June 25

Due to personal time constraints, this is a copy-and-paste from last year.  Please put any updates below.

Joe Kuhel (1906)
Don Demeter (1935)
Dick Drago (1945)
Clay Kirby (1948)
Bob Shirley (1954)
Alejandro Pena (1959)
Mike Stanley (1963)
Aaron Sele (1970)
Michael Tucker (1971)
Carlos Delgado (1972)
Aramis Ramirez (1978)
Paul Maholm (1982)

First baseman Joe Kuhel played for the franchise for several years while it was in Washington and later managed the team there.  However, there do not appear to be any players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

June 24

Due to personal time constraints, this is a copy-and-paste from last year.  Please put any updates below.

Billy Nash (1865)
George Harper (1892)
Rollie Hemsley (1907)
Jim Mills (1919)
Wally Yonamine (1925)
Don Mincher (1938)
Ken Reitz (1951)
Doug Jones (1957)
Tom Klawitter (1958)
Doug Bernier (1980)
Phil Hughes (1986)

Jim Mills spent almost his entire adult life involved in baseball in the Carolinas.  He played college ball at North Carolina State, played minor league ball for nine seasons in the Carolinas, managed in Carolina minor leagues for six seasons, umpired in the Carolina League for two seasons, was in minor league front offices in the Carolinas from 1956-1971, and was president of the Carolina League for seven years.

Born in Hawaii, Wally Yonamine was a star in Japan from 1951-1962, stealing home eleven times.

First baseman Don Mincher played for the Twins from 1961-1966.  Born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama, he was signed by the White Sox as a free agent in 1956.  He had a very good minor league record, batting over .300 twice and hitting over 20 homers three times.  Just before the 1960 season, Mincher was traded to Washington with Earl Battey and $150,000 for Roy Sievers, a trade which worked very well for the soon-to-be Minnesota Twins.  Mincher was given the first base job for Washington in 1960, but did not hit well and was back in the minors by mid-May.  He was with the new Minnesota Twins in 1961, but again did not hit and was back in the minors in late May.  Mincher finally made the majors to stay in 1962, but as the Twins also had Vic Power and Harmon Killebrew, he had a hard time getting playing time.  He appeared in 86 games, but 61 of them were as a pinch-hitter, as he played the field in only 25 contests.  Given his role, he did pretty well, hitting .240 with 9 homers for an OPS of .894.  He got into the field more in 1963, but still only batted 225 times, posting an OPS of .871.  By 1964 Power was gone, but Sam Mele chose to give Bob Allison substantial playing time at first base.  Mincher did get 65 starts and hit 23 homers in 287 at-bats, recording an OPS of .847.  Finally, in 1965, he got semi-regular status, sharing first base with Harmon Killebrew (Killebrew shifted to third when Mincher played).  Mincher finally got almost regular playing time in 1966, at age 28, but after the season was traded to California with Pete Cimino and Jimmie Hall for Dean Chance and a player to be named later (Jackie Hernandez).  He had a very good year for the Angels in 1967, hitting .273 (which was very good for 1967) with 25 homers and making his first all-star team.  He slumped in 1968, however, and was left unprotected in the expansion draft.  Seattle chose him, and he was easily their best offensive player, hitting 25 homers, again posting an OPS over .800, and making his second all-star team.  He was traded to Oakland after the season and had another solid year, but was again traded in May of 1971, this time to Washington.  He hit fewer homers as a Senator but had the highest batting average of his career, .291, and again had an OPS over .800.  That was his last good year; he got off to a poor start when the team moved to Texas in 1972, was traded to Oakland in July, and ended his career as he had started it, as a pinch-hitter.  As a Twin, Don Mincher hit .244/.340/.479.  There were reasons he didn’t play more, but one wonders what sort of numbers he might have posted if he had been given regular playing time in his mid-twenties.  Don Mincher remained in baseball after his playing career ended.  He became general manager and part-owner of the Huntsville Stars in the Southern League, holding those titles from 1994-2001.  At that point, he became president of the Southern League, a position he held until his death.  He was elected to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.  Don Mincher passed away in Huntsville, Alabama on March 4, 2012.

Left-hander Tom Klawitter appeared in seven games for the Twins in 1985.  He was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin and attended Wisconsin-La Crosse.  Klawitter was drafted by the Dodgers in the nineteenth round in 1980.  He struggled in the Dodgers’ system, reaching AA in 1982 but never posting an ERA under four.  The Dodgers released him in May of 1983.  Minnesota picked him up and sent him to Class A Wisconsin Rapids, where he pitched fairly well the rest of the season.  Promoted to AAA for 1984, Klawitter continued to do fairly well, going 10-6, 3.59 with a 1.35 WHIP.  He made the Twins out of spring training in 1985; then manager Billy Gardner would make a claw gesture to the bullpen when he wanted Klawitter in the game.  Unfortunately, that didn’t happen for very long, as his control, which had always been shaky, pretty much deserted him.  Klawitter made five relief appearances and two starts for the Twins.  He gave up seven runs on seven hits and thirteen walks in 9.1 innings.  The record is not clear about what happened to him after mid-May of 1985; Klawitter was no longer with the Twins, but he does not appear to have gone to the minors, either.  At any rate, he made six appearances for AA Knoxville in 1986, and then his playing career was over.  Tom Klawitter is currently is a high school girls basketball coach in Janesville, Wisconsin, a position he has held for several years and in which he has been very successful.

Infielder Douglas Paul Bernier has played briefly for the Twins in 2013, 2014, and 2015.  Born and raised in Santa Maria, California, he attended Oral Roberts University and was signed by Colorado as a free agent in 2002.  He spent two years in high-A and two years in AA before getting to AAA Colorado Springs in 2007.  He had a couple of solid seasons there, but considering that it's Colorado Springs, his numbers were not all that impressive.  He appeared in two games for the Rockies in the middle of June, one as a defensive replacement and one as a starter, and went 0-for-4.  That's the sum and substance of his major league career so far.  He has been in AAA since then, but has moved around some.  He became a free agent after the 2008 season and signed with the Yankees.  He had a poor year in 2009, moved to the Pittsburgh organization in 2010, continued to not hit much, moved back to the Yankees organization from 2011-2012, and signed with Minnesota for 2013.  Two years ago, we wrote, "it'd be nice to see him get a September call-up just to get a chance to get a major league hit, but even that's a long shot at this point."  Well, he actually got called up in late July and managed to get twelve hits, batting .226/.339/.283 in 53 at-bats as a Twin.  One year ago, we wrote, "unless the Twins get a lot of injuries it's unlikely that we'll see him back in the big leagues again."  Well, he got a September call-up last year and went 2-for-7 in seven games.  He was back in the majors briefly in 2015 also, going 1-for-5 in four games.  As a Twin, therefore, he has hit .231/.351/.292 in 65 at-bats.  There's no good reason he should ever be in the big leagues again, but there never was before, either, so you never know.

Right-hander Philip Joseph Hughes is in his first season as a Twin.  He was born in Mission Viejo, California, went to high school in Santa Ana, California, and was drafted by the Yankees in the first round in 2004.  He pitched very well throughout his minor league career, never posting a WHIP above 1.00, and reached the majors in 2007, making a couple of starts early in the season and coming up for good in August.  He was injured much of 2008 and when he came back in 2009 he found himself in the bullpen, as the Yankees preferred giving starts to Joba Chamberlain, Sergio Mitre, and Chien-Ming Wang.  He had an excellent year as a reliever and returned to the rotation in 2010, when he won 18 games and made the all-star team.  He again had injury troubles in 2011 but came back to pitch well in 2012.  He had what is easily the worst year of his career in 2013 and the Yankees let him become a free agent.  He signed with Minnesota and had the best year as a starter he's ever had, going 16-10, 3.52 and finishing seventh in the Cy Young balloting.  So far, he is having what is a much more typical year for him in 2015.  He turns 29 today.  It's probably not realistic to expect him to repeat 2014, but if he can stay healthy, there's no obvious reason he shouldn't be in a major league rotation for at least the next few years.

June 23

Due to personal time constraints, this a copy-and-paste from last year.  Please put any updates below.

George Weiss (1894)
Jack Smith (1895)
Karl Spooner (1931)
Dave Bristol (1933)
Tom Haller (1937)
Dave Goltz (1949)
Marty Barrett (1958)
Jim Deshaies (1960)
Hensley Meulens (1967)
Josh Byrnes (1970)
Mark Hendrickson (1974)

George Weiss was the general manager of the New York Yankees from 1948-1960.

Karl Spooner set the record, later tied by J. R. Richard, for strikeouts in a major league debut with fifteen.

Dave Bristol managed four different teams from 1966-1980.

Josh Byrnes has been the general manager of Arizona and San Diego and is currently the vice president of baseball operations for the Dodgers.

Right-hander Dave Goltz pitched for the Twins through most of the 1970s.  He was born in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, went to high school in Rothsay, Minnesota.  He was a four-sport star, playing basketball, football, and participating in track as well as playing baseball (he was all state in both basketball and baseball).  Goltz was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 1967.  He had two very good years in the low minors, then missed all of the 1969 season due to military service and made only two appearances in 1970 due to injuries.  He came back to have a fine 1971 campaign and was doing fairly well in AAA in 1972 when he was called up to Minnesota in mid-July to replace an injured Jim Kaat.  He pitched extremely well the rest of the way, going 3-3, 2.67 with a WHIP of 1.10 and an ERA+ of 121.  The Twins moved him to the bullpen for 1973, however, and he did not flourish in the role.  He was moved back to the rotation in late July and was extremely inconsistent, mixing brilliant outings with horrible ones.  The next year, he was in the rotation from the beginning, and had the first of five consecutive very good seasons for the Twins.  His best years were 1977-1978, when he went a combined 35-21, 2.99 with a WHIP of 1.24 in 523.1 innings (303 0f which came in 1977, when he won 20 games and finished sixth in Cy Young voting).  He had double-digit complete games in each of those five seasons, with a high of nineteen in 1977.  He started to slip in 1979 and the Twins allowed him to become a free agent.  It turned out to be a good decision, as he never had as good a season again.  Goltz had a poor year in 1980, went to the bullpen in 1981, and when he was no better at the start of 1982 he was released in late April.  California signed him in late May and he did somewhat better, but he did nothing in 1983 and was released again in early July, ending his playing career.  He won twenty games once, got a World Series ring (with the Dodgers in 1981), and set one record, although not a good one.  Dave Goltz holds the record for most runs allowed while getting a save, giving up eight runs while getting a three-inning save against Cleveland on June 6, 1973.  Gene Mauch once was quoted as saying Goltz was the best starting pitcher he had ever managed.  As a Twin, Dave Goltz was 96-79, 3.48 with a 1.31 WHIP.  He appeared in 247 games, 215 of them starts, and worked 1,638 innings.  After retirement, Goltz returned to Minnesota.  He is currently an insurance agent, with offices in Fergus Falls and Rothsay, Minnesota.  He also was the baseball coach for Fergus Falls Community College for two years.

Left-hander Jim Deshaies was with the Twins for most of 1993 and all of 1994.  Born and raised in Massena, New York, he attended LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, one of six major league players that school has produced.  He was drafted by the Yankees in the twenty-first round in 1982.  He put up some really good numbers in the Yankees’ system, reaching AAA by 1984.  He also made his major league debut that year, making two starts for the Yankees in August.  He did not have a good year in AAA in 1985, however, and was traded to Houston in mid-September as part of a deal for Joe Niekro.  It was a good move for Deshaies, as he was immediately placed in the Astros rotation and stayed there for six years.  He was pretty good for five of those years; the best was 1989, when he went 15-10, 2.91 with a WHIP of 1.15.  He pitched poorly in 1991, however, and when contract expired he was allowed to become a free agent.  He signed with Oakland, but was released in spring training of 1992.  San Diego signed him in late April, sent him to AAA, and brought him to the majors in early July, place him in their starting rotation.  He bounced back pretty well, but was a free agent after the season, signing with Minnesota.  He did okay in 1993, not great but not terrible.  The Twins fell out of the race, however, and in late August Deshaies was traded to San Francisco for Andres Duncan, Aaron Fultz, and a player to be named later (Greg Brummett).  Deshaies was a free agent after the season and returned to Minnesota for 1994.  He was much worse in his second go-round with the Twins, leading the league both in home runs allowed and in earned runs allowed.  As a Twin, he was 17-25, 5.71 with a WHIP of 1.46.  He appeared in 52 games, all of them starts, and pitched 297.2 innings.  He became a free agent again and signed with Philadelphia for 1995.  He did well in AAA, but flopped in two starts with the Phillies and was released in late July, ending his playing career.  In 1986, he struck out the first eight batters of the game, setting a modern-day record.  He also holds the record for most at-bats without an extra-base hit.  Jim Deshaies was a television broadcaster for the Houston Astros from 1997-2012 and is currently a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs.

June 22

This is a copy-and-paste from last year.  If you have updates, please include them below.

Carl Hubbell (1903)
Walt Masterson (1920)
Han Urbanus (1927)
Faye Throneberry (1931)
Russ Snyder (1934)
Dave Tomlin (1949)
Ron Hodges (1949)
Greg Booker (1960)
Brant Brown (1971)
Esteban Yan (1975)
Willie Harris (1978)
Luis Maza (1980)
Ian Kinsler (1982)

Han Urbanus is in the Dutch Baseball Hall of Fame.  He pitched over 150 consecutive complete games over a period of eight years.

The brother of Marv Throneberry, outfielder Faye Throneberry spent much of his career with the Twins franchise while it was still in Washington (1957-1960).  In December of 1960, he was chosen by the Los Angeles Angels in the expansion draft.

Right-handed reliever Gregory Scott Booker appeared in six games for the Twins in 1989.  The son-in-law of Jack McKeon, he was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, went to high school in Burlington, North Carolina, and then attended Elon University in Elon, North Carolina (a school also attended by Dick Such).  He was drafted by San Diego in the tenth round in 1981.  Mostly a starter in the minors, he did not have very good numbers there at all, although much of his time was spent in hitter-friendly Las Vegas in the PCL.  Despite never posting a minor league ERA under 5.25 or a WHIP under 1.6, Booker got a September call-up in 1983.  He went back-and-forth between San Diego and Las Vegas from 1984-1986.  He was almost exclusively a reliever in the majors, making only four career starts.  His major league numbers are substantially better than his minor league totals, although it should be noted that Booker never pitched as many as seventy innings in a major league season.  His only two full seasons in the majors were 1987-1988, and he pitched pretty well in those years, posting ERAs in the low threes and WHIPs around 1.35.  He did not pitch as well in 1989, was sent back to AAA in June.  In late June, his father-in-law traded him to Minnesota for Fred Toliver.  Most of his time with the Twins was in AAA, but he came up to the majors in September.  He appeared in six games and pitched 8.2 innings.  Had no record, giving up four runs on eleven hits for a 4.15 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.  The Twins allowed him to become a free agent and he signed with the Cubs, but he was released at the end of spring training.  He signed with the Giants for 1990 and was in AAA most of the year, playing in two major league games in late May.  That was the end of his playing career.  He has stayed in professional baseball since then, coaching in the Indians and Rockies organizations, and was the major league pitching coach for San Diego from 1997-2003.  He was the pitching coach of the Syracuse Chiefs in the International League from 2010-2013.  At last report, Greg Booker was a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  His son, Zach Booker, is on the roster for the AAA Norfolk Tides in the Baltimore organization, but has barely played since 2008, hasn't played at all since 2011, and is currently on the disabled list.  One source says he's their bullpen catcher and gets activated on occasions when the team is temporarily short-handed.

Infielder Luis Alberto Maza did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for several years.  Born and raised in Cumana, Venezuela, he signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1997.  Partly due to his age, Maza was in the low minors for several years, not reaching AA until 2004.  He hit .311 there that year and was promoted to AAA in 2005.  He had a bad year in Rochester in 2006, hitting only .207, and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with the Dodgers, played very well in the minors, and reached the majors in mid-May of 2008, staying for two months.  He hit only .228, however, and so far this has been Maza’s only time in the majors.  He hit .378 in Albuquerque that year, and followed it up with a .300 season last year.  When he did not get a call back to the big leagues, Maza again became a free agent, this time signing with Philadelphia.  He moved on to Houston in late June, but was released in early August.  He signed with Grosseto in the Italian Baseball League for 2011 and played for Rimini in that same league in 2012.  He did not play anywhere during the regular 2013 or 2014 seasons but continues to play winter ball in Venezuela.  It seems extremely unlikely that we'll ever see him in the majors again, but he's still playing, so I suppose it's not impossible.

June 21

Due to personal time constraints, this is a copy-and-paste from last year.  If you have updates, please include them below.

Matt Kilroy (1866)
Randy Moore (1906)
Harold Seymour (1910)
Ed Lopat (1918)
Merle Harmon (1926)
Jackie Collum (1927)
Charlie Moore (1953)
Rick Sutcliffe (1956)
Jay Pettibone (1957)
Donovan Osborne (1969)
Garrett Jones (1981)
Jeff Baker (1981)

Harold Seymour wrote a three-part History of Baseball, published from 1960-1990.

Merle Harmon broadcast Minnesota Twins games from 1967-1969.

Left-hander Jack Dean “Jackie” Collum pitched in eight games for the Twins in 1962.  He was born in Victor, Iowa and went to high school in Newburg, Iowa.  He signed with St. Louis as a free agent in 1946.  He was used as both a starter and a reliever in the minors and appears to have pitched pretty well in both roles.  He got cups of coffee in the majors in both 1951 and 1952, appearing in a total of five games for the Cardinals.  1953 was his first full season in the majors, but most of it was not spent in St. Louis, as Collum was traded to Cincinnati in late May.  He stuck with the Reds through 1955, making 31 starts and appearing in 98 games.  He did a good job, posting ERAs in the mid-threes.  He was traded back to St. Louis for 1956, and unfortunately things went downhill for him after that.  He did not do particularly well for the Cardinals, was traded to the Cubs after the season, pitched poorly, and was traded to Brooklyn in late May.  Most of his time with the Dodgers that year was spent in AAA, and he remained in AAA for the Dodgers through 1960.  He did fairly well there, but was traded to the Twins sometime afte the 1960 season “in an unknown transaction.”  He stayed in AAA in 1961 but had a strong season there in 1962, earning about three weeks with the Twins.  It did not go well, however; as a Twin, Jackie Collum was 0-2, 11.15 in 15.1 innings.  He appeared in eight games, three of them starts.  On August 20, he was traded to Cleveland with a player to be named later (Georges Miranda) and cash for Ruben Gomez.  He made one appearance with the Indians, and then his playing career was over.  He was a good hitter, batting .269 in the minors and .246 in the majors.  He occasionally played outfield in the minors as well as pitching.  After retiring from baseball, Collum became the owner of the Pioneer Oil Company in Grinnell, Iowa.  Jackie Collum passed away on August 29, 2009 in Grinnell.

Right-hander Harry Jonathan ”Jay” Pettibone made four starts for the Twins in 1983.  He was born in Mount Clemens, Michigan, attended Chapman University of Orange, California, one of seven major leaguers to have attended that school.  He was drafted by Texas in the thirtieth round in 1979.  He was in the minors with the Rangers for two ineffective years, not rising above Class A, and was released in December of 1980.  The Twins signed him in February of 1981 and sent him to Class A Visalia, where he went 14-8, although with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP.  He had a good year in Visalia in 1982 and a half-way decent year in AA Orlando in 1983, earning a September call-up in the latter season.  His first game was a complete game 3-1 loss, but he did not pitch well in the other three starts.  He was 0-4, 5.33 with a WHIP of 1.33 in 27 innings.  Pettibone was back in the minors in 1984 and did not pitch particularly well.  After the season, he was the player to be named later in the deal that brought Chris Speier to the Twins from St. Louis for a month and a half in 1984.  He did not pitch in the Cardinals organization, however; his playing career ended after the 1984 campaign.  He auditioned for a job as a replacement player in 1995, and was working as a special agent in the Treasury Department at that time.  At last report, Jay Pettibone was working for the Department of Homeland Security as a special agent, although I'm not sure if we're supposed to know that, so just forget it.  His son, Jonathan Pettibone, is a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Outfielder/first baseman Garrett Thomas Jones had three stints with the Twins in 2007, totaling about two and a half months.  He was born in Harvey, Illinois, went to high school in Tinley Park, Illinois.  He was drafted by Atlanta in the fourteenth round in 1999.  He was in rookie ball for three years, did not do a whole lot (although he did hit .289 in 2001), and was released in May of 2002.  Minnesota signed him three days later and sent him to Class A Quad Cities.  He hit for low averages for two years in Class A, but he began to develop some power, and finally in 2004 in AA New Britain he put things together.  He hit .311 that season with 30 home runs.  He spent almost all of the next four seasons at AAA Rochester, hitting over 20 homers three of those years and posting an OPS over .800 the last two.  He appeared in 31 games for the Twins in 2007, twelve of them at DH, eight at first base, six in the outfield, and five as a pinch-hitter.  He hit .208/.262/.338 in 77 at-bats.  Jones was allowed to become a free agent after the 2008 season and signed with Pittsburgh.  He started the season in AAA but came up on July 1 and was a regular for the Pirates, although at three different positions (right field, first base, and left field).  Surprisingly, he did very well, hitting .293 with 21 homers, posting an OPS of .938, and finishing seventh in Rookie of the Year voting.  He continued to play regularly for the Pirates in 2010, but failed to match his 2009 totals.  2011 turned out to be much more similar to 2010 than 2009 and he found himself being platooned, although as a left-handed batter he still got the bulk of the playing time.  He was still platooned some in 2012, but came back to have a better season.  He had a down year in 2013 and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with Miami and was okay, but nothing special.  He was traded to the Yankees during the off-season, has been used as a role player, and frankly hasn't done a whole lot for them.  He turns thirty-four today, and one has to think he may be nearing the end of his career.  If so, though, it's a very respectable career for someone who got started that late.

June 20

Due to personal time constraints, this is a copy-and-paste from last year.  Feel free to include updates below.

Ned Cuthbert (1845)
Jim Delahanty (1879)
Cum Posey (1890)
Billy Werber (1908)
Andy Etchebarren (1943)
Dave Nelson (1944)
Paul Beeston (1945)
Dickie Thon (1958)
Doug Gwosdz (1960)
Juan Castro (1972)
Paul Bako (1972)
Carlos Lee (1976)
Kevin Gregg (1978)
Kendrys Morales (1983)

Cum Posey, played for, managed, and owned the Homestead Grays in the Negro National League.

Paul Beeston has been president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays from 1989-1997 and since 2010.

Infielder Juan Gabriel Castro played for the Twins in 2005 and the first part of 2006.  Born and raised in Los Mochis, Mexico, Castro signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1991.  He had decent batting averages in the minors, but did not walk very much nor did he show much power.  He gained a reputation as a fine fielder, however, and made his major league debut as a September call-up in 1995.  He spent the next two years going back and forth between Albuquerque and Los Angeles, putting up good numbers in the minors but bad numbers in the majors, where he was used as a utility player.  He got his first full season in the majors in 1998, again as a utility player, and hit only .195 with an OPS of .499.  He was back in AAA for almost all of 1999 and then was traded to Cincinnati.  He started 2000 in AAA but was back in the majors in late April and remained with the Reds through 2004, again as a utility infielder.  He continued to not hit very well– his best year was 2003, when he hit .253 with nine homers for an OPS of .678.  Castro became a free agent after the 2004 campaign and signed with Minnesota.  As a Twin, he basically was what he was–a weak hitter with a reputation as a good fielder.  He hit .248/.271/.357 in 428 at-bats.  He stayed with Minnesota until mid-June of 2006, when he was traded to Cincinnati for Brandon Roberts.  He had a good rest-of-2006 for the Reds, but did little in 2007 and was released in early May of 2008.  He signed with the Rockies, played in AAA there for two and a half months, then was traded to Baltimore.  He was with the Dodgers in 2009, moved on to Philadelphia for 2010, was released in mid-July, and signed with the Dodgers again.  He was still with the Dodgers in 2011, but spent most of the season in the minors and retired on July 10.  Upon his retirement, Juan Castro was named a special assistant for player personnel for the Dodgers.  This season, he is the Dodgers' minor league infield coordinator.

First baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales was with the Twins for about six weeks in 2014.  He was born in Fomento, Cuba.  He played in Cuba through 2003, then defected, established residency in the Dominican Republic, and was signed by the Angels in December of 2004.  His name was incorrectly listed as "Kendry", a mistake he lived with until prior to the 2011 season.  He started 2005 in Class A and quickly proved he was too good to be there, being promoted to AA after twenty-two games.  He started 2006 in AAA but spent half the season in the majors, making his debut in late May.  He went back and forth between AAA and the majors through the 2008 season before coming up to stay in 2009.  He had a fine season, finishing fifth in MVP voting, and was having another solid year in 2010 when he broke his leg stepping on home plate following a walkoff grand slam on May 29.  He missed the rest of that season and all of 2011.  He came back in 2012 and was again a good player, although perhaps not quite as good as he had been before his injury.  After the season he was traded to Seattle for Jason Vargas.  He spent 2013 with the Mariners and again put up solid numbers.  He became a free agent after the season and went unsigned until early June, when he signed with Minnesota.  He hit poorly and was traded back to Seattle in late July for Stephen Pryor.  He was a free agent after the season and it looked like he might be done, but he signed with Kansas City and is once again hitting well.  It's unclear what happened to him in 2014, but whatever it was is obviously gone now.  As a Twin, he hit .234/.259/.325 in 154 at-bats.  For his career, he has hit .272/.326/.459.  He turns thirty-two today.  It's hard to know how well he might age, but as of now, Kendrys Morales is a solid major-league batter.

June 19

Due to personal time constraints, this is a copy-and-paste from last year.  If you know of any updates, please include them below.

Eddie Cicotte (1884)
Lou Gehrig (1903)
Bill Swift (1908)
Don Gutteridge (1912)
Archie Ware (1918)
Chet Boak (1935)
Bob Aspromonte (1938)
Isao Harimoto (1940)
Jerry Reuss (1949)
Duane Kuiper (1950)
Jim Slaton (1950)
Johnnie LeMaster (1954)
Doug Mientkiewicz (1974)
Alex Prieto (1976)
Dustan Mohr (1976)
Bruce Chen (1977)

Archie Ware was a star first baseman in the Negro Leagues.

Infielder Chet Boak played for the Twins’ AAA affiliate, the Syracuse Chiefs, in 1961, but does not appear to have actually been a part of the Twins’ organization, as records show him belonging to the expansion Washington Senators. One assumes he was loaned to the Twins’ for part of that season.

Isao Harimoto is the only person to have 3,000 hits in Japanese baseball.

First baseman Douglas Andrew Mientkiewicz played for the Twins in all or part of seven seasons. He was born in Toledo, went to high school in Miami, and attended Florida State. He then was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 1995. He started slowly but had a big year in New Britain in 1998, batting .323 with 16 home runs. That resulted in a September call-up, and in 1999 he started the season as the Twins’ regular first baseman, startling people who had expected David Ortiz to get the job. He hit well in April but did not do much after that, gradually losing playing time to Ron Coomer. In 2000 he had another big year in the minors, hitting .334 with 18 homers in Salt Lake and getting another September call-up. He also played on the gold medal U. S. Olympic team that year. He regained the regular first base job with the Twins in 2001 and held it through July of 2004. His best year as a Twin was 2001, when he hit .306 with 15 homers and finished fourteenth in MVP voting. He also won the Gold Glove that year, which despite his reputation as a tremendous defensive player was the only time he ever won that award. He had a bad year in 2004 and was traded to Boston at the end of July in a four-team traded that netted the Twins Justin Jones from the Cubs (Orlando Cabrera was also involved in the trade). He was a part-time first baseman for the Red Sox the rest of the season, winning a World Championship ring. He then started bouncing around, playing for the Mets in 2005, Kansas City in 2006, the Yankees in 2007, and Pittsburgh in 2008. For most of those years, he was basically what he had been, a good defensive first baseman who hit for a decent average, drew some walks, and had moderate power. Mientkiewicz signed with the Dodgers for 2009 but was injured much of the season. The Dodgers released him at the end of 2010 spring training and he went unsigned until early May, when he hooked on with the Marlins. He was in AAA for about two weeks, but opted out of his contract after playing in only four games. As a Twin, he hit .275/.367/.408 in 2,147 at-bats. Doug Mientkiewicz eventually went into coaching, and is currently the manager of the Chattanooga Lookouts.

Infielder Alejandro Antonio Prieto appeared in 24 games for the Twins in 2003-2004. Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, he was signed as a free agent by Kansas City in 1992 at age 16. He was in the low levels of the minors for five seasons before getting a promotion to AA in 1998. Prieto had little power, but hit for a decent average and drew a decent number of walks. He was primarily a shortstop but saw some time at second and third and played a few games in the outfield. He did fairly well in his second year of AA in 1999, and so moved up to AAA for 2000. He did well his second year there, 2001, as well, but after that he became a minor league free agent and signed with Minnesota. He was a consistent batter for Rochester, neither particularly good nor particularly bad. Prieto got a couple of stints in the majors with the Twins, the only big league playing time he got. In 2003 he was with the Twins for about a month, going 1-for-11. In 2004 he was there for about five weeks, going 8-for-32. Put it all together, and you have a line of .209/.255/.302 in 43 at-bats. He became a free agent after the 2004 season and spent three more years in the minors. He signed with the Philadelphia organization for 2005, was traded to the Kansas City system in late April, stayed there for 2006, and moved on the Red Sox’ chain for 2007, playing in AAA there until his release in late August. He then played in the independent Atlantic League in 2008 and 2009. He played for four independent teams in 2010, then his playing career came to an end. It appears that Alex Prieto has moved back to his native Caracas, but this could not be confirmed.

Outfielder Dustan Kyle Mohr played for the Twins for two-plus years in the early part of the decade of the 2000s. Born and raised in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, he attended the University of Alabama and was drafted by Cleveland in the ninth round in 1997. His minor league numbers were fairly good but not all that impressive, and the Indians released him in late March of 2000. The Twins signed him, and in 2001 he hit .336 with 24 homers for AA New Britain. That got people’s attention, and he was called up to the big leagues in late August of that season and stuck for a few years. He was a semi-regular outfielder for the Twins in 2002 and 2003, playing mostly in right. He mostly shared the position with Bobby Kielty. He was decent–Mohr finished eighth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2002. In mid-season of 2003, however, the Twins traded for Shannon Stewart, making Mohr expendable. He was traded after the season to San Francisco for a player to be named later (J. T. Thomas). As a Twin, he hit .258/.319/.408 in 782 at-bats. He hit well for the Giants in 2004 as a fourth outfielder, but was allowed to become a free agent and signed with Colorado. He was again a reserve outfielder, but hit only .214, and his big league career was nearing its close. He was with Boston and Detroit in 2006 and Tampa Bay in 2007, but was in the minors most of that time, getting only forty at-bats with the Red Sox and sixteen with the Devil Rays. He was with Colorado Springs in the Rockies organization for a month in 2008 then played for the independent Wichita Wingnuts the rest of 2008 and 2009. He played for the independent Long Island Ducks in 2010, then his career came to an end. At last report, Dustan Mohr had gone into the insurance business and was a regional vice president for One Resource Group in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area.