August 21

Frank Isbell (1875)
Murray Dickson (1916)
Gerry Staley (1920)
Jim Beauchamp (1939)
Felix Millan (1943)
John Ellis (1948)
John Stearns (1951)
Frank Pastore (1957)
John Wetteland (1966)
Mike Misuraca (1968)
Craig Counsell (1970)
Ismael Valdez (1973)
Akili Smith (1975)
Jason Marquis (1978)
Jesse Chavez (1983)
Melvin Upton (1984)
Ehire Adrianza (1989)

Akili Smith, better known as an NFL quarterback, played for three seasons in the Pittsburgh organization, reaching AA.

Right-hander Frank Enrico Pastore pitched for the Twins in 1986.  He was born in Alhambra, California, went to high school in La Verne, California, and was drafted in the second round by Cincinnati in 1975, Pastore pitched well at every stop along the way in the minors, and made the Reds at the beginning of 1979. He pitched mostly out of the bullpen that year, but became a solid member of the rotation in 1980. That was his best year: he went 13-7 with an ERA of 3.27 in 27 starts. He pitched well in 1981 and 1982, but started to slip after that, and also apparently started to have injury problems. He was primarily a reliever in 1985, became a free agent, and signed with the Twins in April of 1986. The Twins ran through a lot of relief pitchers that year, and Pastore was actually one of the better ones they had: in 33 games, he was 3-1 with a 4.01 ERA and 2 saves, but walked 24 in 49.1 innings and had a WHIP of 1.58. He again became a free agent after the season, and signed with the Texas Rangers, but pitched poorly for AAA Oklahoma City and his career was over. After baseball, Frank Pastore went back to school and obtained degrees in business administration, philosophy of religion and ethics, political philosophy, and American government. He became the host of a radio program, The Frank Pastore Show, which was described by wikipedia as the largest Christian talk show in the United States.  Sadly, Frank Pastore passed away December 17, 2012 as a result of injuries following a motorcycle accident.

Right-hander Michael William Misuraca did not play for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for over seven years.  He was born in Long Beach, California and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1988.  A starter for most of his career, he pitched fairly well in the low minors, but never well enough to attract anyone’s attention.  He reached Class A in 1989, but did not advance past there until 1993, when he finally got to AA Nashville.  He reached AAA in 1994, but did not pitch well in Salt Lake, posting ERAs over five each season there.  He was sent to Milwaukee in a conditional deal in June of 1996 and sent to AAA New Orleans.  He did not pitch any better in AAA for the Brewers, but was brought up to the majors for about three weeks in 1997.  It did not go well:  in five appearances (10.1 innings), he put up an ERA of 11.32 and a WHIP of 2.13, allowing five home runs.  His playing career came to an end after that season.  He may not have been in the big leagues for long, but as an undrafted free agent, he beat the odds to get there at all.  He has stayed in baseball, and at last report was the supervisor of scouting in the greater Los Angeles area for the Cincinnati Reds.

Right-hander Jason Scott Marquis made seven starts for the Twins at the beginning of 2012.  He was born in Manhasset, New York, went to high school in Staten Island, and was drafted by Atlanta in the first round in 1996.  He advanced slowly, mostly because he really didn’t pitch all that well.  he had a good year in AA in 2000, though, and ended up spending nearly half the season in the majors.  2001 was his first full year in the majors and was one of his best years there.  He started in the bullpen, but made the rotation by mid-June and ended up posting a 3.48 ERA.  He came nowhere near those numbers in 2002 and was back in the minors for about half of 2003.  That off-season he was traded to St. Louis.  He had a fine year for the Cardinals in 2004, going 15-7, 3.71, though with a WHIP of 1.42.  He was still pretty good in 2005 but had a terrible 2006, leading the league in earned runs allowed and home runs allowed.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with the Cubs.  He was adequate for the Cubs for two seasons, then was traded to Colorado before the 2009 season.  Given that he was pitching in Coors Field, he actually had a pretty good year for the Rockies, but became a free agent again and signed with Washington.  He was on the disabled list much of 2010 and was pretty awful when he did pitch, but he bounced back in 2011 and was having a decent season when he was traded to Arizona at the deadline.  He again was injured and was awful in the three starts he did make for the Diamondbacks.  A free agent again, he signed with Minnesota for 2012.  It was hoped he would bring a veteran presence to the rotation, but his time with the Twins was a disaster:  2-4, 8.47, 1.94 WHIP in 34 innings.  He was released in late May and signed with San Diego the next day.  He was actually fairly good with the Padres the rest of the season and was adequate in 2013 as well, although he issued a lot of walks.  A free agent after that season, he did not sign for 2014 until early June, when he signed with Philadelphia and made nine minor league starts.  Once again a free agent, he signed with Cincinnati for 2015 and made the team, but was pretty bad in nine starts and was released in June.  He pitched for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic in 2017 and said last spring that he was still interested in playing professional baseball.  It appears, though, that no professional baseball team is interested in having him play, as he has not signed with anyone.  It is probably time for Jason Marquis to decide what the next phase of his life is going to be.

Infielder Ehire Enrique Adrianza came to the Twins in 2017.  He was born in Guarenas, Venezuela and was signed by the Giants as a free agent in 2006.  He spent two years in the Dominican Summer League and was apparently injured for much of 2008, as he played in only eighteen games.  He reached class A in 2009, AA in 2012, and AAA in 2013.  He had a strong year in AAA in 2013, batting .310 with an OPS of .851, and got a September call-up that season.  He spent about half of each season with the Giants from 2014-16, playing mostly second base and shortstop.  He was a reserve most of that time and batted like one, batting .220/.292/.313 for the Giants.  They waived him at the end of January of 2017 and he was claimed by Milwaukee.  A week later Milwaukee waived him and he was claimed by Minnesota.  He started 2017 in AAA but came up in early May and has stayed there.  He's had his best major league season so far, batting .283/.336/.374 in 99 at-bats.  He turns twenty-eight today.  He'll never be a star, and absent injuries will probably never be a regular.  But the Twins seem to like him, and there are worse guys you could have as a utility infielder.  Ehire Adrianza might yet have a decent major league career.

August 20

Al Lopez (1908)

Fred Norman (1942)
Graig Nettles (1944)
Bobby Cuellar (1952)
Tom Brunansky (1960)
Mark Langston (1960)

Andy Benes (1967)

Todd Helton (1973)

Matt Hague (1985)

Third baseman Graig Nettles played for the Twins in parts of seasons from 1967-1969.  Born and raised in San Diego, he was drafted by the Twins out of San Diego State in the fourth round in 1965. He showed instant power, hitting 69 home runs in three minor league seasons. He made his debut with Minnesota as a September callup in 1967 and reached the big leagues for good in 1969, his first full season, when he was a part-time player with the Twins. Nettles played more outfield than third base as a Twin, which seems surprising until one remembers that Harmon Killebrew was the Twins’ third baseman at the time. Nettles did not do a lot in 1969, and the Twins were trying to win now, so they traded him, along with Dean Chance, Bob Miller, and Ted Uhlaender, to Cleveland for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams. Tiant and Williams helped the Twins win the division in 1970, but after that the trade does not look so good for Minnesota. On the other hand, how does it look for Cleveland? After Nettles put up three solid seasons for the Indians, hitting a total of 71 homers and getting a tenth-place vote for MVP in 1971, Cleveland traded him to the Yankees with Jerry Moses for John Ellis, Jerry Kenney, Charlie Spikes, and Rusty Torres. New York, of course, is where Nettles became a star. He hit over 20 homers in each of his first seven seasons for the Yankees, twice hitting over 30; drove in over 90 runs four times, made the all-star team five times, and won a pair of Gold Gloves. At the end of 1984, the Yankees traded Nettles to San Diego, a trade many said was prompted by the release of a book Nettles wrote in which he was critical of George Steinbrenner. In San Diego, he became the starting third baseman for the Padres’ World Series team. He made the all-star team the next year, at age 40, but it was his last productive season. After the 1986 season, the Padres let Nettles go, and he spent 1987 with Atlanta and 1988 with Montreal, mostly as a pinch-hitter. As a Twin, Graig Nettles hit .224/.314/.401 with 12 homers and 34 RBIs in 304 at-bats. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007, but had surgery and at last report was cancer-free. Nettles is a spring training instructor for the Yankees. At last report, he was living in Lenoir City, Tennessee, just outside Knoxville, but also traveled frequently.

Robert Cuellar never pitched for the Twins, but has been a minor league pitching coach and manager for them for several years.  He was born in Alice, Texas, and was drafted out of the University of Texas by the Rangers in the 29th round in 1974.  Cuellar pitched well in relief for eight years in the minors, five of them at AAA. He posted a minor-league ERA of 3.06 during this time, with a AAA ERA of 3.20, but never really got a chance in the majors. Cuellar’s only time in the big leagues was as a September call-up in 1977; he gave up only one run and four hits in 6.2 innings spread over four games, for an ERA of 1.35. He left the Rangers organization after the 1978 season, playing three years for the Cleveland organization and one year in the Mexican League. After his playing career ended in 1982, he turned to coaching. He has been a minor league coach, minor league manager, and major league coach, including serving as the pitching coach for Seattle and Montreal and as the bullpen coach for Pittsburgh. For the Twins, Cuellar was the pitching coach for the Rochester Red Wings from 2003-2005, managed the New Britain Rock Cats in 2008, and returned to the Red Wings as their pitching coach in 2009-2012. Among the minor leaguers Cuellar has coached are Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana, both of whom credit Cuellar for teaching them the changeup.  Bobby Cuellar was the bullpen coach of the Minnesota Twins from 2013-2014.  He has been a minor league pitching coach in the Dodgers organization since then, serving as the pitching coach of the Ogden Raptors in 2017.

The brother-in-law of Dave Engle, outfielder Thomas Andrew Brunansky played for the Twins from 1982 through the first part of 1988.  He was born in Covina, California, went to high school in West Covina, California, attended Cal Poly–Pomona, and was drafted by the California Angels with the 14th pick of the 1978 draft. He hit well in his four minor league seasons, average more than 20 homers and hitting over .300. He made the Angels out of spring training in 1981, but hit .152 over 41 at-bats and was returned to the minors. He started 1982 in the minors, but in May was traded with Mike Walters to the Twins for Doug Corbett and Rob Wilfong. The Twins immediately installed him in their outfield, and Brunansky had what was arguably his best season, batting .272 with 20 homers. He never hit for as high an average again, but his power numbers increased, as he hit over 20 homers each year through 1989. After winning the World Series in 1987, the Twins got off to a slow start in 1988, and Brunansky was traded to St. Louis for Tom Herr in what even Andy McPhail would later admit was a panic move. Brunansky continued to be a solid player, but his low-average slugging did not really fit with the Cardinals running style, and after a poor start in 1990 he was traded to Boston for Lee Smith. He was a productive player for the Red Sox through 1992, went to Milwaukee as a free agent in 1993, and returned to the Red Sox in June of 1994 to finish his career. As a Twin, Tom Brunansky batted .250/.330/.452 with 163 homers and 469 RBIs in what works out to be about six full seasons, and holds the distinction of being the only Twin to hit an inside-the-park grand slam. Brunansky is coached high school baseball in Poway, California.  He became the batting coach for the GCL Twins in late June of 2010, was the batting coach for the New Britain Rock Cats in 2011, was the batting coach for the Rochester Red Wings in 2012, and was the batting coach for the Minnesota Twins from 2013-16.  He does not appear to be working in baseball in 2017, but rather is making personal appearances and enjoying some time off.

First baseman Matthew Donald Hague has not played for the Twins yet, but has been in Rochester in 2017.  He was born in Bellevue, Washington, went to high school in Covington, Washington, and attended both the University of Washington and Oklahoma State University.  He was drafted by Pittsburgh in the ninth round in 2008.  He hit well in the minors, posting high doubles totals and hitting some but not a lot of home runs.  He reached AA in 2010, AAA in 2011, and made it to the majors in 2012.  He was with the Pirates most of the first half of the season as a reserve first baseman but got only seventy at-bats, being frequently used as a pinch-hitter.  He didn't do particularly well, batting .229 with an OPS of .527.  He went back to AAA and continued to hit well, but did not get to the majors at all in 2013 and got only two big-league at-bats in 2014.  He was waived in mid-August of 2014 and was chosen by Toronto.  He had an outstanding year with AAA Buffalo and got a September call-up, but got only twelve at-bats.  He went to Japan in 2016 and came back to the United States in 2017, signing with Minnesota.  The Twins have kept him in Rochester all year, where he is batting .296/.375/.408 at this writing.  His major league stats are .226/.286/.262 in 84 at-bats.  Being a first baseman without home run power has undoubtedly hurt him, but in 2779 AAA at-bats he has hit .301/.377/.429.  It seems like he could've helped someone if he'd been given the chance, but he turns thirty-two today, so it's doubtful that chance will ever come.

August 19

Bobby Richardson (1935)

Fred Lasher (1941)

Mike Phillips (1950)

Luis Gomez (1951)

Tim Blackwell (1952)

Ned Yost (1955)

Ron Roenicke (1956)

David Palmer (1957)

Gary Gaetti (1958)

Ron Darling (1960)

Woody Williams (1966)

Rob Augustine (1970)

Chris Capuano (1978)

J. J. Hardy (1982)

Rob Augustine played for a couple of years in the Cleveland organization, never rising above Class A.  He was (and maybe still is) an assistant baseball coach at Dakota Valley High School in my former home of North Sioux City.  Happy birthday, Rob.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to strategery.

Right-handed reliever Frederick Walter Lasher appeared in eleven games for the Twins in 1963.  He was born in Poughkeepsie, New York and was signed by Washington as a free agent in 1960. A submariner, he had problems with wildness in his first couple of years in the minors, but gradually improved, although he never had what you would call pinpoint control. Lasher made the Twins out of spring training in 1963, jumping all the way from Bismarck-Mandan in the Class C Northern League. He was used as a relief pitcher, which had been his primary role in the minors as well, but his wildness returned–Lasher walked 11 in 11.1 innings with the Twins. Sent back to the minors, he did well in 1965 and 1966, but as a 23-24-year-old in Class A. After the 1966 season, he was selected by Detroit in the minor-league draft. The Tigers must have helped Lasher figure something out, because his control improved and he became an effective reliever for the Tigers from 1967-69. His control vanished again in 1970, however, and this time it was gone for good. The Tigers traded him to Cleveland midway through the 1970 season, and California selected him in the Rule 5 draft, but by 1971 he was finished. As a Twin, he had no record and a 4.76 ERA, but for his career he was 11-13 with 22 saves and an ERA of 3.88. After leaving baseball, Lasher operated a drywall company and served as a recreation therapist for youth with drug and alcohol problems in Merrillan, Wisconsin, where he still lived at last report.

Shortstop Luis (Sanchez) Gomez played for the Twins periodically from 1974-1977.  He was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and was drafted by the Twins in the seventh round in 1973 out of UCLA, where he had played freshman basketball on the same team as Bill Walton.  He was the first Mexican native selected in the major league baseball amateur draft.  He hit very little in the minors, but made his major league debut with Minnesota in April of 1974, where he continued to not hit. He spent part of 1974, all of 1975, and parts of 1976 and 1977 with the Twins, playing for AAA Tacoma the rest of the time.  In 1975, he set a record with 89 games played without an extra-base hit, a record which still stands.  Gomez’ best year was 1977, when he hit .285 for Tacoma and .246 for the Twins in 65 at-bats. The Twins let him go after that year, and he signed with Toronto and was their regular shortstop in 1978, his only year as a starter. Gomez continued not hitting, became a part-time player in 1979, and was traded that off-season along with Chris Chambliss to Atlanta, where he became a member of the LDS church due to the influence of Dale Murphy. He was a semi-regular for the Braves in 1980 and played sparingly in 1981. He was released at the end of spring training in 1982, and did not return to organized baseball. Gomez’ career OPS was .500, the lowest of any non-pitcher with as many plate appearances since Bill Bergen retired in 1911. As a Twin, Gomez had 362 at-bats, and hit .199/.246/.211 with no homers and 22 RBIs.  He did not hit a home run in either the majors or the minors (1,781 at-bats).  No information about Luis Gomez’ current life is readily available.

Third baseman Gary Joseph Gaetti played for the Twins from 1981-1990.  Born and raised in Centralia, Illinois, he was drafted by the Twins out of Northwest Missouri State University with the 11th pick in the 1979 June Secondary draft. He did not hit for a high average in the minors, but showed good power, which was basically true for much of his major league career as well. After a September callup in 1981, Gaetti became the Twins’ regular third baseman in 1982, a position he held through 1990. He averaged 27 homers a season from 1982-1988, a figure which would be higher if you threw out the 1984 season, when for some reason he only hit 5. Gaetti’s best season as a Twin was 1988, when he hit .301 with 28 homers and 88 RBIs. He started to decline after that, and became a free agent after the 1990 season. He signed with California, played two-plus years for the Angels, and was released in June of 1993. Signed by Kansas City, Gaetti resurrected his career in his mid-30s, hitting 35 home runs for the Royals in 1995. He became a free agent again after that season, and signed with the Cardinals, where he was a productive player for two and a half years. Released by the St. Louis in August of 1998, Gaetti signed with the Cubs and helped them with their playoff push, hitting .320 in 37 games. That was his last hurrah, however, as he batted only .204 for the Cubs in 1999, and went 0-for-10 for Boston in 2000, at which point he retired. Gaetti hit 360 home runs in a 20 year career. As a Twin, he batted .256 with 201 homers and 758 RBIs and won four Gold Gloves. Gaetti was placed in the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2007. After retiring, he served as the hitting coach for the Houston Astros and the Durham Bulls.  He became the manager of the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League in 2012, a job he currently holds.

Shortstop James Jerry “J. J.” Hardy played for the Twins in 2010.  Born and raised in Tucson, he was drafted by Milwaukee in the second round in 2001.  His early minor league numbers are not that strong, probably due to his age.  He began to develop in 2003, hitting .279 with twelve homers in AA Huntsville.  Hardy was apparently injured much of 2004, as he got only 101 at-bats in AAA.  Healthy in 2005, he made the Brewers out of spring training and was their starting shortstop that season.  He was again injured in 2006, he came back strong in 2007 and had back-to-back solid seasons, averaging .280 with 25 home runs in those two years.  He slumped in 2009, hitting just .229 with 11 homers and spending some time in AAA.  After that season, he was traded to Minnesota for Carlos Gomez.  He battled injuries again in 2010, but was solid defensively and not bad offensively when healthy.  Hardy’s numbers as a Twin were .269/.320/.394 in 340 at-bats.  Still, the Twins didn't seem to like him, and so after the season Hardy was traded with Brendan Harris and cash to Baltimore for Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey.  Hardy responded with one of the best seasons of his career, batting .269 with a career high 30 home runs.  He had a down year in 2012, hitting only .238 (although he did hit 22 homers and won a Gold Glove).  He did substantially better in 2013, batting .263 with 25 homers at this writing and making his second all-star team, winning his second Gold Glove, and winning his first Silver Slugger.  His homers were down in 2014 and everything was down in 2015, as he had easily his worst year in the majors.  His batting average bounced back in 2016, but it went back down in 2017, and the power appears to be gone for good.  He remained the Orioles' regular shortstop through the middle of June, when he went on the disabled list, from which he has not yet returned.  He turns thirty-five today.  What we said last year still applies.  He's a fine defensive player, and that gives him a little more leeway, but one suspects his years as a starting shortstop may be near their end.

August 18

Sam Wise (1857)

Wally Gerber (1891)

Burleigh Grimes (1893)

Bernie Friberg (1899)

Max Lanier (1915)

Bob Kennedy (1920)

Roberto Clemente (1934)

Billy Consolo (1934)

Joe Azcue (1939)

Paul Popovich (1940)

Bucky Guth (1947)

Bruce Benedict (1955)

Mike LaValliere (1960)

Jack Howell (1961)

Marcus Lawton (1965)

Bobby Higginson (1970)

Albie Lopez (1971)

Marcus Lawton is the brother of Matt Lawton.  He played in ten games for the Yankees in 1989.

I am annually saddened that there has never been a major league player named Ham Fast.

Infielder William Angelo Consolo was one of the original Minnesota Twins, playing in eleven games for them in 1961.  He was born in Cleveland, went to high school in Los Angeles, and was drafted by Boston as a bonus baby in 1953, meaning he was required by rule to be on the big league club for all of 1953 and 1954. The amount of cash he received was actually under the limit, but part of the deal was that the Red Sox purchased the barber shop at the Los Angeles Hilton for his father, a professional barber. Consolo was first used primarily as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement, but later saw more playing time, getting 242 at-bats (his career high) in 1954. He spent nearly all of 1955 at AAA, but was back with the Red Sox in 1956 and achieved one of the odder lines you’ll find: 48 games, 11 at-bats, 2 hits, 13 runs. Consolo worked his way up to part-time status in 1957, but was back to being a pinch-runner/defensive replacement in 1958 and the first part of 1959 before being traded in June to the then Washington Senators for Herb Plews. He saw part-time duty for the Senators the rest of 1959 and in 1960, but was back to pinch-runner/defensive replacement at the start of 1961 before being traded to Milwaukee on June 1 for Billy Martin. As a member of the Washington/Minnesota franchise, Consolo played in 190 games, batted 381 times, and hit .207/.318/.281 with 3 homers and 25 RBIs. Strictly as a Minnesota Twin, he played in 11 games and was 0-for-5. Consolo was in the minors the rest of that year, then was taken by Philadelphia in the Rule 5 draft. In May of 1962 he was purchased by the Angels, and then was selected off waivers by Kansas City in June. The Athletics released him at the end of the season, and his playing career ended.  Given how seldom he played while on a major league roster, it’s odd that he was never given extended time in the minors to see if he could develop. Consolo left baseball for a while, becoming a barber in Los Angeles. He came back to baseball in 1979, serving as a coach for the Tigers from 1979-1992 and again in 1995. Billy Consolo passed away on March 27, 2008 in Westlake Village, California, at the age of 73.

Infielder Charles Henry “Bucky” Guth had three at-bats for the Twins in 1972.  He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, attended the University of West Virginia, and was drafted by the Braves in the twentieth round in 1969.  Baseball-reference.com says that in June of 1970 he was “sent from the Atlanta Braves to the Minnesota Twins in an unknown transaction.”  Sadly, despite his awesome name, Bucky Guth was not particularly good. He was never much of a batter, either for average or power–his “best” year in the minors was 1971, when he batted .272/.336/.373 with 8 homers and 53 RBIs for AA Charlotte. The next year he batted .218 for AAA Tacoma, but was still given a September call-up, wearing number 27.  Bucky Guth appeared in three games, twice being used as a pinch-runner and once starting at shortstop. He went 0-for-3, but reached on an error, scored a run, and fielded all four chances flawlessly. He spent 1973 in Tacoma, but was out of baseball after that. No information about Bucky Guth’s post-baseball life is readily available.

August 17

Johnny Rawlings (1892)

Rudy York (1913)

Donald Honig (1931)

Jim Davenport (1933)

John Buzhardt (1936)

Diego Segui (1937)

Boog Powell (1941)

Ron Boyer (1944)

Skip Lockwood (1946)

Butch Hobson (1951)

Alex Cole (1965)

Jorge Posada (1971)

Mike Maroth (1977)

Brett Myers (1980)

Dustin Pedroia (1983)

Author Donald Honig has written nearly forty books about baseball.

Ron Boyer is the brother of Clete Boyer and Ken Boyer. He played in the Yankees’ farm system for eight years, reaching AAA.

Outfielder Alexander Cole played for the Twins in 1994-1995.  He was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, attended Manatee Community College of Bradenton, Florida, and was taken by St. Louis in the second round of the 1985 January draft. A speedy singles hitter with no power at all, he didn’t hit enough singles to really establish himself after getting to AAA in 1986. Cole moved around a few times in AAA–he did not hit enough to make the team he was with want to keep him, but he was so fast that there was always someone who wanted him. Traded from St. Louis to San Diego to Cleveland, Cole made his debut with the Indians in July of 1990. He posted good batting averages as a part-time player in 1990 and 1991, but after a poor start in 1992 he was traded to Pittsburgh. After the 1992 season, the Colorado Rockies selected Cole in the expansion draft. He played for the Rockies in 1993, but hit only .256 as a semi-regular center fielder and became a free agent.  He was signed by the Twins at the start of spring training in 1994 and stayed in Minnesota for two years. Cole did well as a part-time player for the Twins in 1994, hitting .296 with an OBP of .375.  Unfortunately, he was injured much of 1995 and became a free agent after that season.  He hit , batting .304 with a .381 OBP in 424 at-bats. He again became a free agent after the 1995 season and signed with Boston for 1996, his last year in the big-leagues. Cole was in the Marlins organization for part of 1997 and then spent a few years playing independent ball before calling it a career after the 2001 season. Sadly, life after baseball does not seem to have gone well for him: in 2002, Cole was sentenced to 18 months in prison possession of heroin with the intent to distribute, and in 2006, a $30,000 judgment was entered against him for running up credit card bills under someone else’s name.  No information about Alex Cole’s recent years is readily available; it’s to be hoped that this is a good thing, and that he has his life straightened out now.

Left-hander Michael Warren Maroth did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 2010.  Born and raised in Orlando, Florida, he attended the University of Central Florida and was drafted by Boston in the third round in 1998.  He showed some promise in the Red Sox’ system, but was traded to Detroit at the July, 1999 deadline for Bryce Florie.  He struggled in the Tigers’ system until 2002, when he went 8-1, 2.82 in eleven starts for AAA Toledo.  He made his big league debut that season, making 21 starts for the Tigers and not pitching too badly.  The next year, 2003, Detroit made a serious run at having the worst record in the history of baseball, and Maroth became a symbol of their futility, losing 21 games.  He was not that horrible, but he wasn’t all that good, either, posting an ERA of 5.73 and a WHIP of 1.45.  He was in the rotation for two more seasons and was fairly average.  He was off to a good start in 2006 but was injured, missing most of the year.  He was back in the rotation in 2007 but did not pitch well and was traded to St. Louis in June.  He did worse there and was allowed to become a free agent after the season.  He signed with Kansas City for 2008, but was released in late April and was out of baseball the rest of the year.  He signed with Toronto for 2009 but was released in late March and was out of baseball again.  The Twins signed him for 2010 and sent him to Rochester.  He got off to a decent start, but was injured after only three starts.  He made a rehab appearance in late July, but that was it for him as a Twin.  He became a free agent after the season and pitched in winter ball, but did not sign with anyone for 2011 and officially retired on January 25, 2011.  He has since spent some time as a minor league pitching coach.  Mike Maroth is currently minor league rehab pitching coordinator for the Atlanta Braves.

August 16

Due to personal time constraints, this is a reprint from last year which has not been updated.

Hick Carpenter (1855)

Baby Doll Jacobsen (1890)

Fats Fothergill (1897)

Tiny Bonham (1913)

Gene Woodling (1922)

Puddin’ Head Jones (1925)

Buck Rodgers (1938)

Gene Brabender (1941)

Mike Jorgensen (1948)

Al Holland (1952)

Nick Leyva (1953)

Rick Reed (1964)

Xavier Hernandez (1965)

Terry Shumpert (1966)

Quinton McCracken (1970)

Damian Jackson (1973)

Roger Cedeno (1974)

Ryan Hanigan (1980)

Yu Darvish (1986)

Nick Leyva is a long-time minor league coach and manager and major league coach.  He managed the Philadelphia Phillies from 1989-1991.

Right-hander Richard Allen Reed pitched for the Twins from 2001-2003.  He was born in Huntington, West Virginia, attended Marshall University, and was drafted in the 26th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986. He made his major league debut with Pittsburgh in 1988.   He spent the next eight years bouncing back and forth between AAA and the majors, first with the Pirates, then with Kansas City, Texas, and Cincinnati.  He always pitched well in the minors, but never could stick in the majors.  His major league ERAs tell the reason why, but he never got much of a chance and his WHIPs were pretty decent many of those years, suggesting bad luck may also have been a factor.  He was a replacement player in 1995, knowing that he would pay a price for it but believing he had no choice due to the medical bills incurred by his ill mother. After playing at AAA for all of 1996 with the Mets, Reed finally made the big-leagues to stay in 1997 at the age of 32. He was a rotation starter for the Mets, and a good one, from 1997 through July of 2001, when he was traded at the deadline to Minnesota for Matt Lawton.  He was apparently unhappy about leaving New York, but did not complain publicly about it at the time. Reed did not pitch well for the Twins that year, but had a solid year in 2002, helping the team to the playoffs. After a poor 2003, when he was 38, the Twins released him. He signed with Pittsburgh that off-season, but did not make the team and called it a career.  As a Twin, he was 25-25, 4.47, 1.30 WHIP in 390.2 innings.  He appeared in 72 games, 65 of them starts.  He became the pitching coach at Marshall University in 2005, but decided to step away from baseball for good.  At last report, Rick Reed was living in retirement in Huntington, West Virginia.

Outfielder Quinton Antoine McCracken played in 24 games for the Twins in 2001.  He was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, went to high school in South Brunswick, North Carolina (where he started on the football and basketball teams and ran track in addition to playing baseball), and attended Duke.  He was drafted by Colorado in the twenty-fifth round in 1992.  He was a high average hitter, hitting .359 in a 1995 season split between AA and AAA.  He was also fast, stealing 60 bases at Class A Central Valley in 1993.  He came up to the Rockies at the end of 1995 and stayed through 1997 as a part-time centerfielder.  He hit .291 over that time, but was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was chosen by Tampa Bay.  He hit .292 in 1998, but he got off to a bad start in 1999 and then was injured in late May, missing the rest of the season.  He split 2000 between AAA and the Devil Rays, then was released.  He signed with St. Louis for 2001, but failed to make the team.  The Twins signed McCracken on April 13 and sent him to AAA Edmonton, where he hit .338.  They brought him to the majors for about six weeks; he got 64 at-bats, making six starts in the outfield and eight at designated hitter (a foreshadowing of Jason Tyner’s use in that role).  His batting ability stayed in AAA, however; he hit .219/.275/.313.  He became a free agent after the season, signing with Arizona.  He made a surprising comeback there, hitting .309 as a half-time outfielder in 2002.  He went back down in 2003, however, and was traded to Seattle after the season for Greg Colbrunn and cash.  He played poorly with the Mariners, was released in June, and signed back with the Diamondbacks, where he again made a comeback, hitting .288 as a reserve the rest of the way.  He again could not sustain it the following year, and became a free agent after the 2005 season.  McCracken signed with Cincinnati for 2006, but played sparingly and was released in early July.  The Twins re-signed him a couple of weeks later and sent him to Rochester; he hit .284 there, but was not promoted and again became a free agent after the season.  He played for independent Bridgeport in 2007, then his playing career came to an end.  For a twenty-fifth round draft choice, though, he had a pretty good career.  Quinton McCracken was assistant director for player development for the Arizona Diamondbacks through 2012, and has been working for the Houston Astros since 2013.  He is currently the director of player personnel for the Astros.

August 15

Charles Comiskey (1859)

Doggie Miller (1864)

Jack Warner (1872)

Bill Sherdel (1896)

Jim Snyder (1932)

Joey Jay (1935)

Jose Santiago (1940)

Cap Peterson (1942)

Duffy Dyer (1945)

Joe Lis (1946)

Billy Conigliaro (1947)

Tom Kelly (1950)

Joe Cowley (1958)

Randy Johnson (1958)

Jeff Huson (1964)

Scott Brosius (1966)

Chris Singleton (1972)

Oliver Perez (1981)

Second baseman James Robert Snyder played briefly for the Twins in 1961-1962 and 1964.  He was born in Dearborn, Michigan, went to Eastern Michigan University, and was signed as an amateur free agent by the St. Louis Browns in 1952. He spent the next ten years in the minors, playing in the organizations of St. Louis/Baltimore (1952-56, 1957), the White Sox (1956, 1958-60), the Cubs (1957), Philadelphia (1958, 1960), and Cincinnati (1961). Snyder never hit much in the minors, leading one to suppose that he was a very good defensive player. It also leads one to believe that he was a good guy and that people liked him–if he was a jerk, they would have gotten rid of him.  His best minor league season was 1960, when he hit .287 with two AAA teams at age 27.  The Twins purchased Snyder from Indianapolis (AAA) in September of 1961, and he spent the rest of that season and portions of 1962 and 1964 with Minnesota.  He did not hit any better in the Twins’ organization:  in three seasons at AAA, he hit .261 with eight homers.  He began 1962 in Minnesota, but was sent out in early May after appearing in twelve games, six of them as a pinch-runner.  He did not come back until 1964, when he was with the Twins for about six weeks.  Apparently, he was a good bunter; in 1964, Snyder had only 88 plate appearances with the Twins, but was fifth in the league in sacrifice bunts, with 11.  As a Twin, Jim Snyder hit .140/.185/.198 in 86 at-bats. After playing in the Senators organization in 1965, Snyder retired as an active player and embarked on a fairly successful career as a minor-league manager, with a winning percentage of .514 in 16 seasons. He has also been a major league coach, and managed the Seattle Mariners for a portion of 1988, going 45-60.  His last job in baseball appears to have been as a director of instruction for the White Sox, serving in that role from 1994-2005.  One assumes he has been in retirement since then.

First baseman Joseph Anthony Lis played for the Twins in 1973-1974.  Born and raised in Somerville, New Jersey, he was signed by Philadelphia as a free agent in 1964. After a slow start in the minors, he began to develop some power, hitting over 30 homers in class A in 1967 and 1968 and again in AAA in 1970. Lis was with the Phillies in 1971 and part of 1972, also spending part of 1972 in AAA. After that season, he was traded with Ken Reynolds and Ken Sanders to the Twins for Cesar Tovar. Lis played for the Twins for the next year and a half before being sold to Cleveland in June of 1974.  He was a semi-regular in 1973, sharing first base with Harmon Killebrew, but got very little playing time in 1974 before he left the Twins. He got back on the treadmill between AAA and the majors through 1976, winning the International League MVP award in 1976, and then was chosen by Seattle in the expansion draft prior to the 1977 season. He played a handful of games for the Mariners in 1977, but then went back to AAA, playing in the Indians, White Sox, and Tigers organizations, as well as a year with the Kintetsu Buffaloes, through 1979, when he retired. As a Twin, Lis played in 127 games, batting 294 times and hitting .238/.321/.374 with 9 homers and 28 RBIs.  After leaving baseball, he moved to Evansville, Indiana.  After trying several occupations, he started the Joe Lis Hitting School in Evansville, which he operated until his death. Joe Lis passed away from prostate cancer on October 17, 2010 in Evansville, Indiana.

First baseman Jay Thomas Kelly played for the Twins in 1975 and then managed them from 1986-2001.  He was born in Graceville, Minnesota, went to high school in South Amboy, New Jersey, and was drafted by the Seattle Pilots in the 8th round of the 1968 amateur draft.  He was in the Seattle/Milwaukee organization for three years, but averaged averaged .232 over the last two of them and was released at the end of spring training in 1971.  The Twins signed him and sent him to AA Charlotte.  He hit .294 there, and the next year he was promoted to AAA Tacoma, where he spent most of the next four seasons. Kelly put up solid but unspectacular numbers there, with his best year coming in 1974 when he hit .308 with 18 homers, numbers which sound better than they are in the context of the Pacific Coast League. Kelly came to the Twins in 1975, spending exactly two months with the big club. He played in 49 games during that time, batting .181/.262./.244 in 127 at-bats with 1 homer and 11 runs batted in. Kelly was sold to Baltimore at the start of the 1976 season and spent a year in AAA with them before returning to the Minnesota organization in 1977. He was a player-manager in the minors that year before turning to managing full-time in 1979. Kelly pitched in four minor-league games while he was a manager, starting two of them, and actually pitched pretty well, going 1-0 with a 1.88 ERA in 24 innings. As I assume everyone here knows, he became a coach with the Twins and then took over managing in the fall of 1986, winning two world championships before retiring after the 2001 season.  He was named American League Manager of the Year in 1991.  He has had chances to manage other teams, but appears to be done managing for good.  Tom Kelly is currently a special assistant to the general manager for the Twins.

“Not the” Randy Johnson, outfielder/first baseman Randall Stuart Johnson played for the Twins in 1982.  Born in Miami, he was chosen by the White Sox in the third round of the 1979 January draft. He had some strong years in the minors, hitting .282 with 25 homers at AA Glens Falls in 1980 at age 21.  He got about five weeks in the majors that year, used mostly as a pinch-hitter by the White Sox. Back in Glens Falls in 1981, he hit only .255 but belted 32 home runs.  After the season, he was the player named later in a trade which also sent Ivan Mesa and Ronnie Perry to the Twins for Jerry Koosman. He spent all of 1982 with the Twins, batting .248/.325/.419 as a part-time DH. It was not good enough, however, and he spent the next two years at AAA for the Twins. Johnson was traded back to the White Sox at the start of 1985 spring training along with Ron Scheer for Roy Smalley. He rounded out his career with the White Sox AAA Buffalo affiliate in 1985 as a part-time outfielder, hitting just .224, and then his playing career came to an end.  ”Randy Johnson” is, or course, a rather common name, and when you search for a Randy Johnson connected with baseball you tend to get the other guy.  There is a Randall Stuart Johnson of the right age who is living in the Miami area, but all of those names are fairly common, so there is no way to know if it is the same one.