarily a third baseman, Goryl started out in Class D and slowly worked his way up the minor-league ladder. He was drafted by the Orioles in the 1954 minor-league draft, and by the Cubs in the 1955 minor-league draft. Following a good year in 1957 for AA Memphis, Goryl got his first shot at the big leagues through a September call-up. He spent all of 1958 with the Cubs, splitting time between third and second base and playing in about half the team's games. He was nothing special at the bat, however, and after about 2 1/2 months with the Cubs in 1959, he was sent back to the minors. In April of 1960, Goryl was traded to the Dodgers. He hit fairly well for them in two years at AAA, but never was brought to the majors. Now 28, he was left unprotected in the rule 5 draft, and was selected by the Twins in November 1961. Goryl was a little-used reserve in 1962; he got a little more playing time in 1963-64, but never had more than 150 at-bats in a season. He hit .297 with nine home runs in 1963, but dropped to .140 with no homers in 1964. He had a good year in AAA Denver in 1965, but was not called up to the majors. Goryl apparently saw the writing on the wall and turned to managing. He managed for eight seasons in the minors, seven of them in the Twins' organization, and was a coach in both the minors and the majors for several years. Goryl was named manager of the Twins in August of 1980, replacing Gene Mauch, but did not hold the job long, being replaced by Billy Gardner in May of 1981. His record as Twins manager was 34-38. As a player for the Twins, he had 290 at-bats, hitting .221/.291/.393. After leaving the Twins in 1981, Goryl joined the Cleveland Indians. At last report, he was a special advisor for player development for Cleveland, winning the Mike Coolbaugh award in 2012 for his work ethic, knowledge of the game, and mentoring of young players. Johnny Goryl was inducted into the Kinston (NC) Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. His son, also named Johnny, played for the Indians rookie league team in Arizona in 2009 and was an assistant coach at Ball State for one season before leaving baseball.

Outfielder Theodore Otto Uhlaender played for the Twins from 1965-1969. He was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois and went to high school in McAllen, Texas. He attended Baylor and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1961. His early minor-league career, with the exception of a good year in Class D in 1962, was nothing special. In 1965, however, Uhlaender hit .340 for AAA Denver, earning a September call-up. He hit well in Denver again in 1966, and by late June he was in the majors to stay. He was the Twins' regular center fielder from then through 1969, putting up good averages when considered in the offensive context of the time. His best year was 1968, when he hit .283 and received a tenth-place vote for MVP. Uhlaender never drew many walks, and did not hit for much power, so his batting average was the bulk of his offensive contribution. He was reputed to be a good defender as well. In December of 1969, Uhlaender was traded to Cleveland with Dean Chance, Bob Miller and Graig Nettles for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams. He spent two years in the Indians outfield, one in center and one in left, and continued to hit about as well as he had before. In 1972, however, he was traded to Cincinnati and immediately fell apart, batting only .159. He spent 1973 with AAA Iowa in the White Sox organization, and played briefly in the independent Gulf States League in 1976, where he was a manager, but he never returned to the majors. As a Twin, Uhlaender hit .262/.306/.354. Uhlaender went into business for a while, but returned to baseball in 1989, and was most recently a scout for the San Francisco Giants. His daughter, Katie, competed in the 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 Winter Olympics in the skeleton event, finishing fourth in 2014. Ted Uhlaender died of a heart attack at his ranch near Atwood, Kansas on February 12, 2009.

Left-hander Theodore Jered Garvin never played for the Twins, but he was drafted by them. He was born in Oakland, went to high school in Merced, California, and was chosen by the Twins in the first round of the secondary phase of the January draft in 1974. He spent three solid seasons in the Twins farm system, winning 46 games with a combined ERA of 3.27. He got as high as AAA for seven games in 1976. The Twins left him unprotected in the expansion draft, and he was chosen by Toronto. Only 21, Garvin pitched in the Blue Jays' rotation for two years without distinction, showing a tendency toward the gopher ball. He did have an excellent pickoff move, picking off 22 runners in 1977, including four in one game. He was apparently injured for much of 1979, and when he came back, it was as a relief pitcher. Garvin pitched well in that role in 1980 and 1981, posting a combined ERA of under 3.00. His success came to an abrupt halt in 1982, as he ballooned to a 7.25 ERA and 1.83 WHIP in 32 appearances. He was sold to the Cardinals that off-season, but failed to make the team and his career was suddenly over at age 27. At last report, Jerry Garvin was the owner of GMG Commercial Real Estate Services in Placerville, California.

Catcher Stephen Robert Holm appeared in six games for the Twins in 2011.  Born and raised in Sacramento, California, he attended Oral Roberts University and was drafted by San Francisco in the seventeenth round in 2001.  He was never a high-average hitter (his highest was .273 with AAA Fresno in 2008), but he did show a little power and draw a fair number of walks.  He does not appear to have ever been a regular, even in the minors; his high in at-bats in a season is 305 for AA Connecticut in 2007.  Still, the Giants kept him around.  He was in Class A through 2006, with the exception of 11 games in AA in 2005.  He finally moved up to AA in 2007 and, surprisingly, made the Giants out of spring training in 2008.  He stayed almost the entire season and actually did pretty well in a limited role; appearing in 49 games, he had 84 at-bats and hit .262 with nine doubles and a home run.  He was in AAA in 2009 for all but about ten days, and was in AAA again in 2010.  A free agent after that season, he signed with Minnesota for 2011.  Holm was with the Twins for a couple of weeks in April, but spent most of the season with AAA Rochester.  As a Twin, he was 2-for-17 with a double and a walk, giving him numbers of .118/.167/.176.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Colorado for 2012, but was released at the end of March.  He signed with Miami in early May, spent two months in New Orleans, but then was released in early July.  He apparently realized that was the end of the line, as he accepted a position as an assistant coach for Sacramento State two weeks later.  He moved on to Purdue in 2017 as the pitching coach, and became the head baseball coach at Illinois State in June of 2018.

Right-hander Casey Michael Fien pitched for Minnesota from 2012-2016.  He was born in Santa Rosa, California, went to high school in La Palma, California, attended Cal Poly--San Luis Obispo, and was drafted by Detroit in the twentieth round in 2006.  A reliever throughout his minor league career, he pitched well and rose rapidly, reaching AAA in 2008 and making his major league debut in July of 2009.  His major league numbers that year look awful, but it was only 11.1 innings, and the numbers are skewed by a couple of bad outings.  It apparently was enough to sour the Tigers on him, though, because they put him on waivers and he was chosen by Toronto for 2010.  The Blue Jays released him in mid-March and he signed back with Detroit.  He had a very good year in AAA for the Tigers, but made only two appearances in the majors.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Houston for 2011.  He missed part of the season with injury, did not pitch well when he came back, and was released in early August.  The Twins signed him for 2012 and brought him to the majors in early July.  He pitched very well for them, going 2-1, 2.06 with a 0.97 WHIP in 35 appearances (35 innings) and was in the Twins bullpen until early in 2016.  His hits per inning went up in 2014 and his strikeouts per inning went down, which is not good.  His strikeouts per inning again went down in 2015, although the hits per inning were about the same.  He began 2016 with the Twins, but was waived in early May and claimed by the Dodgers, where he had injury problems and did not pitch particularly well.  As a Twin he was 17-15, 1 save, 3.79 ERA, 1.11 WHIP in 237.1 innings (257 games).  He signed with Seattle for 2017, appeared in six games for them in April, did poorly, went to the minors, and was sold to Philadelphia in May.  He appeared in four games for the Phillies and again did poorly.  He then went on the disabled list with a shoulder injury--one wonders if the shoulder was bothering him all season.  The Phillies released him after the season, ending his playing career.   At last report, Casey Fien was living in Southern California.  We don't know what he's doing now, but his X account lists him as "a fulltime husband and father", and perhaps that's enough.

October 20

Jigger Statz (1897)

Bruce Campbell (1909)

Sammy Hughes (1910)

Horacio Martinez (1912)

Mickey Mantle (1931)

Juan Marichal (1937)

Dave Collins (1952)

Keith Hernandez (1953)

Jerry Meals (1961)

Rudy Seanez (1968)

Juan Gonzalez (1969)

It's too bad Jigger Statz didn't play in the age of analytics.

Jerry Meals was a major league umpire from 1998-2022.

It appears that no players associated with the Twins were born on this day.

October 19

This is a reprint from last year which has not been updated.

Mordecai Brown (1876)
Fred Snodgrass (1887)
Bob O'Farrell (1896)
Al Brazle (1913)
Walt Bond (1937)
Sandy Alomar (1943)
Al Gallagher (1945)
David Palmer (1957)
Mark Davis (1960)
Tim Belcher (1961)
Dave Veres (1966)
Keith Foulke (1972)
Horacio Estrada (1975)
Michael Young (1976)
Randy Ruiz (1977)
Jose Bautista (1980)
Rajai Davis (1980)
J. A. Happ (1982)
Josh Tomlin (1984)
Daniel Descalso (1986)
Jordan Lyles (1990)

The Twins chose Tim Belcher with the first pick of the 1983 draft, but he did not sign.

October 18

Candy Cummings (1848)

Cliff Carroll (1859)

Walt Wilmot (1863)

Boileryard Clarke (1868)

Hans Lobert (1881)

Burt Shotton (1884)

Dave Malarcher (1894)

Charlie Berry (1902)

Skeeter Newsome (1910)

Roy Cullenbine (1913)

Andy Carey (1931)

Bobby Knoop (1938)

Willie Horton (1942)

Ed Farmer (1949)

George Hendrick (1949)

Andy Hassler (1951)

Jerry Royster (1952)

Mike Walters (1957)

Alan Mills (1966)

Doug Mirabelli (1970)

Alex Cora (1975)

David Murphy (1981)

Yoenis Cespedes (1985)

Brad Miller (1989)

Alex Cora was drafted by Minnesota in the twelfth round in 1993, but he did not sign.

Right-hander Michael Charles Walters pitched for the Twins from 1983-1984. He was born in St. Louis, attended high school in Alta Loma, California, and then attended Chaffey College of Rancho Cucamonga, California, the same school attended by ex-Twin Al Newman and Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers. He was drafted by the Angels in the first round of the secondary phase of the 1977 draft. He had been drafted four times prior to that: by the Dodgers (June 1975), Detroit (January 1976), the Dodgers again (June 1976), and the Twins (January 1977), but did not sign. He struggled early in his minor-league career, but was converted from starting to relieving in 1980 and thrived in the latter role. He had a strong 1981 season at AAA Salt Lake City, going 7-6 with a 2.85 ERA. He was off to a good start in AAA again in 1982 when he was traded to the Twins in May along with Tom Brunansky and $400,000 for Doug Corbett and Rob Wilfong. He continued to pitch well in AAA for the Twins, and was promoted to the majors in July of 1983. He stayed in Minnesota for all of 1984. Walters did a good job for the Twins in those years. He appeared in 46 games, pitching 88 innings. He was 1-4, but had an ERA of 3.99, a WHIP of 1.33, and an ERA+ of 107. The next year, though, was spent in the minors. One wonders if injuries were the culprit; he pitched in only 13 games in 1985, and then never played again. It would be odd, considering how sought-after he was when he was younger, for him to have been given up on so quickly if he was healthy. That is mere speculation, however. At last report, it appeared that Mike Walters was living in California. He has a son, Ian, who pitched for College of the Desert in Palm Desert, California. Mike Walters was inducted into the Chaffey College Hall of Fame in 2005.

October 17

Buck Ewing (1859)

Paul Derringer (1906)

Red Rolfe (1908)

Joe Greene (1911)

Howie Moss (1918)

Johnny Klippstein (1927)

Jim Gilliam (1928)

Pete Cimino (1942)

Dan Pasqua (1961)

John Mabry (1970)

John Rocker (1974)

Gil Velazquez (1979)

Carlos Gonzalez (1985)

Chris Mazza (1989)

Rafael Montero (1990)

Howie Moss hit 279 minor league homers in a thirteen-year career.

Pitcher John Calvin Klippstein played for the Twins from 1964-1966, near the end of his long career. The son-in-law of major league pitcher Dutch Leonard, he was born in Washington, D. C. Klippstein attended Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, and was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent in 1944 at age 16. Naturally enough, he struggled for a while in the minors, posting decent won-loss records but high ERAs. Klippstein missed all of the 1946 season due to military service. Brooklyn acquired him in the 1948 minor league draft, and he responded the next year with a breakthrough campaign, going 15-8 with a 2.95 ERA for AA Mobile. The Dodgers were unimpressed, however, and left him unprotected in the rule 5 draft. The Cubs chose him, and Klippstein left the minors behind for good. He was a "swing man" for the Cubs for five years, making 72 starts and 102 relief appearances. He never had an ERA under 4.00, but he averaged about 130 innings per season, with a high of 202. The Cubs traded Klippstein to Cincinnati following the 1954 season, and he continued to be shuttled between the rotation and the bullpen for three years, pitching with about the same results. Klippstein struggled with his control most of his career, acquiring the nickname "the wild man of Borneo". He became a full-time reliever in 1958, and was traded to the Dodgers in June of that year. He was sold to Cleveland in April of 1960, and had a solid season for them, leading the league in saves with 14. The Indians valued that so highly that they left Klippstein unprotected in the expansion draft, and he was chosen by the new Washington Senators. He went back to Cincinnati in 1962 and on to Philadelphia in 1963, where he had a 1.93 ERA in 112 innings. He was purchased by the Twins in June of 1964, and he put in 2 1/2 solid seasons for them out of the bullpen, going 9-3 with a 2.24 ERA and 159 ERA+ in 56 appearances for the 1965 World Series team. The Twins released him after 1966. He signed with the Tigers, but made only five appearances for them before being released at age 39. Klippstein's best seasons were when he was 35-38 years old, most of which were for the Twins: in 115 games for Minnesota, he went 10-8 with a 2.45 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 146. He was reputed to be one of the best-liked players of his time. After his retirement, he moved to Chicago and became a season-ticket holder for the Cubs. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1993, and battled it for ten years. Johnny Klippstein passed away on October 10, 2003 in Elgin, Illinois, while listening to a Cubs-Marlins playoff game.

Right-hander Peter William Cimino played for the Twins from 1965-1966. He was born in Philadelphia and was drafted by the then Washington Senators in 1960. He attended Bristol high school, where he once scored 114 points in a basketball game, which is tied for the fourth-highest total ever. Cimino pitched well in the low minors, but struggled in his first couple of tries at AAA. A starting pitcher early on, he started reliving in 1964 and became a permanent member of the bullpen in 1965. 1965 was also his best year at AAA: he went 9-7 with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP in 90 innings. He got a September call-up that year, pitching in one game with the Twins, and was with the Twins all of 1966. Cimino pitched pretty well out of the pen, with a 2.92 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and a 123 ERA+ in 35 games. That off-season, the Twins traded him, along with Jimmie Hall and Don Mincher, to the Angels for Dean Chance and Jackie Hernandez. He pitched well again for the Angels in 1967, but was sent back to the minors early in 1968. He made only 13 appearances in the majors and minors combined that year, and he was out of baseball after that at age 28, leading one to suspect he may have been injured. Cimino relied primarily on his fastball, although he eventually developed a slurve.  He is a member of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.   At last report, Pete Cimino was enjoying retirement in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Infielder Gilbert Arnulfo Velazquez did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for three seasons. He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in Paramount, California, and was drafted by the Mets in the fourteenth round in 1998. He was in the Mets’ organization for seven years. He basically topped out at AA, although he did play in 34 AAA games for the Mets over three different seasons. He was mostly a shortstop through 2001, then became more of a utility player (note: when they make you a utility player in the minors, it’s not a good sign about their opinion of your star potential). He was presumably an excellent glove man, because he sure didn’t hit much; his highest OPS in the Mets’ system was .620 in 2004, in a year mostly spent in AA. He became a free agent after the 2004 season and signed with Minnesota. The Twins sent him to New Britain in 2005 and to Rochester in 2006-2007, and he continued to be who he was, a good glove man who was essentially a poor man’s Nick Punto. Since the real Nick Punto wasn’t all that much, the Twins allowed him to become a free agent again after the 2007 campaign and he signed with Boston. He had his best minor league season in Pawtucket in 2008, hitting .260 with ten home runs for an OPS of .727. He got a September call-up that year and began 2009 with Boston, but was seldom used and soon sent back to Pawtucket. He was still in Pawtucket in 2010, batting .249 with an OPS of .644.  He moved on to the Angels’ organization and amazingly, at age 31, had a year far better than he’d ever had in his life, hitting .328/.399/.466 for AAA Salt Lake.  It was good enough to get him a September call-up, in which he went 3-for-6.  He was with Miami in 2012, spending about six more weeks in the majors.  He signed with the Yankees for 2013, was released, signed back with Miami, and got one last at-bat in the majors.  No one signed him for 2014, but he went to the Mexican League and had a fine year for Yucatan.  He played winter ball last year but did not play anywhere in 2015, instead becoming a coach for the Dodgers' entry in the Arizona Summer League.  He played in winter ball again in 2015, but that ended his playing career.  In his major league career he hit .233/.250/.247 om 73 at-bats.  Still, he got to the majors, which a lot of folks would like to be able to say.  He also may have a long career in baseball ahead of him.  He managed the Great Lakes Loons in the Dodgers' organization in 2016 and has been the minor league infield coordinator for the Arizona Diamondbacks since 2017.

Right-hander Christopher James Mazza did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system from 2012-2015.  He was born in Walnut Creek, California, went to high school in Concord, California, attended Menlo College (one of three major leaguers that school has produced (Gino Cimoli and Bill Renna)), and was drafted by Minnesota in the twenty-seventh round in 2011.  He was a reliever in his years with the Twins.  He appears to have had injury problems.  He did well in Elizabethton in 2012, but appeared in only seven games for Cedar Rapids in 2013.  He came back to have a fine year in Cedar Rapids in 2014, but appeared in only seven games at Class A or below in 2015 before being released in July of 2015.  He signed with Miami in August, reached AA in 2016, and had a good year in AAA in 2017.  He was a starter in those years, but he was also twenty-seven in 2017.  The Marlins released him in May of 2018, he pitched in independent ball for a few months, then was signed by Seattle in August.  The Mets took him in the Rule 5 draft that off-season.  He pitched well in AAA in 2019 and reached the majors in late June of that year, appearing in nine games.  He was waived after the season and was chosen by Boston, for whom he appeared in nine more games, six of them starts, in 2020.  He was traded to Tampa Bay in February of 2021 and was up and down between AAA and the majors a few times, pitching very well at AAA and not terribly for the Rays.  He remained in the Rays organization at the start of 2022 but had a poor season in AAA and did not do well in two major league appearances.  He was released in June, signed with Seattle a few days later, and finished the season in AAA for them, not pitching very well there.  He became a free agent after the season and pitched briefly and unsuccessfully in Mexico, presumably ending his playing career.  His major league numbers are 3-3, 5.35, 1.56 WHIP in 79 innings (34 games).  His grandmother is a cousin to Joe DiMaggio,  At last report, Chris Mazza was living in Fort Myers, Florida and was involved in youth baseball coaching.

October 16

This is a reprint from last year.

Art Devlin (1879)

Goose Goslin (1900)

Boom-Boom Beck (1904)

Matt Batts (1921)

Dave DeBusschere (1940)

Tim McCarver (1941)

Don Hood (1949)

Brian Harper (1959)

Kevin McReynolds (1959)

Billy Taylor (1961)

Darren Reed (1965)

Josias Manzanillo (1967)

Jonathan Schoop (1991)

Bryce Harper (1992)

Goose Goslin was a star for the franchise in the 1920s, when it played in Washington.

Better known as a basketball player, Dave DeBusschere pitched for the White Sox from 1962-1963.

It clearly doesn't mean anything, but it seems like kind of an odd coincidence that Brian Harper and Bryce Harper were born on the same day.

Catcher Brian David Harper played for the Twins from 1988-1993. He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in San Pedro, California, and was drafted by the Angels in the fourth round in 1977. He hit very well in the minors, but it took him a long time to advance. Harper hit .314 with 14 homers at AA El Paso in 1979, and was made to repeat AA the next year. In 1981, Harper hit .350 with 28 homers and an OPS of 1.006 at AAA Salt Lake; he found himself back in AAA the next season. He also found himself no longer a catcher, as he was converted to the outfield. Harper was traded to Pittsburgh in the 1981-82 off-season. He had made brief appearances with the Angels in 1979 and 1981, and made another brief appearance with the Pirates in 1982. He spent the next three full seasons in the big leagues, two with Pittsburgh and one with St. Louis, but averaged fewer than 100 at-bats per season. The Cardinals released him at the end of spring training in 1986. He signed with Detroit and was back in AAA again, although he did spend about a month with the Tigers. 1987 was a similar story: released at the end of spring training, he signed with Oakland and was again at AAA, spending about a month with the A's. It looked like 1988 might be the same thing again: released by Oakland, he signed with Minnesota and again started the season in AAA. This time, however, he was promoted to the majors in late May and he stayed there. He was a semi-regular catcher for the Twins in 1988, and took over full-time duties the next year. Finally given an opportunity at age 28, Harper took advantage of it, batting over .290 for seven consecutive seasons and playing an instrumental role in the Twins' World Championship team of 1991. An excellent contact hitter, Harper twice led the league in most at-bats per strikeout and never fanned more than 29 times in a season. A free agent in 1994, he signed with Milwaukee, where he became the regular catcher and continued to hit well until late June, when he was hit by a pitch and fractured his wrist, missing the rest of the season. Harper signed with Oakland for 1995, but played only two games for them before retiring. Brian Harper spent six years with the Twins, batting .306/.342/.431 in 2,503 at-bats, with an OPS+ of 110. Since his playing career ended, he has turned to coaching and managing.  He was first in the Angels organization but moved to the Giants’ organization in 2008, serving as their roving minor-league catching instructor for two years. In 2010 he was the manager of the San Jose Giants, but then moved to the Cubs chain, serving as the manager of the Tennessee Smokies in 2011 and of the Daytona Cubs in 2012.  He was the batting coach of the Iowa Cubs since 2013-16.  He then moved to the Tigers' organization and was the batting coach of the Erie SeaWolves in 2019.  He was let go after the season, however, along with five other minor league coaches.  At last report, Brian Harper was a coach for Trosky Arizona Baseball in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Outfielder Darren A. Douglass Reed played in fourteen games for the Twins in 1992. He was born in Ojai, California, went to high school in Ventura, California, and was drafted by the Yankees in 1984 in the third round of the June draft's secondary phase. He repeated both Class A and Class AA, hitting over .300 in his second year at both levels. He was traded to the Mets after that second year of AA, and was promoted to AAA. He repeated that level, too, but did not have the same success in his second year. In his third year of AAA, in 1990, he hit .265 with 17 home runs, which was enough to get him promoted to the majors for two months. He was traded to Montreal in 1991, but was apparently injured that year, as he did not play at all. He came back in 1992, starting the year in AAA but being promoted to the Expos in May. He remained with Montreal as a reserve catcher until the end of August, when he was traded to the Twins for Bill Krueger. He was with the Twins through the end of the season, playing in 14 games, and then was traded to the Mets for Pat Howell. He missed all of the 1993 season, and then came back for two seasons at AAA, one for Pittsburgh and one for Atlanta. He played in the Northern League in 1996, then called it a career. Darren Reed had 33 at-bats as a Twin, batting .182 with no home runs and four runs batted in.  It appears that he has had a number of health problems, although it does not appear that any of them are life threatening. No information about what Darren Reed is doing now was readily available.

Second baseman Jonathan Rufino Jezus Schoop played for the Twins in 2019.  He was born in Willemstad, Curacao, and was signed by Baltimore as a free agent in August of 2008.  He came up through the Orioles organization at about a level a year, which is fairly aggressive for someone who made his pro debut at seventeen.  He reached the majors as a September call-up in 2013 at age twenty-one and has been there ever since, other than a couple of rehab assignments.  He had some solid years for the Orioles, with the best coming in 2017.  He batted .293 with an OPS of .841 and 32 home runs that season, making the all-star team.  He had a poor year in 2018, however, was traded to Milwaukee at the July deadline, and became a free agent after the season.  Minnesota signed him and made him their regular second baseman.  He did a solid job for the Twins, but the emergence of Luis Arraez cut into his playing time.  Still, he batted .256/.304/.473 with twenty-three homers, which isn't bad at all.  He became a free agent again after 2019 and signed with Detroit for 2020.  He had two solid seasons for them, batting .278 both years with an OPS in the mid-to-upper .700s.  In 2022, however, he batted just .202 with an OPS of .561.  He lost his starting job in 2023, again did not hit, and was released in mid-July.  He played in the Mexican League in 2024 and did okay, though not great.  He turns thirty-three today.  He can probably play in the Mexican League some more, or he could go to independent ball if he chooses.  But it seems unlikely that we will see him in a major league uniform again.

October 15

This is a reprint from last year.

Charley O'Leary (1882)

Dolly Gray (1897)

Mule Haas (1903)

Mel Harder (1909)

Bill Henry (1927)

Lou Klimchock (1939)

Dick Such (1944)

Jim Palmer (1945)

Mitchell Page (1951)

Carlos Garcia (1967)

Juan Cruz (1978)

Josh Rabe (1978)

Teoscar Hernandez (1992)

Right-hander Richard Stanley Such did not play for the Twins, but he was their pitching coach for seventeen years, mostly under Tom Kelly. Such was born in Sanford, North Carolina, and attended Elon University, the same school attended by ex-Twin Greg Booker. He was drafted by the Washington Senators in the eighth round of the draft's secondary phase in 1966. He pitched well in the low minors, but pretty much topped out at AA. In 1967, at AA York, Such had a 2.81 ERA, but went 0-16 in 20 starts. He had a good year at AA Savannah in 1969, and made the Senators out of spring training in 1970. Such appeared in 21 games for Washington that year, starting five of them, but did not do well and was sent to the minors in mid-July. It would be his only major league experience as a player. He remained an active player through 1973, all with the Washington/Texas organization. He became a coach after his playing career ended. Such was a minor-league pitching coach in the Texas organization through 1982, and served as the Rangers' pitching coach in 1983-84. He came to the Twins in 1985, and was their pitching coach from 1985-2001. He has remained in baseball since leaving the Twins, and has been with the Red Sox since 2009.  From 2009-2010, Dick Such was the pitching coach of the Salem Red Sox in the Carolina League, went to the Greenville Drive (still in the Boston organization) of the South Atlantic League from 2011-2012, and was the pitching coach of the GCL Red Sox (now FCL Red Sox) from 2013-2021, then retired.  At last report, he was living in Sanford, North Carolina.

Outfielder Joshua Wayne Rabe played for the Twins in 2006 and 2007. He was born in Quincy, Illinois, attended high school in Mendon, Illinois, and then attended Quincy University of Quincy, Illinois, one of two major league players that school has produced (Josh Kinney). He was drafted by the Twins in the 11th round in 2000. He needed a couple of years to get things going at each level, reaching AAA in late 2003. He hit .299 in Rochester in 2006, which earned him a spot with the Twins for the second half of the season as a reserve player. Rabe was again a reserve at the start of 2007, but was sent back to the minors in May, never to return. He injured his shoulder in Rochester in mid-June, and was done for the season. The Twins allowed him to become a free agent after the season, and no one picked him up. He spent part of 2008 playing for Camden in the Atlantic League, but his injuries became too much for him, and he retired in June. As a Twin, he played in 30 games and had 80 at-bats. He batted .250/.268/.375, with 3 homers and 9 RBIs. Josh Rabe took law school classes during his off-seasons, and is now a member of the bar. He was an assistant baseball coach at St. Joseph’s college, and was the head baseball coach of his alma mater, Quincy University, in his home town of Quincy, Illinois from 2010-2021, and is now the athletic director of Quincy University.

October 14

Joe Start (1842)

Paul Radford (1861)

Ivy Olson (1885)

Oscar Charleston (1896)

Harry Brecheen (1914)

Ken Heintzelman (1915)

Tom Cheney (1934)

Tommy Harper (1940)

Frank Duffy (1946)

Al Oliver (1946)

Ed Figueroa (1948)

Kiko Garcia (1953)

Willie Aikens (1954)

Jesus Vega (1955)

Joe Girardi (1964)

Midre Cummings (1971)

Ryan Church (1978)

Boof Bonser (1981)

Carlos Marmol (1982)

Kole Calhoun (1987)

Willians Astudillo (1991)

Outfielder Oscar Charleston is considered by some to have been the greatest player in Negro League history.

First baseman Jesus Anthony (Morales) Vega played for the Twins in 1979 and 1980 and again in 1982. He was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico and signed with the Brewers as a free agent in 1975. Vega hit over .300 for three consecutive years in Class A, adding 23 homers in 1977 for Burlington. The Brewers were so impressed that they left him unprotected, and the Twins selected him in the off-season minor-league draft. Vega continued to hit well, first in AA, and then in AAA. He got a September call-up with the Twins in 1979 and spent about two weeks with them in May 1980. He had his first off-year in the minors in 1981, a year he split between the Twins AAA Toledo team and Tidewater in the Mets' organization. Vega was back with the Twins in 1982, and spent the whole year with them, his only full season in the big leagues. Used primarily as a part-time DH, his numbers were rather mundane, and he was back in the minors the next year. Vega hit only .258 at AAA in 1983, and the Twins let him go after the season. He went to AAA Albuquerque in the Dodgers' organization in 1984, but hit only .177 and was done. His only time in the big leagues was with the Twins: he hit .246/.275/.335 in 236 at-bats. No information about Jesus Vega's current life was readily available.

Outfielder Midre Almeric Cummings played for the Twins from 1999-2000. He was born in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, went to high school in Miami, and was drafted by the Twins in the first round in 1990. He hit over .300 in rookie ball in 1990, and did it again in Class A in 1991. The Twins were coming off a World Series, however, and were trying to win now, so they traded him to Pittsburgh with Denny Neagle during 1992 spring training for John Smiley. While his average dropped a little as he went up the minor-league ladder, he continued to hit well, and actually hit for a little power, providing 29 home runs over the 1992 and 1993 seasons. He reached AAA in 1993 at age 21, but spent three and a half years there, getting brief trials in the majors each season but failing to impress. Cummings made the Pirates out of spring training in 1997, but hit only .189 in a part-time role. Placed on waivers at mid-season, he was picked up by Philadelphia. The move paid off for the Phillies, as Cummings hit .303 in 208 at-bats with them. The Phils were underwhelmed, however, and released him in February 1998. The Reds signed him, but put him on waivers three weeks later. Cummings then went to the Red Sox, where he had his best year in the big leagues, batting .283 with an OBP of .381 in 120 at-bats. The Red Sox released him at the end of spring training of 1999, and he signed with the Twins in May. He hit well in the minors, getting a September call-up, and was with the Twins in 2000. He again played well in a reserve role, but the Twins were nowhere near first place, so he was traded to Boston at the end of August for Hector De Los Santos. Cummings was released at the end of the season, and would never spend significant time in the majors again. He hung in there, though, playing five more years in AAA for Arizona, Milwaukee, the Cubs, Tampa Bay, and Baltimore. He made brief appearances in the majors in 2001 for the Diamondbacks, 2004 for the Devil Rays, and 2005 for the Orioles before his American career ended. He played in a few games in Taiwan in 2006, but decided to retire instead. Midre Cummings appeared in 93 games for the Twins, getting 219 at-bats and batting .273/.325/.388. There is a park named after him in St. Croix. He is currently living in Tarpon Springs, Florida, a suburb of Tampa, and is the head coach of Hit and Run Baseball, which has AAU traveling teams. His U12 team won the 2008 AAU state championship.

Right-hander Boof Bonser pitched for the Twins from 2006-2008. He was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. He attended Gibbs High School there, played in the 2000 Florida high school all-star game, and was drafted by San Francisco in the first round in 2000. Born John Paul Bonser, he had his name legally changed to Boof in 2001. He pitched well in Class A in 2001 and 2002. He was not quite as good in AA in 2003, though not terrible. In the 2003-2004 off-season, he was traded along with Francisco Liriano and Joe Nathan for A. J. Pierzynski, a trade that worked out fairly well for the Twins. He had two fairly decent years in the Twins system, one in AA and one in AAA. In 2006, Bonser got off to a very good start for AAA Rochester, and was promoted to the Twins in May. He was in the Twins starting rotation for the rest of that year and all of the next one. He got off to a poor start in 2008, however, and after twelve starts was moved to the bullpen, where he spent the rest of the season. Bonser was injured early in 2009 spring training, tearing his labrum and his rotator cuff, and spent the entire year on the disabled list. When he came back, he was no longer with the Twins, getting traded in December of 2009 for a player to be named later (Chris Province). As a Twin, Boof Bonser appeared in 96 games, 60 of them starts. He was 18-25 with a 5.12 ERA, a 1.45 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 84. He pitched poorly in Pawtucket in nine games in 2010, made two appearances for the Red Sox, and was released in late June. Oakland signed him a few days later, and after sending him to Sacramento for a month brought him up in early August. He made thirteen appearances, but did not do especially well.  He signed with the Mets for 2011, but made only one appearance in AAA.  He signed with San Francisco for 2012 and made eleven appearances, seven of them starts, for AAA Fresno.  He stayed with Fresno in 2013, making fifteen starts, but did not do well and was released in late June.  He signed with Cleveland a couple of days later but made only three appearances for AAA Columbus before being released again.   He then signed with a team in Taiwan, where he finished the 2013 season.  He started 2014 in Taiwan as well, but then came back to the United States and made twelve appearances for Bridgeport in the Atlantic League.  He did very well there, but retired after the season.  At last report, Boof Bonser was a pipefitter for General Dynamics Electric Boats in Ledyard Center, Connecticut.

Catcher/infielder/outfielder Willians Jose Astudillo was with the Twins from 2018-2021.  He was born in Barcelona, Venezuela and began his professional career with the Phillies entry in the Venezuelan Summer League at age seventeen in 2009.  He batted .312 there in 2010, but was still made to repeat the league in 2011.  He batted .361 and was finally promoted in 2012, but still only to the Gulf Coast League.  He batted .318 there.  He missed all of 2013, but came back in 2014 to bat .333 in the Sally League.  That got him to high-A for 2015, where he batted .314.  He was a minor league free agent at that point and signed with Atlanta.  They put him in AA and he did not do as well, batting .267 with an OPS of just .626.  He signed with Arizona for 2017 and bounced back to bat .342 with an OPS of .928 in AAA.  The Twins signed him for 2018, brought him to the majors for two weeks in July, then brought him up again in late August.  He went on a tear, batting .355/.371/.516 in 93 at-bats.  He made the Twins out of spring training in 2019 and got off to a really good start, but then faded, was injured, went to AAA, and came back as a September call-up.  He appeared in only eight games for the Twins in 2020, but was with them for most of the 2021 season as a utility player.  It did not really work, as he batted just .236/.259/.375 in 208 at-bats.  The Twins released him after the season and he signed with Miami for 2022. spending most of the season in AAA but getting about six weeks in the majors.  He played in Japan in 2023, in Mexico in 2024, and in Venezuela in 2025.  As a Twin, he batted .270/.295/.406 in 507 at-bats.  His calling cards are putting the ball in play and being willing to play any position.  He turns thirty-four today.  His versatility is a plus, and his popularity (both with players and with fans) is another, but that's about all he has going for him.  He can probably play in Venezuela or Mexico for a while if he wants, and he'd probably be a big draw in independent ball, but sadly, it's doubtful that we'll see him in a major league uniform again.

October 13

Charles Somers (1868)

Wild Bill Donovan (1876)

Rube Waddell (1876)

Pickles Dillhoefer (1893)

Frankie Hayes (1914)

Lou Saban (1921)

Charlie Silvera (1924)

Eddie Yost (1926)

Eddie Mathews (1931)

Bob Bailey (1942)

Randy Moffitt (1948)

Dick Pole (1950)

Frank LaCorte (1951)

George Frazier (1954)

Bryan Hickerson (1963)

Chris Gwynn (1964)

Trevor Hoffman (1967)

Damian Miller (1969)

Charles Somers was one of the founders of the American League and was its principal financier.

Better known as a football coach, Lou Saban was the president of the New York Yankees in 1981 and 1982.

Right-hander George Allen Frazier pitched for the Twins from 1986-1987. He was born in Oklahoma City, went to high school in Springfield, Missouri, and attended the University of Oklahoma. The Brewers drafted him in the ninth round in 1976. Frazier was a reliever for his entire minor-league career. He pitched well for a year in Class A and a year in Class AA, then was traded to St. Louis for Buck Martinez. The Cardinals shuttled him between St. Louis and AAA Springfield from 1978-1980; he pitched very well in Springfield and not too badly in the majors. He was again pitching well in Springfield in 1981 when he was traded to the Yankees in May. He came up to the Yankees in August, and this time he stayed. Frazier was a valuable member of the Yankee bullpen from 1981-1983, though he had the bad luck to be the losing pitcher in three World Series games in 1981. After the 1983 season, he was traded to Cleveland, and moved on to the Cubs in June of 1984. He did all right that year, but fell apart in 1985, producing a 6.39 ERA in 76 innings. He was not much better in 1986, and was traded to the Twins in August with Julius McDougal and Ray Fontenot for Dewayne Coleman and Ron Davis. He pitched for the Twins through the 1987 season, pitching two shutout innings in Game 4 of the World Series. Frazier was let go after the season, and decided to call it a career. As a Twin, George Frazier was 6-6 with a 4.83 ERA. He appeared in 69 games, pitching 108 innings. He was a television broadcaster for the Colorado Rockies for nineteen seasons, retiring after the 2015 campaign.  His son, Parker Frazier, pitched for several minor league organizations, reaching AAA with Colorado in 2013 and with the White Sox in 2014.  His daughter, Georgia Frazier, was Miss Oklahoma of 2015.  George Frazier passed away on June 19, 2023 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Left-hander Bryan David Hickerson did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them. Born and raised in Bemidji, Minnesota, he attended the University of Minnesota. The Twins drafted him in the 7th round in 1986. He pitched in Class A Visalia in 1986, but then was traded to the Giants with Jose Dominguez and Ray Velasquez for David Blakely and Dan Gladden. He had a big year in 1987 for Class A Clinton, going 11-0 with a 1.24 ERA. Apparently, Hickerson was injured in 1988, as he did not play that year. He came back in 1989, and had another good year in Class A. He had been a starter up to this point, but was converted to relief in 1990. He split both 1990 and 1991 between AA and AAA, and made his big-league debut in late July. He pitched for the Giants from 1991-1994, pitching well most of the time, but slipping in 1994. San Francisco placed him on waivers after that season, and he was taken by the Cubs. He was there until July of 1995, and then moved on to Colorado. He did not pitch well for either team in 1995, and was released after the season. Hickerson signed with Cincinnati for 1996, but did not make the team, and his career was over. He was a minor league pitching coach in the Giants organization from 1997-1998. Since then, Bryan Hickerson was on the staff of Unlimited Potential, Inc., a religious organization based in Warsaw, Indiana which combines baseball clinics and evangelism, for several years.  He has worked with Intercession Haiti, trying to help people in Haiti escape poverty.  He is also a lay pastor with Christ's Covenant Church in Winona Lake, Indiana.  He went back to coaching in 2017.  He was the pitching coach for the Altoona Curve in the Pirates organization for two seasons, moved up to AAA Indianapolis in 2019, and would have been the pitching coach for short-season West Virginia in 2020, but does not appear to have coached for them in 2021.  At last report, Bryan Hickerson was the director of operations for Parkview YMCA in Warsaw, Indiana.

Catcher Damian Donald Miller appeared in 25 games for the Twins in 1997. He was born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. He went to West Salem high school in West Salem, Wisconsin, where he played baseball, football, and basketball. Miller attended Viterbo University in LaCrosse, where he was NAIA District 14 player of the year. He is apparently the only major-league player the school has produced so far. He was drafted by the Twins in the 20th round in 1990. His batting was up and down in the minors, but in 1997, his third year at AAA Salt Lake, he had a breakthrough year, batting .338 with 11 home runs and earning a promotion to the Twins. That convinced Arizona to take Miller in the expansion draft for 1998. He started 1998 in AAA Tucson, but was with the Diamondbacks to stay by early May. A reserve his first two years there, he became the more-or-less regular catcher for them in 2000. He provided a batting average that was consistently in the .270s and home runs in the low double digits. He was also known as a very good defensive catcher. Miller was a solid contributor to the Diamondbacks' World Championship team in 2001, and made the all-star team in 2002. He was traded to the Cubs after that season, but spent only one year there, batting just .233, before being moved on to Oakland. His average bounced back in Oakland in 2004, but after only one season there Miller became a free agent and signed with Milwaukee. He played three years there, the last one in a reserve role, before retiring after the 2007 season. Damian Miller played 25 games as a Twin, batting .273/.282/.379 in 66 at-bats, with 2 home runs and 13 RBIs. After his retirement, Miller returned to West Salem,  where he helps coach youth baseball and is involved in helping special needs children become more active in sports.  A baseball field in West Salem has been named in his honor.  He was inducted into the LaCrosse Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.

October 12

Sam Field (1846)

Pop Smith (1856)

Malachi Kittridge (1869)

Pete Hill (1882)

Dixie Davis (1890)

Rick Ferrell (1905)

Joe Cronin (1906)

Al Smith (1907)

Bob Sheppard (1910)

Tony Kubek (1935)

Glenn Beckert (1940)

Herman Hill (1945)

Garth Iorg (1954)

Jim Lewis (1955)

Sid Fernandez (1962)

Jose Valentin (1969)

Derrick White (1969)

Tanyon Sturtze (1970)

Tony Fiore (1971)

Nick Tepesch (1988)

Ketel Marte (1993)

B-r.com says "Sam Field played only 12 games in the majors, but managed to do so with three teams in two leagues. He played mostly catcher.  His career may have been doomed by his .712 fielding percentage."  It may also have been doomed by his .146 batting average.

Pete Hill is considered one of the greatest outfielders of the Negro Leagues.  Incomplete statistics list his average as .303.

Hall of Famer Joe Cronin, of course, played for the Washington franchise from 1928-1934, managing the team in the latter two years. He married Clark Griffith’s niece, which did not keep Griffith from trading him to Boston after the 1934 season.

If there was a Hall of Fame for public address announcers, Bob Sheppard would be the first one in.

Jose Valentin is the brother of ex-Twin Javier Valentin.

First baseman/outfielder Derrick White was drafted by Minnesota in the 23rd round in 1989, but did not sign. He played in the major leagues for Montreal, Detroit, the Cubs, and Colorado, playing in three seasons and totaling 116 at-bats.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Dr. Chop.

Outfielder Herman Alexander Hill played for the Twins in 1969 and 1970. He was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. The youngest of thirteen children, he moved with his family to New Jersey, where Hill became an all-state football player in Freehold, New Jersey. He was signed by the Twins in 1966 as a free agent. He got off to a slow start in rookie ball in 1966, but did better with Class A Orlando the next year, although he did not hit with any power. He did not have a strong season for AA Charlotte in 1968, but hit .300 for AAA Denver in 1969 and got a September call-up that year. His numbers went back down in 1970, when the Twins moved their AAA team from Denver to Evansville, but he was brought up to the Twins for three weeks in mid-summer and received another September call-up. Hill was primarily used as a defensive replacement and pinch-runner both years in the majors, playing in 43 games but getting only 24 at-bats. He had only two hits, for a batting average of .083, but he scored 12 runs. In October of 1970, the Twins traded Hill, along with Charlie Wissler, to St. Louis for Sal Campisi and Jim Kennedy. Sadly, Herman Hill never got to play for the Cardinals. His career and life were cut short when he drowned in the Caribbean, near Valencia, Venezuela (where he was playing winter ball) on December 14, 1970. An excellent swimmer, it is believed that his drowning was caused from suffering a stroke while in the water.

Right-hander James Martin Lewis appeared in six games for the Twins in 1983. He was born in Miami and went to Carol City High School, which appears to be the same high school attended by Randy Bush. He also attended the University of South Carolina. He was signed by the Mariners as a free agent in 1977. A starter in his early minor league career, he earned a September call-up in 1979 by winning 13 games with an ERA of 3.69 at AAA Spokane. He was hit hard in both major league appearances that year. In the off-season, Lewis went to the Yankees in a multi-player deal involving Ruppert Jones and Juan Beniquez. He was in AAA Columbus for three seasons, pitching pretty well for the most part, although 1981 was a down year for him. He made one major league appearance for the Yankees, in June 1982. Lewis was chosen by the Twins in the minor league draft in December of 1982. He did not pitch particularly well in AAA Toledo, but he did have 11 wins, and this was the early '80s Twins, so they called him to the majors for a couple of weeks in June of 1983, using him in six games. The Twins released Lewis after the season, and he signed with Seattle. He won 22 games in two years for the Mariners' PCL team, but his ERA was over five. He appeared in two more major league games for the Mariners in 1985, but his career was over after the season. As a Twin, he had no record in 18 innings with a 6.50 ERA. It appears that this is the Jim Lewis who at last report was working for a company called MetalTech Systems, Inc., a manufacturing company based in South Carolina, although this could not be confirmed.

Palmballing right-hander Anthony James Fiore pitched for the Twins from 2001-2003. He was born in Oak Park Illinois, went to high school in River Grove, Illinois, attended Triton Junior College (also attended by Kirby Puckett and Jarvis Brown), and was drafted by the Phillies in the 28th round in 1992. His numbers in the low minors were not eye-popping, but were still decent. Despite that, he spent nearly five years in rookie and Class A ball before getting promoted to AA for five games in 1996. He moved to AAA for nine games in 1997, staying there for a full season in 1998. Again, his numbers were neither great nor awful. He got off to a poor start in 1999, however, and was released in May. The Twins signed him and sent him to AAA Salt Lake, where he did okay, but the Twins weren't impressed and released him. Fiore moved on to Tampa Bay, pitched well in AAA Durham, and finally made his major league debut with the Devil Rays in August of 2000. He pitched in 11 games without much success, and was back in Durham at the start of 2001. He pitched well there again, however, and was back in Tampa Bay by May. Fiore was released after only three games, and the Twins signed him again. He again pitched well in AAA, and was with the Twins in September. He stayed with them for 2002, his only full year in the big leagues, and had a pretty good year: 10-3, 3.16 ERA, 1.29 WHIP. In 2003, however, things were different, and by mid-June, Fiore was back in the minors, never to return to the big leagues. The Twins released him after the 2003 season, and he pitched for the AAA teams of Houston, Baltimore and Detroit through 2006. He also pitched for the independent Long Island Ducks in that time, as well as pitching for Italy in the World Baseball Classic. As a Twin, he appeared in 73 games, making 2 starts. He pitched 133.1 innings, going 11-5 with a 3.92 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 115. At last report, Tony Fiore was an internet sales consultant for Lennar Homes in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

Right-hander Nicholas James Tepesch made one start for the Twins in 2017.  He was born in Kansas City, went to high school in Blue Springs, Missouri, attended the University of Missouri in Columbia, and was drafted by Texas in the fourteenth round in 2010.  He was decent, but nothing more, in Class A in 2011, did well in high-A for half of 2012, but was rather mediocre when promoted to AA that year.  Despite that, he started the 2013 season in the Rangers' rotation and actually did quite well through the first of June, going 3-4, 3.44.  He pitched poorly for the next month, however, and then missed most of the rest of the year due to injury, making one wonder if the injury may have come before the poor pitching.  He started 2014 at AAA, making seven great starts there before moving back to the big leagues.  He wasn't great for the Rangers that year, but he wasn't terrible, either.  He missed all of 2015 due to injury, He started 2016 in AAA for Texas but was released in early June.  The Dodgers signed him and he made one start for them on June 24, but he was placed on waivers a few days later and was selected by Oakland.  He made three AAA starts for them and was waived again in July, this time selected by Kansas City.  He finished the year in AAA for them, became a free agent, and signed with Minnesota for 2017.  He went to Rochester and didn't do much, despite which he was given an emergency start for the Twins in May.  He was released on June 6, re-signed six days later, and sold to Toronto about six weeks after that.  He made three starts for the Blue Jays in August but didn't get a whole lot accomplished.  He got a minor league contract for 2018 with Toronto, but he pitched poorly in AAA and not much better in AA.  He was sold to Detroit in early August and released about three weeks later.  He played for Lincoln in the American Association in 2019 and did not do particularly well, bringing his playing career to an end.  In his one start for the Twins he pitched 1.2 innings and allowed seven runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  In his major league career he was 10-20, 4.71, 1.41 WHIP in 238.2 innings (47 games, 44 starts).  At last report, Nick Tepesch was a partner with Mid-America Sports Construction in Lee's Summit, Missouri.