October 7

Fleet Walker (1856)

Brickyard Kennedy (1867)

Bill Walker (1903)

Chuck Klein (1904)

Frank Baumholtz (1918)

Grady Hatton (1922)

Bud Daley (1932)

Phil Ortega (1939)

Jose Cardenal (1943)

Rich DeLucia (1964)

Evan Longoria (1985)

Alex Cobb (1987)

Mookie Betts (1992)

Kohl Stewart (1994)

Moses Fleetwood "Fleet" Walker is credited as the first African-American to play major league baseball.  A catcher, he appeared in forty-two games for the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association in 1884, until rival owners and players demanded that he be removed from the roster.  In those forty-two games, he batted .263/.325/.316.

Right-hander Kohl Robert Stewart made his Twins debut in 2018.  Born and raised in Houston, he was drafted by Minnesota with the fourth pick of the 2013 draft.  He pitched quite well in the low minors, reaching low-A in 2014, high-A in 2015, and AA in 2016.  He started to have control issues, however, and they got worse when he repeated AA in 2017.  He seemed to overcome them in 2018 in AA, made seven appearances in AAA, and then reached the majors in mid-August.  He made four August starts and did not do very well, but did much better in four "primary pitcher" appearances in September. The control issues returned in 2019, however, as he pitched poorly in nine major league appearances and not much better in nineteen starts in Rochester.  The Twins allowed him to become a free agent and he signed with Baltimore.  He was on the Orioles' sixty-man roster but did not pitch for them.  He was a free agent again after the season and signed with the Cubs for 2021.  He pitched very well in 26 AAA innings, not very well in 13.2 major league innings, but missed most of the season and all of 2022 due to injury.  He signed with Kansas City for 2023, but could not pitch for them and was released after the season, bringing his playing career to an end.  Kohl Stewart is currently a business development manager for Keystone Concrete Placement in Houston.

October 6

This is a reprint from last year.

Pop Snyder (1854)

Jerry Grote (1942)

Gene Clines (1946)

Gary Gentry (1946)

Victor Bernal (1953)

Alfredo Griffin (1957)

Oil Can Boyd (1959)

Rich Yett (1962)

Ruben Sierra (1965)

Archi Cianfrocco (1966)

Darren Oliver (1970)

Freddy Garcia (1976)

Andrew Albers (1985)

Right-hander Victor Bernal was drafted by the Twins in the 1975 January draft, but the pick was voided. He went on to be chosen by San Diego in the June draft of 1975 and played in fifteen games for the Padres in 1977.

Right-hander Richard Martin Yett made one start for the Twins in 1985 and appeared in four games for them in 1990. He was born in Pomona, California, went to high school in Chino, California, and was drafted by the Twins in the 26th round in 1980. A starting pitcher for his entire minor league career, Yett moved up one level every year, posting unspectacular but fairly decent numbers at each stop along the way. His best year appears to have been with AAA Toledo in 1984, when he went 12-9 with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Yett made the Twins out of spring training in 1985 and started the fifth game of the season. He lasted just one-third of an inning, walking two, throwing a wild pitch, having one man reach on an error, and givine up a single before being removed. He was then sent back to Toledo, where he was unable to repeat his success of the prior year there. After the AAA season he was the player to be named later in the deal which also sent Jay Bell, Curt Wardle, and Jim Weaver to Cleveland for Bert Blyleven. Yett was a reliever for the Indians in 1986 and most of 1987, and did not pitch particularly well for them, but these were the mid-80s Indians, so rather than being sent back to the minors he was moved into the starting rotation in August of 1987. He stayed in the rotation for all of 1988 and the first couple of months of 1989, but when he continued to not pitch well, he was finally sent to the bullpen. Yett was released by the Indians after the 1989 season, and was re-signed by the Twins. He made the Twins out of spring training and pitched well in four relief appearances in 1990, but was sent back to AAA Portland, where he reverted to form. His career came to an end after that season. As a Twin, Rich Yett had no decisions, and had an ERA of 3.86 in 4.2 innings. At last report, Rich Yett was a high school pitching coach in the Phoenix, Arizona area.

Outfielder Ruben Angel (Garcia) Sierra appeared in fourteen games for the Twins in 2006, at the end of his long career. He was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, went to high school in Carolina, Puerto Rico, and was signed by the Texas Rangers as a free agent in 1982. He was always young for his league, getting promoted to AA at age 19 and AAA at age 20. He was in AAA for only two months before being promoted to the Rangers, where he was instantly installed as a regular outfielder. He remained in the Rangers’ outfield until August 31, 1992. Sierra finished sixth in the rookie of the year balloting in 1986. His best year as a Ranger was 1989, when he led the league in RBIs, slugging percentage, total bases, and triples and finished second in the MVP voting to Robin Yount. Sierra made his first all-star team that year, and also won a silver slugger award. He would make two more all-star teams as a Ranger, and finished eighth in the MVP voting in 1991. He was traded to the Athletics at the 1992 trade deadline, and remained there for about three years. His average declined when he left Texas, but he continued to hit for power and drive in runs, making the all-star team again in 1994. Sierra began to move around quite a bit after that. He was traded to the Yankees at the July trading deadline in 1995, to the Tigers at the July deadline in 1996, and to Cincinnati after the 1996 season. After a slow start in 1997, the Reds released him in May; he signed with Toronto, but was released again in June. Sierra moved on to the White Sox for 1998, but was again released a couple months into the season, and finished out the year with Norfolk in the Mets’ organization. He spent 1999 playing for Atlantic City in the independent Atlantic League, and it looked like he was probably done. He signed with Cleveland for 2000, was released in spring training, and went to the Mexican League. In May, however, his original team, the Rangers, took a chance on him. Sierra had a big year at AAA Oklahoma that year, and made it back to the big leagues with the Rangers in September. He had a strong 2001 for Texas, but was released after the season. On the move again, he went to Seattle for 2002, came back to the Rangers in 2003, and was traded to the Yankees in June of 2003. Sierra remained fairly productive through 2004, but age finally caught up to him in 2005. The Twins signed him before the 2006 season, but at age 40, he had nothing left, and he was released in July. He got a spring training invitation with the Mets in 2007, but did not make the team. Ruben Sierra played only 14 games as a Twin, all as a DH or pinch-hitter. He had only 28 at-bats, and hit .179 with no homers and four runs batted in. For his career, however, Sierra hit .268/.315/.450, with 2,152 hits and 306 home runs. He was elected to the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2009.  His page at b-r.com indicates that he owns show horses, but that appears to be a different Ruben Sierra.  He has recorded three CDs of salsa music. His son, Ruben Sierra, Jr., spent three years as an outfielder in the Texas Rangers’ organization.

Left-hander Andrew Albers made ten starts for the Twins in 2013 and six more appearances for them in 2016.  Born and raised in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada, he attended the University of Kentucky and was drafted by San Diego in the tenth round in 2008.  The Padres didn't give him much of a chance.  He pitched seven innings in the Arizona Summer League in 2008, going 1-0, 0.00.  One assumes he was hurt in 2009, as he did not play, and he was released in March of 2010.  He spent 2010 pitching in relief for Quebec in the CanAm League and did well, going 3-0, 1.40, 0.99 WHIP in 40 appearances.  The Twins signed him for 2011 and sent him to Fort Myers.  He quickly proved that he was too good for that league and spent the rest of the year in New Britain, where he continued to pitch well.  He did not become a full-time starter until 2012, when he again pitched for New Britain and went 4-3, 3.75, 1.25 WHIP in 98.1 innings (he again missed time due to injury).  He made twenty-two starts for Rochester in 2013 and again did very well, going 11-5, 2.86, 1.18 WHIP.  Promoted to the Twins in August, he made ten starts.  In his best four, he went 2-0, 0.57; in the other six, he went 0-5, 7.85.  For the season, he was 2-5, 4.05, 1.18 WHIP in 60 innings.  Given the state of the Twins rotation, one would've thought he might get more of a shot, but instead he was released in late January of 2014 and went to play in Korea.  He did not do well there.  He came back to North America, signing with Toronto for 2015.  He was sent to AAA and did not do well there, either, but still made one more appearance in the majors, pitching 2.2 innings and giving up a run on a solo homer.  He started 2016 in the Atlantic League, signed with the Twins in late April, pitched decently in Rochester, and spent much of the last two months of the season in the majors, making six appearances (two starts).  He turns thirty-one today.  In his two stints as a Twin, he was 2-5, 4.44, 1.35 WHIP in 77 innings.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Atlanta for 2017, had an excellent year in AAA, and was sold to Seattle in mid-August.  He pitched very well for them in nine major league appearances, including six starts.  It didn't help him, as he was released in December.  He played in Japan in 2018-2019.  He had an excellent season for Orix in 2018, but did not do as well in 2019.  He remained with Orix for 2020 and had a better season.  At that time we said, "It seems unlikely that we will see him in the majors again."  Well, it may have been unlikely, but he did it.  He signed with the Twins for 2021, had a solid season in AAA, and made five appearances for the Twins.  It would be a better story if he'd done well, but in fact he posted an ERA of 7.58 in 19 innings.  He signed with Seattle for 2022, but did not make the team and did not play for anyone in 2022.  He did participate in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, but that appears to have brought his playing career to an end.  He became the pitching coach for the Saskatoon Berries in the Western Canada Baseball League in 2023.

October 5

Henry Chadwick (1824)

John Reilly (1858)

Claude Ritchey (1873)

Jim Bagby (1889)

Sam West (1904)

Si Johnson (1906)

Andy Kosco (1941)

Dan Fife (1949)

Onix Concepcion (1957)

Randy Bush (1958)

Rey Sanchez (1965)

Brandon Puffer (1975)

Tanner Roark (1986)

Zack Littell (1995)

Henry Chadwick is often considered the father of baseball.  He wrote the first rule book, created the box score, and was the first to keep track of singles, doubles, triples, and home runs.

Outfielder Andrew John Kosco played for the Twins from 1965-1967. He was born in Mom A’s original home town of Youngstown, Ohio, went to high school in Struthers, Ohio, and was signed by the Tigers as a free agent in 1959. Kosco’s early minor league record is mixed, at best. He hit .273 with 22 homers for Class B Durham in 1960, and hit .284 for Class A Knoxville in 1962. However, he hit .208 in 1963 in a year split between the Class AA teams of the Tigers and Cubs. His sixth minor-league season, in 1964, found Kosco back in Class A, in the Northern League. The Tigers gave up on him and released him in early June, but he was still only 22, so the Twins gave him a chance. He was clearly too good for the Northern League, hitting .346 with 28 homers in 1964. Promoted to AAA Denver in 1965, Kosco continued to bash the ball, hitting .327 with 27 homers before getting called up to the Twins in August. He was with Minnesota all of 1966, but received little playing time, starting only 35 games and hitting only .222. He started 1967 in Minnesota, but got only 28 at-bats before being sent back to Denver in early May. He had another good year there, but the Twins apparently gave up on him and sold him to Oakland. The Athletics left him unprotected, and Kosco was chosen by the Yankees in the rule 5 draft. He finally got regular playing time in 1968, but hit only .240 with 15 home runs. This was a low-offense era, so that’s better than it might sound, but it still was nothing to get excited about, and the Yankees traded Kosco to the Dodgers after the season. He was a mostly-regular for the Dodgers in 1969, but his numbers did not signficantly improve, and he was reduced to part-time status in 1970. He spent the rest of his career moving around. Kosco was traded to the Brewers for 1971, split 1972 between California and Boston, and went to the Reds in 1973. He actually had a pretty good season for Cincinnati, hitting .280 with nine home runs in 118 at-bats, but in 1974 he slumped to .189 and was released. He signed with Philadelphia and spent 1975 playing for AAA Toledo, but he did not play well there, and his career was over. As a Twin, Andy Kosco hit .216/.243/.295 with 3 home runs and 23 RBIs in 241 at-bats spread over three years. He studied law during the off-seasons, but after his playing days were over, Kosco went into the insurance business and had a successful career as an insurance salesman in his home town of Youngstown.  His two sons both played minor league baseball, with one of them reaching AAA. At last report, Andy Kosco remained active in attending various baseball association alumni events.

Right-hander Danny Wayne Fife played for the Twins from 1973-1974. He was born in Harrisburg, Illinois, went to high school in Clarkston, Michigan and attended the University of Michigan. He was drafted by the Tigers in the secondary phase of the 1971 June draft. He had a fine year in Class A that season, and did well again in AA in 1972. The Tigers, however, were trying to get another division championship out of an aging team, and so traded Fife along with some cash to the Twins for Jim Perry in March of 1973. He did not pitch particularly well for AAA Tacoma, but was still promoted to the Twins in August. Control, which had not been that much of a problem in the low minors, bothered him in Tacoma, and continued to bother him in Minnesota. Fife made the Twins at the start of 1974 but did not stay long, going back to Tacoma after pitching only 4.2 innings in four games. He had an awful season in Tacoma that year, and in 1975 found himself back in AA Orlando. He appeared in only eight games there, pitching better but not all that well, and then his career was over. As a Twin, Dan Fife was pitched 56.1 innings in 14 games, seven of them starts. He was 3-2 with a 5.43 ERA. Fife became a successful high school baseball and basketball coach in Clarkston, Michigan and was the athletic director of Clarkston Community Schools until  his retirement in 2016.  He was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.  His son, Dane Fife, was a long-time college basketball coach.  Dan Fife passed away on May 30, 2024 due to complications from Alzheimer's Disease.

Outfielder Robert Randall Bush played for the Twins from 1982-1993. He was born in Dover, Delaware, and attended the University of New Orleans. He was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 1979, and was never a member of any other organization. He did little his first couple of years in the minors, but had a breakout year in 1981, hitting .290 with 22 homers for AA Orlando. He got off to a strong start in 1982 at AAA Toledo, and was in Minnesota by the first of May. Bush was a semi-to-mostly regular outfielder and DH for the Twins from 1983-1989, getting about 300 to 400 at bats every season except 1985, when he had only 234. He would hit around .250 to .260 consistently, usually providing about 10-15 homers. Bush was reduced to more of reserve/pinch hitting role from 1990-93. He had an excellent year in that role in the world championship season of 1991, hitting .303 with six home runs in 165 at-bats. The vagaries of small sample size caught up with him the next year, as he slumped to .214. Bush got off to a poor start in 1993, was released in late June, and decided to retire. Randy Bush played in parts of 12 seasons for the Twins, appearing in 1,219 games. He batted .251/.334/.413, with 96 home runs and a career OPS+ of 102. Bush was the head baseball coach at his alma matter from 2000-2004, and was a long-time assistant general manager for the Chicago Cubs, serving as interim GM before the hiring of Theo Epstein.  He is currently a senior advisor for baseball operations for the Cubs.  He is a member of the Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame.

Right-hander Brandon Duane Puffer never reached the big leagues with the Twins, but he was drafted by them. He was born in Downey, California, went to high school in Mission Viejo, California, and was drafted by Minnesota in the twenty-seventh round in 1994. The Twins apparently didn’t think much of him; they used him in relief in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League for two years, and despite the fact that he pitched fairly well, they released him in May of 1996. He was in the Angels’ organization for two years, and reached Class A, but after a good year in 1997 he was again released. Puffer was persistent, however, and signed with the Reds. He made it to AA briefly in 1998, but was back in Class A in 1999. Despite posting an ERA under two in the Midwest League, he was released again after the season. Puffer signed with Colorado, was released in May of 2000, went to Somerset of the independent Atlantic League, and signed with Houston in July. He finally put things together in the Astros’ organization, or maybe he just got with a team that would give him a chance. He dominated the AA Texas League in 2001, and after starting well in AAA in 2002, Puffer was promoted to Houston in mid-April. It would be wonderful to report that his persistence paid off in a long and successful major-league career, but it was not to be. Puffer suffered control trouble in the majors, something that had not been that much of a problem in the minor leagues. He split 2003 between Houston and AAA New Orleans, but was released after the season. Puffer signed with San Diego for 2004, and was promoted to the Padres in mid-May, but was sold to Boston in July and spent the rest of the year in AAA Pawtucket. Released again after the season, he moved on to AAA Fresno in the Giants’ organization for 2005, making it back to the big leagues for three games. Those were his last games in the big leagues. Puffer played with the Houston, Oakland, and Texas organizations from 2006-2008, but did not made it back to the majors. Sadly, in July of 2009, Brandon Puffer was found guilty of burglary of a habitation with intent to commit a felony (sexual assault) therein. He was sentenced to five years in prison, but was paroled in 2011.  He appears to have gotten his life straightened out, working for the Round Rock Express from 2012-2014. and speaking at Fellowship of Christian Athletes camps.  He was an insurance agent for IHC Financial Group in the Austin, Texas area from 2014-2016, then returned to the Round Rock Express as pitching coach from 2016-2017.  He has written a book about his life, "From the Bullpen to the State Pen."  At last report, Brandon Puffer was the co-founder and an instructor at GPS Texas Baseball in Georgetown, Texas.

Right-hander Zack Stuart Littell was with the Twins from 2018-2020.  He was born in Mebane, North Carolina, went to high school in Haw River, North Carolina, and was drafted by Seattle in the eleventh round in 2013.  He was not impressive in his first few years in the minors, although it should be noted he was quite young.  He made a substantial improvement in 2016, when he went 13-6, 2.66, 1.16 WHIP in a season split between low-A and high-A.  He was traded to the Yankees before the 2017 season, then was traded again at the July deadline, this time to Minnesota for Jaime Garcia.  He went a combined 19-1, 2.69, 1.22 WHIP in a season split between high-A and AA.  He spent most of 2018 in AAA Rochester, doing decently enough although not outstanding.  He was called up to the Twins three times that season, making one start in June, one in July, and then getting a September call-up.  He went 0-2, 6.20, 1.77 WHIP, but those numbers are skewed by his bad first major league start in June.  He started 2019 back in Rochester, but made a couple of big-league appearances in May and came up to stay in mid-June.  He made a transition from starter to short reliever in the majors and made it very well.  He went 6-0, 2.68, 1.16 WHIP.  If you throw out one bad game in May, his number are off the charts:  0.83 ERA, 0.98 WHIP in 32.2 innings (28 games).  In 2020, however, he spent most of the year on the injured list, appearing in just six games.   The Twins allowed him to become a free agent and he signed with San Francisco.  He had an excellent year in relief for the Giants in 2021, but did not do well at all in 2022.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Texas for 2023, was sold to Boston in early May, waived a week later, and was claimed by Tampa Bay.  Surprisingly, at least to the teams that gave up on him, he had a fine season, posting a 3.93 ERA and a WHIP of 1.15 in 87 innings.  At that point, we said, "he will be in somebody's bullpen in 2024."  Well, we were wrong, as he was in the Tampa Bay starting rotation in 2024.  He did very well there, too, posting an ERA of 3.63 with a WHIP of 1.25.  He was having another fine season with the Rays in 2025 when he was traded to Cincinnati at the deadline.  As a Twin, he was 6-2, 4.52, 1.48 WHIP in 63.2 innings (43 games).  He turns thirty today and will be a free agent.  Look for him to be in someone's starting rotation in 2026.

October 4

Orator Shafer (1851)

Ray Fisher (1887)

Frank Crosetti (1910)

Red Munger (1918)

Rip Repulski (1928)

Jimy Williams (1943)

Tony LaRussa (1944)

Glenn Adams (1947)

Dave Johnson (1948)

John Wathan (1949)

Lary Sorensen (1955)

Charlie Liebrandt (1956)

Joe Boever (1960)

Billy Hatcher (1960)

Dennis Cook (1962)

Chris James (1962)

Bruce Ruffin (1963)

Mark McLemore (1964)

Steve Olin (1965)

Kyle Lohse (1978)

Tony Gwynn (1982)

Jered Weaver (1982)

Kurt Suzuki (1983)

Edgar Garcia (1996)

Infielder Frank Peter Joseph Crosetti was a coach for the Twins from 1970-1971.  He was born in San Francisco, went to high school in Santa Clara, California, and started playing in the Pacific Coast League at age seventeen.  He batted over .300 there from age 18-20, then was traded to the Yankees.  He immediately went into the starting lineup in 1932 at age twenty-one, at first playing third base, then moving to shortstop two months into the season.  He remained their starting shortstop through 1940.  He did not hit like he had in the PCL, but he made two all-star teams and was a solid contributor to five World Series teams.  He led the league in stolen bases in 1938 and led the league in getting hit by pitches an amazing eight times.  Following a 1940 season in which he hit just .190, he lost the shortstop job to Phil Rizzuto and became a part-time player.  He was a player-coach in 1947-1948, although he rarely played.  He became a full-time coach for the Yankees after that, coaching for them from through 1968.  He was a coach for the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and for the Twins from 1970-1971 before retiring.  He is a member of the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.  Frank Crosetti passed away on February 11, 2002 in Stockton, California.

Outfielder/DH Glenn Charles Adams played for the Twins from 1977-1981. He was born in Northbridge, Massachusetts, attended Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts, and was drafted by the Houston Astros with the fourth pick of the 1968 draft. Adams seemed to just be coming on strong in 1971, hitting .335 in a season split between AA Columbus and AAA Oklahoma City, but he was released by the Astros in January of 1972 and seems to have been out of baseball that year. He signed with the Giants in December. Adams hit very well for AA Amarillo in 1973 and even better for AAA Phoenix in 1974. He was finally called up to the Giants in 1975, and spent the next two seasons as a pinch-hitter/reserve corner outfielder for them. Adams was sold to the Twins in December of 1976, and became a part-time corner outfielder/DH throughout the Gene Mauch era. The Twins generally batted him in the middle of the order and seemed to think of him as a power hitter, despite the fact that he never hit more than 13 homers in a minor league season and his highest number in the majors was eight. He hit for a high average with the Twins, however, twice batting over .300. He declined when Mauch left, batting only .209 in 1981, and became a free agent after the season. Adams signed with Toronto and spent most of 1982 with AAA Syracuse, getting only 66 at-bats with the Blue Jays. That was the end of his playing career. He had a lifetime average in the minors of .311. As a Twin, Glenn Adams hit .281/.325/.399 in 501 games. He set a Twins record for most RBI in a game with eight on June 26, 1977, later tied by Randy Bush. He was been a minor league manager and coach, working for the Twins from 1989-1994. In 2009, Glenn Adams was the batting coach for the Erie Sea Wolves. At last report, he was living in Moore, Oklahoma.

“Another” Dave Johnson, right-hander David Charles Johnson, played for the Twins in 1977 and 1978. Born and raised in Abilene, Texas, he was drafted by the Orioles in the fifth round in 1967. The Orioles seemed to have trouble making up their minds whether he should start or relieve, as he did some of both in each of his first five minor league seasons. He spent those five seasons in rookie and A ball, despite the fact that his numbers don’t look all that bad. The Orioles finally decided he was a reliever, and promoted him to AA Asheville in 1972 and to AAA Rochester in 1973. After a solid year and a half in Rochester, Johnson was promoted to Baltimore in July of 1974. Despite pitching well there for a month, he was returned to Rochester in August, coming back to Baltimore in September. He pitched only 8.2 innings for the Orioles in April and early May, being again returned to Rochester and then breaking his wrist in a motorcycle accident. Johnson was back in Rochester for all of 1976 and again pitched very well, but could not get a shot with the big club. The Orioles sold him to Seattle in October of 1976. He started the 1977 with AAA San Jose, but then was purchased by the Twins. He appeared in 30 games for the Twins in 1977, six of them starts. Those were his first starts since 1971. Johnson was fairly mediocre for the Twins that year. He started 1978 with the Twins, but pitched only 12 innings for them before being injured. He finished up his career with four innings in Toledo, and then was released. As a Twin, Dave Johnson appeared in 53 games, seven of them starts. He was 2-7 with an ERA of 5.00 and a WHIP of 1.57 in 84.2 innings. No information about Dave Johnson since that time was readily available.

Right-hander Kyle Matthew Lohse played for the Twins from 2001-2006. He was born in Chico, California, and attended high school in Valley City, California. Lohse was drafted by the Cubs in the 29th round in 1996, and for a 29th round pick, has done very well. He pitched well in the low levels of the minors, but struggled for a few years after that. He was traded to the Twins in May of 1999 along with Jason Ryan for Rick Aguilera and Scott Downs. He continued to struggle, hitting bottom in 2000, when he went 3-18 with a 6.04 ERA for AA New Britain. In 2001, however, he suddenly turned things around. In fourteen starts split between AA and AAA, Lohse went 7-3 with a 2.79 ERA, and by late June he found himself in the Twins’ rotation at the age of 22. He did not do well that year, but stayed in the Twins’ rotation until early 2006. He was never a star, but he was generally an average major league pitcher (with the exception of 2004), which is not something to be taken lightly. Lohse got off to a poor start in 2006, was sent to AAA Rochester, and was traded to the Cincinnati at the end of July for Zach Ward. Lohse continued to be a more-or-less average pitcher for Cincinnati, was traded to Philadelphia at the end of July of 2007, became a free agent at the end of the season, and signed with St. Louis for 2008. He a fine year in 2008, going 15-6 with a 3.78 ERA, but went back to normal in 2009. He was injured much of 2010, but also did not pitch well when he could pitch.  In 2011, however, he had his best season, going 13-8, 3.39, 1.17 WHIP in 188.1 innings.  He then topped it in 2012, going 16-3, 2.86, 1.09 WHIP in 211 innings.  A free agent after the season, it took him a long time to sign, but he finally became a Milwaukee Brewer in late March.  He had a pair of fine years for them, too, going 24-19, 3.45, 1.16 WHIP.  In 2015, however, he was not good at all, going 5-13, 5.85, and finally being taken out of the rotation in early August.  He signed with Texas in May of 2016, pitched poorly in AAA, and made two bad starts for the Rangers in July.  He sat out the 2017 season but signed with Kansas City for 2018.  He made just two AAA starts, however, before retiring in May.  As a Twin, Lohse was 51-57 with a 4.88 ERA, in 172 appearances, 152 of them starts.  At last report, Kyle Lohse was living in Arizona and was working with a variety of charitable causes.

Catcher Kurt Kiyoshi Suzuki played for the Twins from 2014-16.  Born and raised in Wailuku, Hawaii, he attended Cal State-Fullerton and was drafted by Oakland in 2004.  He rose quickly through the minors, posting good batting averages and on-base percentages at every stop, though without a lot of power.  He reached the big leagues with Oakland in June of 2007 and never looked back, other than a rehab stint in 2010.  He shared the catching job with Jason Kendall in 2007 but took over as the regular catcher in 2008.  He hit in the .270s in 2008 and 2009, but dwindled to around .240 the next to seasons.  He was hitting only .218 in 2012 when he was traded to Washington in early August.  He hit well the rest of the season, but went back to hitting .222 in 2013 when he was traded back to Oakland in late August.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Minnesota for 2014.  It was thought that he might have been signed to backup Josmil Pinto, but he was the starting catcher from the start of the season and had the best offensive season of his career up to that time, hitting over .300 for much of the season before dropping to .288.  He also hit 34 doubles and made his first all-star team.  There was no reason go think he could repeat those numbers and he didn't, batting only .241 with 17 doubles in 2015, although he did drive in fifty runs.  He remained the Twins' starter for most of 2016 and did somewhat better, batting .258 with 24 doubles.  For most of his career he had a reputation as a very good defensive catcher, but that reputation has dimmed in recent years.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Atlanta and had a surprisingly good offensive season as a part-time player, batting .283/.351/.536 in 276 at-bats.  He was not as good in 2018 for the Braves, but still had a solid season.  He moved on to Washington for 2019 and did very well in a part-time role.  He continued in a part-time role in 2020 and again did an adequate job.  A free agent after the season, he signed with the Angels for 2021 and spent two seasons there as a part-time catcher.  He became a free agent after that season and went unsigned, bringing his playing career to an end.  As a Twin, he batted .263/.316/.364 in three seasons.  Kurt Suzuki is currently a special assistant to the general manager for the Angels.

Right-handed reliever Edgar Ernesto Garcia pitched in six games for the Twins in 2021.  He was born in Sabana Grande de Palenque, Dominican Republic, and was signed by Philadelphia as a free agent in May of 2014.  He was always young for his minor league, but still had a fine 2019 season in AAA at age twenty-two:  2-1, 2.48, 0.79 WHIP in 29 innings (25 games).  He made his major league debut with the Phillies that year and spent a little over half the season in the majors.  He had a rough time of it, posting a 5.77 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP, but again, he was only twenty-two.  He looked like a player with a lot of promise, but the Phils traded him to Tampa Bay in August of 2020 for a player to be named later.  He made just four appearances for the Rays and did not do very well, and the Rays let him become a free agent.  He signed with Cincinnati and again did very well in AAA, but not well in five major league appearances.  He was waived in late July and claimed by the Twins, where it was more of the same:  pitching well in AAA and not well in the majors.  He became a free agent after the season, signed with Washington, and pitched poorly in AA.  He played for three independent league teams in 2023 and pitched poorly for all of them.  He pitched poorly in the Mexican League in 2024 and also in winter ball.  He apparently played for the Guelph Royals of the Intercounty Baseball League in 2025, but we could not find any stats for him.  As a Twin, he had an ERA of 10.45 and a WHIP of 1.55 in six games (10.1 innings).  For his major league career, he had an ERA of 7.71 and a WHIP of 1.72 in 57 innings (52 games)  But in 67 AAA games he was 6-3, 3.20, 1.09 WHIP in 78.2 innings.  We know there's such a thing as a AAAA player, but it's hard to find very many players who were that good in AAA and that bad in the major leagues.  We wish Edgar Garcia well in whatever the future may hold for him.

October 3

Fred Clarke (1872)

Felix Evans (1910)

Bob Skinner (1931)

Jack Lamabe (1936)

Chuck Scrivener (1947)

Dave Winfield (1951)

Dennis Eckersley (1954)

Jim Joyce (1955)

Daryl Sconiers (1958)

Darrin Fletcher (1966)

Junior Felix (1967)

Wil Cordero (1971)

Eric Munson (1977)

Phil Gosselin (1988)

Adam Plutko (1991)

Brock Stewart (1991)

Infielder Chuck Scrivener was drafted by the Twins in the seventeenth round in 1966, but did not sign.

Jim Joyce was a major league umpire from 1989-2016.

Hall of Fame outfielder David Mark Winfield played for the Twins from 1993-1994, near the end of his long career. Born and raised in St. Paul, Winfield attended the University of Minnesota. At 6′ 6′, Winfield starred in basketball as well as baseball in college, and was involved in the famous brawl between Minnesota and Ohio State in 1972. He was drafted by San Diego with the fourth pick of the 1973 draft. He was actually drafted by four teams: the Atlanta Hawks and the Utah Stars basketball teams both drafted him, as did the Minnesota Vikings football team, although he did not play football in college. Winfield is one of a handful of players to never play a game in the minors; he was placed on the Padres immediately in 1973. It was a good move, as he hit .277 that year with an OPS of .714. Winfield became a star in San Diego, making the all-star team four times and twice finishing in the top ten in MVP balloting. He finished third in MVP voting in 1979 despite playing for a team that only won 68 games. He led the league in OPS+, RBIs, and intentional walks that year. After the 1980 season, he became a free agent and signed with the Yankees, for whom he played through May of 1990. Winfield had a tremendous career as a Yankee, but received a lot of criticism for not being Reggie Jackson. As a Yankee, Winfield made the all-star team eight times, was in the top twelve in MVP balloting six times, won five silver sluggers and five gold gloves, and had an OPS+ of 134. He missed the 1989 season due to a back injury, and after a slow start in 1990 he was traded on May 11 to California for Mike Witt. In his late thirties, Winfield had started to decline, but was still a very good batter for the Angels, winning comeback player of the year in 1990. He became a free agent and moved on to Toronto in 1992, where he helped the Blue Jays win a world championship. He came home to sign with the Twins before the 1993 season and played for them for two years. In his early forties, Winfield was clearly no longer what he had been, but he still hit .264/.324/.436 with 31 homers and 110 RBIs for the Twins, with an OPS+ of 100. Shortly after the 1994 players’ strike, Winfield was sold to Cleveland in an attempt to get him into the postseason one more time should the strike be resolved. It wasn’t, but Winfield signed with the Indians again for 1995. Age finally caught up with him, however, as he hit only .191 at age 43. Dave Winfield was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001. He has founded the David M. Winfield Foundation for underprivileged youth and at last report was a special assistant to the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, as well as being available for public speaking.  He is also on the board of directors of Southport Acquisition Corporation in San Diego.

Corner infielder/catcher Eric Walter Munson did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 2005. Born and raised in San Diego, he attended USC and was selected by Detroit with the third pick of the 1999 draft. He showed power immediately in the minors, hitting double digit home runs in every minor league season and hitting over 20 homers in 2001 and 2002. He also drew a solid number of walks. On the down side, his batting averages were in the .250s and .260s, and he struck out a lot, fanning over a hundred times twice and ninety-six times another season. He came up to the majors briefly in 2000, playing in three games in July, and got September call-ups in 2001 and 2002. His only full seasons in the majors were 2003 and 2004, when he was a part-time third baseman. He hit 37 home runs in 634 at-bats in those two years, but his batting average was only .226. That was not considered good enough, and Munson was allowed to become a free agent after the 2004 season. Minnesota signed him but released him in late March. He moved around quite a bit after that. Munson signed with Tampa Bay for 2005 but spent most of the year with AAA Durham, getting only 18 at-bats in the majors. He moved on to the Houston organization in 2006 and went back and forth between Houston and AAA Round Rock for two years, getting a total of 273 at-bats with the Astros. The Astros waived him after the 2007 campaign and he was chosen by Milwaukee. He was apparently injured much of the year, as he played in only 27 games in AAA. After the 2008 season he was on the move again, signing with Oakland. He was in AAA Sacramento almost the entire season, but got one more at-bat in the majors in September. He signed with San Diego for 2010, but hit poorly with AAA Portland and was released in early July. He finished the season playing for the independent Newark Bears.  He apparently remained in the Atlantic League in 2011, playing for the Bridgeport Bluefish, but he did not have a good season.  He was not ready to give up, but no one was willing to give him another chance and his playing career ended.  He received a bachelor's degree in athletic training from North Dakota State, was an assistant coach for USC in 2012, and was the minor league rehabilitation coordinator for the Los Angeles Angels from 2013-16, and has been the Angels' assistant athletic trainer since 2017.  He also operates Gold Standard Athletics, a baseball training facility in Dubuque, Iowa.

Right-handed reliever Brock Allen Stewart pitched for the Twins from 2023-2025.  Born and raised in Normal, Illinois, he attended Illinois State and was drafted by the Dodgers in the sixth round in 2014.  A reliever in college, the Dodgers made him a starter.  He did very well in the role and reached the majors in 2016, making five starts.  He was not ready for the majors at that point and started 2017 in AAA, but did well there and came back to the majors in mid-June, pitching well in a bullpen role.  He struggled in 2018, pitching very well as a starter in AAA but not very well in nine major league appearances.  When he struggled again in 2019 the Dodgers waived him and he was claimed by Toronto in late July.  After pitching poorly for them, too, he was left unprotected and claimed by the Cubs in the Rule 5 draft after the season.  The Cubs released him in May of the COVID year of 2020 and he pitched in independent ball that year.  He signed with the Dodgers for 2021 but did not pitch at all that year due to injury.  He became a free agent after the season and went unsigned until July of 2022, when the Twins signed him.  He did little in the minors that season, but he got off to a fine start in AAA in 2023 and came up to the majors in late April.  He was pitching really well until he was injured in late June, coming back to make three more appearances at the end of the season.  He was pitching really well again in 2024 until he was once again injured in early May.  He tried to come back, but pitched poorly in three July appearances, so he obviously was not healthy yet.  He was having a strong season in 2025 when he was traded to the Dodgers at the deadline for James Outman.  He made four appearances for the Dodgers before getting injured again and missing the rest of the season.  As a Twin, he was 4-1, 2.33, 1 save, 1.16 WHIP.  He turns thirty-four today.  He's had lots of injuries, but when healthy he was a really good pitcher for the Twins.  We hope he'll be healthy and be a good pitcher again.

Right-hander Adam Gregory Plutko made on appearance with the Twins in 2024.  He was born in Upland, California, attended high school in Glendora, California, went to UCLA, and was drafted by Cleveland in the first round in 2013.  He has been a starter throughout his minor league career.  He had an excellent 2015 split between high-A and AA.  He pitched very well in AA in 2016 but not as well in AAA, despite which he made his major league debut for the Indians in late September.  He had a poor year in AAA in 2017 but did very well there in 2018.  He got his second chance at the majors that season, spending about half the year there, but it did not go very well.  He pitched poorly again in AAA in 2019, but again was promoted to the big leagues and did a little better, although not really good.  The shortened 2020 season is his only "full" season in the majors, and he again was pretty mediocre.  He was sold to Baltimore before the 2021 season and started the season in the majors.  He was good for the first month and a half of the season, then fell apart and was finally sent to the minors in mid-August.  He then went to Korea and pitched very well there in 2022-2023.  Coming back to the United States, he signed with the Twins in 2024.  He spent most of the year in AAA, going 6-2, 4.35, 1.10 WHIP.  He made one appearance in the majors, pitching one inning and giving up one run on one hit while striking out one.  He signed with Cincinnati for 2025 and was average at best in AAA.  He turns thirty-four today.  There's obviously something about him teams like, but his major league record is 14-14, 5.39, 3 saves, 1.38 WHIP.  His AAA record is 35-33, 4.58, 1.26 WHIP.  He can probably go back to Korea if he wants to, but it seems unlikely that he'll be able to have much of a major league career.

October 2

Mike Dorgan (1853)

Eddie Murphy (1891)

Gene Benson (1913)

Masayori Shimura (1913)

Maury Wills (1932)

Earl Wilson (1934)

Bob Robertson (1946)

Greg Pryor (1949)

Alan Newman (1969)

Matt Walbeck (1969)

Eddie Guardado (1970)

Scott Schoeneweis (1973)

Jose Morban (1979)

Aaron Hicks (1989)

Cam Bedrosian (1991)

Oliver Ortega (1996)

Masayori Shimura was a pioneering baseball broadcaster in Japan.

Cam Bedrosian is the son of ex-Twin Steve Bedrosian.

Not “the” Al Newman, left-hander Alan Spencer Newman did not pitch for the Twins, but was in their farm system for a few years. He was a big (6′ 6″, 240) left-handed pitcher who was born and raised in LaHabra, California. He attended Fullerton Junior College and was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 1988. He pitched well in Class A, but was not promoted to AA until half-way through the 1991 season. He had a good half-season at AA Orlando, but could not repeat his success there in 1992. In June of 1993, Newman was traded to Cincinnati with Tom Houk for Gary Scott. He was frequently on the move after that: Newman was a part of the organizations of the Cubs, Padres, White Sox, and Padres again. He also spent three years with Alexandria in the independent Texas-Louisiana League. Newman signed with Tampa Bay in 1999, and after going 10-0 with a 2.24 ERA in AAA Durham, he was finally promoted to the big leagues at age 29. He did not pitch well, however, and was released after the season. He hooked on with Cleveland, had a good year with AAA Buffalo, and made it to the Indians for one game in June. Newman was again released after the season. He played in the Japan Central League from 2001-2003, and played in independent leagues from 2004-2006 before finally calling it a career. Alan Newman was an instructor for Baseball Softball World of Yorba Linda, California; however, he is no longer listed as one on their website.  At last report, he was living in Pedley, California and was the owner of Old School Baseball, a baseball instructional facility.

Catcher Matthew Lovick Walbeck played for Minnesota from 1994-1996. Born and raised in Sacramento, he was drafted by the Cubs in the eighth round in 1987. He spent five years in rookie and Class A ball, but had a good year when finally promoted to AA Charlotte in 1992, hitting .301. Walbeck made the Cubs out of spring training in 1993, but was returned to the minors in late April after playing in only five games. After the season, he was traded to the Twins with Dave Stevens for Willie Banks. Walbeck was a semi-regular catcher for the Twins for three seasons. He hit .230/.271/.300 as a Twin in 946 at bats, with 8 home runs and 103 RBIs. After the 1996 season, Walbeck was traded to Detroit for Brent Stentz. He was the Tigers’ backup catcher in 1997 and did a good job for them, hitting .277 in 151 at-bats. The Tigers traded him to Anaheim before the 1998 season. Walbeck was a semi-regular for the Angels for three years. He did relatively well his first two years there, but when he slumped to a .199 average in 2000 it was time to move again. In 2001, Walbeck played for the Cincinnati and Philadelphia organizations, batting 1.000 in one at-bat for the Phillies. He was traded to the Tigers before the 2002 campaign, and made it back to the majors in mid-May. Walbeck remained with the Tigers through 2003, and then turned to managing.  He was named Eastern League manager of the year in 2010 while heading the Altoona Curve, but was let go after the season.  He then was the manager of the Class A Rome Braves, but he was fired in July of 2011.  Matt Walbeck is currently living in Fair Oaks, California, where he owns the Walbeck Baseball Academy.

Everyday Eddie Guardado would not make a list of all-time greats, but he is remembered fondly by most Twins’ fans. Left-handed reliever Edward Adrain Guardado played for the Twins from 1993-2003. Born and raised in Stockton, California, he attended San Joaquin Delta College and was drafted by the Twins in the 21st round in 1990. He did not sign until May of 1991. A starter throughout his minor-league career, Guardado was promoted to the Twins in 1993 after a hot start in AA Nashville. He was placed in the Twins’ rotation and made 16 starts for them that year, but he clearly was not ready, going 3-8 with a 6.18 ERA. Guardado made the Twins to stay in 1995. He moved into a set-up role in 1996, and stayed in that role until late 2001, when he became the Twins’ closer after LaTroy Hawkins imploded. He remained the Twins’ closer through 2003 and was a part of the Twins’ playoff teams in 2002-03. Guardado was an all-star in 2002 and 2003 and led the league in saves with 45 in 2002, when he finished 15th in the MVP balloting. He became a free agent after the 2003 season, and signed with Seattle. He did well for the Mariners when healthy, but began having injury problems. Guardado was traded to Cincinnati in July of 2006. He pitched well for the Reds that year, but not so well in 2007, and was released. He signed with Texas in 2008, and was pitching well in a set-up role when the Twins brought him back in late August in an attempt to bolster their bullpen in a playoff push, trading minor league pitcher Mark Hamburger for him.  Most people were happy to see Everyday Eddie back in a Twins uniform, but he was unable to help, and 2009 found Guardado back with the Rangers. He was decent, but no more, and announced his retirement after the season. He changed his mind and attempted to come back with Washington in 2010, but was released during spring training, bringing his playing career to an end. As a Twin, Guardado was 37-48 with 116 saves. His ERA, inflated by his time as a starter, was 4.55, his WHIP was 1.34, and his ERA+ was 104. He is thought of by Twins fans as a tough competitor who was always willing to take the ball and go into battle. He sponsored the Eddie Guardado Foundation, which helps families affected by autism by reducing their out of pocket expenses for therapy and treatment.  That foundation later merged with Autism Care Today, now known as ACT Today, of which Eddie is a director.  He was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2013.  He became the Twins' bullpen coach in 2015, but was let go after the 2018 season.  His oldest son, Niko, is an actor who has been on "The Goldbergs" and the "Party of Five" reboot.  At last report, it appeared that Eddie Guardado had moved to Tustin Ranch, California.

Infielder Jose Morban did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 2003. Born and raised in Santiago, Dominican Republic, he signed with Texas as a free agent in 1996. A speedy player with a little pop in his bat, he struggled to keep his batting average at an acceptable level. He also struggled to make contact, fanning over a hundred times in each full minor league season he played. He was still in Class A in 2002, but the Twins saw something they liked, because they chose him in the Rule 5 draft.  To make room for him on the roster, the Twins released a failed prospect named David Ortiz. They kept Morban through most of spring training, but placed him on waivers at the end of March and he was chosen by Baltimore. The Orioles apparently liked him, too, because they kept him in the majors all season rather than send him back to Texas. He appeared in 61 games, but got only 71 at-bats; in 23 of his games, he was used as a pinch-runner. Oddly, he was also used at designated hitter in four games, making him the most unlikely DH this side of Jason Tyner. He hit .141/.187/.225 that season with two home runs. Those are also his career numbers, as he never played in the major leagues after that season. He split 2004 between A and AA, then became a free agent and signed with Cleveland. He reached AAA with the Indians in 2005, then moved on to Seattle. He appears to have been injured part of the season, but did not hit when he was healthy and was released in late August. Morban went back to the Rangers in 2007 but was released in mid-April. He then spent three seasons in independent ball before his playing career came to an end.  At last report, it appeared that Jose Morban was living in the Dominican Republic.

Outfielder Aaron Michael Hicks played for the Twins from 2013-2015.  He was born in San Pedro, California, went to high school in Long Beach, and was drafted by the Twins in the first round in 2008 with the fourteenth pick.  He hit well in the Gulf Coast League that year, struggled some when he went to Beloit in 2009, did well when repeating the Midwest League in 2010, had a mediocre year in Fort Myers in 2011, did well in New Britain in 2012, and started 2013 in Minnesota.  He was clearly sent to the majors before he was ready.  Obviously it's easy to say that now, but there's really very little in his minor league record that suggested he would be ready to play in the majors in 2013.  Hicks was the Twins' starting centerfielder for the first half of the season and hit .192/.259/.338.  Sent to AAA at the all-star break, he struggled there, too, although that may have been at least partly due to injuries.  2014 was a case of "second verse, same as the first", as he again opened the season as the Twins starting centerfielder, again struggled at the plate, and again was sent back to the minors, this time to AA.  He did well in New Britain, did fairly well in Rochester, and was a September callup to the Twins.  He started 2015 in AAA, but after hitting .342 in 38 games he was called up to the Twins in mid-May and was their main center fielder the rest of the season.  He wasn't a superstar but he showed significant improvement, batting .256/.323/.398.  The Twins thought they needed a catcher, however, and traded him to the Yankees after the season for John Ryan Murphy.  He flopped in New York in 2016, batting just .217, but did much better in 2017.  He had an excellent first half, batting .290/.398/.515, but was injured on June 25 and missed about six weeks.  He was not nearly as good when he came back, batting just .216/.304/.402.  In 2018, however, he came back strong, hitting twenty-seven home runs and posting an OPS of .833.  He was injured at the start of 2019, started very slowly when he came back, and then was injured again in early August, making it kind of a wasted year for him.  He was healthier in 2020, but had another poor season, batting just .225, although with an OBP of .379.  He was batting below .200 in 2021 when he was injured in mid-May and missed the rest of the season.  He stayed healthy in 2022 but wasn't much better.  Two years ago, we wrote, "At some point, Aaron Hicks is going to have start hitting again if he's going to stay in the major leagues."  That point came when he got out of New York.  Struggling through another poor season, he was released in late May, signed with Baltimore a few days later, and immediately started hitting again.  He was the Orioles starting centerfielder for two months, got hurt, and upon coming back has been a "regular" at all three outfield spots.  He posted an OPS of .806 for Baltimore.  He signed with the Angels for 2024, but unfortunately left his batting stroke in Baltimore.  He batted .140 in eighteen games, and was released in May.  He did not sign with anyone, so his playing career is presumably over.  It wasn't a great career, but he played in twelve major league seasons, and there aren't a whole lot of people who can say that.  At last report, Aaron Hicks was living in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Right-hander Oliver Ortega appeared in ten games for the Twins in 2023.  He was born in Nagua, Dominican Republic, and signed as a free agent with the Angels in December of 2014.  He pitched very well in the Arizona League in 2016, missed 2017 due to injury, and came back to have a solid year in Class A in 2018.  He did well in high-A in 2019 but struggled in five AA starts.  He missed the COVID year of 2020 and was converted to the bullpen in 2021, struggling again in AA but oddly pitching much better in nine AAA appearances.  He started 2022 in the majors and pitched well for two months, but not very well in June and was sent back to AAA in early July.  He was waived in December of 2022 and claimed by the Twins for 2023.  He had a very good year in St. Paul and was with the Twins for about a month in the middle of the season.  He made ten appearances, pitching well in seven of them but not so well in the other three.  His numbers with the Twins are 0-1, 4.30, 1.23 WHIP with 14 strikeouts in 14.2 innings.  He was waived after the season and claimed by Houston.  He needed elbow surgery, however, and missed the entire 2024 season.  He signed with the Mets for 2025 and appeared in only thirteen minor league games, but pitched very well in them.  He turns twenty-nine today.  If he's healthy, Oliver Ortega could still have a decent major league career.

October 1

Ray Kolp (1894)

Carmen Hill (1895)

Jimmie Reese (1901)

Bob Griffith (1912)

Jim Russell (1918)

Bob Boyd (1919)

Hal Naragon (1928)

Chuck Hiller (1934)

Rod Carew (1945)

Bill Bonham (1948)

Pete Falcone (1953)

Jeff Reardon (1955)

Vance Law (1956)

Mark McGwire (1963)

Roberto Kelly (1964)

Chuck McElroy (1967)

John Thomson (1973)

Brandon Knight (1975)

Matt Cain (1984)

Erik Komatsu (1987)

Robbie Ray (1991)

Xander Bogaerts (1992)

Caleb Boushley (1993)

Charlie Barnes (1995)

David Banuelos (1996)

Jimmie Reese played in the majors only briefly, but was a coach in the majors or minors for most of his life.  He was Babe Ruth's roommate for a short period and uttered the famous line that in reality, he roomed with Babe Ruth's suitcase.  He is also remembered for his skill with a fungo bat, to the extent that he would sometimes pitch batting practice with it.

October 1 is tied for the lead for most Twins birthdays with nine.

Catcher Harold Richard Naragon played for the Twins from 1961-1962 at the end of a long career as a reserve catcher. Born in Zanesville, Ohio, his family moved to Barberton, Ohio when he was in the seventh grade. Naragon was signed as a free agent by the Indians in 1947 after attending a tryout camp. He was not a strong offensive player in the minors–his best season was 1950, when he hit .268 with 14 doubles for AA Oklahoma City. He was considered an excellent defensive player, however, and got a September call-up to the Indians in 1951. Naragon was then drafted into the Marines and did not play in 1952-53. When he returned to baseball in 1954, he was a big-leaguer. He remained one for the rest of his career with the exception of 1958, when he spent most of the year with AAA San Diego. Naragon never got more than 127 at-bats in a season with Cleveland, with the result that his batting average varied widely, from a low of .238 to a high of .323. He was traded to the Washington Senators in May of 1959. Naragon got the most at-bats of his career that season, 248, but hit only .247 with no power and not many walks. He returned to a backup role in 1960. Naragon came with the Senators to Minnesota in 1961, and hit .302 in 139 at-bats. In 1962, however, he lost the backup catcher spot to Jerry Zimmerman, batting only 35 times. He was released after the season, and his playing career was at an end. He became a bullpen coach with the Twins, becoming close friends with pitching coach Johnny Sain. Both Naragon and Sain were fired after the 1966 season, and both moved to the Detroit Tigers through 1969. After he was let go the Tigers, Naragon returned to Barberton and purchased a sporting goods store, which he operated until his retirement in 1990. As a Senator/Twin, Hal Naragon hit .252/.289/.295, with 2 home runs and 30 RBIs in 461 at-bats. Naragon was known as a sharp dresser and a fine golfer. Hal Naragon passed away on August 31, 2019 in Barberton.

Hall of Fame infielder Rodney Cline Carew played for the Twins from 1967-1978. Born in the Panama Canal Zone, he was named after the doctor who delivered him, Dr. Rodney Cline. The Carews came to the continental United States when Rod was 14, and he attended high school in Washington Heights, New York. He was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1964. He spent three years in the low minors, hitting well every season, and jumped to the Twins in 1967 despite never having played above Class A. He was clearly ready–he batted .292 and won the Rookie of the Year award. He also made the all-star team, his first of 18 consecutive seasons as an all-star. He missed time due to military reserve commitments in his first few seasons, and was injured much of 1970. Carew led the league in batting average seven times, with a high of .388 in 1977. He also led the league in OBP four times, led in hits three times, led in triples twice, and led in OPS once. Despite never hitting more than 14 home runs, he also led the league in intentional walks three times. Carew received votes for the Most Valuable Player award eight times, finishing in the top ten six times, the top five three times, and winning the award in 1977 despite playing for a fourth-place team. He stole home 17 times in his career, seven times in 1969. After the 1978 season, it became clear that Carew would become a free agent the next year, and it also became clear that the Twins would not offer him enough money to keep him. Thus, Carew was traded to the California Angels on February 3, 1979 for Dave Engle, Paul Hartzell, Brad Havens, and Ken Landreaux. He played seven years for the Angels, and continued to hit well. He batted over .280 every season for California, and batted over .300 his first five years there. He got MVP consideration for a ninth time in 1982, finishing 26th in the balloting. Carew retired after the 1985 season. A second baseman for his first nine years, he moved to first in 1976 and spent the rest of his career there. As a Twin, Rod Carew hit .334/.393/.448 with an OPS+ of 137. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on his first try in 1991. The national baseball stadium of Panama is named for him. Carew is the only player in the modern era of baseball to win a batting title without hitting a home run. He has served as the batting coach for the Angels and the Milwaukee Brewers.  As you probably know, he had a serious heart attack in 2015 which nearly killed him and required a heart transplant.  He is now involved in raising money for the American Heart Association through his Heart of 29 Campaign.

Right-handed reliever Jeffrey James Reardon pitched for the Twins from 1987-1989. He was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, went to high school in Dalton, Massachusetts, and attended the University of Massachusetts–Amherst. He was signed by the Mets as a free agent in 1977. A starting pitcher early in his minor league career, he converted to relief pitching while at AAA Tidewater in 1979. Reardon reached the majors in late August of 1979 and never returned to the minors. He never started a game in the majors–all of his 880 appearances were in relief. He pitched quite well for the Mets, but was traded to Montreal in late May of 1981 as part of a package for Ellis Valentine. He became the Expos’ closer in 1982 and did a fine job for them, leading the league in saves in 1985 with 41. In February of 1987, he was traded to Minnesota with Tom Nieto for Al Cardwood, Neal Heaton, Yorkis Perez, and Jeff Reed. Reardon immediately was made the Twins closer. He lost eight games in 1987, and had an ERA of 4.4, but after the Ron Davis Era he seemed like a godsend. The fact that the Twins won the World Series in his first year didn’t hurt anything, either. Reardon remained the Twins’ closer through 1989, when he became a free agent. He signed with Boston, where he was the closer for nearly three years, getting back to the playoffs in 1990. On August 30, 1992, Reardon was traded to Atlanta, where he again went to the World Series. He became a free agent after that season, and signed with the Reds, sharing closing duties with Rob Dibble. Neither of them had a particularly good year, and after the season Reardon was on the move again, signing with the Yankees. He got off to a poor start, however, and was released on May 8, 1994, ending his playing career. As a Twin, Jeff Reardon went 15-16 with 104 saves. He had an ERA of 3.70 and a WHIP of 1.15. Reardon made four all-star teams in his career, finished eighth in the Cy Young balloting in 1987, was in the top twenty in MVP balloting three times, and won the Rolaids Relief Man Award in 1985. As you may know, Reardon had more than his share of difficulties since leaving baseball. Sadly, his son Shane passed away from a drug overdose in 2004. In 2005, Reardon was charged with armed robbery of a jewelry store. It was eventually determined that he had committed the crime under the influence of antidepressants and mood stabilizers, and he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was not required to be committed as a result of the court ruling, although he did received treatment. Jeff Reardon lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.  He appears that he now has his life in order and it is hoped that things will continue to go well for him.  He was inducted into the Western Massachusetts Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024.

Outfielder Roberto Conrado (Gray) Kelly played for the Twins from 1996-1997. Born and raised in Panama City, Panama, Kelly was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 1982. He got off to a slow start in the minors, but seemed to hit his stride in 1986, when he batted .278 for AA Albany-Colonie. Promoted to AAA the following year, he got cups of coffee with the Yankees in 1987 and 1988 before reaching the big-leagues permanently in 1989. A high-average hitter, Kelly also showed some power with the Yankees, hitting 20 homers in 1991 and twice hitting over 30 doubles. He stayed with the Yankees through the 1992, but then was traded to Cincinnati for Paul O’Neill. His batting average stayed solid, but his power numbers declined, and he started moving around quite a bit. Kelly was traded to Atlanta in 1994 and went to Montreal and then Los Angeles in 1995. He became a free agent after the 1995 season, and signed with the Twins, where he played for most of two seasons. He hit well for the Twins, batting .308/.358/.450 in 569 at-bats. With the Twins out of contention in 1997, however, Kelly was traded to Seattle in August for Joe Mays and Jeromy Palki. Kelly moved on to the Texas Rangers for two solid years as a part-time player in 1998 and 1999. Kelly played ten games for the Yankees in 2000. He signed with the Rockies in 2001, and hit .288 with 12 home runs for AAA Colorado Springs, but did not make it back to the majors. Kelly played two years in the Mexican League, and then turned to managing and coaching. He played on two all-star teams in his career, and reached the post-season with the Dodgers, the Mariners, and twice with the Rangers.  He then became a minor league manager and major league coach.  At last report, Roberto Kelly was the manager of the Sultanes de Monterrey in the Mexican League.

Right-hander Brandon Michael Knight did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 2001.  He was born in Oxnard, California, went to high school in Ventura, California, attended Ventura College, and was drafted by Texas in the fourteenth round in 1995.  He spent five rather undistinguished years in the Rangers' system, never having a really good year above Class A, then was traded to the Yankees for Chad Curtis after the 1999 season.  He did better in 2000, spending the year in AAA and going 6-4, 4.44 but with a WHIP of 1.26.  The Twins chose him in the Rule 5 draft, but returned him to the Yankees in late March of 2001.  He then had a couple of fine seasons in AAA in 2001 and 2002 and got brief call-ups to the majors in both years, appearing in four games in 2001 and seven games in 2002 for the Yankees.  He pitched poorly in the big leagues both times, however, and went to Japan in 2003.  He pitched poorly in 2003 and pitched both poorly and seldom in 2004 and 2005.  Perhaps he was injured, although this is unclear.  In any event, he came back to the United States in 2006 and signed with the Pirates.  He had a fine year as a reliever for AA Altoona, but by this time he was thirty years old, so it really did not impress anyone.  He played for Somerset in the Atlantic League in 2007 and had started 2008 there when he was signed by the Mets in late May.  He pitched very well in AAA New Orleans, and by the end of the year Brandon Knight returned to the majors after a six year absence, a feat which would have really impressed people if anyone had remembered that he had been there before.  Nobody much noticed him now, either--he made four appearances for the Mets and again pitched poorly.  Returned to AAA in 2009, this time in Buffalo, he did not pitch well and was released in late July.  He went to Korea for the rest of 2009 and all of 2010, pitching for Samsung.  In 2011 he moved to Nexen, for whom he was still pitching in 2014.  He only made six starts in 2014, however, and was ineffective, bringing his playing career to an end.  His big-league numbers are 1-0, 8.62, 1.85 WHIP in 31.1 innings.  Still, he got there, and he appeared in fifteen big-league ball games, which is fifteen more than the vast majority of people will play in.  He was a pitching coach for the SSG Landers in the KBO.  At last report, Brandon Knight was running Knight Baseball, "helping players develop proper mechanics and an appreciation for the great game of baseball" in Ventura, California.

Outfielder Erik Jordan Komatsu played in fifteen games for the Twins in 2012.  Born and raised in Caramillo, California, he attended Cal State–Fullerton and was drafted by Milwaukee in the eighth round in 2008.  He had some fine years in the Brewers’ system, batting .321 in the Pioneer League in 2008,  .323 in the Florida State League in 2010, and .294 in the Southern League in 2011.  In July of 2011, however, he was traded to Washington, and he has done very little since.  He didn’t hit much the rest of 2011 in AA Harrisburg, was left unprotected, and was taken by St. Louis in the Rule 5 draft.  The Cardinals kept him on the roster at the start of the season but played him sparingly and put him on waivers in early May.  The Twins selected him and also kept him in the majors.  He appeared in fifteen games for Minnesota, starting nine of them.  He got 32 at-bats and hit .219/.297/.219.  The Twins then returned him to Washington and he spent the remainder of the season playing for AAA Syracuse, where he was decent but nothing more.  He was still in the Nationals organization in 2013 but was injured most of the season, appearing in only sixteen minor league games.  He started 2014 in Syracuse, was released in May, signed with the Angels a few days later, went first to AAA then to AA, was released in June, signed with Milwaukee a week later, and finished out the season in AA.  He played in the Atlantic League in 2015, then his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Erik Komatsu was an outside sales representative for UniFirst Corporation.

Left-hander Charlie Segars Barnes was with the Twins for about a month and a half in 2021.  Born and raised in Sumter, South Carolina, he attended Clemson and was drafted by the Twins in the fourth round in 2017.  His numbers at Clemson were not all that impressive until 2017, when he went 5-5, 3.20 with a WHIP of 1.18.  He kind of flew under the radar in the Twins' minor league system, not posting eye-popping numbers but doing pretty well at each stop.  He had a 2.61 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in a 2017 split between Elizabethton and Low-A Cedar Rapids; a 2.81 ERA with a 1.34 WHIP at High-A Fort Myers in 2018; and a 3.60 ERA with a 1.36 WHIP at AA Pensacola in 2019 (although he struggled when promoted to AAA that season).  He did not pitch in 2020, but he had a solid season at St. Paul in 2021 (3.79 ERA, 1.28 WHIP) and made nine appearances in the majors.  He has posted a 5.92 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP in those appearances (38 innings), which is obviously not good.  The Twins released him after the season and he went to Korea, where he had three fine seasons with Lotte.  He came back to the United States for 2025, signing with Cincinnati, but pitched poorly in AAA and returned to Lotte.  He turns thirty today.  It's doubtful, though not impossible, that he'll get another chance in the big leagues, but we wish him well with his career in the KBO.

Right-hander Caleb J. Boushley appeared in two games for the Twins in 2024.  He was born in Hortonville, Wisconsin, but we don't know whether he heard a Who.  He attended Wisconsin--LaCrosse and was drafted by San Diego in the thirty-third round in 2017.  He pitched well in the low minors but missed the 2020 COVID year.  He did well in eight AA starts in 2021, but struggled when promoted to AAA.  He was waived by the Padres after that season and claimed by Milwaukee.  He had a tremendous 2022 season in AAA Nashville, going 12-2, 3.25, 1.17 WHIP, but did not get a call to the majors.  He did not do as well in AAA in 2023 but got a major league start at the end of the season, getting his only major league win so far.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota.  He did not pitch particularly well in AAA St. Paul, but made two appearances for the Twins anyway, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks in four innings.  He signed with Texas for 2025 and spent the season between AAA and the majors, pitching very well in AAA and not very well in the majors.  He was waived in early September and claimed by Tampa Bay, for whom he made three AAA appearances.  He turns thirty-two today and has no real record of success.  We wish him well, but it would be surprising if he got another chance in the majors.

Catcher David Clemente Banuelos did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system from 2018-2023.  He was born in Ontario, California, attended Cal State--Long Beach, and was drafted by Seattle in the fifth round in 2017.  He played in low A for the Mariners that season, then was traded to Minnesota for "future considerations".  For most of his time with the Twins, he was your basic light-hitting catcher.  He was in Class A in 2018 and 2019, missed the 2020 COVID season, split 2021 between AA and AAA, and spent all of 2022 in AAA.  His best batting average in those seasons was .220 and his highest OPS was .648.  In 2023, however, he batted .270 with an OPS of .896.  Unfortunately, he did that at age twenty-six at AA, so no one was particularly impressed.  He became a free agent and signed with Baltimore for 2024.  He spent most of the year in AAA and batted .225 with an OPS of .713.  He was in the majors briefly in April and appeared in one game, pinch-hitting and flying out to right.  He was injured much of 2025, and again went 0-for-1 in the majors, although he did get hit by a pitch to make his OBP .500 for the year.  He turns twenty-nine today.  He is presumably good defensively, and he does draw a lot of walks.  It seems unlikely that he'll have much of a major league career, but there are light-hitting defensive catchers who've done it.  If he can catch someone's eye at the right time, it's still possible that we'll see David Banuelos around for a while yet.