February 21

Jouett Meekin (1867)

Dummy Taylor (1875)

John Titus (1876)
Tom Yawkey (1903)
Mark Scott (1915)
Joe Foy (1943)
Jack Billingham (1943)
Tom Shopay (1945)
Charley Walters (1947)
Rick Lysander (1953)
Alan Trammell (1958)
The birthday list (2009)

Tom Yawkey was the owner of the Boston Red Sox from 1933 until his death in 1978.

Mark Scott was the host of “Home Run Derby”.

Third baseman Joseph Anthony Foy did not play for the Twins, but was originally signed by them.  He was born in New York and went to high school in the Bronx.  He signed with the Twins in 1962.  He hit .285 in Class D Erie, drawing 109 walks in 490 plate appearances.  He was chosen by Boston in the 1962 minor league draft.  Foy hit pretty well throughout the minors; his best year was probably 1965, when he hit .302 with 14 home runs for AAA Toronto.  He was the regular third baseman for the Red Sox the next season, a position he held for three years.  He could not duplicate his minor league success in the majors, although his numbers look better when viewed in the low-offense context of the late 1960s.  He hit .246 in his years with Boston, but he continued to draw walks--his OBP in those years was .344.  He also hit double-digit home runs each season.  Foy was taken by Kansas City in the expansion draft and was the Royals' third baseman in 1969.  He hit .262 with an OBP of .354 and 11 homers for the expansion team.  After the season, however, Foy was traded to the Mets in the deal that brought Amos Otis to Kansas City.  He had a down year and was left unprotected after the season.  Washington chose him in the Rule 5 draft, but Foy was released mid-way through the 1971 season, ending his career.  Even in his last years, when he was hitting in the .230s, he was still drawing walks, posting OBPs around .370.  After his career ended, Joy Foy returned to the Bronx.  He passed away from a heart attack on October 12, 1989 at the age of 46.

Right-hander Charles Leonard Walters pitched in six games for the Twins in 1969.  He was born in Minneapolis and went to high school there.  Walters signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1966 after attending a tryout camp.  He pitched very well in the low minors, and was jumped to the majors from Class A at the start of the 1969 season.  He had both started and relieved in the minors, but was placed in the bullpen with the Twins.  Walters was unscored upon in his first five appearances, giving up only three hits in 5.1 innings.  In his sixth appearances, however, he gave up four runs on three hits and two walks in 1.1 innings.  He was sent back to the minors after that, and never made it back to the big leagues.  He did not pitch particularly well in AA Charlotte, and in March of 1970 was traded to Washington with Joe Grzenda for Brant Alyea.  He did not pitch badly in 1970 or 1971 in the minors, but had a down year in 1972 in AA which ended his career.  Charley Walters has for many years been a sports columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.  The nickname "Shooter" was given to him by Bob Allison.

Right-hander Richard Eugene Lysander pitched for the Twins from 1983-1985.  He was born in Huntington Park, California, attended California State--Los Angeles, and was drafted by Oakland in the 19th round in 1974.  He was used as a starter in the low minors, but shifted to relief on his promotion to AAA midway through the 1976 season.  He struggled in AAA in that role, was sent back to AA a couple of times, and returned to starting in 1981.  He made his major league debut in 1980, pitching in five games for the Athletics without success.  Lysander was traded to Houston after the 1981 season, pitched in AAA for the Astros in 1982, and was traded to the Twins in January of 1983 for Bob Veselic.  He made the Twins out of spring training in 1983 and was with them for all of that year and parts of two others.  He was used mostly out of the bullpen, although one of his five starts was a memorable complete-game, eleven-hit shutout of California.  He pitched fairly well for them in 1983, then started 1984 in the minors but came up in late June and pitched fairly well again.  He did not pitch well in 1985, again spent some time in the minors, and was released after the season.  That pretty much ended his career, but he pitched in the seniors league in 1989 and made a brief, unsuccessful comeback in 1990, pitching ten games in AAA for Toronto.  Lysander's son, Brent, pitched in the Oakland organization in 2007 and 2008 and was in independent ball in 2009.  His daughter, Kelsey, was a star soccer player at Notre Dame.  At last report, Rick Lysander was living in La Jolla, California and was involved with youth baseball there.  He also was taking part in various instructional camps and charitable events.

February 20

Sam Rice (1890)

John Wesley Donaldson (1892)

Muddy Ruel (1896)

Pete Monahan (1902)

Tommy Henrich (1913)

Frankie Gustine (1920)

Jim Wilson (1922)

Roy Face (1928)

Shigeo Nagashima (1936)

Clyde Wright (1941)

Bill Gullickson (1959)

Shane Spencer (1972)
Livan Hernandez (1975)
Ryan Langerhans (1980)
Justin Verlander (1983)
Jose Morales (1983)
Brian McCann (1984)

John Wesley Donaldson pitched in the Negro Leagues and averaged nearly twenty strikeouts per game for the All Nations team in the 1910s.  He pitched three consecutive no-hitters in 1913.

Pete Monahan played in the minors from 1921-1940, batting .301 and collecting 2,462 hits, but never played in the major leagues.

Third baseman Shigeo Nagashima played for the Yomiuri Giants from 1958-1974 and is considered by some to be the greatest player in the history of Japanese baseball.

Right-hander Eisler Livan Hernandez was with the Twins for roughly four months in 2008.  The brother of Orlando Hernandez, he is a native of Villa Clara, Cuba, which is where he went to high school.  He was signed by Florida as a free agent in 1996.  He struggled some in his first year in organized baseball, a season he split between AA and AAA as a 21-year-old, but he pitched fairly well in AAA in 1997 and reached the Marlins in mid-June.  He did very well, going 9-3, 3.18, helping lead the Marlins to the World Championship, and finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting.  Hernandez was not as good for the rest of his career with the Marlins, posting ERAs in the mid-fours through late July of 1999, when he was traded to San Francisco.  He finished that year and pitched the next three for the Giants.  His best year in San Francisco was 2000, when he went 17-11, 3.75.  In March of 2003, Hernandez was traded to Montreal and was and Expo/National until August of 2006.  He posted an ERA under four each year from 2003 through 2005 and made the all-star team twice.  In 2006, however, he was having a poor year when he was traded to Arizona.  He stayed with the Diamondbacks through 2007, when he became a free agent.  He signed with Minnesota for 2008.  He got off to a decent start, but deteriorated as the season went along:  as a Twin, he was 10-8, 5.48 with a WHIP of 1.63.  He was placed on waivers in August and claimed by Colorado, for whom he finished the season.  He signed with the Mets for 2009, was released in late August, and signed with Washington, for whom he finished the season.  He remained with Washington through 2011 and actually pitched fairly well for them.  He pitched 200 or more innings every season from 1998 through 2007, and pitched 175 innings or more every season from 1998 through 2011.  A free agent after the 2011 season, Livan Hernandez signed with Houston for 2012 but was released at the end of spring training.  He signed with Atlanta, pitched poorly in relief, was released in June, signed with Milwaukee a few days later, and continued to pitch poorly in relief.  He became a free agent after the season and did not sign with anyone, bringing his playing career to an end. It was a long and pretty decent career, though.  A year ago he was said to have started a boxing management company, Team Knockout, based in Miami, but it is uncertain whether anything ever came of the venture.  At last report, Livan Hernandez was employed by the Washington Nationals as a batting practice pitcher and was also doing public relations work for the team.

Catcher Jose Guillermo Morales is one of two players by named Jose Morales to have played for the Twins.  This one was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, and attended high school there.  He was drafted by the Twins in the third round in 2001.  He was in rookie ball for two years, hitting .309 the second season.  He then was in A ball for two years and AA for two more years before reaching AAA Rochester in 2007.  Something seemed to click for him at AAA, because he hit over .300 three years in a row there.  Only one of those years was a full season--he was injured part of 2008 and was called up to the majors for much of 2009.  He hit over .300 in the majors in 2009, too, hitting .311 in 119 at-bats.  He was back in Rochester in 2010 but had a down year, batting .264.  He still got about six weeks in the majors, but hit just .194 in 36 at-bats.  As a Twin, he hit .297/.370/.354 in 158 at-bats.  Morales did not show power in the minors (his highest home run total was four) nor did he draw very many walks (his combined walk total in 2010, 42, was the highest of his career), and his defense was considered suspect, so he needed to hit for a high average to have much value.  The Twins apparently did not think it would happen, as they traded him to Colorado for Paul Bargas in December of 2010.  Morales was injured much of 2011, playing in only twenty-two games.  He became a free agent after the season, signed with Pittsburgh for 2012, and continued to have injury trouble, playing in only 58 AAA games.  He does not appear to have played anywhere in 2013, although he did play winter ball, and played for Camden in the Atlantic League in 2014.  On the one hand, teams are always looking for catchers.  On the other hand, he turns 32 today, has a history of injuries, and hasn't had a good season since 2009.  He may get another chance, but it appears that the odds are strongly against it.  You can contact him through his website, josemoralesmlb.com

February 19

John Morrill (1855)

Dick Siebert (1912)

Hub Kittle (1917)
Russ Nixon (1935)
Dave Niehaus (1935)
Jackie Moore (1939)
Walt Jocketty (1951)
Dave Stewart (1957)
Keith Atherton (1959)
Alvaro Espinoza (1962)
Miguel Batista (1971)
Juan Diaz (1974)

Hub Kittle’s baseball career spanned 68 years.  In 1980, he became the oldest player to appear in organized baseball, pitching a perfect inning for AAA Springfield on August 27 at age 63½.

Jackie Moore is a long-time major league coach and minor league manager.  He also was the manager of the Oakland Athletics from 1984-86,

Walt Jocketty was the general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals from 1995-2007, and has been the general manager of the Cincinnati Reds since 2008.

Catcher Russell Eugene Nixon played for the Twins from 1966-1967.  His twin brother, Roy, was a minor league infielder from 1953-1957.  They were born in Cleves, Ohio, went to high school in Cincinnati, and Russ was signed by Cleveland as a free agent in 1953.  He hit for very high averages in the minors:  .336 at Class D Green Bay in 1953; .387 at Class D Jacksonville Beach in 1954; .385 at Class B Keokuk in 1955; and .319 at AAA Indianapolis in 1956.  In 1957, he got a well-earned promotion to the Indians, backing up Jim Hegan.  The following year, 1958, Nixon got the most playing time of his career--113 games and 376 at-bats.  Used almost exclusively against right-handed pitching, he hit .301, the only time in his career that he would bat over .300.  In 1959, he fell to .240, and he was hitting in the .240s again in June of 1960 when he was traded to the Red Sox.  His batting came back in Boston--Nixon hit .298 the rest of the season, and provided solid offense in a part-time role for the most of the next five years.  In April of 1966, Nixon was traded to Minnesota with Chuck Schilling for Dick Stigman and a player to be named later (Jose Calero).  Nixon joined Jerry Zimmerman in the job of backing up Earl Battey in 1966 and again provided solid offense in that role.  In 1967, however, when Battey was injured, the Twins gave the bulk of the playing time to Zimmerman rather than Nixon, and in April of 1968, Nixon was released.  As a Twin, he hit .244/.307/.301 in 266 at-bats.  Boston re-signed Nixon for 1968 but gave him only 85 at-bats, in which he hit .153.  The White Sox chose him in the Rule 5 draft, but released him in April of 1969, and his playing career was over.  He immediately went in to managing and coaching in the Cincinnati organization, and was the Reds' major league manager for part of 1982 and all of 1983.  After that, he moved to the Montreal organization, and then to Atlanta, where he managed the Braves from 1988-1990.  He returned to minor league managing after that, including managing the Twins' AAA affiliate in Portland in 1991.  He continued to manage in the minors through 2005, then became a roving instructor for Houston.  He became a roving catching instructor for the Texas Rangersin 2008, but it appears that he no longer holds that position, and has presumably retired.

Right-handed reliever Keith Rowe Atherton pitched for the Twins from 1986-1988.  Born in Newport News, Virginia, he attended high school in Mathews, Virginia, and then was drafted by Oakland in the second round in 1978.  He was a starter in the minors, and rose slowly, spending most of two years in Class A, a little over two years in AA, and a year and a half in AAA before making his debut with Oakland in July of 1983.  Moved to the bullpen upon going to the big leagues, Atherton had a fine half-year for the Athletics and was a steady if unspectacular contributor to the team through 1985.  He got off to a poor start in 1986, however, and was traded to Minnesota on May 20 for a player to be named later (Eric Broersma).  He became the chair of the Twins' closer by committee that year, leading the team in saves with ten.  The acquisition of Jeff Reardon moved Atherton back into a set-up role after the 1986 season, a role in which he performed quite creditably.  In March of 1989, however, the Twins traded Atherton to Cleveland for Carmelo Castillo.  Atherton did not do particularly well for the Indians and was released in August.  He signed with the Tigers and pitched well in six appearances at AAA, but did not get back to the major leagues.  He signed with Montreal for 1990, but was released in spring training, bringing his playing career to an end.  At last report, it appeared that Keith Atherton was living in Cobbs Creek, Virginia.

Infielder Alvaro Alberto (Ramirez) Espinoza got 99 at-bats with the Twins from 1984-1986.  A native of Valencia, Venezuela, he attended high school there and signed with Houston as a free agent in 1978.  He spent two seasons in rookie ball for the Astros, did not hit, and was released in September of 1980.  It is unclear where Espinoza played in 1981, but the Twins signed him in March of 1982.  He was in Class A for the Twins in 1982 and 1983, hitting .316 in the latter year.  He was promoted to AAA in 1984 and struggled offensively for the next two years.  Despite that, he got a September callup in 1984 and came up in mid-August in 1985.  He was having a better year at AAA in 1986 when he was called up in mid-July.  He was in AAA all of 1987 and hit .275, but did not make it back to the majors with the Twins and was released after the season.  As a Twin, Espinoza hit .242/.265/.273.  The Yankees signed him for 1988.  They kept him in AAA almost all of that year, but he was the Yankees' regular shortstop from 1989-1991.  He provided good defense, but as should have been expected, did not hit--even in his one "good" year, 1989, when he hit .282, he had an OPS of only .633.  The Yankees released Espinoza in March of 1992 and he signed with Cleveland.  Espinoza was in AAA in 1992, but became a semi-regular from 1993 through mid-1996, continuing to provide good defense and not hit.  In July of 1996, he was traded to the Mets and had probably the best two months of his career, hitting .306 with four home runs.  The Mets weren't fooled, however, and released him in March of 1997.  He signed with Seattle, was released in July, and his career was over.  In 1998, he became a minor league instructor, first with Montreal, then the Dodgers, then Pittsburgh, then the Yankees, then Cleveland.  He was inducted into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.  At last report, Alvaro Espinoza was living in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and was an instructor with Espy Hitting Lessons, operated by former major league Cecil Espy.

First baseman Juan Carlos Diaz did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 2004.  He was born in San Jose de las Lajas, Cuba, went to high school in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, and signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1996.  He hit 30 homers and batted .281 in 1998 in a season split between A and AA, and followed that by hitting .303 (but with only nine homers) in 1999 at AA San Antonio.  He was already 25 by then, however, and he also struck out a lot, so the Dodgers allowed him to become a free agent after the season.  He signed with Boston and hit 20 homers in consecutive years at AAA Pawtucket (2001-2002).  He was in the big leagues for about two weeks in 2002, going 2-for-7 with a walk and a home run.  The Red Sox let him go after that season; he moved on to the Baltimore organization for 2003, playing in AA, and signed with the Twins for 2004.  They sent him to Rochester, where he hit .270/.346/.547 with 11 homers in just 137 at-bats.  A free agent after the season, he spent two years in the St. Louis organization.  He was in the Northern League from 2007-2010 and also had a stint in the Mexican League in 2008.  He retired in the spring of 2011, saying that he wanted to spend more time with his family.  He got started with his career pretty late, and it’s doubtful that he could have been a star, but he hit over 250 minor league home runs.  It seems like he might have been able to help someone if he’d been given the chance.  No information about what Juan Diaz has done since his retirement from baseball was readily available.

February 18

Ray Ryan (1883)

George Mogridge (1889)

Sherry Smith (1891)

Jake Kline (1895)

Huck Betts (1897)
Joe Gordon (1915)
Herm Wehmeier (1927)
Frank House (1930)
Manny Mota (1938)
Dal Maxvill (1939)
Bob Miller (1939)
Jerry Morales (1949)
John Mayberry (1949)
Bruce Kison (1950)
Marc Hill (1952)
Rafael Ramirez (1958)
Kevin Tapani (1964)
John Valentin (1967)
Shawn Estes (1973)
Jamey Carroll (1974)
Chad Moeller (1975)
Alex Rios (1981)

Ray Ryan was involved in minor league baseball for six decades.  He had one baseball card, a part of the T206 tobacco series.  This is the series that produced the famous Honus Wagner card.

Jake Kline was the baseball coach at Notre Dame from 1934-1975.

Born Robert Lane Gemeinweiser, right-hander Bob Miller played for the Twins in 1968-1969.  He was born in St. Louis and went to high school there.  Miller was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals in June of 1957 under the "bonus baby" rules, which required him to be on the major league roster the remainder of the 1957 season.  He appeared in only five games, pitching mop-up relief, before really getting his professional career started in 1958.  He was used primarily as a starter in the minors and pitched quite well, getting a major league call-up in August of 1959.  By 1960, he was in the majors to stay.  Miller was used mostly out of the Cardinals bullpen through 1961, doing a decent but unexceptional job.  He was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was chosen by the New York Mets.  He was with the Mets for one season, was used mostly as a starter, and did not do well, going 1-12, 4.89.  After the season, Miller was traded to the Dodgers, where he stayed for five years.  He started 23 games in 1963, but was used primarily as a reliever the rest of his time in Los Angeles.  He did a fine job for them, posting ERAs under three for four consecutive years (1963-1966) and leading the league in appearances in 1964.  He had a down year in 1967 and was traded to Minnesota with Ron Perranoski and Johnny Roseboro for Mudcat Grant and Zoilo Versalles.  Miller was used exclusively as a reliever in 1968 and primarily as a reliever in 1969 (he started 11 games).  He once again pitched very well:  as a Twin, Bob Miller was 5-8, 2.91 with a WHIP of 1.25 and an ERA+ of 120.  After the 1969 season, though, Minnesota traded Miller to Cleveland with Dean Chance, Graig Nettles, and Ted Uhlaender for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams.  Miller started bouncing around after that:  traded to the White Sox in June of 1970, sold to the Cubs in September of the same year, released by the Cubs in May of 1971, signed by San Diego the next day, traded to Pittsburgh in August, released in March of 1973, signed by San Diego again in April, selected off waivers by Detroit in June, sold to the Mets in September, and finally released by the Mets in October of 1974, ending time in the majors.  Other than 1970, he pitched pretty well in those years; even in his last major league year, he went 2-2, 3.58.  In 1975 he signed once again with San Diego and spent the year pitching for AAA Hawaii before ending his career.  He stayed in baseball after his playing career ended:  he managed in the minors in 1976, was the first pitching coach for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1977-1979, and later was a coach for the San Francisco Giants in 1985.  Miller was a scout for the Giants when he was killed in an automobile accident on August 6, 1993 in Rancho Bernardo, California.

Right-hander Kevin Ray Tapani had the best years of his career as a member of the Minnesota Twins from 1989-1995.  Born in Des Moines, he went to high school in Escanaba, Michigan, then attended Central Michigan University.  He was drafted by Oakland in the second round in 1986.  He pitched pretty well in Class A for two years, but was traded to the Mets after the 1987 in a three-team deal (the Dodgers were also included) which included Bob Welch, Alfredo Griffin, and Jesse Orosco.  With the Mets, he had a good year in AA in 1988 and another in AAA in 1989.  He was called up to the Mets for about two weeks in 1989, and pitched well in three relief appearances.  At the end of July of 1989, Tapani was traded to the Twins along with Rick Aguilera, Tim Drummond, David West, and a player to be named later (Jack Savage) for Frank Viola.  The Twins started Tapani at AAA, but called him up in September and immediately put him in their starting rotation.  He would not leave it until July of 1995.  In between, Tapani put together some fine years.  He was fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1990 and finished seventh in the Cy Young balloting in 1991, when he won 16 games and posted an ERA of 2.99.  Tapani never quite equaled that 1991 season; while he didn't become awful, he started a slow decline, with his ERA and WHIP both going up, gradually but noticeably.  On July 31, 1995, Tapani was traded to the Dodgers with Mark Guthrie for Ron Coomer, Greg Hansell, Jose Parra, and a player to be named later (Chris Latham).  He finished out 1995 with the Dodgers, then became a free agent.  He played for the White Sox in 1996, had a decent but unspectacular year, and then became a free agent again, signing with the Cubs.  Tapani was a Cub for five years, and while he was not a star he was a solid contributor to their rotation.  He became a free agent after the 2001 season and decided to retire.  As a Twin, Kevin Tapani was 75-63, 4.06 with a WHIP of 1.27 in 180 starts (1,171 innings).  He is a member of the Central Michigan University Athletics Hall of Fame.  At last report, Kevin Tapani was living in Minnetonka, Minnesota and was involved in coaching youth baseball.

Infielder Jamey Blake Carroll played for the Twins in 2012-13.  He was born in Evansville, Indiana, went to high school in Newburgh, Indiana, attended the University of Evansville, and was drafted by Montreal in the fourteenth round in 1996.  He was always fairly good in the minors, but never had the kind of numbers that would really get anyone’s attention.  He never hit .300 in the minors, nor did he ever hit double-digit home runs.  His best year in the minors was probably 1999, when he hit .292 for AA Harrisburg at age 25.  He made his major league debut as a September call-up in 2002, had his first full season in the majors in 2003, and with the exception of a rehab assignment in 2009 he has never been back to the minors.  His numbers in the majors have been similar to his numbers in the minors:  fairly good, but nothing that really gets anyone’s attention.  His career numbers are .276/.354/.344 and he has averaged 119 games and 337 at-bats per season.  He has generally either been a utility player or a semi-regular.  He has started over a hundred games in a season only three times (2006, 2011, and 2012) and has only once started over a hundred games in a season at one position (second base in 2006).  He was with Montreal until it moved to Washington, was a National for one season, then was sold to Colorado in February of 2006.  He was with the Rockies for two seasons, then was traded to Cleveland in December of 2007.  After two seasons there, he became a free agent and signed with the Dodgers.  He was there for two more seasons, became a free agent again, and signed with Minnesota for 2012.  He saw regular playing time, but at three positions, playing 66 games at second, 44 at third, and 37 at shortstop.   He was used less in 2013, appearing in only 59 games, and was sold to Kansas City in mid-August.  As a Twin, he hit .257/.327/.301 in 661 at-bats.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Washington for 2014 but was released in spring training, ending his playing career.  Jamey Carroll was recently hired as a special assistant to the baseball operations staff of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Catcher Chad Edward Moeller started his rather lengthy major league career as a member of the Minnesota Twins in 2000.  He was born in Upland, California, went to high school there, and then went to USC.  He was drafted by the Twins in the seventh round in 1996.  He had a couple of good years at Class A, stumbled some when promoted to AA, but was having a pretty good year in AAA in 2000 when he made his major league debut for the Twins in mid-June.  He was part of the revolving door the Twins had at catcher that year, along with Danny Ardoin, Marcus Jensen, Matthew LeCroy, and A. J. Pierzynski.  Other than Pierzynski, none of them stood out that year, and five catchers would be a bit much even for the Twins, so they traded Moeller in March of 2001 to Arizona for Hanley Frias.  He was with the Diamondbacks for three years, splitting the first two between AAA and the majors before getting his first full major league season in 2003.  After the 2003 season, Moeller was traded to Milwaukee, where he was a part-time catcher for all of 2004 and 2005.  He didn't hit, was sent to the minors for part of 2006, and then became a free agent.  He bounced around a lot after that:  he signed with Cincinnati for 2007, was sold to the Dodgers in August, signed as a free agent with Washington for 2008, was released during spring training, signed with the Yankees, was released after the season, and was with Baltimore for 2009.  All of those years were split between AAA and the majors, with Moeller averaging about 80 major league at-bats each year.  As a Twin, Moeller hit .211/.261/.273 in 128 at-bats.  Chad Moeller signed a minor league contract with Baltimore for 2010, was released at the end of spring training, and signed with the Yankees again, appearing in nine major league games in two stints with the big club.  A free agent again after the 2010 season, he signed with Colorado for 2011 but was released in spring training and his playing career came to an end.  He is now living in Scottsdale, Arizona and operates Chad Moeller Baseball, which conducts clinics and offers baseball instructional videos.

February 17

Pat Pieper (1886)

Nemo Leibold (1892)

Wally Pipp (1893)

Ed Brandt (1905)
Red Barber (1908)
Rod Dedeaux (1914)
Roger Craig (1930)
Cliff Gustafson (1931)
Dick Bosman (1944)
Dave Roberts (1951)
Jamie Easterly (1953)
Mike Hart (1958)
Michael Jordan (1963)
Scott Williamson (1976)
Cody Ransom (1976)
Juan Padilla (1977)
Josh Willingham (1979)

Pat Pieper was the public address announcer for the Chicago Cubs from 1916-1974.  For the first sixteen of those years, he made the announcements with a megaphone.

Rod Dedeaux and Cliff Gustafson were highly successful college baseball coaches, Dedeaux with USC and Gustafson with Texas.

Already known as a basketball star, Michael Jordan played one year of minor league baseball for AA Birmingham in the White Sox organization before returning to the less-challenging sport.

Outfielder Michael Lawrence Hart played in thirteen games for the Twins in 1984.  Born in Milwaukee, he attended the University of Wisconsin and was drafted by Seattle in the 13th round in 1979.  He was in the Mariners' organization for four years.  The best of those years was 1980, when he hit .298 with an OBP of .402 for AA Lynn.  He did not duplicate those numbers in two years at AAA, but he still had a couple of decent seasons.  They were not good enough for the Mariners, however, and Hart was released after the 1982 season.  He signed with the Twins and was in their organization for three years.  He spent all of those years at AAA Toledo, with the exception of about six weeks in May and June of 1984.  He developed some power in Toledo, hitting 24 homers in 1985.  His averages were decent, but nothing to get excited about.  He got only 29 at-bats with the Twins, going 5-for-29 with a walk.  At the end of March, 1986, the Twins traded Hart to Baltimore for Ben Bianchi, Steve Padilla, and a player to be named later (Jeff Hubbard).  He was with AAA Rochester for two years, again hitting decently but not exceptionally.  He got another month and a half in the majors in 1987, getting 76 at-bats, but did not hit any better than he had for the Twins.  Hart's playing career came to and after the 1987 season.  Hart then went into coaching.  He was the head coach at Greenfield (Wisconsin) High School from 1988-1993 and was AAU coach for West Allis and Greendale (Wisconsin) from 1994-2000.  More recently, Mike Hart has been an assistant baseball coach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  At last report, Mike Hart was a physical education teacher at Greefield Middle School in Greenfield, Wisconsin.

Right-handed reliever Juan Miguel Padilla did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them.  He was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, but attended Jacksonville University, one of eight major league players that University has produced.  He was drafted by the Twins in the 24th round in 1998.  He was in the Twins' system for six years posting an ERA under 3.5 every year except 1999, when he was overmatched in AA at age 22.  He saved 29 games and had an ERA of 3.31 in 65 innings at New Britain in 2002, and went 7-4, 3.36 with six saves in 91 innings for Rochester in 2003.  After the 2003 season, the Twins sent him to the Yankees as the player to be named later in their trade for Jesse Orosco.  Padilla had another fine year in AAA and made his major league debut in 2004, playing for the Yankees for two weeks in July.  He did pretty okay, posting a 3.97 ERA in 11.1 innings, but was placed on waivers in early September and claimed by Cincinnati, for whom he finished the season.  He became a free agent again after the season and signed with the Mets.  Padilla was having another excellent year in AAA when he was called up in mid-July of 2005.  He pitched very well for the Mets, going 3-1, 1.49 with a 1.02 WHIP in 36.1 innings.  Unfortunately, what could have been a positive turning point in his career became a negative one:  Padilla was injured, needed Tommy John surgery, and did not pitch for two years.  He was not the same pitcher when he tried to come back in 2008.  He pitched poorly in the minors for the Mets and was released in mid-July.  He then pitched in the Can-Am League through 2010 and did quite well.  In 2011 he pitched in the Atlantic League and in the Mexican League and did not do as well.  He continued to play winter ball for a couple of years, but then his playing career came to an end.  Juan Padilla currently works in infrastructure PC support for Jos. A. Bank Clothiers in the Baltimore area and also gives private baseball instruction.

Outfielder Joshua David Willingham played for the Twins from 2012-2014.  Born and raised in Florence, Alabama, he attended the University of North Alabama and was drafted by Florida in the seventeenth round in 2000.  His first couple of years in the minors were nothing special, although he did show an ability to draw walks early on.  His power started to develop in 2002, when he hit seventeen homers in the Florida State League.  He has never failed to hit double-digit home runs since then.  The Marlins brought him along very slowly.  He did not reach AA until 2003 and then had to spend all but a few weeks of 2004 there despite an OPS of over a thousand.  He was in the majors for those few weeks, but was in AAA almost all of 2005.  Defensive struggles may have been the reason he did not progress faster; he was tried at first and third base and at catcher in the minors.  An OPS of over a thousand again in 2005 got him a September call-up, and he never went back to the minors.  He was the Marlins’ regular left fielder from 2006-2008, putting up unspectacular but very solid numbers.  He was traded to Washington at the end of the 2008 season and played two season of outfield there, mostly in left.  He continued to be productive, but was traded again after the 2010 season, this time to Oakland, where he had another solid season.  A free agent after the 2011 season, he signed with Minnesota for 2012 and turned in his best season, going .260/.366/.542 with 35 homers and 110 RBIs and winning a Silver Slugger Award.  That appears to have been his last hurrah, however.  In 2013 he battled injuries and turned in the worst season of his career.   He was not much better in 2014 and was traded to Kansas City in August for Jason Adam.  He did little for the Royals, became a free agent after the season, and retired.  No information is available as to what, if anything, he has been doing since then, but we wish him a very happy retirement.

February 16

Alex Ferguson (1897)

Parnell Woods (1912)

Creepy Crespi (1918)

Atsushi Aramaki (1926)
Bobby Darwin (1943)
Terry Crowley (1947)
Bob Didier (1949)
Glenn Abbott (1951)
Jerry Hairston (1952)
Barry Foote (1952)
Bill Pecota (1960)
Eric Bullock (1960)
Dwayne Henry (1962)
Jerome Bettis (1972)
Eric Byrnes (1976)
Tommy Milone (1987)

Parnell Woods was an infielder in the Negro Leagues for fourteen years.  He later became the business manager for the Harlem Globetrotters.

Atsushi Aramaki was a dominant pitcher in Japan in the 1950s and is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

Better known as an NFL running back, Jerome Bettis is a part-owner of the Altoona Curve and the State College Spikes.

Outfielder Arthur Bobby Lee Darwin played for the Twins in the early-to-mid 1970s.  Born in Los Angeles, he attended high school in Watts and was signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Angels in 1962.  The signing was not as outfielder, but as a pitcher.  He made his big-league debut that same year, getting a September call-up and pitching 3.1 innings.  He also batted once and struck out, which was a sign of things to come.  It would be seven years before he made a major league appearance again.  Based on sporadic minor-league records, he appears to have struck out quite a few batters, but also walked a lot of batters.  He spent five years in the Baltimore system, never getting higher than AA.  He had a good year for AA Elmira in 1968, going 10-6, 2.21 with a 1.12 WHIP.  At that point, Darwin was left unprotected and was selected by the Dodgers in the Rule 5 draft.  He started 1969 with the Dodgers, but pitched sporadically and poorly, and did no better when he was sent to AAA.  He was now 27 years old and did not appear to be a prospect at all, but apparently someone noticed that this Darwin kid was a pretty fair hitter, and moved him to the outfield.  He spent two years in the minors working on his batting, playing in the big leagues for a little over a month in 1971.  After the season was over, the Dodgers traded Darwin to the Twins for Paul Powell.  Minnesota immediately made him a starting outfielder, initially putting him in center, then shifting him to right.  He showed some power, averaging over twenty homers per season, and did well when he made contact.  Making contact, however, was the problem:  Darwin led the league in strikeouts every year that he was a regular player.  As a Twin, Bobby Darwin hit .257/.318/.417 in 1,817 at-bats, striking out 453 times.  In June of 1975, with Darwin off to a slow start, the Twins traded him to Milwaukee for Johnny Briggs.  The Brewers gave Darwin a chance as a regular, but gradually reduced his playing time.  He was traded to the Red Sox in June of 1976, was traded to the Cubs in May of 1977, and was released in August, ending his career.  Still, for a guy who went undrafted and spent his first eight professional years trying to be a pitcher, Bobby Darwin didn't do too badly.  His grandson, Andrew Darwin, was selected in the 2008 amateur draft, but apparently did not sign.  An internet search for Bobby Darwin leads to information about singer Bobby Darin and about a song by country artist Tracy Lawrence called "Bobby Darwin's Daughter."  Upon ending his playing career, however, our Bobby Darwin became a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers, a job he continued to hold at last report.

Outfielder/first baseman/designated hitter Terrence Michael Crowley did not play for the Twins, but was their hitting coach from 1991-1998.  He was born in Staten Island, New York, went to high school there.  He attended the Brooklyn campus of Long Island University and was drafted by Baltimore in the eleventh round in 1966.  He was decent, but nothing to attract anyone's attention, until 1969, when he hit .282 with 28 homers for AAA Rochester.  That earned him a September call-up, and in 1970 Crowley got his first full year in the big leagues as a bench player, batting .257 with five homers in 152 at-bats.  He was used almost exclusively against right-handed pitching, a pattern which would hold throughout his career.  In 1971 Crowley took a step backward, going to AAA for most of the year, although he spent about six weeks in Baltimore, where he was used almost entirely as a pinch-hitter.  In 1972 he was back in the majors and got the most playing time he would get in a big league season, playing in 97 games and batting 247 times.  He hit only .231, although he did hit 11 home runs.  His playing time was roughly cut in half in 1973, his production fell, and he was sold to Texas after the season.  Crowley never played a game for the Rangers, though--he was sold again, this time to Cincinnati, just before the season.  He was used primarily as a pinch-hitter for the Reds for two years, and did about as well as one could expect in that role.  He was traded to Atlanta in April of 1976, was released in early May after getting only six at-bats, and three weeks later re-signed with Baltimore.  He spent part of 1976 and most of 1977 in Rochester (hitting .308 there in 1977), then was a reserve for the Orioles through 1982.  His best year was 1980, when he hit .288 with 12 home runs in 233 at-bats.  Crowley was released by the Orioles just before the 1983 season, signed with Montreal, and retired after the season.  He became the Baltimore batting coach in 1985, was the batting coach for the Twins from 1991 through 1998, and then went back to Baltimore, where he was the batting coach through 2010.  After that, he opted for semi-retirement, agreeing to serve as a special advisor and roving minor-league coach for the Orioles in 2011.  In June, however, he became the Orioles’ bullpen coach, replacing Rick Adair, who became the pitching coach.  He returned to his role as a special advisor for the Orioles in 2012, but it is unclear if he is still in that position.

Outfielder Eric Gerald Bullock got seventeen at-bats for the Twins in 1988.  He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in South Gate, California, and was drafted by Houston in the first round of the secondary phase of the 1981 draft.  He hit for a high average with a fair number of doubles throughout the minor leagues.  In 1985, he hit .319 at AAA Tucson, and hit .384 there in 1986 (though in only 151 at-bats).  The Astros were reluctant to give him a chance, however; in both years he was briefly in the majors, but got only a total of 46 at-bats.  Once again sent back to AAA in 1987, he was having a down year when he was traded to Minnesota for Clay Christiansen in June.  The Twins left Bullock in AAA the rest of that year and most of 1988, but brought him to the majors in late July.  He was used almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter, playing in 16 games and getting 17 at-bats.  He went 5-for-17 with three walks and no extra-base hits.  After the season, Bullock was traded to Philadelphia with Tom Herr and Tom Nieto for Shane Rawley.  He had another decent year in AAA, batted four times in the majors, and became a free agent after the 1989 season.  He signed with Montreal for 1990, had another decent year, and got two more at-bats in the majors.  Finally, in 1991, Eric Bullock got a full year in the majors.  Again, he was used almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter, playing in 73 games but coming to bat only 82 times.  He began 1992 in in the majors as well, but was sent down at the end of April after only five at-bats.  He would never return to the big leagues:  he was at AAA for the Expos for the remainder of the season, went to the Mets' organization for 1993, was out of baseball in 1994, and went to the Padres' organization in 1995 before his career came to an end.  A lifetime .294 hitter in the minors, he never got more than 72 at-bats in a major league season.  He did some minor league coaching in 1999 for Ft. Wayne.  At last report, Eric Bullock was a supervisor for UTi Integrated Logistics of Glendale, Arizona, a company that  provides services through a network of freight forwarding offices and contract logistics centers.

Left-hander Tomaso Anthony Milone made six appearances for the Twins in 2014.  Born and raised in Saugus, California, he attended USC and was drafted by Washington in the tenth round in 2008.  He showed an inability to win that season, going 1-6 in Class A despite a 3.51 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.  He found the ability to win the next season, going 12-5 in Class A in 2009, 12-5 in AA in 2010, and 12-6 in AAA in 2011, posting excellent ERAs and WHIPs in each season.  He made his major league debut in 2011 as a September call-up and did well in five starts, going 1-0, 3.81, 1.23 WHIP in 26 innings.  The Nationals traded him to Oakland as part of a multi-player deal that off-season and he was in the Athletics' starting rotation all of 2012 and 2013.  He did well both years, going a combined 25-19, 3.92, 1.28 WHIP.  He started 2014 in the Athletics' starting rotation and was again pitching well but Oakland soured on him, sending him down at the all-star break and trading him to Minnesota at the end of July for Sam Fuld.  After one AAA start the Twins brought him up and placed him in the starting rotation, where he made one decent start and four pretty bad ones.  It was mystifying how someone who had such a track record of success in the majors could suddenly become so awful.  The mystery was solved when it was revealed that he had been trying pitch through a neck injury, a plan that worked out about as well as it usually does.  He turns twenty-eight today.  He doesn't strike out a lot of guys, which may be a problem given the Twins' defense, but if he's healthy there's no reason Tommy Milone shouldn't be a good big league pitcher again.

February 15

Sliding Billy Hamilton (1866)
Charlie Irwin (1869)
Jimmy Ring (1895)
George Earnshaw (1900)
Larry Goetz (1900)
Lorenzo Ponza (1915)
Chuck Estrada (1938)
Ron Cey (1948)
Rick Auerbach (1950)
Joe Hesketh (1959)
Mark Davidson (1961)
Melido Perez (1966)
Ugueth Urbina (1974)
Alex Gonzalez (1977)
Luis Ugueto (1979)

Lorenzo Ponza invented the modern pitching machine.

Larry Goetz was a National League umpire from 1936-1957.

Outfielder John Mark Davidson played for the Twins from 1986-1988.  His father, Max Davidson, was a minor league outfielder from 1947-1954.  Mark Davidson was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and attended both the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Clemson.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the eleventh round in 1982.  He was up and down in the minors, but got people's attention in 1985, when he hit .302 with 25 home runs for AA Orlando.  He did not do as well in 1986, when he was promoted to AAA, but still was with Minnesota for about two months as a reserve outfielder.  He did nothing that year, batting only .118 in 68 at-bats, but was with the Twins for all of 1987 and most of 1988.  He was decent as a reserve in 1987, batting .267, but fell to .217 in 1988.  Davidson started 1989 in the minors, then was traded to Houston in May for a player to be named later (Greg Johnson).  Houston initially kept him in AAA, but brought him to the majors for the second half of the season.  He split 1990 between AAA and the majors and was with Houston all of 1991 (always as a reserve).  He became a free agent after the season and signed with the Cleveland organization, spending two years at AAA before ending his playing career.  As a Twin, Mark Davidson hit .219/.283/.287 in 324 at-bats spread over three seasons.  At last report, Mark Davidson was living in Statesville, North Carolina.

Infielder Luis Enrique Ugueto did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 2007.  He was born in Caracas, Venezuela, went to high school in Maracay, Venezuela, and signed with Florida as a free agent in 1996.  He had no power, and while he had some decent minor league batting averages, he did not hit for a terribly high average.  He stole some bases, but not a huge number, and did not draw a ton of walks, either.  He was considered a tremendous defensive player, however, and because of that he played in the minors for quite a few years.  He stayed in rookie and A ball through 2001, hitting a combined .243.  His last year in Class A, he hit .263/.330/.342.  After the 2001 season, he was selected by Pittsburgh in the Rule 5 draft and was sold to Seattle the same day.  He spent the 2002 season in the majors but was used mostly as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement, appearing in 62 games but making only 25 plate appearances.  He was in the majors for about a month in 2003 in a similar role, appearing in twelve games and getting six plate appearances.  He was in AAA for the Mariners in 2004 and actually had the best year of his career, hitting .271/.341/.440 in Tacoma, but it was not good enough.  He became a free agent after the season and was in AAA with Kansas City in 2005; however, he was suspended twice for using performance-enhancing drugs and was released in August.  He played in Taiwan in 2006; then the Twins signed him in 2007.  He was mostly in Ft. Myers, appearing in seven games for Rochester, and hit a combined .223/.288/.299.  He played in Italy in 2008 and for Laredo in the independent United Baseball League in 2009.  It is unclear what he was doing in 2010, but in 2011 he played briefly for Yuma of the North American League.  He played for Anzoategui in the Venezuelan league that winter, but did not catch on with anyone for 2012.  He continued to play winter ball for a couple more years, but it does not appear that he played this winter.  His major league record is .214/.290/.321 in 74 games (28 at-bats).  No information about what Luis Ugueto is doing now was readily available.