November 21

Bobby Mathews (1851)

Charlie Bennett (1854)

Billy Clingman (1869)

Andy High (1897)
Freddie Lindstrom (1905)
Paul Richards (1908)
Stan Musial (1920)
Warren Hacker (1924)
Tom McCraw (1940)
Bill Almon (1952)
Rick Peters (1955)
Mike Mason (1958)
Mark Eichhorn (1960)
Dick Schofield (1962)
Ken Griffey (1969)
Todd Erdos (1973)
Brian Meadows (1975)
Hank Blalock (1980)

Rick Peters was drafted by Minnesota in the eighteenth round in 1973, but did not sign.

Left-hander Michael Paul Mason made five appearances for the Twins in 1998, at the end of his major league career. A native Minnesotan, he was born in Faribault and went to high school at Benilde-St. Margaret's of Minneapolis. He then attended Oral Roberts University. He was drafted by Texas in the first round of the secondary draft in June of 1980. Mason moved quickly through the Rangers' system and made his major league debut as a September call-up in 1982. He began 1983 in the Rangers' bullpen, but after three lackluster appearances he was returned to AAA, where he spent the rest of the season until another September call-up. Mason made the Rangers' rotation in 1984, and stayed there for over three years. 1984 was his best year: he posted a 3.61 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 184 innings, although his record was only 9-13. That was his only year with an ERA under four, however, and when Mason got off to a poor start in 1987 he was traded in May to the Cubs for a player to be named later. He did little for the Cubs and was let go after the season. Minnesota signed him in April of 1988. He made five appearances with the Twins, pitching 6.2 innings and giving up eight runs. He went to Portland, but did not pitch well there. Mason's career was effectively over after that season, although he made sporadic minor-league appearances through 1996. He has been a pitching coach most of the time since 1991, serving as pitching coach of the Iowa Cubs from 2008-2013.  In 2014, Mike Mason was the assistant minor league pitching coordinator for the Chicago Cubs.

Right-hander Todd Michael Erdos did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 2003 and early 2004. He was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, went to high school in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and was drafted by San Diego in the ninth round in 1992. Initially a starter, he pitched very well in rookie ball in 1992 and low A in 1993, but flopped when promoted to high A midway through 1993. He then missed all of 1994 with an injury. When he returned in 1995, he was in the bullpen. He did pretty well there in Class A in 1996 and AA in 1997. He made his big-league debut in the latter season, coming up for a week in June and then getting a September call-up. He was left unprotected in the expansion draft and chosen by Arizona. He went to spring training with the Diamondbacks, then was traded to the Yankees in March of 1998. He did not pitch well in AAA in either 1998 or 1999, but got cups of coffee in the majors both seasons. In 2000, he made the big club and stuck all season, his only full year in the majors. It wasn’t all with the Yankees, though; they put him on waivers in mid-July and he was selected by San Diego, where he finished the season. It was not a good season, as he posted an ERA of nearly six, and he became a free agent after the season, signing with Boston. He had a fine year in Pawtucket and came up to the Red Sox in mid-August, finishing the season there. He again had a good AAA season in 2002, but this time he did not get a call to the majors and became a free agent after the season. Minnesota signed him and sent him to Rochester. He did nothing to attract anyone’s attention in 2003 and in late April of 2004 was sold to Milwaukee. He pitched poorly in AAA Indianapolis and was released. Erdos then pitched three seasons for the independent Long Island Ducks and also played briefly in Taiwan before ending his playing career after the 2007 season. At last report, Todd Erdos was the head baseball coach at Butler High School in Butler County, Pennsylvania where former major leaguer Matt Clement was also a coach.  He was also a financial advisor for Edward Jones.

Right-hander Matthew Brian Meadows did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 2002. He was born in Montgomery, Alabama, went to high school in Troy, Alabama, and was drafted by Florida in the third round in 1994. He pitched well in the low minors, but struggled some when he reached AA in 1997. Still, he made the Marlins at the start of 1998 and was a major league rotation starter for three full seasons despite never posting an ERA below five or a WHIP below 1.5. The Marlins traded him to San Diego after the 1999 season, and the Padres traded him to Kansas City at the end of July of 2000, but he still remained in the rotation. He began 2001 in the starting rotation, too, but after ten starts in which he posted an ERA of nearly seven he was finally sent to AAA. Meadows was a free agent after that season and signed with Minnesota for 2002, but was released at the end of March. Pittsburgh picked him up and sent him to AAA, where he pitched fairly decently, getting called up to the majors in August. He was in the Pirates’ bullpen for most of 2003 and all of 2004 and 2005 and had the only major league “success” of his career, putting up an ERA of 4.28 and a WHIP of 1.32. He was a free agent after the season, signed with Los Angeles for 2006, was released in spring training, signed with Tampa Bay, but had a bad year in the bullpen. He went to spring training with Cincinnati in 2007, but was released in spring training and his playing career was over. When you see guys who succeed in the minors but can never get a shot, it’s hard to understand how Brian Meadows was able to make 122 starts in the major leagues. At last report, it appeared that Brian Meadows was involved in doing a variety of charitable work in Alabama.

November 20

Joe Sommer (1958)
Kenesaw Landis (1866)
Clark Griffith (1869)
George McBride (1880)
Leon Cadore (1890)
Larry Benton (1897)
Jay Ritchie (1936)
Herm Starrette (1938)
Rick Monday (1945)
Jay Johnstone (1945)
Ron Cash (1949)
Alex Arias (1967)
Gabe White (1971)
J. D. Drew (1975)
Sam Fuld (1981)
Brock Peterson (1983)

Kenesaw Landis, as I'm sure you know, was the first commissioner of baseball, holding the job from 1920 until his death in 1944.

Pitcher Clark Griffith was a star for the Cubs before jumping to the White Sox when the American League was formed. Later, of course, was the owner of the Twins franchise while it was still in Washington. His adopted son, Calvin, brought the team to Minnesota.

Ron Cash was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in 1969, but did not sign.

Outfielder Samuel Babson Fuld was with the Twins for about half of the 2014 season.  He was born in Durham, New Hampshire, went to high school in Exeter, New Hampshire, attended Stanford University, and was drafted by the Cubs in the tenth round in 2004.  He never showed much power, but he hit for a high average, drew a good number of walks, and stole some bases throughout his minor league career.  He got his first taste of major league ball as a September call-up in 2007, was with the Cubs for the second half of 2009, and finally made the majors to stay in mid-August of 2010.  That off-season, he was traded to Tampa Bay in a multi-player trade that included ex-Twin Matt Garza.  He started 2011 as the Rays' regular left fielder, but could not hit enough to hold the position.  He was injured much of 2012, was a reserve for the Rays in 2013, was a free agent after the season, and signed with Oakland.  The Athletics waived him three weeks into the season and was claimed by Minnesota.  He was a mostly regular outfielder for them when healthy and didn't do badly, hitting ,274/.370/.354 in 164 at-bats.  The Twins traded him to Oakland at the end of July for Tommy Milone and he was a regular outfielder for them for the rest of the season.  He turns thirty-three today.  He'll never be a star, and probably will never be a regular other than to fill in when someone's hurt.  On the other hand, he has some speed, can play any position in the outfield, and isn't an automatic out.  The chances are he can be a fourth outfielder for someone for a few more years yet.

First baseman/outfielder Brock Alan Peterson did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them and was in their farm system for eight years.  He was born in Centralia, Washington, went to high school in Chehalis, Washington, and was drafted by Minnesota in the forty-ninth round in 2002.  He was initially a third baseman, but switched to first in 2004.  He rose very slowly, spending one year in rookie ball and three in Class A.  After hitting .291 with 21 home runs in Fort Myers in 2006, he finally reached New Britain in 2007.  He had a couple of decent years there, reaching AAA briefly in 2008 before going there for all of the following two seasons.  The Twins let him go after the 2010 campaign.  When one looks at his minor league career, one doesn't really see any bad years, but one doesn't really see much to make him sit up and take notice, either.  He was a consistently good minor league player, but not really any more than that.  He played in Bridgeport in the Atlantic League for most of the next two years before signing with the Cardinals in mid-August of 2012.  They sent him to AAA Memphis, and in 2013 he had the best minor league season of his career, hitting .296/.364/.531 with twenty-five home runs.  He got two stints in the majors that season, playing in St. Louis for about three weeks from mid-July to early-August and then getting a September callup.  He was used mostly as a pinch-hitter, playing in 23 games but getting only 26 at-bats.  He did not do well in those at-bats, going 2-for-26 with no extra-base hits, two walks, and two RBIs.  He once again became a free agent after the season, signed with Washington, was sold to the Dodgers in July, and spent the entire season at AAA, doing much better in Albuquerque than he had done in Syracuse.  He turns thirty-one today and is once again a free agent.  The way we closed last year's biography appears to still apply.  It seems reasonable to think someone might want him to fill out their AAA roster, and if he does well there and gets a break or two, he might make it back to the big leagues.  If not, well, twenty-six big league at-bats isn't bad for a forty-ninth round draft choice, and it's twenty-six more than you or I will ever get.

November 19

Everett Scott (1892)
Roy Campanella (1921)
Joe Morgan (1930)
Manny Jimenez (1938)
Larry Haney (1942)
Bobby Tolan (1945)
Bob Boone (1947)
Dickie Noles (1956)
Mike Winters (1958)
Gary DiSarcina (1967)
Mario Valdez (1974)
Clay Condrey (1975)
Ryan Howard (1979)
Jonathan Sanchez (1982)
Michael Tonkin (1989)

The Joe Morgan listed above is not Hall of Famer Joe Morgan. The Joe Morgan born today is the Joe Morgan who once managed the Red Sox.

Larry Haney is the cousin of ex-Twin Mike Cubbage.

Mike Winters has been a major league umpire since 1990.

First baseman/outfielder Mario A. Valdez did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for about four months in 2000. He was born in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, went to high school in Hialeah, Florida, and was drafted by the White Sox in the forty-eighth round in 1993. He had some fine seasons in the minors, hitting .330 with 13 homers in a 1996 split between A and AA and .330 with 20 homers in Calgary in 1998. He was in the majors for a little less than half of 1997, allowing Frank Thomas to spend time at the DH spot. He got 115 at-bats, hitting .243/.350/.330. Despite his 1998 AAA season, he never got another chance with Chicago and was allowed to become a free agent after the 1999 campaign. The Twins signed him and sent him to AAA Salt Lake, where he hit .366 with 18 homers through the end of July, at which point he was traded to Oakland for Danny Ardoin. He got a September call-up with the Athletics in 2000 and started 2001 in Oakland. He was used largely as a pinch-hitter and hit .278 in 54 at-bats, but was sent back to AAA in June and never got back to the majors. He stayed in the Athletics’ organization through 2002, played in AAA for San Diego in 2003, went to Japan in 2004, then went to Mexico, where he has played well ever since. There were surely reasons he didn’t play more in the majors, but it seems like he could have helped somebody if he’d been given a chance.

Right-handed reliever Clayton Lee Condrey did not play for the Twins, but was on their disabled list in 2010. He was born in Beaumont, Texas, went to high school in Navasosta, Texas, and then attended McNeese State, the same college attended by ex-Twin Danny Ardoin. He signed with San Diego as a free agent in 1998. He was strictly a relief pitcher through 2001, pitching well in the low minors but not so well above Class A. He never pitched as many as ninety innings in a season in those years, averaging around 55 innings. He became a starter in 2002 and did well, going 10-4, 3.50, 1.26 WHIP for AAA Portland. He made his major league debut in late August and continued to do well, posting an ERA of 1.69 and a WHIP of 1.05 in 26.2 innings. Condrey began 2003 as the Padres’ fifth starter, but flopped and was sent back to AAA in May. In late March of 2004, Condrey was sent to Philadelphia as part of a “conditional deal.” He had a couple of mediocre years at AAA for the Phillies, but they did not give up on him, instead shifting him back to the bullpen for 2006. Now 30, he suddenly flourished there, spending nearly half of 2006 and almost all of 2007 in the majors. He had two full seasons in the majors in 2008 and 2009 and did very well, posting a combined ERA of 3.16 in 111 innings. A free agent after the 2009 campaign, he signed with Minnesota but was injured in spring training, missing the entire season except for 9.1 innings on an aborted minor league rehab assignment.  That brought his playing career to an end.  He apparently is now giving private pitching instruction to young players through OOSinker Pitching Lessons.

Right-handed reliever Michael Harvey Tonkin as pitched for the Twins in 2013 and 2014.  He was born in Glendale, California, went to high school in Palmdale, California, and was drafted by Minnesota in the thirtieth round in 2008.  He was primarily a starter through 2010 and did not do badly in that role, but became a relief pitcher in 2011.  He did not reach AA until 2013, but was promoted to AAA that same season and ended the year in the majors.  He pitched very well for the Twins in 11.1 innings, going 0-0, 0.79, 1.06 WHIP with three walks and ten strikeouts.  He started 2014 in the majors and pitched very well in April, but stumbled in May and was sent to AAA. returning as a September call-up.  So far, Michael Tonkin has appeared in thirty-four games for the Twins.  He is 0-0, 0 saves, 3.26 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 30.1 innings.  He turns twenty-five today.  He will certainly be in the mix for a bullpen job in the 2015 season.

November 18

Deacon McGuire (1863)

Jack Coombs (1882)

Les Mann (1892)
Gene Mauch (1925)
Roy Sievers (1926)
Danny McDevitt (1932)
Cal Koonce (1940)
Jim Shellenback (1943)
Steve Henderson (1952)
Luis Pujols (1955)
Mike Felder (1961)
Jamie Moyer (1962)
Dante Bichette (1963)
Ron Coomer (1966)
Tom Gordon (1967)
Gary Sheffield (1968)
David Ortiz (1975)
Shawn Camp (1975)
Steve Bechler (1979)
C. J. Wilson (1980)

Roy Sievers was a star for the franchise when it was in Washington in the 1950s.

There are 74 current and former major league players born on this day. I'm pretty sure that's the most on any day.

Gene William Mauch managed the Twins from 1976-1980. He became much more famous as a manager than he had ever been as a player. Born in Salina, Kansas, he attended Fremont High School in Los Angeles and was signed as a free agent by Brooklyn in 1943. An infielder, he had a very good year for Class B Durham in 1943, and started 1944 with the Dodgers. After five games, Mauch went briefly to AA Montreal, and then went into the military. Upon his return in 1946, he was sent to AAA St. Paul. Mauch was traded to Pittsburgh in 1947. He began that year in AAA as well, but after hitting .300 there in 58 games, he was promoted to the Pirates. He stayed in the big leagues through 1950, spending time with Brooklyn, the Cubs, and the Boston Braves. Mauch was apparently injured for some of 1951, as he played only 19 games for Boston and 37 games at AAA. Most of the rest of his career was spent in the minors, with the exception of 1957, when he played in 65 games for the Red Sox. Mauch posted a lifetime batting line of .239/.333/.312, with an OPS+ of 75. His playing career ended with two years as the player-manager of AAA Minneapolis in 1958-59. He became a major league manager in 1960, when he was hired to manage the Philadelphia Phillies. He remained their manager through 1968, most famously in 1964, when his team lost a 6 1/2 game lead with 12 games to play. He became manager of the expansion Montreal Expos in 1969, holding that job through 1975. Mauch became the manager of the Twins in 1976, replacing Frank Quilici. With the Twins, Mauch did his best to make a lot out of a little, twice keeping the Twins in contention for much of the season despite limited talent. By 1980, however, the loss through free agency of pretty much every good player on the team became too much for him, and he resigned in August. Mauch moved on to twice manage the California Angels, from 1981-82 and from 1985-87. In 1982 and 1986 Mauch had the Angels within one game of the World Series, but never was able to win that one game. As a manager, Mauch was known for emphasizing fundamentals and small ball and using the entire roster. He was criticized for not getting to the World Series, but many times he got his team closer to it than it had any right to be.  As Bill James once said, Mauch's problem was that he took over too many challenges and not enough ball clubs. Gene Mauch passed away from lung cancer on August 8, 2005.

Left-hander Daniel Eugene McDevitt appeared in sixteen games for the Twins in 1961, near the end of his major league career. Born in New York, he attended St. Bonaventure University and was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 1951. He spent two years in the low minors, posting a 2.35 ERA for Class C Greenwood in 1952, and then missed two years due to service in the United States Army. Upon his return in 1955, he struggled for a couple of years, but put things together in 1957, posting a 2.30 ERA in 94 innings of AAA before being promoted to Brooklyn, where he went 7-4 with a 3.25 ERA the rest of the way. McDevitt was the starting pitcher for the last Dodgers home game in Brooklyn, winning 2-0. He started 1958 with the Dodgers, now moved to Los Angeles, but struggled early and was sent back to AAA. He came back to the majors in 1959, and this time stayed there for three years. He had a couple of decent seasons for the Dodgers as a sometime starter, sometime reliever. After the 1960 season, McDevitt was sold to the Yankees, and after he got off to a poor start in New York, he was traded to Minnesota in mid-June of 1961 for Billy Gardner. He did not suffer from overwork, pitching only 26 innings in 16 appearances the rest of the way. He did well for the Twins when given the chance, posting a 2.36 ERA. Control trouble, however, was a problem throughout his career, and it showed up in Minnesota as well, as McDevitt walked 19 batters.  Arm injuries contributed to his problems as well. He was sold to Kansas City the following off-season. He made 33 appearances for the Athletics in 1962, was in AAA in 1963, and then his playing career ended.  He did not immediately leave baseball, however, embarking on a career as a minor league umpire.  Danny McDevitt passed away in Covington, Georgia on November 20, 2010, two days after his 78th birthday.

Left-hander James Philip Shellenback appeared for the Twins in five games in 1977, at the end of his playing career. He was born in Riverside, California, attended Ramona High School in Riverside, and was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 1962. After his first minor-league season, Shellenback was drafted by Pittsburgh in the 1962 first-year draft. He pitched very well in the Pirates' minor-league system, but someone must have decided he couldn't pitch in the bigs: in almost four full seasons of AAA, from 1965-1968, Shellenback posted an ERA of 3.08, but he got only 8 games and 26 innings in the big leagues in that period. In May of 1969, he was traded to Washington, and finally was given a shot in the majors. He spent four years with Washington/Texas from 1969-1972 as a swing man, and did a decent job, consistently posting ERAs in the mid-threes. In 1974, however, he found himself back in AAA, which is where he remained for most of the rest of his career. After the 1975 season, he was sold to San Diego, but never got a shot at the big leagues there. The Padres released him in before the 1977 season, and he was out of baseball until Minnesota signed him in August. He started at AA Orlando, but got a September call-up with the Twins. He pitched only 5.2 innings, giving up five earned runs for a 7.94 ERA. The Twins released him after the season, and his playing career was over. He appears to be another player who might have been better had he been given more of a chance. After he quit playing, Jim Shellenback then went into coaching, and was for several years the pitching coach for the Elizabethton Twins until his retirement after the 2011 season.  No information about what he has done since then was readily available, but it is to be hoped that wherever he is, he is enjoying his retirement.

Corner infielder Ronald Bryan Coomer played for the Twins from 1995-2000. Born in Crest Hill, Illinois, he attended high school in Lockport Township, Illinois. He attended Taft College in Taft, California, and was drafted by Oakland in the 14th round in 1987. He was in Class A for three years, hitting over .300 in two of them, but struggled when promoted to AA in 1990, and was released by Oakland in August of that year. He was signed by the White Sox and had a couple of nondescript seasons in their minor league system, but came alive in 1993, hitting .319 in a season split between AA and AAA. Coomer was traded to the Dodgers after that season. He hit .338 at AAA Albuquerque in 1994, and was hitting .322 there in 1995 when he was finally called up to the big leagues. It wasn't with the Dodgers, however; on July 31, he was traded to the Twins, along with Greg Hansell, Jose Parra, and Chris Latham, for Mark Guthrie and Kevin Tapani. A third baseman throughout his minor league career, Coomer played first base and outfield his first couple of years with the Twins, was the regular third baseman in 1997-98, and played mostly first base in 1999-2000. He hit in the .290s with double-digit homers in 1996 and 1997 before dropping to the .270s for the remainder of his time with the Twins. He did not draw very many walks--his career high was 36 in 2000. As a Twin, Ron Coomer posted a line of .278/.315/.431 with one all-star appearance, in 1999. He became a free agent after the 2000 season, and began bouncing around: he was with the Cubs in 2001, the Yankees in 2002, and the Dodgers in 2003. His playing time diminished, as did his effectiveness, and after 2003, he called it a career. He then went into broadcasting.  He was an analyst for Fox Sports North for several seasons before becoming a radio broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs in 2014.

Designated hitter/first baseman David Americo (Arias) Ortiz was born in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, went to high school in Haina, Dominican Republic, and was originally known as David Arias. Ironically, he would go on to become a player to be named later. He was signed by Seattle as a free agent in 1992. He hit .332 in rookie ball in 1995, and followed it up by hitting .322 with 18 home runs in the Midwest League in 1996. In September, he came to Minnesota as the PTBNL in a trade that sent Dave Hollins to Seattle. He had a big year in 1997, split between A and AA, and made his big-league debut as a September call-up that season. He made the Twins out of spring training in 1998, and got off to a good start, but got hurt in early May, missing two months. He did not do as well upon his return, but for the season, he hit .277 with an .817 OPS as a 22-year-old, and appeared ready to move forward. Instead, he went backward. After a poor spring training in 1999, Ortiz was sent to AAA and stayed there the whole season despite hitting .315 with 30 homers and despite the fact that Doug Mientkiewicz was posting a .229 average as the Twins' first baseman. Back in Minnesota in 2000, he stayed there through 2002. Ortiz was better with the Twins than some would have us believe: he hit .266/.348/.461 with a 107 OPS+. Still, the Twins soured on him and gave him his release after the 2002 season. Teams were not falling all over themselves to sign him, either; he was unemployed for over a month before signing with Boston on January 22, 2003. Given regular playing time in Boston, he exploded: from 2003-2007, Ortiz averaged 42 homers and 128 RBIs, finishing in the top five in MVP voting each year. He had a couple of down (though still productive) years from 2008-2009, but bounced back in 2010, had a fine year in 2011, another in 2012, and yet another in 2013, being named MVP of the World Series.  He was not as good in 2014, but still was a very good batter.  He turns 39 today, so it's anyone's guess how much he has left, but it does not appear that David Ortiz is done hitting baseballs just yet.

November 17

George Stallings (1867)

Mike Garcia (1923)

Orlando Pena (1933)

Gary Bell (1936)

Tom Seaver (1944)

Brad Havens (1959)

Mitch Williams (1964)

Paul Sorrento (1965)

Jeff Nelson (1966)

Eli Marrero (1973)

Darnell McDonald (1978)

Ryan Braun (1983)

Nick Markakis (1983)

 George Stallings managed in the major leagues for thirteen years.  He is best remembered as the manager of the 1914 Miracle Braves.

Right-hander Bradley David Havens pitched for the Twins from 2001-2003 at the beginning of what turned out to be a semi-respectable major league career. Born in Highland Park, Michigan, he attended Kimball High School in Royal Oak, Michigan. He was drafted by California in the eighth round in 1977. He did not make his debut until 1978, pitching well at Class A Quad Cities. The following February, Havens was traded to Minnesota along with Dave Engle, Paul Hartzell, and Ken Landreaux for Rod Carew. He had a poor 1979, but pitched well for Class A Visalia in 1980 and was off to a good start at Orlando in 1981 when he was called up to the Twins in June. He was in the Twins starting rotation most of the rest of that season and all of 1982, doing a fairly solid job considering how awful those teams were. In 1983, however, things fell apart on him. He pitched poorly in twelve starts and was sent to AAA in mid-June. He pitched well there, but did not do better in Minnesota when brought back in mid-July. Havens had a very good year in AAA in 1984, but never made it back to the Twins and was traded in February, 1985 to Baltimore for Mark Brown. He did not do all that well in 1985, but was in the Orioles bullpen for all of 1986, pitching adequately enough in middle relief. He was traded to the Dodgers in May of 1987 and did decently, but got off to a poor start in 1988 and was released. He moved on to the Indians until May of 1989, finished that year with Detroit, and then was out of baseball. As a Twin, Brad Havens was 18-28 with an ERA of 5.00 in 63 games, 58 of them starts. He played in parts of eight major league seasons, appearing in over 200 major league games, which is not so bad, really.  At last report, he was living in Brighton, Michigan. He at one time had a business called Brad Havens Baseball Clinics, Inc. in Michigan, but the corporation has been dissolved.  He appears to be the owner of a company called Major League Gutter & Window Cleaning in Royal Oak, Michigan.

First baseman Paul Anthony Sorrento was a Twin from 1989-1991 at the beginning of his 11-year major league career. Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, Sorrento attended Florida State and was drafted by California in the fourth round in 1986. He spent three years in Class A for the Angels, having a good season in 1986, a poor one in 1987, and a good one in 1988, when he began to develop power. In November 0f 1988, Sorrento was traded to the Twins with Rob Wassenaar and Mike Cook for Kevin Trudeau and Bert Blyleven. He hit 27 homers for AA Orlando in 1989, earning a September call-up, and batted .302 with 19 homers in 1990 with AAA Portland, when he was with Minnesota for a little over two months. He had another good year in Portland in 1991, and got another month and a half with the Twins. He was blocked at first base by Kent Hrbek and at DH by Chili Davis, so in late March, 1992 the Twins traded Sorrento to Cleveland for Curt Leskanic and Oscar Munoz. He never developed as well for Cleveland as expected, but it could be that people over-expected: in four years for the Indians, he hit .261 and averaged 19 homers a year. A free agent after the 1995 season, Sorrento moved on to Seattle, where he had his best years, batting .279 and hitting 54 home runs over two seasons. A free agent again after the 1997 campaign, Sorrento signed with Tampa Bay and promptly collapsed. In two seasons with the Devil Rays, he hit .229 with only 28 home runs. A free agent once more after 1999, he signed with Oakland, and spent 2000 with the Athletics' AAA team in Sacramento. He was decent, but not outstanding, and his career came to a close after that season. After leaving baseball, he moved to Bellevue, Washington, where he coached youth baseball.  In 2012, Paul Sorrento was the batting coach for the Inland Empire 66ers, the Angels' affiliate in the California League.  In 2013, he was the roving batting instructor for the Angels, and in 2014 he became their interim batting coach while Don Baylor was sidelined by surgery.  He was considered for the position of Red Sox batting coach this off-season, but lost out to ex-Twin Chili Davis.

Outfielder Darnell Tyrone McDonald played in four games for the Twins in 2007. He was born in Ft. Collins, Colorado, went to Cherry Creek High School in Englewood, Colorado, and was drafted by Baltimore in the first round in 1997. He showed an ability to draw walks early on, and once he started to hit, he posted some good on-base percentages. He hit just under .300 at AAA Rochester in 2002 and 2003, but slumped to .234 in 2004. McDonald got a few cups of coffee with the Orioles in 2004 as well, used mostly as a defensive replacement. A free agent after that season, he signed with Cleveland, was released in early June, and signed with Tampa Bay. He stuck in the Devil Rays' organization through 2006, again hitting a little under .300 at AAA. McDonald signed with Washington for 2007, but was traded to the Twins on June 24 for Levale Speigner. His numbers at Rochester were a little lower, but he still hit around .270 in a year and a half with the Red Wings. He was with Minnesota for about a week in June of 2007, starting three games and going 1-for-10. McDonald was released after 2008 and signed with Cincinnati. He split the year between AAA Louisville and the Reds. He really did not do a bad job as a reserve outfielder for Cincinnati, batting .267 with 2 home runs in 105 at-bats.  A free agent after the 2009 season, he signed with Boston and remained there through the first half of 2012.  He was a decent reserve in his first season there, but his average dropped to .236 in 2011 and to .214 when he was waived in early July of 2012.  The Yankees claimed him and played him in four games, then sent him to AAA, where he stayed the rest of the year. He signed with the Cubs for 2013, got about seven weeks in the majors, and did quite well as a pinch-hitter/defensive replacement, batting .302 in 53 at-bats.  A year ago, we wrote "it seems like someone will at least take him to spring training, and it's entirely possible we'll see him in a big league uniform again in 2014."  Well, we were half right.  He signed with the Cubs, and they took him to spring training, but he was released in early April and became a baseball operations assistant with the Cubs.

November 16

Mike McGeary (1850)

Joe Quest (1852)

Paul Foytack (1930)

Frank Bolling (1931)

Harry Chiti (1932)
Minnie Mendoza (1933)
Don Hahn (1948)
Herb Washington (1951)
Glenn Burke (1952)
Curt Wardle (1960)
Dwight Gooden (1964)
Chris Haney (1968)
Pete Rose (1969)
Julio Lugo (1975)

Sprinter Herb Washington played for Oakland for two seasons as a pinch-runner.  He appeared in 105 games but did not play in the field and did not bat.  He stole 31 bases in 48 attempts and scored 33 runs.

Infielder Cristobal Rigoberto (Carreras) Mendoza played 2,240 games in the minor leagues and 16 games in the majors, all with the Twins in 1970. He was born in Cieba Del Agua, Cuba, went to high school in Havana, and was signed by Cincinnati as a free agent in 1954. Five of his first six years were spent in Class C and B leagues. He was released by Cincinnati before the 1958 season, and signed with the Washington Senators. In 1959, he hit .357 with Class C Missoula, which finally got him promoted to Class A. He spent two years with Charlotte, posting solid averages, although with little power. Promoted to AAA Vancouver in 1962, his first full year of AAA at age 28, he hit .260, but with few walks and again little power. He then went back to Charlotte, which was by then a AA city. He stayed there for six years. He hit .291 over that stretch, but never even got another cup of coffee at AAA until he was promoted there in 1969, at age 35. He hit .333 that year, and in 1970, at age 36, Minnie Mendoza made his major league debut with the Twins. He stayed for about two months, being used strictly as a pinch-hitter/pinch runner/defensive replacement. He played in 16 games, got 16 at-bats, and hit .188. Mendoza spent the rest of the season with AAA Evansville, went back to Charlotte for two years, and then retired at age 38. He then became a long-time coach and manager. Most recently, Minnie Mendoza was the Latin American field coordinator for the Cleveland Indians and at last report was an advisor to the Indians for Latin American operations.

Left-hander Curtis Ray Wardle pitched for the Twins in 1984 and 1985. He was born in Downey, California, went to high school in Norco, California, attended San Bernardino Valley College and Cal-Riverside, and was drafted by the Twins in the third round in 1981. He alternated between starting and relieving for his first two seasons, but then went to the bullpen full time in 1983. He had very good years in 1983 and 1984 as a reliever, the former with Class A Visalia and the latter with AA Orlando. Wardle pitched in two games for the Twins at the end of August, 1984, and was in the big leagues for all of 1985. He did not pitch particularly well for the Twins, and on August 1 he was traded to Cleveland with Jay Bell, Jim Weaver, and Rich Yett for Bert Blyleven. As a Twin, Wardle was 1-3 with a 5.43 ERA in 37 appearances and 53 innings. Placed in the starting rotation for the Indians, he did not do any better, going 7-6, but with a 6.68 ERA. He was known as a slow worker, and given his numbers, that may be understandable. Wardle had an unspectacular year at AAA in 1986, and was traded to Oakland in 1987 spring training. The Athletics sent him to AA Huntsville, he pitched poorly there in six starts, and then his career was over. At last report, Curt Wardle was living in Moreno Valley, California.

November 15

Tom Loftus (1856)

Pat Ragan (1885)

Mickey Livingston (1914)

Gus Bell (1928)
Randy Niemann (1955)
Pedro Borbon (1967)

Tom Loftus managed Cincinnati, Chicago, and Washington around the turn of the (twentieth) century.

Left-hander Randal Harold Niemann appeared in six games for the Twins in 1987, at the end of his major league career. Born in Scotia, California, he was drafted by the Yankees in the second round of the secondary phase of the 1975 June draft. He appears to have pretty much topped out at AA, although he had a couple of small sample size years where he was decent in the majors. In June of 1977, Niemann was traded to Houston. He had a fine year at AA for the Astros in 1978, going 9-5 with a 2.05 ERA as a part-time starter and part-time reliever. That and a decent start at AAA in 1979 got him promoted to the majors, where he spent most of the year as a seldom-used reliever and occasional spot starter. His numbers were decent that year, and 1980 found him starting the year in a similar role. He struggled in 1980, possibly due in part to a lack of consistent work, and landed back in the minors in July. He may have been injured the next year, as he made only 10 appearances, all of them starts for AAA Tucson. After the season, Niemann was traded to Pittsburgh. He spent most of 1982 in Pittsburgh and most of 1983 at AAA Hawaii, but was not particularly impressive either place. He moved on to the White Sox in 1984 and the Mets in 1985, playing most of both seasons in AAA. 1985 was the seventh consecutive season he had spent at least part of at AAA, and he apparently started to figure out how to get AAA hitters out, as he went 11-6 with a 2.76 ERA that year in 30 appearances, 19 of them starts. He was with the Mets for most of 1986, and pitched well for them in short relief, though he only threw 35.2 innings. A free agent at the end of the season, Niemann signed with the Twins for 1987. He spent a little over two weeks with the Twins in June, pitching 5.1 innings over six appearances. He was 1-0 in that span with an 8.44 ERA. Most of his season was spent at AAA Portland, where he was decent, but nothing to get too excited about. The Twins apparently weren't too excited, anyway--they let him go at the end of the season. He made nine appearances for AAA Tidewater in the Mets organization in 1988, then called it a career.  Randy Niemann then went into coaching, and was the bullpen coach for the New York Mets from 2009-2010.  He was the team's pitching rehab coordinator in 2011, working closely with Johan Santana.  He moved on to the Boston organization in 2012, becoming that team's pitching coach on August 20, but was replaced after the season.  Randy Niemann was the pitching coach of AA Springfield in the Cardinals organization in 2013 and 2014.