November 1

Joe Battin (1852)
Bid McPhee (1859)
Larry French (1907)
Pat Mullin (1917)
Vic Power (1927)
Jim Kennedy (1946)
Miguel Dilone (1954)
Gary Redus (1956)
Fernando Valenzuela (1960)
Eddie Williams (1964)
Bob Wells (1966)
Ryan Glynn (1974)
Cleatus Davidson (1976)
Coco Crisp (1979)
Steven Tolleson (1983)

This is also the birthday of Twins’ farmhand Alex Wimmers (1988).

First baseman Victor Pellot Power played for the Twins from 1962-1964. He appears to have been a much better player than many people remember today. Born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, his given name was Victor Pellot, a name he used when playing winter ball. Power played for some independent minor league teams from 1949-1951. Playing for an independent team carried no stigma at that time; farm systems were not fully developed yet, and it was common for teams with no formal major league affiliation to play in organized minor leagues. The Yankees bought his contract rights prior to the 1952 season, and he played for their AAA team in Kansas City for two years. He was nearly the first person of color to play for the Yankees, but instead, he was traded to the Philadelphia Athletics, made the team out of spring training in 1954, and never returned to the minors. Power later said that the Yankees traded him because he dated white women. He was with the Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics through June of 1958. He hit over .300 twice and received MVP consideration three times in those years. He also provided double digit home runs in each season after 1954. He was traded to Cleveland at mid-season of 1958 in a trade that involved Roger Maris. Power continued to provide a .300 batting average and double-digit home run power. He made two more all-star teams as an Indian, recieving MVP consideration three more times and winning four Gold Gloves. Just before the 1962 season, Cleveland traded Power and Dick Stigman to Minnesota for Pedro Ramos. Power never hit .300 again, but he hit in the upper .200s as a Twin, again hitting double-digit home runs, again had a year in which he received MVP consideration, and won two more Gold Gloves. In June of 1964, the Twins sent him to the Angels as part of a three-team deal that also involved Cleveland: the Twins traded away Power and Lenny Green and received Frank Kostro and Jerry Kindall. Now 36, Power was near the end of his career. He was traded to Philadelphia in September, was bought back by the Angels for the 1965 season, and then retired. As a Twin, Power hit .278/.305/.398. A tremendous fielder, he played much farther off the base than other first basemen of his time. He told the infielders to throw the ball at the base, and he would get there in time to catch it, often on a dead run. Power has a number of odd records: one of five batters to hit both a leadoff and a walkoff homer in the same game; one of eleven players to steal home twice in the same game; most consecutive games with an assist as a first baseman (16); tied for most unassisted double plays in a game (2). After leaving baseball, he returned to Puerto Rico and spent his time coaching and working with youth. He had a dry sense of humor, which he used to deflect the racism he encountered. Once, when told by a waitress "We don't serve colored people," he replied, "That's OK, I don't eat colored people. I just want rice and beans." Vic Power passed away in Bayamon, Puerto Rico on November 29, 2005.

Infielder James Earl Kennedy did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 1971. The brother of major league infielder Junior Kennedy, he was born in Tulsa and signed as a free agent with the Yankees in 1966. He did not hit as a Yankee; his highest average in four years in their system was .244. Unsurprisingly, he was left unprotected after the 1969 season; surprisingly, he was chosen by St. Louis. They apparently worked something out, because Kennedy spent most of that season in his hometown of AAA Tulsa. The home cooking must have helped, because he had his best season, batting .275. He also made his major league debut that season, getting 24 big league at-bats in about a month. He hit only .125, however, and was sent back down. After the 1970 season, Kennedy was traded to Minnesota with Sal Campisi for Charlie Wissler and Herman Hill. The Twins sent him to AAA Portland where he had the highest batting average of his career, .288. That was as good as it would get for him, however, and it was not good enough to get him back to the majors. He moved on to play in AAA for the Mets in 1972 and for the Yankees in 1973, then his career was over. No current information about Jim Kennedy was readily available.

Corner infielder Edward Laquan Williams did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 1999. He was born in Shreveport, went to high school in San Diego, and was drafted by the Mets with the fourth pick of the 1983 draft. He did not do much for the Mets in the minors, however, and they traded him to Cincinnati just a year later. In 1985, as a 20-year-old in Class A Cedar Rapids, he hit .261 with twenty homers. Cleveland was impressed enough to take him in that year’s rule 5 draft, and he started 1986 in the majors. He was there until late May but played in only five games. Something was then worked out to send him to the minors, but he never did get things going that season. In 1987, however, he bounced back to hit .291 with 22 homers for AAA Buffalo, earning a September call-up. In 1988 he hit .301 for AAA Colorado Springs, although with only 12 home runs, and got another September call-up. While the records are sketchy, he appears to have struck out a lot in the minors, which may have made teams reluctant to give him more of a chance. Cleveland traded him to the White Sox for 1989. He was in Chicago for the first half of the season and did okay, hitting .274 with ten homers, but was still sent down around the all-star break. A free agent after the 1989 season, he signed with San Diego and was back in AAA for most of the season, getting only a month in the majors. He was then sold to the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks and played in Japan for two years. He came back to the United States in 1992 with Atlanta, but was released in mid-May and was out of baseball the rest of the season. He signed with Milwaukee for 1993 but was released in mid-April and was again out of baseball the rest of the season. He did not give up, however, signing with San Diego for 1994, and in mid-June, after a four-year absence, Eddie Williams was back in the major leagues. He responded by hitting .331 with 11 homers in 175 at-bats as a part-time first baseman. He did not sustain that in 1995, but in his first full season in the majors he hit .260 with twelve homers as a part-time player. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Detroit but had a bad year, batting only .200 as a part-time DH. He signed with the Dodgers for 1997, spending most of the year in the minors but finishing it in Pittsburgh, where he was traded in early August. He went back to San Diego for 1998, spending about a month in the majors before getting released again in mid-September. He did not give up, however, and signed with Minnesota for 1999. He had a solid year in AAA Salt Lake, hitting .316 with 17 homers, but as bad as the Twins were that year they did not call him up. He then played for three seasons in independent leagues before his playing career ended after the 2002 season. He was never a star or even a regular, but he managed to play professional baseball for twenty years, making the majors for at least part of ten of them. He then spent a couple of years as a batting coach in Class A, but that seems to have ended after the 2004 season. At last report, Eddie Williams was living in the Los Angeles area.  His son, Trey, has spent two seasons in the Phillies organization in the Gulf Coast League.

Right-hander Robert Lee Wells played for the Twins from 1999-2002. He came to the Twins to end a career that was surprisingly lengthy considering how he pitched. Born and raised in Yakima, Washington, Wells attended Spokane Falls Community College and signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1988. He began as a starting pitcher, but became primarily a reliever at Class A in 1991. He had some good years as a reliever, but advanced slowly, not seeing the last of Class A until 1993. He made his major league debut with the Phillies in May of 1994 and pitched well in six appearances, but was sent back to the minors and then placed on waivers in August. Seattle selected him, and Wells finally reached the majors to stay in 1995. He was never very good for the Mariners; his lowest ERA with them was 5.30. Still, he was with Seattle for four years until he was finally released in November of 1998. The Twins signed Wells as a free agent the following January, and he pitched four more years for them. He actually did pretty well the first couple of seasons, posting ERAs in the mid-threes and WHIPs around 1.2. In 2001 and 2002, however, he posted ERAs over 5.00. He was released after the season, and his career was over. As a Twin, Bob Wells appeared in 265 games, posting an ERA of 4.47 and an ERA+ of 109 in just over 300 innings. There appear to be more people in the world named "Bob Wells" than one can shake a stick at, although why one would desire to shake a stick at them in the first place is not entirely clear. No information about the whereabouts of this Bob Wells was readily available.

Right-hander Ryan David Glynn did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 2006. Born and raised in Portsmouth, Virginia, he attended VMI and was drafted by Texas in the fourth round in 1995. He started slowly but hit his stride in 1998, when he went 9-6, 3.44 with a 1.30 WHIP at AA Tulsa. He reached the majors in mid-May of 1999 and was soon in the starting rotation but flopped, posting a 7.24 ERA in 13 games before being returned to the minors. He was back in the minors at the start of 2000, but after a good half-season in AAA he came back to Texas. He stayed in the rotation the rest of the year and started 2001 there but continued to struggle, going back to the minors in early June of 2001. He became a free agent after the season and started moving around: he signed with Milwaukee for 2002, was released in early June, signed with Florida a week later, became a free agent after the season, signed with Atlanta for 2003, was released in late June, and was out of baseball the rest of the season. He did not make the majors in either of those years. He signed back with Atlanta for 2004, was released again in late May, signed with Toronto a few days later, and after sixteen strong starts at Syracuse found himself back in the majors as a September call-up. He started 2005 back in the minors, however, and was sold to Oakland in mid-May. He got back to the majors for a month, making three starts but pitching in AAA most of the year. Minnesota signed him for 2006, but released him after one start for AAA Rochester. He then went to Japan, pitching two years for the Nippon Ham Fighters and one year for Yokohama. He came back to the United States in 2010, pitching for the independent Newark Bears. He apparently pitched in China in 2011, after which his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Ryan Glynn was a financial advisor for Northwestern Mutual in Fort Myers, Florida.

Infielder Cleatus Lavon Davidson appeared in twelve games for the Twins in 1999. He was born in Bartow, Florida, went to high school in Lake Wales, Florida, and was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 1994. He never hit a lot in the minors, but he was fast, stealing 123 bases from 1997-1999. He got a couple of call-ups to the Twins, both in 1999. Davidson appeared in 12 games for the Twins, batting .136 (3-for-22) with 3 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Other than those two call-ups, Davidson never rose above AA with the Twins. After the 2000 season, they let him go; he was in the Padres' system in 2001 and played in the Yankees and Cardinals organizations in 2002. He then played in independent leagues, last playing for Long Beach of the Golden Baseball League in 2008. At last report, it appeared that Cleatus Davidson had returned to Florida and was living in the Tallahassee area.

Infielder Steven Wayne Tolleson did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for five seasons. The son of major league infielder Wayne Tolleson, he was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina and was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 2005. He posted some solid minor league batting averages, had decent doubles power, and drew a good number of walks. His best season in the Twins’s system was 2008, when he hit .300 with 28 doubles and nine homers, giving him an OPS of .848. He mostly played second base, but also had a pretty fair number of games at shortstop. He reached AAA in 2009 and hit .270, but was placed on waivers on February 1 of 2010 and was selected by Oakland. He had a tremendous season in AAA Sacramento, hitting .332 with an OPS of .915. He appeared briefly with the Athletics in late April, then came up in mid-August and stayed the rest of the season. He got 49 at-bats, hitting .286 with a home run and four RBIs. In 2011, however, he was back in AAA, and was traded to San Diego in late May for a player to be named later.  He played all over the diamond, seeing time at second, short, third, and left field, and had a solid enough season, but did not get another shot at the majors.   A free agent after the 2011 season, he signed with Baltimore.  He hit for a decent average in AAA, but with little power.  He got two months in the majors as a reserve infielder, hitting .183/.227/.310 in 76 at-bats.  A free agent again after the 2012 season, he signed with the White Sox for 2013 and had a good year in AAA, but did not return to the majors.  Once again a free agent, he signed with Toronto, came up to the majors in early May, and stayed the rest of the season as a reserve.  He did okay in that role, hitting .253 while playing six positions, including pitcher.  He turns 31 today.  One assumes he'll be back as a reserve for the Blue Jays in 2015.

October 31

Harry Smith (1874)
Cal Hubbard (1900)
Ken Keltner (1916)
Jim Donohue (1938)
Ed Stroud (1939)
Dave McNally (1942)
Mickey Rivers (1948)
Dave Trembley (1951)
Mike Gallego (1960)
Matt Nokes (1963)
Fred McGriff (1963)
Eddie Taubensee (1968)
Steve Trachsel (1970)
David Dellucci (1973)
Tim Byrdak (1973)

Cal Hubbard was an American League umpire from 1936-1951.  He is in the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the College Football Hall of Fame.

Dave Trembley was the manager of the Baltimore Orioles from 2007-2010.

David Dellucci was drafted by Minnesota in the eleventh round in 1994, but did not sign.

Right-hander James Thomas Donohue made six appearances for the Twins in 1962. He was born in St. Louis, and the Cardinals signed the home town boy as a free agent in 1956. He pitched pretty well in the minors, especially when you consider that the Cardinals could never make up their mind whether he should be a starter or a reliever, using him in both roles every year. In June of 1960, St. Louis traded Donohue to the Dodgers for John Glenn. The Tigers took him in the Rule 5 draft the following off-season, and after pitching well for them in 14 appearances, he was traded to the Angels. He did fairly well for them out of the bullpen as well, getting five saves at a time when many teams did not have a closer as we know it today. In May of 1962, Donohue was traded to the Twins for Don Lee. He made six appearances with the Twins, starting once. He worked 10.1 innings, posting an ERA of 6.97, and then went back to the minors, never to return to the big leagues. He was in the Twins' system for two more years, but was out of baseball after 1964. There is a Jim Donohue who owns a wholesale sporting goods company in St. Louis; it could not be determined if he is "our" Jim Donohue, but even though he turns seventy-four today it does not seem all that farfetched to think it could be the same one.

October 30

Ed Delahanty (1867)

Buck Freeman (1871)

Charlie Deal (1891)

Clyde Manion (1896)
Bill Terry (1898)
Dave Barnhill (1914)
Leon Day (1916)
Bobby Bragan (1917)
Joe Adcock (1927)
Jim Perry (1935)
Bruce Gardner (1938)
Jim Ray Hart (1941)
Houston Jimenez (1957)
Dave Leeper (1959)
Dave Valle (1960)
Lee Tunnell (1960)
Gerald Perry (1960)
Scott Garrelts (1961)
Danny Tartabull (1962)
Mark Portugal (1962)
Marco Scutaro (1975)
Jason Bartlett (1979)
Laynce Nix (1980)

Pitcher Dave Barnhill was a four-time all-star in the Negro Leagues.

Pitcher Leon Day was a star in the Negro Leagues, primarily with the Newark Eagles.

Dave Leeper was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1978, but did not sign.

Right-hander James Evan Perry played for the Twins from 1963-1972. He is probably best remembered today as Gaylord Perry's brother, but that's unfair, because Jim Perry was a fine pitcher in his own right, winning 215 games in 17 seasons. He won a Cy Young award and finished third another time, made the all-star team three times, finished in the top ten in MVP voting twice, and twice led the league in wins. Born and raised in Williamston, North Carolina, Jim Perry attended Campbell University and was signed by Cleveland as a free agent in 1956. He pitched 551 minor league innings in only three years. Perry made the Indians out of spring training in 1959 and never spent another day in the minors. He made an immediate impact. Perry appeared in 44 games, 13 of them starts, won 12 games with a 2.65 ERA, and finished second to Bob Allison for Rookie of the Year. The next year, Perry was put into the starting rotation and led the league with 18 wins. In 1961 and 1962, however, the wins went down and the ERA went up, although his other numbers were similar enough to make one believe it may have been a change in luck more than anything. The Indians didn't look at it that way, however, and when Perry got off to a slow start in 1963 they traded him to the Twins for Jack Kralick. Perry was primarily a "swing man" for the Twins through 1968, but was placed in the rotation in 1969, at age 33, and went on to have his best years. Perry pitched over 260 innings each of the next three seasons. He won 61 games over that period, including 24 in his Cy Young season of 1970. He also led the league in starts that year with 40. He won only 13 games in 1972, but still had a fine year, with a 3.35 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He was 37 years old, however, and the Twins were looking both to get younger and to save money, so in March of 1973 Perry was traded to Detroit for Dan Fife and cash. He had another solid year for the Tigers, but was traded to Cleveland as part of a three-team trade that also involved the Yankees. He had another strong year in 1974, winning 17 games with a 2.96 ERA and pitching 252 innings at age 38. That was to be his last good year, however; Perry struggled at the start of 1975, was traded to Oakland in May, was released in August, and retired. Jim Perry pitched for the Twins for nearly ten years, going 128-90 with a 3.15 ERA and 61 complete games.  He did some scouting for Oakland for a while, signing Terry Steinbach, among others.  He also worked for Dial-Net, a long-distance telephone service.  Perry sponsors the Jim Perry Legends Golf Classic to raise money for Alzheimer's and dementia care services. His son, Chris, is a golfer on the PGA tour.  He is a member of the Twins Hall of Fame.  Campbell University has named its baseball stadium in his honor.  At last report, Jim Perry was living in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Greensboro, North Carolina.

Shortstop Alfonso (Gonzalez) “Houston” Jimenez played for the Twins in 1983 and 1984. He was born in Mexico City. He played in Class A in the Cubs organization in 1975, hitting only .217 as a 17-year-old but drawing 105 walks. He then apparently spent a few years in the Mexican League. He shows up in AA briefly in 1978, playing in 13 games for the White Sox' organization. The Twins signed him in October of 1980, but sold him to Reynosa of the Mexican League near the end of 1981 spring training. The Twins bought him back from Reynosa in July of 1982 and sent him to Toledo. Jimenez never hit much: in parts of seven minor league seasons, his batting average was .227 with little power. He was considered a very good defensive player, however, and came up to the Twins in June of 1983. He was the semi-regular shortstop for the Twins in 1984, but hit about like you'd expect someone with a .227 average in the minors to hit, and was sent back down for 1985. The Twins released him in April of 1986. He presumably went back to Mexico that year, but he was with the AAA team of Pittsburgh in 1987 and Cleveland in 1988, getting 27 more at-bats in the big leagues in those years. As a Twin, Houston Jimenez had 384 at-bats and hit .195/.231/.247. After his playing career ended, he turned to coaching and managing.  Most recently, he was manager of Minatitlan in the Mexican League in 2012, Puebla in 2013, and Veracruz in 2014.  He is a member of the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame.

Right-hander Byron Lee Tunnell made ten appearances for the Twins in 1989 at the end of a fairly respectable major league career. Born in Tyler, Texas, Tunnell attended Baylor and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second round in 1981. He moved through the Pirates' system quickly; after going 12-9 with a 3.46 ERA for AAA Portland in 1982, he received a September call-up. He spent most of the next three years in Pittsburgh, with mixed results. After a solid year as a starter for the Pirates in 1983, in which he won 11 games and finished ninth in Rookie of the Year voting, Tunnell was moved to the bullpen for 1984, but did not do well there. He went back to the starting rotation in 1985 and pitched decently, but his record was 4-10, and that was apparently all Pittsburgh was interested in. The Pirates sent him down to AAA Hawaii for 1986, and after a poor year there they sold him to the Cardinals. He split 1987 between AAA and St. Louis, doing an adequate job out of the Cardinals bullpen. Returned to the starting rotation, he spent all of 1988 at AAA Louisville and was released after the season. The Twins signed him for 1989, and he pitched well for AAA Portland, spending about a month in the big leagues. Minnesota released him after the season, and he appeared in the minor leagues for Houston, Colorado, and Detroit and also spent three years pitching in Japan before calling it a career. As a Twin, Lee Tunnell pitched in 10 games, all in relief. He went 1-0 with an ERA of 6.00 in 12 innings. He always did fairly well as a starter; perhaps nothing would have changed, but one can't help but wonder how his career might have gone if the Pirates had just left him in their rotation in 1984. He got into coaching after his playing career ended.  He was the minor league pitching coordinator of the Milwaukee Brewers until late July of 2012, when he became the Brewers' bullpen coach. He also works with the OKC Ambassadors, an organization which lists as its goals helping baseball players develop as followers of Christ and helping those players be seen by major league and college scouts to advance their careers.

Right-hander Mark Steven Portugal began what turned into a substantial career with the Twins, pitching for them from 1985-1988. Born in Los Angeles, he went to high school in Norwalk, California and signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1980. He did well throughout his minor league career, coming to the Twins in August of 1985. He was with the Twins for most of 1986 and did a decent job as a sometimes starter, sometimes reliever. 1987, however, was a disaster. Portugal started the season with the Twins, and went 1-3 with an ERA of 7.77. Sent to AAA Portland, he went 1-10 with an ERA of 6.00 the rest of the year. He got straightened out in 1988, and again was with the Twins most of the year, doing a decent job as a middle reliever. The Twins, however, apparently decided he was never going to develop, and traded him to Houston in December of 1988 for Todd McClure. The Twins were wrong. Portugal started 1989 with AAA Tucson, but reached Houston by June and stayed there for five years. Used mostly as a starter, Portugal won 52 games for the Astros, three times posting ERAs under 3.00. His best year in Houston was 1993, when he made 33 starts, won 18 games, and posted an ERA of 2.77. He finished sixth in the Cy Young voting that year. Portugal became a free agent after that season, and signed with the Giants. His ERA went up when he left Houston, but he pitched fairly well for a year and a half with San Francisco. He was then traded to Cincinnati, for whom he posted an ERA just under 4.00 for another year and a half. He became a free agent after the 1996 season and signed with Philadelphia. Portugal was injured much of 1997, but came back in 1998 to be an average starting pitcher. He moved on to Boston for 1999, but posted an ERA of 5.51 and was released. Cincinnati gave him another shot in 2000, but he failed to make the team and retired. As a Twin, Mark Portugal appeared in 72 games, 26 of them starts. He was 11-19 with a 5.13 ERA. For his career, however, he played in 15 seasons, won 109 games, had a 4.03 ERA and an ERA+ of 100, which is not too shabby. At last report, Mark Portugal was living in Barrington, Rhode Island where his son, Jacob, was a fine high school baseball player.

Shortstop Jason Alan Bartlett played for the Twins from 2004-2006. and again in 2014.  He was born in Mountain View, California, went to high school in Stockton, California, attended the University of Oklahoma, and was drafted by San Diego in the 13th round in 2001. He hit well at Class A in 2001, but after a slow start in 2002 he was traded to the Twins for Brian Buchanan. He worked his way up the system, hitting .296 at AA in 2003 and .331 at AAA in 2004. He spent about two weeks with the Twins in 2004, and was the regular shortstop for them for about six weeks in 2005. He hit only .240, however, and was returned to Rochester. After hitting .332 there, he was brought back to Minnesota late in the season and was the regular shortstop for the Twins the rest of the way. The Twins were still reluctant to trust him with the job, however, and come April of 2006, Bartlett was back in Rochester while Juan Castro played in Minnesota. After again hitting over .300, Bartlett was brought back to Minnesota, and this time did not return to the minors. He hit .309 the rest of the way, helping the Twins' improbable run into the playoffs. In 2007, however, he slumped to .265 and was traded that off-season, along with Eduardo Morlan and Matt Garza, to Tampa Bay for Brendan Harris, Jason Pridie, and Delmon Young. As a Twin, Jason Bartlett hit .272/.341/.362. He had three strong seasons for Tampa Bay, being named the MVP of the Devil Rays' World Series team in 2008 and making the all-star team in 2009. In 2010, however, his average fell to .254 and his OPS to .675.  Traded to San Diego in 2011, he fell even farther, hitting .245 with an OPS of .615. In 2012, he appeared in only 29 games, batting .133, was released in August, and did not play in 2013.  A year ago, we wrote, "he turns 34 today, hasn't played since 2012, and hasn't played well since 2009.  It is probably time for Jason Bartlett to move on to the next phase of his life."  It was, but he didn't know it yet and neither did the Twins' front office.  He signed with Minnesota for 2014 and made the Twins' roster out of spring training, but after a misbegotten attempt to make him an outfielder he retired in mid-April.  We wish him good luck with that next phase of his life.

October 29

Charlie Ebbets (1859)

Solly Hofman (1882)

Pete Richert (1939)

Jim Bibby (1944)
Darrell Brown (1955)
Terry Felton (1957)
Jesse Barfield (1959)
R. A. Dickey (1974)
Karim Garcia (1975)
Scott Randall (1975)
Jose Mijares (1984)

Charlie Ebbets was the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1898-1925.  Ebbets Field was named after him.

Outfielder Darrell Wayne Brown played for the Twins in 1982 and 1983. He was born in Oklahoma City, went to high school in Los Angeles, and attended California State--Los Angeles. He was drafted by the Tigers in the third round in 1977. He had been drafted three times previously: by Houston (1st round, January 1975), San Francisco (1st round [secondary phase], June 1975), and Milwaukee (1st round [secondary phase], June 1976). Brown hit for a mediocre average with no power in the minors, but he was fast and a good defender. He got a cup of coffee with Detroit in 1981 and then was traded to Oakland. He spent most of 1982 in AAA, appeared in 8 games for the Athletics, and then was released. The Twins signed him and made him a semi-regular outfielder for 1983-84. He actually hit a little better in the majors than his minor-league record would have suggested, posting batting averages in the .270s, though with few walks and little power. Brown was released by the Twins in 1985 spring training. He went to the Detroit, Baltimore, San Francisco, Seattle, and Texas organizations over the next two years, but never made it back to the big leagues. He made a comeback of sorts in the mid-90s, playing two years of independent ball, but then was gone for good. As a Twin, Darrell Brown hit .277/.303/.322. He was inducted into the Cal State—Los Angeles Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988.  He apparently has done some scouting for major league teams, but it could not be determined whether he is still doing so now.

Right-hander Terry Lane Felton pitched for the Twins from 1979-1982. He was born in Texarkana, Arkansas, went to high school in Baker, Louisiana, and was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 1976. He spent most of four seasons, 1978-1981, in AAA Toledo, pitching in a total of seven games for the Twins over that span. He was with the Twins for all of 1982, making 48 appearances, six of them starts. He gave up substantially less than a hit per inning, but suffered from wildness and a tendency to give up the home run ball. Felton was 0-13 in 1982, which, coupled with an 0-3 in 1980, made him 0-16, the highest number of losses without a win ever to start a big-league career. Sadly, it would also be the highest number of losses without a win to finish a big-league career; Felton was returned to the minors in 1983 and never made it back to the big leagues. The record is as much bad luck as poor pitching. The Twins had an awful team in 1982, losing 102 games, and Felton became emblematic of that awfulness, but he was hardly the worst pitcher on the team. In fact, Felton had three saves that year. He had a poor year in 1983 with AAA Toledo, however, and after another poor year for the Dodgers' AA team in 1984 he was out of baseball. At last report, Terry Felton was a captain in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana sheriff's department.

Right-hander Robert Alan Dickey played for the Twins in 2009. Born and raised in Nashville, he attended the University of Tennessee. Dickey was drafted by the Rangers in the first round in 1996, but played for the U. S. Olympic team before signing in September. He advanced to AAA by 1999, but stalled there, spending over three years at Oklahoma (with the exception of a brief call-up in 2001) before getting to the big leagues in 2003. Dickey alternated between starting and relieving and was not particularly successful at either. Still, he was with Texas almost all of 2003 and 2004. He went back to the minors for most of 2005 and 2006; it was during this period that he began to work on the knuckleball. Dickey became a free agent after the 2006 season. He moved on to the Brewers' organization for 2007, but did not play in the big leagues with them. A free agent again after that season, he signed with the Twins as a free agent on November 29, but was taken by Seattle in the Rule 5 draft a week later. He was offered back to the Twins at the end of spring training of 2008, but was instead traded to the Mariners for Jair Fernandez. He spent most of 2008 with Seattle, but did not pitch well and was released. Once again signing with the Twins, he spent much of 2009 with them, but was sent to the minors in early August and later was removed from the forty-man roster. As a Twin, R. A. Dickey was 1-1 with a 4.62 ERA in 35 appearances, all but one in relief. Five years ago, this biography closed with “As a 35-year-old knuckleballer, it seems likely that the R. A. Dickey story is not quite over yet.” That sure turned out to be true. He signed with the Mets and went 11-9, 2.84, 1.19 WHIP in 2010. He was seventh in the league in ERA and was in contention for Comeback Player of the Year, an award he might have won except for the fact that he’d never really been anywhere in the first place before that season.  He turned in another fine season for the Mets in 2011, going 8-13, 3.28, 1.23 WHIP.  In 2012 he turned in the best season of his career, going 20-6, 2.73, 1.05 WHIP, leading the league in innings and strikeouts, and winning the Cy Young Award.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Toronto and could not duplicate his success, but still pitched well:  14-13, 4.21, 1.24 WHIP.  He posted similar numbers in 2014, although his ERA was better.  He’s forty now.  One wonders how long he can continue, but Hoyt Wilhelm pitched until he was forty-nine, so who knows?  R. A. Dickey may have several more years left in him.

Right-hander Scott Philip Randall did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system twice. He was born in Fullerton, California, went to high school in Goleta, California, attended Santa Barbara City College, and was drafted by Colorado in the eleventh round in 1995. He was decent in the minors until he was promoted to AAA for nine starts in 1999, where he was pretty bad. After that season he was traded to Minnesota for Chris Latham. He made fourteen starts for AAA Salt Lake, did not do much, was placed on waivers, and was chosen by Texas. The Rangers released him in late March of 2001 and after a month he signed back with Colorado. He again flopped at AAA and was allowed to become a free agent after the season, signing with Minnesota for 2002. He made five starts at New Britain and fifteen at AAA Edmonton and had what was easily his best year, going a combined 14-0, 3.30, 1.20 WHIP. Surprisingly, that did not get him anywhere, and he was allowed to become a free agent again. Cincinnati signed him for 2003 and sent him to AAA, where he went back to being what he had been. Despite that, he was brought up to the majors in late August and stayed the rest of the season, going 2-5, 6.51 in fifteen appearances, two of them starts. He was back in AAA in 2004, then was released in early July. He signed with Montreal and was traded to Kansas City four days later, for whom he finished the season in AAA. In 2005 he signed with Colorado one more time, but it was his last hurrah; he was released on July 8 and his playing career came to an end. For whatever reason, 2002 was the only good season he had above AA. At last report, Scott Randall was living in the Colorado Springs area and was the owner of Pressed4Time, a dry cleaning and laundry service.

Left-handed reliever Jose Manuel Mijares pitched for the Twins from 2008-2011. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela and signed by the Twins as a free agent in 2002. He was used primarily as a reliever throughout his minor-league career. He has generally averaged more than a strikeout per inning, but has never pitched as many as seventy innings in a season. Called up to the Twins in September of 2008, he stayed there in 2009 with the exception of five games at Rochester. He appeared ready to take a prominent bullpen role for the Twins in 2010, but was injured much of the season and when healthy was generally used as a LOOGY, appearing in 47 games but working only 32.2 innings.  He was given that prominent bullpen role at the start of the 2011 campaign but promptly gave it back, going 0-2, 4.59, 1.69 WHIP with 30 walks in 49 innings (58 appearances).  He became a free agent after the 2011 season and signed with Kansas City.  He pitched well as a LOOGY there, but was placed on waivers and claimed by San Francisco, where he continued to thrive in the LOOGY role and picked up a World Series ring.  In 2013, however, he pitched poorly, going 0-3, 4.22, 1.78 WHIP.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Boston for 2014 but was released in spring training and does not seem to have signed with anyone.  As a Twin, Mijares pitched 153.2 innings in 186 major league games. He had an ERA of 3.16 and a WHIP of 1.32.  He's pitching in winter ball this year.  He can probably play in an independent league this summer if he wants to.  He's only thirty and does have some record of success in the majors, so who knows?  It's possible we'll yet see Jose Mijares back in the major leagues.

October 28

Tommy Tucker (1863)

Frank Smith (1879)

Doc Lavan (1890)

Johnny Neun (1900)

Joe Page (1917)

Bob Veale (1935)

Sammy Stewart (1954)

Bob Melvin (1961)

Lenny Harris (1964)
Larry Casian (1965)
Juan Guzman (1966)
Braden Looper (1974)
Nate McLouth (1981)
Jeremy Bonderman (1983)

Johnny Neun managed two major league teams, the Yankees in 1946 and Cincinnati from 1947-1948. Each time, he was replaced by someone who was nicknamed “Bucky”.

Left-hander Lawrence Paul Casian played for the Twins from 1990-1994. He was born in Lynwood, California, went to high school in Lakewood, California, attended Cal State-Fullerton, and was drafted by the Twins in the 6th round in 1987. He pitched very well in the low minors, but stumbled when promoted to AAA Portland in 1989. Switched to the bullpen in 1991, he began pitching significantly better. Casian got brief trials with the Twins from 1990-1992, but made the team for the full season in 1993. He had a good year out of the bullpen, appearing in 54 games and going 5-3 with a 3.02 ERA and an ERA+ of 144. Casian got off to a poor start in 1994, however, and the Twins placed him on waivers. He was selected by Cleveland and finished the season with the Indians, but continued to pitch poorly and was released. The Cubs signed him, and Casian split the next two and a half years between Chicago and AAA Iowa. He pitched very well in both places in 1995 and 1996, but got off to a poor start again in 1997, and was placed on waivers again. He was chosen by the Royals, but was released again after two months. Casian signed with the White Sox for 1998 and was at AAA for most of the season, pitching only four innings in the majors. He signed with the Devil Rays for 1999, but was released in spring training and was out of baseball. As a Twin, he was 9-7, 4.73 with a 1.49 WHIP and an ERA+ of 94. He appeared in 113 games and pitched 144.2 innings. Larry Casian is currently the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for the University of Portland.

October 27

Joe Mulvey (1858)

Patsy Dougherty (1867)

Shad Berry (1878)
Ralph Kiner (1922)
Del Rice (1922)
Pumpsie Green (1933)
Lee Stange (1936)
Mike Lum (1945)
Pete Vuckovich (1952)
U. L. Washington (1953)
Barry Bonnell (1953)
Tom Nieto (1960)
Bill Swift (1961)
Bip Roberts (1963)
Brad Radke (1972)
Jason Johnson (1973)
Kyle Waldrop (1985)

Bill Swift was drafted by Minnesota in the second round in 1983, but he did not sign.

Right-hander Albert Lee Stange pitched for the Twins from 1961-1964. He was born in Chicago, attended Proviso Township High School in Maywood, Illinois and then attended Drake University. While in high school, he was on the football team with Ray Nitschke. He was also an excellent bowler, and later was offered a sponsorship to go on the professional bowlers' tour. Stange was small for a pitcher, standing at 5' 9". He was signed by the Washington Senators as a free agent in 1957. Stange twice pitched over 200 innings in a minor league season; his high was 251 in 1960 at Class B Wilson, where he won 20 games. He opened the 1961 season with the Twins and pitched well in two games of mopup relief, but then spent the season with AAA Syracuse, returning to Minnesota in September. The next year, with the exception of a brief stint at AAA in 1963, he was in the majors to stay. Stange was used mostly as a relief in 1962, but then became a "swing man", a role he filled most of his career. His best year as a Twin was 1962, when he went 12-5 in 32 appearances, 20 of them starts, with an ERA of 2.62 and an ERA+ of 140. In June of 1964, the Twins traded Stange and George Banks to Cleveland for Mudcat Grant. He pitched fairly well for Cleveland for two years, and then was traded to Boston. With the Red Sox, he was used more as a reliever, although he still made some starts. He continued to pitch well through 1969. In 1970, however, he got off to a poor start, was traded to the White Sox, continued to pitch poorly, and was released. As a Twin, Lee Stange was 20-14 with a 3.61 ERA in 97 games, 37 of them starts. He had an ERA+ of 105. After his playing career, Stange became a pitching coach in both the majors and the minors, serving as the Twins' pitching coach in 1975. Lee Stange is currently the pitching coach for the Florida Tech Panthers in Melbourne, Florida. He also appears at Twins and Red Sox fantasy camps.

Catcher Thomas Andrew Nieto played for the Twins in 1987 and 1988. He was born in Downey, California and attended Oral Roberts University. He was drafted by St. Louis it the third round in 1981. He had been drafted twice previously: by Minnesota in the 31st round in June 1979, and by Pittsburgh in the third round of the secondary phase in January 1980. Nieto appears to have been only a part-time catcher even in the minors, as he only played 100 games or got 300 at-bats in a minor-league season once. He made his major league debut for the Cardinals in May of 1984, and was their reserve catcher the rest of the season. The following year, 1985, he set his career highs in games and at-bats, with 95 and 288, respectively. That was his only full season in the majors. Just prior to the 1986 season, Nieto was traded to Montreal. After one season there, he was traded to the Twins with Jeff Reardon for Al Cardwood, Neal Heaton, Yorkis Perez, and Jeff Reed. Nieto did nothing particularly remarkable for the Twins, and spent about half his time as a Twin in AAA Portland. After the 1988 season, the Twins traded him to Philadelphia with Eric Bullock and Tom Herr for Shane Rawley and cash. He split two seasons between the majors and AAA for the Phillies, spent 1991 with the Cardinals' AAA team, and then ended his playing career. As a Twin, Tom Nieto played 65 games and had 165 at-bats. His numbers were .152/.213/.224, with 1 home run and 12 runs batted in. He turned to managing and coaching after his playing career ended. Nieto has managed in the Cardinals and Yankees organization, and most recently has been with the Twins. He managed AA New Britain in 2009 and was promoted to manager of AAA Rochester from 2010-2011.  After his teams had consecutive poor seasons, however, Nieto was let go at the end of the 2011 campaign.  He became the manager of the GCL Yankees in 2012, a position he continues to hold.

Right-hander Brad William Radke played for the Twins from 1995-2006. He was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, went to high school in Tampa, was drafted by the Twins in the 8th round in 1991, and never played with another organization. He posted decent numbers throughout his minor league career, but caught people's attention in 1994, when he was 12-9 with a 2.66 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP for AA Nashville. He started 1995 with the Twins and never returned to the minors, with the exception of a couple of rehab stints. Radke was prone to the gopher ball, especially early in his career, when he twice led the league in home runs allowed. He was an extremely durable pitcher for most of his career, making over thirty starts and pitching over 200 innings six years in a row and nine out of ten. He finished ninth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1995, finished third in the Cy Young voting in 1997 (when he won twenty games for the only time), and made the all-star team in 1998. A control pitcher, Radke led the league in fewest walks per nine innings in 2001 and was in the top six every year of his career. For his career, Brad Radke was 148-139 with a 4.22 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and a 112 ERA+. Brad Radke was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2009.  At last report, he was living in the Tampa area.

Right-hander Steven Kyle Waldrop appeared in seven games for the Twins at the end of 2011.  Born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, he was drafted by Minnesota in the first round in 2004.  He was initially a starter and did all right in that role, although he seemed to struggle when first promoted to a higher level.  He missed all of 2008 due to a shoulder injury, and when he came back in 2009, he was a relief pitcher, a role in which he has done pretty well.  He reached AAA in 2010 and has been there for two seasons, going 10-8, 3.19, 1.27 WHIP with 104 strikeouts in 166.2 innings (115 appearances).  He got a September call-up in 2011, going 1-0, 5.73, 1.46 WHIP in 11 innings (7 appearances).  In 2012, he spent most of the year in Rochester but came up to Minnesota in late August, going 0-1, 2.53, but with a 1.55 WHIP.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Pittsburgh for 2013, but missed most of the season with injuries.  He became a free agent after the season and did not sign with anyone, so it appears that his playing career is over.  It appears that he has moved back to Knoxville and is a part-time high school baseball coach there.

October 26

Frank Selee (1859)

Kid Gleason (1866)

Lee Tannehill (1880)

Dick Hoblitzel (1888)

Tommy Griffith (1889)

Snuffy Stirnweiss (1918)

Bud Byerly (1920)

Toby Harrah (1948)

Mike Hargrove (1949)

Steve Rogers (1949)
Dave Coleman (1950)
Harry Chappas (1957)
Gil Heredia (1965)
Mark Sweeney (1969)
Francisco Liriano (1983)

Frank Selee was the manager of the Boston Beaneaters from 1890-1901, winning the National League pennant five times.  He also managed the Cubs from 1902-1905 until his health forced him to retire.

Outfielder David Lee Coleman did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 1979. Born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, he signed with Boston as a free agent in 1970. He was in Class A for three years, then began to advance up the minor league system. His numbers weren’t awful, but were not terribly impressive, either. He reached AAA for the first time in 1974, arriving to stay in 1975. He began 1977 in Boston as a reserve outfielder and stayed through the end of May, but appeared in only eleven games and started only two of them. He was used four times as a pinch-hitter, twice as a pinch runner, and three times as a defensive replacement. He went 0-for-12, drawing a walk and scoring once, then was sent back to AAA. His best AAA season came in 1978, when he hit .270 with 24 homers for AAA Pawtucket. By then, however, he was 27 and was no longer considered a prospect. In February of 1979 the Red Sox traded Coleman to Minnesota for Larry Wolfe. He spent the year in Toledo, cracking 20 home runs but hitting only .237. He moved on to the Yankees’ organization after the season, playing in AAA Columbus for two years. His playing career came to an end after the 1981 season; his 0-for-12 in 1977 would be his major league career record. No further information about Dave Coleman was readily available.

Left-hander Francisco Casillas Liriano has played for the Twins since 2005. Born and raised in San Cristobal in the Dominican Republic, he was signed by the San Francisco Giants in 2000. His early minor-league numbers don't seem that impressive until you realize that he was still a teenager posting ERAs in the threes in Class A. He was apparently injured in 2003, as he pitched in only five games. In November of 2003, Liriano was traded, along with Boof Bonser and Joe Nathan, to Minnesota for A. J. Pierzynski and cash, a trade some observers believe worked out well for Minnesota. The Twins moved him up slowly, but after a half-season in Rochester in which he went 9-2 with a 1.78 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP in 2005 he received a September call-up. He started 2006 in the bullpen, but was moved to the starting rotation in mid-May. He had a tremendous season, going 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA and a WHIP of 1.00, but then blew out his elbow. Liriano missed all of the 2007 season. He tried to start 2008 in Minnesota, but was ineffective and went back to Rochester. After three solid months there, he was back with the Twins in August and pitched fairly well, although not like his 2006 season. His 2009 season was not good, but he came back to throw the ever-living fire out of the ball in the Winter League that off-season. He came back strong in 2010, going 14-10, 3.62 with a WHIP of 1.26 and leading the league in fewest home runs per nine innings. He won the Comeback Player of the Year award in 2010.  Unfortunately, in 2011 he put himself in position to win that award again, as he stumbled to a 9-10, 5.09 campaign before being shut down toward the end of the season, although he did throw a no-hitter.  Twins fans were hoping for a resurgence in 2012, but it was not to be, and in late July Liriano was traded to the White Sox for Eduardo Escobar and Pedro Hernandez.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Pittsburgh and had his best season since 2010 and arguably his best season since 2006.  He didn't quite duplicate that in 2014, but still pitched well for the Pirates. As a Twin, Francisco Liriano was 50-52 with a 4.33 ERA, a 1.34 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 97. He turns 31 today.  He's had his ups and downs, but if he can stay healthy, the chances are that we'll see him in the majors for at least a few more years yet.