June 7

Bones Ely (1863)
Ed Wells (1900)
Dusty Boggess (1904)
Rosey Gilhousen (1913)
Herb Score (1933)
Roger Nelson (1944)
George Mitterwald (1945)
Don Money (1947)
Thurman Munson (1947)
Bobby Marcano (1951)
Bill Hohn (1955)
Tim Laudner (1958)
Heathcliff Slocumb (1966)
Donaldo Mendez (1978)
Virgil Vasquez (1982)
Mark Lowe (1983)

Dusty Boggess was a National League umpire from 1944-62.

Rosey Gilhousen was a long-time scout who is credit for signing George Brett and Dan Quisenberry.

Bobby Marcano was an all-star in Japan.

Bill Hohn was a major league umpire since 1989-99 and 2002-10.

Catcher George Eugene Mitterwald played for the Twins in 1966 and from 1968-1973.  He was born in Berkeley, California, went to high school in Hayward, California, and attended Chabot College in Hayward.  He signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1965.  He had an excellent year at Class A St. Cloud in 1965, then settled in as a rather mediocre minor league hitter.  He got a September call-up in 1966 and another in 1968 before coming to the majors to stay.  He was the backup to Johnny Roseboro in 1969, then became the mostly regular catcher.  He remained in that role from 1970-1971, but in 1972 Mitterwald had a poor year even by his standards, and shared the job with Glenn Borgmann, Phil Roof, and Rick Dempsey.  He regained the starting job in 1973 and had his best year as a Twin, hitting .259 with 16 home runs.  The Twins apparently decided that was as good as it was ever going to get and traded him that Mitterwald to the Cubs that off-season for Randy Hundley.  As a Twin, George Mitterwald hit .239/.304/.373 in 1,578 at-bats.  He was then a part-time catcher for the Cubs for the next four years.  Mitterwald became a free agent after the 1977 campaign and signed with Seattle.  He played poorly in AAA for the Mariners and his playing career came to an end.  He then went into coaching and managing, serving as the bullpen coach for Oakland (1979-1982), as the manager of Modesto (1983-1985) and Orlando (1986-1987), and as bench coach for the Yankees (1988).  He managed in the independent Northern League from 1996-1998.  He was inducted into the Chabot College Hall of Fame in 2000.  No information about what George Mitterwald has been doing since then was readily available.

Catcher Timothy Jon Laudner was a catcher for the Twins throughout the 1980s.  He was born in Mason City, Iowa, went to high school in Minneapolis, and attended the University of Missouri.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the third round of the 1979 draft.  Laudner had indifferent minor league numbers for two season, then hit .284 with 42 homers with Orlando in 1981.  That got him a call-up in late August, and when Butch Wynegar was traded in May of 1982 Laudner became the regular catcher.  Unfortunately, the 42-home-run season turned out to be a fluke; he never hit more than 16 in any other season, majors or minors.  Because he never showed power and his average never really developed, either, Laudner was never the full-time catcher after 1982, sharing the job with Dave Engle (1983-84), Mark Salas (1985-1986), Sal Butera (1987), Tom Nieto (1987-1988), and Brian Harper (1988-1989).  Despite that, Laudner made the all-star team in 1988.  He was hitting .290 at the end of June that year, but fell to .251 by year’s end.  Laudner never played for another organization, retiring after the 1989 campaign.  He hit .225/.292/.391 with 77 homers in 2,038 at-bats.  After his playing career ended, he worked in the heating and air conditioning industry for a while, then got back into baseball.  Tim Laudner currently is as an instructor and part-owner of Big League Baseball Camp in Minnetonka and also works as a part-time analyst for Fox Sports North.

Shortstop Donaldo Alfonso Mendez did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for a couple of months in 2006.  Born and raised in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, he signed with Houston as a free agent in 1995.  He stayed in the low minors and did not hit anything until 2000, when he batted .270 and stole 39 bases for Class A Michigan.  His OPS was still only .683, but that was enough for San Diego to take him in the rule 5 draft and keep him in the majors all season.  A reserve shortstop, he appeared in 46 games, got 118 at-bats, and hit .153.  Not surprisingly, he was back in the minors in 2002.  He never really did learn to hit; his lifetime average in the minors was .239, a figure that falls to .228 when you take out his years in independent leagues.  He stayed with the Padres through 2003, getting another month in the majors in his final year with them.  He moved on to Pittsburgh in 2004 and San Francisco in 2005.  He was hitting .272 with Newark in the Atlantic League when the Twins signed him on July 6, 2006.  He went to Rochester and actually put up very good numbers in limited playing time:  in 19 games, he batted 29 times and hit .270/.300/.621 with three homers.  The Twins were not fooled, and allowed him to become a free agent after the season.  He played in independent leagues through 2008, then ended his playing career.  At last report, Donaldo Mendez was working for the Gonzalez Sports Academy in San Diego.

Right-hander Virgil Matthew Vasquez has not played for the Twins, but was in their farm system from 2013-2014.  Born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, he was drafted by Detroit in the seventh round in 2003.  He was somewhat up and down in his minor league career, but seemed to break through in 2007, going 12-5 in AAA with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.  He appeared in five big-league games for the Tigers that year, and while he did not do well in them, he still appeared to be on his way.  Instead, he went backward.  He had a poor year in AAA in 2008, was placed on waivers, and was selected by Boston.  Before the 2009 season started, he was waived twice more, being selected by San Diego and then by Pittsburgh.  The good news, of course, is that there was always someone who wanted him.  He did fairly well in AAA for the Pirates and got back to the big leagues for nearly half the season.  He spent over a month in the Pittsburgh rotation, but again did not do well.  After the 2009 season he was traded to Tampa Bay for a player to be named later.  He was okay, but nothing more, in AAA for the Rays and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with the Angels for 2011, but was released in April and spent 2011 in the Atlantic League, with a couple of starts in Australia.  He was back in the Atlantic League in 2012, then signed with Minnesota for 2013.  He pitched for Rochester and was not horrible but was not particularly good, either.  In 2014 he spent most of the year in New Britain, but he was a thirty-two-year-old pitching in AA.  He pitched in Mexico that winter and pitched in Australia last winter, but he was a pitching coach for the GCL Twins in 2015 and apparently will have that job again in 2016.  We're all for someone continuing to play as long as he enjoys it and someone will let him do it, but it appears that if Virgil Vasquez has a future in baseball, it will be coaching, not playing.

June 6

Ed McKean (1864)
Fresco Thompson (1902)
Bill Dickey (1907)
Wild Bill Wright (1914)
Hector Espino (1939)
Merv Rettenmund (1943)
Bud Harrelson (1944)
Bobby Randall (1948)
Dave Bergman (1953)
Max Venable (1957)
Tony Graffanino (1972)
Brooks Kieschnick (1972)
David Lamb (1975)
Mark Ellis (1977)
Jeremy Affeldt (1979)
Matt Belisle (1980)

Wild Bill Wright was a star in the Negro Leagues in the 1930s and 1940s.

Hector Espino is considered the greatest player in the history of the Mexican League, hitting 453 home runs there.

Second baseman Robert Lee Randall played for the Twins in the late 1970s.  He was born in Norton, Kansas, went to high school in Gove, Kansas, and attended Kansas State.  He was drafted by the Dodgers in the second round of the June Secondary draft in 1969.  He never showed power in the minors, and his average was up and down; his best year was 1974, when he hit .338 for AAA Albuquerque.  After the 1975 season, Randall was traded to Minnesota for Danny Walton.  He was instantly installed as the regular second baseman, but when he proved inadequate offensively he was platooned with Rob Wilfong for the next three years.  He was a solid defensive player, but never hit well enough to justify his place in the lineup.  His batting average sometimes made him look adequate–his highest was .270 in 1978–but he had no power and did not draw walks, so his highest OPS was .650, also in 1978.  Randall was a fine bunter, achieving double-digit sacrifice bunts every season.  The Twins released Randall at the end of spring training of 1980, signed him again on May 16, released him again on June 3, signed him again on June 18, and released him again on July 16, this time for good.  He never played for another team.  Bobby Randall’s career numbers are .257/.310/.311 in 1,325 at-bats.  He then went into college coaching, serving as an assistant coach at Iowa State from 1981-1984, head coach at Iowa State from 1985-1995, and head coach at Kansas from 1996-2002.  He also got a master's degree in economics at Kansas State.  At last report, Bobby Randall was living in Manhattan, Kansas and was a professor of economics and statistics at Manhattan Christian College.

Infielder David Christian Lamb appeared in seven games for the Twins in 2002.  He was born in West Hills, California, went to high school in Newbury Park, California, and was drafted by Baltimore in the second round in 1993.  It took him a while to get started, but he hit right around .300 from 1997-1998 in the minor leagues.  The Orioles did not put him on the 40-man roster, however, and he was selected by Tampa Bay in the Rule 5 draft after the 1998 season.  He was with the Devil Rays in 1999 as a utility infielder, batting .226.  Tampa Bay waived him in February of 2000 and the Mets picked him up.  He was in the big leagues for about three weeks, again as a reserve, and had a poor year in AAA.  He became a free agent after the season, signed with Anaheim, was released at the end of spring training of 2001, signed with Colorado, was unspectacular in AA, was released in August, and signed with Florida the same day, going to AAA for the rest of the year.  Lamb signed with Minnesota for 2002.  He had a solid season in AAA Edmonton, hitting .309 with ten homers, and got a September call-up.  He went 1-for-10, but replaced Denny Hocking on the ALCS roster that year, appearing in two games but not getting a time at bat.  Lamb was back with the Twins’ AAA team, now at Rochester, for 2003.  He had a mediocre season and his playing career came to an end.  At last report, David Lamb was a batting and fielding instructor for Hitting Zone, a baseball instructional facility located in Westlake Village, California.

June 5

Jack Chesbro (1874)
Eddie Joost (1916)
Lou Brissie (1924)
Duke Sims (1941)
Bill Spiers (1966)
Ray Lankford (1967)
Mike Coolbaugh (1972)
Russ Ortiz (1974)

Prior to beginning his major league career, Lou Brissie served in World War II.  He suffered severe leg injuries, receiving the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts, but overcame his injuries to spend seven years in the majors.

Mike Coolbaugh was the first base coach for the Tulsa Drillers when he was struck on the head with a line drive and killed.

There appear to be no major league players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

June 4

Tim Murnane (1851)
Tony Venzon (1915)
Billy Hunter (1928)
John McNamara (1932)
Phil Linz (1939)
Terry Kennedy (1956)
Tony Pena (1957)
Kurt Stillwell (1965)
Scott Servais (1967)
Rick Wilkins (1967)
Darin Erstad (1974)
J. C. Romero (1976)

 Tim Murnane had a long and varied career in baseball, but is best remembered as a sportswriter in Boston.

Tony Venzon was a National League umpire from 1957-71.

John McNamara managed six different major league clubs, going to the World Series with Boston in 1986.

Left-hander Juan Carlos ”J. C.” Romero pitched for the Twins from 1999-2005.  He was born in San Piedras, Puerto Rico, went to high school in San Juan, and then attended the University of Mobile.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the 21st round in 1997.  He was a reliever throughout his early minor league career, did very well, and made the majors for the first time in September of 1999.  He bounced back and forth between the majors and AAA for the next two seasons, mostly used as a starter in those seasons.  He pitched well in AAA, but not very well at all in the majors.  In 2002, Romero became a reliever again and had a tremendous year, going 9-2, 1.89 with a WHIP of 1.21 in 81 innings and 81 appearances.  He then was up and down, having a poor year in 2003, a better year in 2004, and a worse year again in 2005.  As a Twin, J. C. Romero was 25-20, 4.38 with a WHIP of 1.48.  He appeared in 327 games, 22 of them starts, and pitched 407.2 innings.  After the 2005 season, the Twins traded Romero to the Anaheim Angels for Alexi Casilla.  He was pretty awful for the Angels in 2006, became a free agent, and signed with Boston.  He was not very good there, either, and was released in June.  Romero signed with Philadelphia a few days later and seemed reborn.  He pitched very well the rest of 2007 and again in 2008, helping the Phillies win the World Series.  He was suspended for fifty games in 2009, and has been bothered by injuries and wildness since his return.  He earned the title “well-traveled reliever” in 2011, playing for Philadelphia, Washington, the Yankees, and Colorado.   He signed with St. Louis for 2012, was released in mid-May, and was signed by Baltimore.  He pitched well in AAA, but was released again in mid-July.  He signed with Cleveland, pitched well in AAA, and was traded back to Baltimore in mid-August.  The Orioles put him in their bullpen, but he was not very good and was made a free agent after two weeks.  He didn't give up, though.  He signed with Washington in late March of 2013 and pitched well for them in AAA, but was still released in June.  He signed with Cleveland, finished out the season in AAA there, and became a free agent.  He pitched in the Mexican League and in the Atlantic League in 2015, doing well in both spots.  He's forty and does not seem to have signed with anyone for 2016, but (say it with me) "he is left-handed".  It is unlikely, but not impossible, that somehow J. C. Romero will sign with someone before the season is done.

June 3

Don Osborn (1908)
Jim Gentile (1934)
Steve Dalkowski (1939)
Duane Josephson (1942)
Ron Keller (1943)
Jim Dwyer (1950)
Ed Glynn (1953)
Barry Lyons (1960)
Steve Lyons (1960)
Nelson Liriano (1964)
Carl Everett (1971)
Bryan Rekar (1972)
Jose Molina (1975)
Travis Hafner (1977)

Don Osborn won 201 games in the minors.  He later was a minor league manager, pitching coach, and scout.

Some say Steve Dalkowski had the fastest fastball ever.  He struck out 1,396 batters in 995 minor league innings.  However, he also walked 1,354, which is why he never made the majors.

Right-hander Ronald Lee Keller made nine total appearances with the Twins in 1966 and 1968.  He was born in Indianapolis and attended Indiana University.  The Twins drafted him in the eighth round in 1965.  After a strong year at Class A St. Cloud in 1965, he started 1966 in at Class A Wilson, was promoted after seven starts to AA Charlotte, was promoted after seven appearances (six starts) to AAA Denver, and made eight appearances (seven starts) there.  He also made two appearances in Minnesota in July, allowing four runs (three earned) in 5.1 innings.  Perhaps all the packing and unpacking got to him, because while he was excellent all along the way in 1966, he never had a good season again.  He was in AAA Denver for all of 1967 and most of 1968, making six appearances in the majors in the latter year.  He made seven appearances that year, posting an ERA of 2.81 in 16 innings.  His totals as a Twin were 0-1, 3.38 with a WHIP of 1.41 in 21.1 innings.  He appeared in nine games, making one start.  1968 was Keller’s last season as an active player.  One wonders if injuries were his problem, but no information about that was readily available.  Ron Keller’s son, Jason, is a successful playwright and screenwriter and his wife, Susan, is an actress and spokesperson, but no information about what Ron Keller himself is doing was readily available.

Outfielder/DH James Edward Dwyer played for the Twins for part of the 1988, 1989, and 1990 seasons.  He was born in Evergreen Park, Illinois, went to high school in Oaklawn, Illinois, and attended Southern Illinois University.  He was drafted by St. Louis in the eleventh round in 1971.  He was always a high-average hitter in the minors, posting an average of over .300 in every year in which he played more than eight games.  He first reached the majors in 1973, but bounced back and forth between St. Louis and AAA until he was traded to Montreal in July of 1975.  He finished the season with the Expos and did fairly well, but when he started poorly in 1976 he was on the move again, traded to the Mets in July.  Most of his time there was spent in the minors and then he was once again traded, this time to the Cubs.  Dwyer hit .332 with 18 homers and 12 triples for AAA Wichita for an OPS of 1.041 in 1977.  All it got him was a release as soon as the season was over.  Now heading into his age 28 season, he signed with St. Louis.  Dwyer finally got his first full season in the majors, but it wasn’t all with the Cardinals; he was traded to San Francisco in mid-June.  He didn’t get much chance to play with either team, and did not do much with the chances he had.  In March of 1979, the Giants sold him to Boston.  He was a part-time player for the Red Sox for two years and did fairly well, posting his best major league season up to that time.  He became a free agent after the 1980 season and moved to Baltimore, where he finally found a home.  He was never a regular, but he was a part-time outfielder for the Orioles for the next seven years, helping the Orioles win a world championship in 1983.  He started an eighth year, 1988, with Baltimore, but played little and was traded in late August to the Twins for a player to be named later (Doug Kline).  He finished the season with Minnesota, hitting .293 with 2 homers in 41 at-bats.  Dwyer was with the Twins most of 1989 and again hit well, posting an average of .316 as a left-handed DH, but was traded back to Montreal in late August for a player to be named later (Alonzo Powell).  He was traded back to the Twins that off-season for Jim Davins.  Now 40, he got off to a slow start in 1990 and elected to retire in late June.  As a Twin, Jim Dwyer hit .289/.387/.380 in 329 at-bats (145 games).  He was never a star, and in fact was never a regular; the highest number of at-bats he got in a season was 260.  Still, he was a big league ball player for all or part of eighteen seasons, and there are not a lot of people who can say that.  Since his playing days ended, Jim Dywer has been a coach and manager in the Twins organization, coaching at Portland (1991), managing at Ft. Wayne (1992) and Kenosha (1993-1994), coaching at New Britain (1995-1996), serving as minor league hitting coordinator (1997-2005), and coaching at Ft. Myers (2006-present).

Infielder Nelson Arturo (Bonilla) Liriano is the second-best Minnesota Twins player ever named “Liriano”.  He played for the Twins for about two months of 1990.  Liriano was born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic and signed with Toronto as a free agent in 1982.  He had some decent years in the minors, hitting in the .280s a couple of times, but nothing to really make anyone sit up and take notice.  Still, he made it to the majors in late August of 1987 and  stayed for over three years.  He hit in the .260s for the Blue Jays in 1988 and 1989, achieving more-or-less regular status as a second baseman in 1989.  He had slipped back to part-time status in 1990, however, when he was traded to Minnesota with Pedro Munoz for John Candelaria in late July.  He was the Twins’ regular second baseman the rest of the way, hitting .254/.332/.357 in 185 at-bats.  The Twins released Liriano at the end of spring training in 1991 and he signed with Kansas City.  He was in the minors almost the entire season, getting only about two weeks in the majors.  Let go after that season, he was in AAA for Cleveland in 1992.  He moved on to Colorado for 1993-1994, starting the former season in the minors but getting called up after hitting .358 in 293 at-bats in Colorado Springs.  He then got four full seasons in the majors, serving as a part-time player for the Rockies, the Pirates, (1995-1996) and the Dodgers (1997).  his highest at-bat total in those years was 259, but he was a solid player in his role.  He started 1998 back with the Rockies, but was sent back to AAA after starting 0-for-17.  That’s how his major league career ended; Liriano hit .315 with Colorado Springs, but never made it back to the big leagues.  His playing career ended after that season.  Since then, he has remained in baseball as a minor league coach and manager, mostly in the Royals organization.  He has been the batting coach for the Royals entry in the Arizona Summer League since 2015.

June 2

Jack O’Connor (1866)
Frank Verdi (1926)
Bob Lillis (1930)
Larry Jackson (1931)
Bob Bennett (1933)
Jerry Lumpe (1933)
Gene Michael (1938)
Horace Clarke (1940)
Jim Maloney (1940)
Roger Freed (1946)
Jack O’Connor (1958)
Darnell Coles (1962)
Bryan Harvey (1963)
Mike Stanton (1967)
Kurt Abbott (1969)
Raul Ibanez (1972)
Neifi Perez (1973)
Jared Burton (1981)
Tim Stauffer (1982)

Bob Bennett was the baseball coach at Fresno State for many years, winning 1,302 games.

Roger Freed was drafted by Minnesota in 1966, but the pick was voided.

Infielder Frank Michael Verdi did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system in 1961.  He was born in Brooklyn and signed with the Yankees as a free agent in 1946.  His minor league stats vary widely form one year to the next, with averages of over .300 mixed with averages in the .250s and .260s.  There were a lot more levels in the minors back then, so Verdi did not reach AAA until 1953.  He also made his big league debut that season, coming into a game on May 10 in the sixth inning as a defensive replacement.  He played one inning at shortstop, handling zero chances, and was pinch-hit for in the seventh.  That was the sum and substance of his major league career:  he never played in another big league game.  He was in the minors for several years after that, perhaps hoping for another chance at the majors or perhaps just enjoying making a living by playing baseball.  He was known for his ability to pull off the hidden ball trick, executing it successfully seven times in 1949.  He was in AAA most of that time.  He stayed with the Yankees through 1954, went to Kansas City in 1955-56, was with the Cubs toward the end of 1956, was with the Cardinals from 1957-59, then was signed by the then Washington franchise for 1960, playing for AAA Charleston.  He was still with the franchise when it moved to Minnesota in 1961, and spent the season with AAA Syracuse, not only playing but also managing the team.  He hit .287/.362/.308 in 195 at-bats as a reserve infielder and as a manager went 44-44.  That started him on a long career as a minor league manager.  He was the manager again in Syracuse in 1962 (it was no longer a Twins farm team that year), then went into the Yankees organization from 1963-1970, winning three league championships (two with AAA Syracuse).  He continued to manage (with a couple of years off) in the minors through 1985, winning another league championship with AAA Columbus in 1981.  He retired after the 1985 season, but came out of retirement in 1993 to manage the Sioux Falls Canaries in the Northern League from 1993-1995.  He was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame in 2008.  His son, Mike, also managed for several years in the minors.  Frank Verdi passed away from a heart attack on July 9, 2010 in New Port Richey, Florida.

There have been two major league players named “Jack O’Connor”; both of them were born on this day.  Left-hander Jack William O’Connor pitched for the Twins from 1981-1984.  He was born in Twenty-nine Palms, California, and went to high school in Yucca Valley, California.  He was drafted by Montreal in the ninth round in 1976.  He was in the Expos organization for five years.  O’Connor pitched mostly in Class A and did fairly well there, but did not do so well in brief trials at higher levels.  The Twins took a chance on him in the Rule 5 draft after the 1980 season and kept him in the majors all of 1981.  He was kept in the bullpen all season and did not get a lot of work, appearing in 28 games and pitching only 35.1 innings.  O’Connor started 1982 in the majors but was sent back to AAA after two scoreless innings.  He returned in early June and was in the starting rotation by July, staying there the rest of the season.  He wasn’t terrible, which is about as good as it got for the Twins’ rotation in 1982.  He began 1983 in the rotation, but after a couple of decent outings things fell apart for him, and he was in the bullpen by mid-May.  He was not much better there, went back to AAA for a couple of months, and did not do a lot better upon his return either.  O’Connor had an excellent year in the Toledo bullpen in 1984 and pitched well in two appearances in his September call-up.  By then, however, the Twins had given up on him, and after the season they traded him to Montreal for Mike Stenhouse.  He got about two months in the majors in 1985 with the Expos, had mediocre numbers, and was released the following March.  O’Connor signed with Seattle for 1986, pitched badly in AAA, and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with Baltimore for 1987 and battled his way back to the majors, spending nearly half the year with the Orioles.  His pitching in the majors was not significantly better, however, and O’Connor once again became a free agent after the season.  He signed with Toronto and was with AAA Syracuse for two years, not pitching badly but not getting another chance at the big time, either.  Jack O’Connor’s playing career came to an end after the 1989 season.  As a Twin, he was 13-14, 4.99 with a WHIP of 1.62.  He pitched 249 innings and made 80 appearances, 27 of them starts.  No information about Jack O’Connor’s life after the close of his playing career was readily available.

Infielder Kurt Thomas Abbott did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 2002.  He was born in Zanesville, Ohio, went to high school in St. Petersburg, Florida, and was drafted by Oakland in the fifteenth round in 1989.  He did not hit much until 1993, when he hit .319 with 12 homers and 11 triples for AAA Tacoma, numbers which got him a September call-up.  They also got him a trade, as he was sent to the Florida Marlins that off-season.  He was their mostly-regular shortstop the next two seasons and had a pretty good year in 1995, batting .255 with 17 homers in 420 at-bats.  It did not lead to any more playing time, however, as he became a frequently-used utility player over the next two seasons.  Abbott was traded to Oakland before the 1998 season and was traded again in early June, this time to Colorado.  He stayed with Colorado through the 1999 season and did pretty well as a part-time player, batting .273.  That was as good as it would get for him, though.  He became a free agent after the season and was a reserve infielder for the Mets in 2000, but batted only .217.  A free agent again, he signed with Atlanta for 2001 but missed most of the season with injuries.  The Twins signed Abbott for 2002, but he continued to be bothered by injuries and was released in spring training.  He played a few games in AAA for the Yankees that season and was in AAA for St. Louis in 2003, but then his playing career was over.  Kurt Abbott then became a deputy sheriff in Martin County, Florida.  Unfortunately, he was arrested in 2013 for DUI and was placed on administrative leave.  Its unclear whether he lost his job because of that or if he left for other reasons, but at last report, Kurt Abbott was a coach for Major League Players Academy in Stuart, Florida.

Right-hander Levi Jared Burton joined the Twins in 2012.  Born and raised in Westminster, South Carolina, he attended Western Carolina University and was drafted by Oakland in the eighth round in 2002.  A reliever most of his career, he struggled in the low minors, not reaching AA until 2006.  He reached the majors in 2007, however, and has been there for at least part of every season since.  It did not happen with the Athletics, though.  Instead, he was taken by Cincinnati in the Rule 5 draft after the 2006 season.  Pitching a limited number of innings, he was pretty good in 2007 and 2008, but not so good in 2009.  He battled injuries in 2010 and 2011, and was mostly in AAA when he was healthy enough to pitch.  He became a free agent after the 2011 season and signed with Minnesota.  He had an excellent year for the Twins in 2012, a not-as-excellent but still pretty good year in 2013, and did not pitch well, although he wasn't terrible, in 2014.  As a Twin Jared Burton was 8-16, 3.47, 1.16 WHIP in 192 innings (203 appearances).  He became a free agent after the 2014 season, signed with the Yankees, was released in spring training, re-signed with the Yankees three days later, was released in May, and signed with Texas.  He pitched well in twelve appearances for AAA Round Rock, but was released at the end of June.  It appears that this brought his playing career to an end, as he has not pitched anywhere since.  If he ever does sign with someone, he's facing a fifty-day suspension for a positive test for "a drug of abuse", which makes it even more likely that it's time for him to move on with his life.  No information about what Jared Burton has done since his release last summer was readily available.

Right-hander Timothy James Stauffer appeared in thirteen games for the Twins in 2015.  He was born in Portland, Maine, went to high school in Saratoga Springs, New York, attended the University of Richmond, and was drafted by San Diego with the fourth pick of the 2003 draft.  A starter early in his career, he did very well in the low minors but struggled when he reached AAA.  He made his major league debut in 2005 but spent most of his time in AAA through 2007.  He missed the entire 2008 season, but came back in 2009 to pitch well in both the minors and the majors.  He spent most of 2010 pitching out of the San Diego bullpen and had an excellent season.  Returned to a starting role in 2011, he had another solid year.  He again missed most of 2012 with injury, but came back in 2013 to have a decent season in relief for the Padres.  He was not as good, but wasn't terrible, in the Padres bullpen in 2014.  A free agent after that season, he signed with Minnesota for 2015.  One suspects that he may still not have been healthy:  he missed a month due to injury, and when active he was pretty bad.  His numbers as a Twin were 1-0, 6.60, 2.07 WHIP in fifteen innings.  The Twins released him in mid-June, he signed with the Mets in August, continued to not pitch well, and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with Arizona for 2016 but was released at the end of spring training.  If, indeed, he is still injured, it's possible that some forced rest might help him heal.  It seems more likely, though, that Tim Stauffer's playing career is over.

June 1

Ted Breitenstein (1869)
Otto Miller (1889)
Hank Severeid (1891)
Guy Morton (1893)
Johnny Mostil (1896)
Ray Moore (1926)
Jack Kralick (1935)
Dean Chance (1941)
Randy Hundley (1942)
Ken McMullen (1942)
Jeff Nelson (1965)
Derek Lowe (1973)
Carlos Zambrano (1981)

Jeff Nelson has been a major league umpire since 1997.

Right-hander Raymond Leroy Moore pitched for the Twins from 1961-1963.  He was born in Meadows, Maryland, went to high school in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers as a free agent in 1947.  He had good ERAs in the minors and did not give up a lot of hits, but walked a lot of batters, slowing his rise to the majors.  He was with the Dodgers for two months in 1952 and made one appearance there in 1953.  1953 was when he finally started to get things under control, and after he had another good year at AAA St. Paul in 1954 he finally got to the majors to stay at the start of the 1955 season.  It was not with the Dodgers, however, as he was traded to Baltimore after the 1954 campaign.  He started 1955 in the Oriole bullpen, but got into the rotation in late July and mostly stayed there the rest of his time with Baltimore.  He was a solid rotation starter for them through 1957, when he was traded to the White Sox in a deal that involved Larry Doby.  He remained in the rotation through 1958, but moved to the bullpen the following year, where he would stay the rest of his career.  He got off to a poor start in 1960 and was sold to Washington in mid-June.  He pitched well for them the rest of the year and came to Minnesota with the franchise in 1961.  He was in the Twins’ bullpen for three years, pitching okay his first two before falling apart in 1963.  His playing career came to an end after that season.  As a Twin, he was 13-10, 5.03 with a WHIP of 1.50 in 159 innings over 126 games.  Ray Moore passed away on March 2, 1995 in Clinton, Maryland.

Left-hander John Francis “Jack” Kralick also pitched for the Twins from 1961-1963.  He was born in Youngstown, Ohio and went to Michigan State before signing with the White Sox as a free agent in 1955.  He spent a little over three years in the low minors for them, pitching only thirteen games above Class B.  He had a decent but unspectacular record, apparently did not impress anyone, and was released in June of 1958.  He signed as a free agent with Washington in September.  Surprisingly, he started 1959 in the majors, but was sent down after five appearances and had a solid season at AA in 1959.  He started 1960 in the Washington bullpen, moved to the majors in late June, and stayed there through 1964.  He came to Minnesota with the franchise in 1961 and was a solid rotation starter, posting ERAs in the mid-to-upper threes and throwing a no-hitter in 1962.  In May of 1963, Kralick was traded to Cleveland for Jim Perry.  He got off to a bad start in 1965 and was removed from the rotation in mid-June.  He had a decent year as a reliever in 1966, but got off to a slow start in 1967 and was sold to the Mets on June 1.  He did not pitch for the Mets, however, as he was involved in a car accident which left him not just with a cracked rib but also double vision, a problem which did not clear up for a year.  By then, he had decided to move on with his life and retired as a player.  As a Twin, Jack Kralick was 26-26, 3.74 with a WHIP of 1.28 in 501.1 innings.  It appears that after he finished playing, he moved to Watertown, South Dakota and worked for a school supply company, then lived in Alaska for a while, then moved to Mexico in 1998.  Jack Kralick passed away in San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico on September 18, 2012.

Right-hander Wilmer Dean Chance pitched for the Twins from 1967-1969.  He was born in Wooster, Ohio and went to high school in Wayne, Ohio.  He signed with Baltimore as a free agent in 1959.  He had two fine years in the low minors, but was left unprotected and was chosen by Washington in the expansion draft.  The Senators traded him to the Angels that same day.  He had another good year in AAA in 1961, got a September call-up, and never looked back.  He was shifted from the rotation to the bullpen and back again a couple of times in 1962, pitching well enough in both roles to finish third in Rookie of the Year voting.  Chance’s best year as an Angel was 1964, when he went 20-9, 1.65.  He led the league in wins, ERA, complete games, shutouts, innings pitched, ERA+, and fewest home runs, won the Cy Young Award, and finished fifth in MVP voting.  He remained a solid starter for the Angels through 1966, then was traded to the Twins with a player to be named later (Jackie Hernandez) for Pete Cimino, Jimmie Hall, and Don Mincher.  He did an excellent job for the Twins for three years, although he missed two months of the third season with injuries.  As a Twin, he was 41-34, 2.67 with a WHIP of 1.07 in 664 innings.  His best year as a Twin was his first one, 1967, when he won 20 games, starts, innings, and complete games, and made the all-star team for the second time.  After the 1969 campaign, the Twins traded Chance to Cleveland with Bob Miller, Graig Nettles, and Ted Uhlaender for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams.  He had a mediocre year for the Indians, was sold to the Mets in mid-September, and was traded to Detroit after the season.  He had another mediocre year for the Tigers and ended his playing career after the 1971 season.  After leaving baseball he became a boxing manager and promoter, was one of the founders of the International Boxing Association, and became its president in 2006, a position he held until his death.  Dean Chance passed away in his home town of Wooster, Ohio on October 11, 2015.

Catcher Cecil Randolph “Randy” Hundley played for the Twins in 1974.  He was born in Martinsville, Virginia, went to high school in Bassett, Virginia, and signed with San Francisco as a free agent in 1960.  He did not do a lot in the minors until 1963, when he hit .325 with 23 homers for AA El Paso.  He did not sustain that when promoted to AAA in 1964, nor did he improve in 1965.  Still, he got cups of coffee in the majors both of those seasons.  He was traded to the Cubs that off-season, and was in the majors to stay.  He was the Cubs’ regular catcher from 1966-1969.  He finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 1966, despite hitting only .236 (he did hit 19 home runs).  He won the Gold Glove the following year.  Hundley missed half of 1970 and most of 1971 with injuries.  He more-or-less regained the regular catching job in 1972, but what offense he had shown in the past was gone.  After two more sub-par years with the Cubs, Hundley was traded to Minnesota before the 1974 season for George Mitterwald.  Injuries cropped up again, and he played in only 32 games, hitting .193/.228/.216 in 88 at-bats.  The Twins released him after the season and he signed with San Diego.  He was the backup catcher there in 1975 and was sold back to the Cubs after the season.  He remained with the Cubs for two years, but was injured much of the time and rarely played.  His playing career came to an end after 1977.  His son, Todd Hundley, had a substantial playing career of his own.  Hundley is credited with originating the idea of fantasy camps and operated several of them at one time, though he now is involved only in the Cubs’ fantasy camp.  At last report, Randy Hundley was still living in the Chicago area.