September 7

Dave Foutz (1856)

Hooks Wiltse (1879)

Curt Davis (1903)

Tommy Matchick (1943)

Joe Rudi (1946)

Willie Crawford (1946)

Darren Bragg (1969)

Jason Isringhausen (1972)

Mark Prior (1980)

It appears that no major league players with connections to the Minnesota Twins were born on this day.

September 6

Oyster Burns (1864)
Red Faber (1888)
Tommy Thevenow (1903)
Johnny Lanning (1910)
Harry Danning (1911)
Vince DiMaggio (1912)
Hal Jeffcoat (1924)
Fran Healy (1946)
Greg Olson (1960)
Roy Smith (1961)
Pat Meares (1968)
Derrek Lee (1975)
Micheal Nakamura (1976)

Catcher Gregory William Olson appeared in three games for the Twins in 1989. He was born in Marshall, Minnesota, went to high school in Edina, Minnesota, attended the University of Minnesota, and was drafted by the Mets in the 7th round in 1982.  He should not be confused with pitcher Greggory William Olson, who also played for the Twins. The Olson we’re dealing with here had not caught in high school, but was converted to catcher in college (oddly, he was moved from third base to catcher so Terry Steinbach could play third). He spent six years in the Mets’ minor-league system, usually as a part-time player, putting up offensive numbers that were not awful but that would not catch anyone’s attention, either. Olson became a six-year minor league free agent, and the Twins signed him after the 1988 season. He was in Portland for 1989, and did not do much on offense there either, hitting .235 in 247 at-bats. He was with the Twins for about a week from the end of June through the fourth of July, appearing in three games and going 1-for-2. The Twins let Olson go after the season, and he was signed by the Braves. He was a semi-regular for the Braves for four years. His best year was 1990 when he hit .262 in 298 at-bats and somehow made the all-star team. Released after the 1993 campaign, Olson signed with the Mets, but did not make it out of spring training. After his playing career ended, he became a manager for some independent league teams. Later, he got a real estate license.  At last report he was the general manager of Bearpath Golf & Country Club in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and was also a broker for Bearpath Realty.

Right-hander LeRoy Purdy Smith pitched for the Twins from 1986-1990. Born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, he attended Fordham University and was drafted by Philadelphia in the 3rd round of the 1979 draft. He did well early, spending a year in rookie and A ball, but after repeating AA he was traded after the 1982 season with two other players to Cleveland for John Denny. Smith was in AAA Charleston in 1983, and then split the next two years between AAA Maine and the Indians. After the 1985 campaign, he was traded with Ramon Romero to Minnesota for Bryan Oelkers and Ken Schrom. Smith was in AAA for most of the next three seasons, getting a brief call-up with Minnesota each year, before getting two full years in the majors in 1989 and 1990. Smith was in the starting rotation most of the time in those years, doing fairly well in 1989 and not as well in 1990. He became a free agent and signed with Baltimore for 1991. Smith split that year between Baltimore and AAA Rochester, was apparently out of baseball in 1992, and pitched in the Pittsburgh organization in 1993 before calling it a career. As a Twin, Smith was 19-18 with a 4.28 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP in 85 games, 54 of them starts. Roy Smith has spent time in the Dodgers’ and Pirates’ front office, and at last report was a scout for the New York Mets.

Shortstop Patrick James Meares played for the Twins from 1983-1988. He was born in Salina, Kansas, went to Wichita State, and was drafted in the 12th round by the Twins in 1990. He was rather up and down in his minor league career, but the Twins needed a shortstop after Greg Gagne became a free agent, and Meares got the job in 1993. His first three years, he somewhat shared the shortstop position with Jeff Reboulet, but he was the full-time regular for 1996-98. He did a solid job for the Twins, never making anyone’s all-star team but never being someone you looked to replace, either. He became a free agent after the 1998 season and signed with Pittsburgh, but had injury problems and never really panned out for them. His last game was in 2001; Meares was on the Pirates disabled list for two seasons after that. At one point, he filed a grievance, claiming that he was healthy enough to play, but the grievance was eventually dropped; by then, the Pirates apparently preferred to pay him to not play. As a Twin, Pat Meares batted .265/.301/.382 with 41 homers and 303 RBIs in 742 games.  He is a member of the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame. At last report, it appeared that Pat Meares was living in Wichita, Kansas.

Sidearming reliever Micheal Yoshihide Nakamura appeared in twelve games for the Twins in 2003. He was born in Nara, Japan, went to high school in Melbourne, Australia, and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1997. He apparently had some injury problems in the minors, as he had good numbers but not very many innings. He had a strong 2003 in Rochester and got a trial with the Twins that year, but did not do well in limited opportunities. He was with the Twins for nearly a month and went 0-0, 7.82, giving up 11 runs and 20 hits in 12.2 innings over 12 games. Nakamura was placed on waivers early in 2004 and was selected by Toronto with similar results: good numbers in AAA but no success in the majors. He left American baseball after the 2004 season for Japan, where he remained for the rest of his career. He spent three years with the Nippon Ham Fighters, moved on to the Yomiuri Giants in 2009, and then went to the Seibu Lions. He has dual citizenship with Japan and Australia (his father is Japanese and his mother is Australian), and has played for the Australian Olympic and WBC teams. He seems to have done well in Japan–he appears to have been injured in 2011, but pitched well in 2012.  He did well enough in Japan that he might have been able to get another shot at the majors, but he appears to have not been interested, and retired from playing after the 2012 season.  No information about what Mike Nakamura is doing now was readily available.

September 5

Al Orth (1872)
Nap Lajoie (1874)
Lefty Leifield (1883)
Max Bishop (1899)
Merv Shea (1900)
Gene Bearden (1920)
Bill Mazeroski (1936)
Karl Kuehl (1937)
Tom Hallion (1956)
Candy Maldonado (1960)
Jeff Brantley (1963)
Jimmy Haynes (1972)
Randy Choate (1975)
Rod Barajas (1975)
Jason Hart (1977)
Chris Young (1983)

Karl Kuehl was a coach for the Twins from 1977-1982.  He was a minor league manager for several seasons and also managed the Montreal Expos in 1976.  His minor league managing career started in 1959, when he managed the Salem Senators in the Northwest League at age 21.

Tom Hallion has been a major league umpire from 1986-1999 and 2005-present.

Left-handed reliever Randol Doyle Choate never actually played in a regular season game with the Twins, but he was in spring training with them in 2007. Born and raised in San Antonio, he attended Florida State and was drafted by the Yankees in the fifth round in 1977. He spent three years at Class A, but jumped to AAA in 2000 and rode the New York-Columbus shuttle from 2000-2003, appearing in 82 games for the Yankees over four seasons. The Yankees traded Choate to Montreal after the 2003 season, and the Expos traded him to Arizona at the end of 2004 spring training. He then started bouncing between Arizona and AAA Tucson, appearing in 114 games for the Diamondbacks from 2004-2007. After the 2006 season, Arizona released Choate and the Twins signed him, but Minnesota released him at the end of spring training and the Diamondbacks signed him again. Released by Arizona after 2007, he spent 2008 with AAA Nashville in the Milwaukee organization. Randy Choate signed with Tampa Bay for 2009. He was strictly a LOOGY for the Rays: over two seasons he appeared in 146 games but logged just 81 innings. He did well for them in that role, but was a free agent after the season and signed with Florida.  He pitched very well for the Marlins for a year and a half, then was traded to the Dodgers in late July.  After the season, he was a free agent again and signed with the Cardinals for 2013.  He again had a fine year in his role.  His numbers did not look particularly good in 2014, but he gave up half of his runs for the season in just two bad appearances.  Back with the Cardinals in 2015, he appears to be starting to slip, but is still a competent LOOGY.  He has played in parts of fifteen major league seasons, but did not get a full season until 2010.  He’s been a tremendous LOOGY, though, and while he's forty and a LOOGY’s life is never stable, there's no apparent reason he can't continue in the majors for a couple more years yet.

Outfielder Jason Wyatt Hart did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system for a couple of months. He was born in Walnut Creek, California, went to high school in Fair Grove, Missouri, attended Missouri State University, and was drafted by Oakland in the fifth round in 1998. He had a couple of tremendous years in the low minors, hitting .326 with 30 homers at AA Midland in 2000. He stumbled when he reached AAA, however, hitting about .250 with around twenty homers a year over three seasons. Only one of those seasons was spent in the Athletics organization, as he was traded to Texas after the 2001 season in a multi-player deal. He was a September call-up for the Rangers in 2002, going 4-for-15 with 3 doubles in ten games. He was injured all of 2004, but there was no significant difference in his numbers when he came back in 2005. A free agent after the season, the Twins signed him for 2006 and sent him to Rochester. He hit .225/.267/.425 there in 80 at-bats, hitting four home runs and four doubles. On June 1, the Twins sent Hart back to Texas. He finished the season in AAA for them and then his playing career was over. He was the batting coach for the Rangers’ Arizona League affiliate in 2009, for the Hickory Crawdads, the Rangers’ Class A affiliate in the South Atlantic League in 2010-2011, and for the Frisco RoughRiders, the Rangers’ AA affiliate in the Texas League, in 2012-2015.

September 4

Tilly Walker (1887)

Eddie Waitkus (1919)

Hawk Harrelson (1941)
Paul Jata (1949)
Doyle Alexander (1950)
Frank White (1950)
Mike Piazza (1968)
Luis Lopez (1970)
Aaron Fultz (1973)
Pat Neshek (1980)
Jordan Schafer (1986)
Cody Martin (1989)

Cody Martin was drafted by Minnesota in the 20th round in 2010, but did not sign.

Outfielder/first baseman Paul Jata did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 1976.  He was born in Astoria, New York, went to high school on Long Island, and was drafted by Detroit in the fifth round in 1967.  His minor league numbers don't stick out, but he was always very young for his league, reaching AA at age 20 and AAA at age 21.  He made the Tigers out of spring training in 1972 at age 22 but was used mostly as a pinch-hitter/defensive replacement, getting only 71 at-bats through July 19.  At that point he was sent to the minors, coming back for three games as a September call-up.  Given his age and his role, he didn't do so badly:  .230/.296/.257 in 74 at-bats.  Unfortunately, those would be his major league career numbers.  He split 1973 between AA and AAA and had what may have been his best year in the minors.  After the season, he was traded to Minnesota for Jim Nettles.  He did not play in either 1974 or 1975 for reasons that we could not find.  He played in AA Orlando in 1976 but appeared in only 22 games, batting .242/.351/.306.  His playing career ended after that.  It's kind of an odd career, and one wishes to know more about it.  However, no further information about Paul Jata was readily available.

Left-handed reliever Richard Aaron Fultz played for the Twins in 2004. He was born in Memphis, went to high school in Munford, Tennessee, attended North Florida Community College, and was drafted by the Giants in 1992 in the sixth round. He pitched pretty well in rookie ball that year and in Class A in 1993, but was traded to the Twins in August of 1993 with Andres Duncan and Greg Brummett for Jim DeShaies. After just over two years (1994 and 1995) in the Twins system, Fultz was released, and he went back to the Giants. He generally had to repeat levels in the minors, with the result that he did not reach AAA until 1998. Fultz was not particularly impressive in AAA in either 1998 or 1999, but made the Giants with a strong spring training in 2000. Fultz spent three years with the Giants as a middle reliever, posting ERAs in the mid-fours, but was allowed to become a free agent after 2002 and signed with Texas. He did not pitch particularly well for the Rangers, and was again allowed to become a free agent, signing with the Twins for the 2004 campaign. Fultz appeared in 55 games for the Twins, going 3-3 with a 5.04 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in 50 innings. The Twins placed him on waivers after the season, and he was selected by Philadelphia, for whom he had his best year in 2005, going 4-0 with a 2.24 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP in 72.1 innings. He did not repeat his success in 2006, and again became a free agent, signing with Cleveland for 2007. He did a good job for the Indians, going 4-3 with a 2.92 ERA in 37 innings, but was again released after the season. He has since played in the Detroit, Colorado, and Cincinnati organizations, as well as playing in Taiwan. Fultz played a little independent ball in 2009 before retiring in June. At last report, Aaron Fultz was the pitching coach for the Lakewood BlueClaws in the South Atlantic League.

Right-handed reliever Patrick John Neshek was with the Twins from 2006-2010. He was born in Madison, Wisconsin, went to high school in Park Center, Minnesota, and was drafted in the 45th round out of high school by the Twins in 1999. He did not sign, choosing instead to go to Butler University. The Twins kept watching him, and drafted him again in 2002 in the sixth round. He spent roughly a year at each minor league level, and pitched well at all of them, posting a WHIP below 1.00 in each of his first two minor league seasons. He came up to the Twins in July of 2006, and continued to pitch very well, becoming the Twins’ top set-up man. In 2007, he was one of five players who was in the running for the final spot in the all-star game, losing to Hideki Okajima. Neshek then began to battle injuries, undergoing Tommy John surgery, and missed most of 2008 and all of 2009. He came back in 2010, beginning and ending the season in Minnesota but spending most of it in Rochester, where he was decent but no more than that.  The Twins waived him in March of 2011 and he was claimed by San Diego.  He was up and down a few times in 2011; he’s was again decent but no more in AAA and not very good in the majors.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Baltimore for 2012 and pitched very well in AAA but did not get promoted.    He was purchased by Oakland in early August and was awesome in 24 appearances, striking out sixteen in 19.2 innings while posting an ERA of 1.37 and a WHIP of 0.81.  Unfortunately, he could not sustain it in 2013.  He wasn't awful, but he wasn't particularly good, either.  A free agent after the season, he signed with St. Louis and was not considered to have particularly good odds of making the team.  He not only made the team, he had an awesome year, going 7-2, 6 saves, 1.87 ERA, 0.79 WHIP in 67.1 innings (71 games).  He also made his first all-star team that year.  Despite that, the Cardinals allowed him to become a free agent, and he signed with Houston for 2015.  He has not repeated his awesome 2014, but he has still been quite good.  As a Twin, Pat Neshek was 11-6, 3.05, 1.01 WHIP.  He appeared in 132 games and pitched 129.2 innings.  He turns 34 today.  Who knows how long it will last, but if he can stay healthy, there's no apparent reason why Pat Neshek can't be successful for several years yet.

Outfielder Jordan James Schafer came to the Twins in August of 2014.  He was born in Hammond, Indiana, went to high school in Winter Haven, Florida, and was drafted by Atlanta in the third round in 2005.  He started slowly, not doing much in rookie ball in 2005 or in Class A in 2006, but broke through in 2007, hitting .372 in low A and .294 in high A, where he spent most of the season.  He had a solid year in AA in 2008 and started 2009 as the Atlanta Braves' starting center fielder.  He didn't hit, however, and was sent to AAA in June, where he played in only nine games before getting hurt and missing the rest of the season.  He did nothing in the minors in 2010 and wasn't doing much in 2011 when he was promoted to Atlanta and made the starting centerfielder again in late May.  He hit better than he'd done in 2009, but not a lot better, and was traded to Houston in a deadline deal in late July.  He spent a month in AAA and then became the starting centerfielder for the Astros, where he continued to not hit much.  He was still the starter in 2012, but still didn't hit, and lost the job in early August.  He was waived after the season and went back to Atlanta, this time as a reserve.  He hit a little better in that role, but was doing nothing in 2014 when he was waived again and selected by Minnesota in early August.  He was the Twins starting left fielder the rest of the season and had the best stretch of his career, hitting .285 with an OPS of .707.  That was enough to convince the Twins to keep him around for the start of the 2015 season, but he went back to being who he had been, batting only .217 in 69 at-bats before being released in mid-June.  He did not sign with anyone to rest of the season.  His career numbers are .228/.307/.308; his numbers as a Twin (in 199 at-bats) are .261/.313/.327.  He turns 29 today.  Someone may take him to spring training in 2016, but it seems more likely that Jordan Schafer's playing career is over.

September 3

Bill Armour (1869)

Mike Kahoe (1873)

Art Fromme (1883)

Ed Konetchy (1885)

Eddie Stanky (1915)

MORRIE Martin (1922)

Steve Boros (1936)

Alan Bannister (1951)

Rene Gonzales (1960)

Dave Clark (1962)

Eric Plunk (1963)
Ced Landrum (1963)
Luis Gonzalez (1967)
Chad Fox (1970)
Matt Capps (1983)

Bill Armour managed Cleveland from 1902-1904 and Detroit from 1905-1906.  He also managed in the minor leagues for several years.

Outfielder Cedric Bernard Landrum did not play for the Twins, but was briefly in their minor league system.  He was born in Butler, Alabama, went to high school in Sweet Water, Alabama, attended the University of North Alabama, and signed with the Cubs as a free agent in 1985.  Standing a 5’9″ and weighing 165 pounds, he hit for a solid average in the minors, although with little to no power.  He was hitting .336 at AAA Iowa in 1991 when he was brought up to the majors in late May.  He was strictly a reserve, appearing in 56 games but getting only 86 at-bats.  He was back in AAA in 1992 and hit .311, despite being traded to the Milwaukee in mid-season.  A free agent after the 1992 season, the Twins signed him on February 23 and sent him to AAA Rochester.  He played in four games, batted four times, and went 0-for-4 before being released on April 17.  The Mets signed him about a month later, bringing him to the majors in mid-August.  He was once again a reserve, getting 19 at-bats in 22 games.  He was released after the season and was out of baseball in 1994.  He made a comeback in 1995, playing in AAA Colorado Springs in the Rockies’ organization, but hit only .259 and his playing career came to an end.  In 105 major league at-bats, he hit .238/.304/.286 with 27 stolen bases.  After his playing days ended, he remained in baseball, coaching first with the Expos’ organization and then in the Orioles’ system.   He was the batting coach for the Joliet Jackhammers in 2011.  At last report, Ced Landrum was an instructor for Lone Star Baseball, an instructional baseball academy in Euless, Texas.

Right-handed reliever Matthew Dicus Capps was with the Twins from 2010-2012.  Born and raised in Douglasville, Georgia, he was drafted in the seventh round by Pittsburgh in 2002.  He was a starter from 2003-2004, doingWELL in that role in rookie ball in 2003 but poorly at Class A in 2004.  He became a full-time reliever in 2005 andADVANCED rapidly, starting the season in Class A and ending it in the major legaues.  He never went back to the minors again, other than on a rehab assignment in 2008.  He was a set-up man in 2006, took over as closer at mid-season in 2007, and has been a closer ever since.  He has never put up big saves numbers, which seems to be at least partly a function of having played on bad teams most of his career.  After one and a half successful years as the Pirates’ closer, he had a bad year in 2009, posting an ERA of 5.80 and a WHIP of 1.66.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Washington.  He was having a fine season there when he was traded to Minnesota for Joe Testa and Wilson Ramos.  He has set a personal record for saves in 2010 with forty-two, sixteen of them for Minnesota.  He began 2011 as a set-up man for Joe Nathan, but became the closer when Nathan appeared not to be fully recovered from surgery.  It did not go particularly well, and Capps lost the closer role to Nathan at mid-season.  It was later reported that he was pitching with an injury much of 2011.  He was injured again for much of 2012, but pitched well when he could pitch.  He signed with Cleveland for 2013 but was again injured nearly the entire season, appearing in only six games in AAA.  He was still in the Indians organization in 2014, but was able to make only four minor league appearances.  He signed with Atlanta for 2015 but was released in May without having appeared in a game.  As a Twin, Matt Capps was 7-11, 3.61, 1.17 WHIP.  He appeared in 126 games and pitched 122 innings, saving 45 games.  He’s 32 today and hasn't had a healthy season since 2010.  We wish him well, but at this point one has to think the chances of Matt Capps coming back to be a useful pitcher are extremely remote.

September 2

Al Spalding (1850)

Joe Heving (1900)

Monte Pearson (1908)

Marv Throneberry (1933)
Don Williams (1935)
Jerry Crider (1941)
Danny Goodwin (1953)
Rick Manning (1954)
Rex Hudler (1960)
Jeff Russell (1961)
Terry Jorgensen (1966)
Rich Aurilia (1971)
Jason Hammel (1982)

Right-hander Donald Reid Williams made three appearances for the Twins in 1963.  He was born in Los Angeles and was signed as a free agent by the Kansas City Athletics in 1956.  He pitched fairly well in Class D, but did not do particularly well after that.  He missed all of the 1959 season and was traded to the White Sox in 1960.   The White Sox sent him on to the Twins minor-league system in June of 1960 in an unknown transaction.  Williams pitched reasonably well in three AAA seasons for the Twins, and spent two weeks with the big-league club in August of 1963, pitching 4.1 innings in three games.  He gave up five runs on eight hits and six walks in 4.1 innings, getting no decisions and posting an ERA of 10.38.  He was back in the minors in 1964, and pitched two AAA seasons in the Washington organization before calling it a career after the 1966 season.  Don Williams passed away on December 20, 1991 in La Jolla, California.

Right-hander Jerry Stephen Crider appeared in 21 games for the Twins in 1969.   Born and raised in Sioux Falls, SD, he pitched on three state champion American Legion teams, being named player of the year in 1959, and pitched Humboldt, SD to its only state amateur baseball championship in 1961 before being signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1962.  He began to hit his stride in the minors in 1964, and after two good years at AAA Denver, he was called up to Minnesota in May of 1969.  Crider pitched in 21 games for the Twins, working 28.2 innings with a record of 1-0 and an ERA of 4.71 but a WHIP of 1.61.  The next year, he was traded in May to the White Sox for Cotton Nash.  Crider spent most of 1970 in Chicago, and did not do that badly, but it was his last year in the big leagues.  He pitched a year and a half at AAA for the Padres and another year and a half at AAA for the Giants, and did okay for both organizations, but did not get another chance in the majors.  After leaving baseball, Crider moved to Mexico and owned and operated a hunting and fishing business, helping to filmPROGRAMS for Bill Dance, Rowland Martin, and the American Sportsman shows.  A member of the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, Jerry Crider passed away on April 4, 2008, after a long battle with emphysema.

First baseman Danny Kay Goodwin played for the Twins from 1979-1981.  He was born in St. Louis, went to high school in Peoria, and was drafted out of Southern University and A & M College by the California Angels with the first pick of the 1975 draft.  He got 10 at-bats with the big club that year, going 1-for-10.  Goodwin was drafted as a catcher, but aSHOULDER INJURY suffered early in his minor league career left him unable to throw out all but the slowest runners, and resulted in a move to first base.  He hit well throughout the Angels minor-league system, hitting 25 home runs for AA El Paso in 1978.  After brief trials with California in 1977 and 1978, he was traded after the 1978 season to the Twins with Ron Jackson for Dan Ford.  He was a part-time player who was used mostly at DH for the Twins, never compiling more than 160 at-bats in a season.  He had a good year in 1979, but hit poorly in 1980 and 1981 and was released after the 1981 season.  He spent the next four years playing for AAA Tacoma in the Oakland system, making a brief appearance with the A’s in 1982.  Danny Goodwin appeared in 172 games as a Twin, batting .242/.312/.372 with 8 home runs and 55 RBIs in 475 at-bats.  Goodwin is the only player to have been twice chosen with the first pick in the draft, having been chosen but not signed by the White Sox in 1971.  He is one of three players, along with David Clyde and Joe Mauer, to be chosen with the first pick by their home town team.  After he retired, Danny Goodwin was the director of the Atlanta Braves Foundation, developingPROGRAMS for underprivileged children in Atlanta.  At last report, he was the president of First Choice Management Services in the Atlanta area.  He is a member of the Greater Peoria (IL) Sports Hall of Fame and the College Baseball Hall of Fame

Corner infielder Terry Allen Jorgensen played for the Twins in 1989 and again from 1992-1993.  He was born in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, and was drafted by the Twins in the second round out of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1987.  He got a September call-up in 1989, getting twenty-three at-bats, but then did not make it back to the big leagues until 1992.  Primarily a third baseman in the minors, Jorgensen was decent but unspectacular, batting around .300 in three seasons with AAA Portland with moderate power.  After a second brief trial in 1992, he spent about half of 1993 with the Twins, but failed to impress.  He became a free agent after that season and signed with the Marlins, playing in their minor-league system for two years.  He played for Green Bay in the independent Prairie League in 1996 before his playing career came to an end.  Terry Jorgensen played in 91 games as a Twin, batting .240/.292/.292 with 1 home run and 19 RBIs in 233 at-bats.  He is a member of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Hall of Fame.  His brother, Tim Jorgensen, was also primarily a third baseman and played for four years in the Cleveland and Pittsburgh organizations, getting as high as AA.  At last report, Terry Jorgensen was a physical education instructor and high school baseball coach for Luxemburg-Casco, Wisconsin.  He had his number there retired in April of 2015 before a game in which his nephew hit a walk-off single.

September 1

Jim O’Rourke (1850)

Joe Brown (1918)

Joe Astroth (1922)

Cloyd Boyer (1927)

Rico Carty (1939)

Craig Skok (1947)

Garry Maddox (1949)
Rob Wilfong (1953)
David West (1964)

Joe Brown was the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1956-1976.

Craig Skok was drafted by Minnesota in 1967, but did not sign.

Second baseman Robert Daniel Wilfong played for the Twins from 1977-1982.  He was born in Pasadena, California, went to high school in Covina, California, and was drafted in the thirteenth round by the Twins in 1971. He had somewhat mixed results in the minors, but after hitting .305 with AAA Tacoma in 1976, he made his big-league debut with the Twins at the start of the 1977 season. He spent most of that season with the Twins, going back to AAA for a month or so, and then was in the big-leagues to stay. Wilfong was almost exclusively a second baseman. For much of his Twins career, he shared the position with Bobby Randall, but as a left-handed batter, Wilfong got the majority of the playing time. His best year was 1979, when he hit .313 and led the league in sacrifice bunts with twenty-five. He remained with the Twins until May of 1982, when he was traded to the Angels along with Doug Corbett for Tom Brunansky, Mike Walters, and $400,000. Wilfong remained with the Angels as a part-time player through 1986. He was released just before the start of the 1987 season, and signed with the Giants. but played only two games for them before retiring. As a Twin, Wilfong played in 554 games, batting .262/.322/.360 with 22 home runs and 152 RBIs.  At last report, Rob Wilfong was a scout for the Angels based in San Dimas, California.

Left-hander David Lee West played for the Twins from 1989-1992.  Born and raised in Memphis, he was drafted by the Mets in the fourth round in 1983. It took him three years to get higher than Class A, but then he took off, having two excellent years in AAA Tidewater in 1987-88, during which he posted a combined ERA of 2.00 in 247 innings. He made his debut with the Mets in 1988, pitching six innings in a September callup. In July of 1989, West was traded to the Twins with Rick Aguilera, Kevin Tapani, Tim Drummond, and Jack Savage for Frank Viola. A highly touted prospect, West was immediately placed in the Twins’ rotation, but he never really panned out for them, and after spending part of 1992 in AAA he was traded to Philadelphia in the off-season for Mike Hartley. He pitched much better in Philadelphia when he was available, but battled injury problems much of his time there, and became a free agent after the 1996 season. He spent 1997 in Japan, playing for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, but was back in 1998, splitting the year in AAA for Houston and Boston and making his major league swan song by pitching two innings for the Red Sox. He pitched in eight games in the minors in 1999, and then his career was over. As a Twin, David West was 15-18 with a 5.33 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP in 63 games, 47 of them starts.  At last report, David West had returned to Memphis and was the director of pitching for the Memphis Baseball Academy.