March 4

Red Murray (1884)

Jeff Pfeffer (1888)

Dazzy Vance (1891)

Lefty O'Doul (1897)

Buck Canel (1906)

Clyde McCullough (1917)

Mel Queen (1918)

Leo Righetti (1925)

Cass Michaels (1926)

Bob Johnson (1936)

Jack Fischer (1939)

Danny Frisella (1946)

Tom Grieve (1948)

Harry Saferight (1949)

Sam Perlozzo (1951)

Mark Wagner (1954)

Jeff Dedmon (1960)

Tom Lampkin (1964)

Giovanni Carrera (1968)

Dave Stevens (1970)

Mark Wegner (1972)

Sergio Romo (1983)

Nick Castellanos (1992)

Born in Argentina, Buck Canel broadcast major league baseball to Latin America for over four decades, calling forty-two World Series.

The father of Dave Righetti, Leo Righetti played in the minors for twelve years, eight of them in AAA.

Harry Saferight made it to the majors with Pittsburgh in 1979, but did not appear in a game.  He got to the on-deck circle three times, but each time the last out was made before he had a chance to bat.

St. Paul native Mark Wegner has been a major league umpire since 1998.

Catcher Clyde Edward McCullough did not play for the Twins, but was a coach with them in their inaugural season of 1961.  Born and raised in Nashville, he started his pro career with an independent team in Class D Lafayette in 1935 at age eighteen.  He signed with the Yankees for the 1936 season and spent 1937-1939 at AA for them.  He did not hit for a high average, but started to develop some power in 1939.  The Cubs obviously saw something in him and bought him for 1940.  He hit .324 with 27 homers for Buffalo that season and got a September call-up.  It would be seventeen years before he played in the minors again.  He was with the Cubs through 1948, with the exception of two years of military service.  He was then traded to Pittsburgh, for whom he played from 1949-1952.  The Cubs reacquired him after that season, and he stayed there through 1956.  He never spent a full season as a regular catcher--the most he ever played was in his first season of 1941, when he appeared in 125 games and got 418 at-bats.  Most of the time he would play in about half the team's games.  Despite that, he made the all-star team twice, in 1948 and 1953.  After the Cubs let him go, he played for AAA Miami in 1957, then ended his playing career.  He managed in the minors in 1958-59, then became a coach for the Senators/Twins from 1960-61.  He then moved on to the Mets, managing in their minor league system through 1969.  He managed in the Expos system for two more years, then his managing career was done.  In eleven years as a minor league manager, he won four league championships and made the playoffs one other time.  He was a minor league instructor in the Mets organization from 1974-76.  He was the bullpen coach of the San Diego Padres in 1982.  Sadly, he was found dead in his hotel room on September 18 of that year, apparently from a heart attack.  He was sixty-five years old, which does not sound at all old to me any  more.

Infielder Samuel Benedict Perlozzo got a September call-up with the Twins in 1977.  Born in Cumberland, Maryland, he attended George Washington University.  Perlozzo then signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1972.  Primarily a second baseman, he had some decent but unexceptional years in the minor leagues.  In his AAA debut in 1977, however, he hit .310 at Tacoma with an OBP of .393, earning that September call-up.  Perlozzo went 7-for-24 with the Twins, hitting two triples.  In 1978, he fell to .244 at Tacoma and was released the following March.  San Diego signed him, and he hit .301 at AAA Hawaii in 1979, getting another September call-up.  This time he went 0-for-2 with a walk.  After the season, he was sold to Yakult in the Japanese Central League.  He came back to the United States in 1981, playing for AAA Tidewater in the Mets' organization, and then his career came to an end.  He went into managing and coaching after that.  He was a minor league manager in the Mets' organization from 1982-1986, then became a major league coach.  He was on the coaching staff of the Mets (1987-1989), Cincinnati (1990-1992), Seattle (1993-1995), and Baltimore (1996-2005).  On August 4 of 2005, Perlozzo became the Orioles' manager, a position he held through June 18, 2007.  In 2008, he rejoined the Seattle coaching staff, and he was a coach for Philadelphia from 2009-2012.  It appears that he was out of baseball in 2013, but in December of that year he was hired by the Twins as their minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator.  He was a coordinator for player development for the Twins, but is not currently listed on their website.  The most logical guess appears to be that he has retired.

Right-hander David James Stevens pitched for the Twins from 1994 through 1997.  Stevens was born in Fullerton, California, attended high school in La Habra, California, and was drafted by the Cubs in the 20th round in 1989, not signing until May of 1990.  He did not appear to be anything special in the minors; he did go 10-1 in 1993, but with a 4.21 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP in a year split between AA and AAA.  The latter part of the year, in AAA, he was converted from starting to relief.  Following the 1993 season, the Cubs traded Stevens and Matt Walbeck to Minnesota for Willie Banks.  He got off to a strong start in the Salt Lake bullpen in 1994 and made his major league debut on May 20 of that year.  It did not go well--in 20 appearances, he posted a 6.80 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP.  Despite that, Stevens started 1995 with the Twins, and when Rick Aguilera was traded in early July, Stevens became the Twins' closer.  There was no particular reason to think that would work, and it didn't.  In 1997, Stevens moved to the starting rotation, which also didn't work.  He was sent to AAA, then placed on waivers in August.  The Cubs claimed him and moved him back to the bullpen.  He split time between the majors and AAA with the Cubs through 1998.  The Cubs released him after the season.  He was signed by Cleveland for 1999, released in June, signed by Seattle, released again in July, signed by Pittsburgh in February of 2000, released in April, signed with Atlanta, and was in the minors there (with the exception of two major league appearances) through the 2001 season.  He was then out of baseball until 2004, when he appeared in three separate independent leagues.  As a Twin, Dave Stevens was 14-12, 5.82 with 21 saves and a 1.70 WHIP in 191.2 innings.  At last report, Dave Stevens had returned to his home town of LaHabra, California.

Right-handed reliever Sergio Francisco Romo came to the Twins in 2019.  Born and raised in Brawley, California, he attended Arizona Western College, the University of North Alabama, and Colorado Mesa University before being drafted by San Francisco in the twenty-eighth round in 2005.  Always a reliever, he pitched well in the minors and came up to the Giants in late June of 2008.  He pitched well for several years with the Giants, was a part-time closer in 2012, and took over the job full-time in 2013.  He lost the job in 2014, however, but continued to pitch well for the Giants through 2016.  He was a free agent after that season and signed with the Dodgers for 2017, but was traded to Tampa Bay in July of that year.  He was both a closer and an opener for the Rays in 2018, once starting games on consecutive days.  He signed with Miami for 2019 and pitched well, but was traded to the Twins at the July deadline with Chris Vallimont for Lewin Diaz.  He was a solid reliever for them down the stretch and in 2020.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Oakland for 2021.  He was not awful, but did not give the Athletics what they really hoped for, either.  A free agent again, he signed with Seattle for 2022, was released in late June, signed with Toronto eight days later, was released again in less than a month, and finished the season in the Mexican League.  As a Twin, he was 1-3, 3.59, 8 saves, 1.03 WHIP. He was been a very consistent reliever for most of his career, only four times posting an ERA over 4.00 and only three times posting a WHIP over 1.20.  Those have all come in recent seasons, however, indicating that he is probably at the end.  He turns forty today.  As we say, teams are always looking for pitching, so it's possible that someone will give him another shot, or he may return to the Mexican League.  It seems likely, though, that Sergio Romo's career is nearly over, and possibly already is over.

March 3

John Montgomery Ward (1860)

Wee Willie Keeler (1872)

Ed Phelps (1879)

Tetsuya Yoneda (1938)

Paul Schaal (1943)

Rick Reed (1950)

Chuck Cary (1960)

Neal Heaton (1960)

Marvin Hudson (1964)

Scott Radinsky (1968)

Mike Romano (1972)

Matt Diaz (1978)

Jorge Julio (1979)

Tetsuya Yoneda is the second-winningest pitcher in Japanese professional baseball with 350 victories.

The Rick Reed whose birthday is today is the major league umpire from 1979-2009, not the ex-Twin.

Marvin Hudson was a major league umpire from 1979-2009.

Left-hander Neal Heaton pitched for the Twins for part of 1986.  He was born in South Ozone Park, New York, went to high school in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, and attended the University of Miami.  He was drafted by Cleveland in the second round in 1981.  He was in the minors only two years, at AA at age 21 and AAA at age 22.  His numbers aren't great, but not bad considering his age.  He got a September call-up in 1982, and was in the majors to stay at the beginning of 1983.  He started the season in the bullpen, pitched fairly well, and was in the starting rotation by mid-July.  Heaton was hyped pretty hard at the time, but never really lived up to it.  In roughly three years in the Cleveland rotation, he never put up an ERA under 4.2 or a WHIP under 1.4.  On June 20, 1986, Neal Heaton was traded to Minnesota for John Butcher.  He began his time as a Twin in the bullpen, but after four appearances was moved back to the rotation.  He was not awful as a Twin:  4-9, but with a 3.98 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.  In February of 1987, however, Heaton was traded to Montreal along with Al Cardwood, Yorkis Perez, and Jeff Reed for Tom Nieto and Jeff Reardon.  He had two relatively undistinguished years as an Expo, then was traded to Pittsburgh prior to the 1989 season.  His seasons as a Pirate were the best of his career:  in three years, he was 21-19, 3.46 with a 1.26 WHIP.  After a down year in 1991 he was traded to Kansas City.  The Royals released him in July, he finished the year with Milwaukee, and was released again after the season.  He signed with the Yankees for 1993 and was released one more time in July, ending his career.  At last report, Neal Heaton was living in East Patchogue, Long Island and was producing articles and videos for Axcess Baseball, a baseball media company based in Long Island.

Right-hander Michael Desport Romano did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for about three months in 2000.  He was born in New Orleans, went to high school in Chalmette, Louisiana, attended Tulane, and was drafted by Toronto in the third round in 1993.  A starting pitcher early in his minor league career, he progressed at about a level a year, reaching AAA in 1997.  This progression came despite the fact that, statistically at least, he doesn’t appear to have done very much; he did not post an ERA below four nor a WHIP below 1.4 after 1994 in Class A.  He both relieved and started for Syracuse in 1997 and 1998.  Returned to the rotation full-time in 1999, he had a comparatively good season in AAA, going 12-8, 4.13, 1.40 WHIP.  He got a September call-up, pitching 5.1 innings over three games for the Blue Jays and allowing eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits and five walks.  Those would turn out to be his career totals.  He got off to a good start in Syracuse in 2000 and was traded to Minnesota in mid-June for Francisco Alvarez.  He pitched poorly in AAA Salt Lake, going 7-6, 6.14, 1.59 WHIP in 16 starts.  A free agent after the season, he was signed by Atlanta for 2001 but was released in spring training.  He went to the Mexican League for most of the next three years, throwing the first postseason no-hitter in League history in 2001.  He was having a good season there in 2003 when he was purchased by the Braves in mid-August and sent to AAA Richmond.  He had a fine season for Richmond in 2004, going 13-5, 3.42, but at age 32 he was no longer considered a prospect and was not called up to the majors.  He then went overseas, pitching in Japan in 2005-2006 and in Korea in 2007.  He was inducted into the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000.  At last report, Mike Romano was the owner of RBI (for Romano's Baseball Instruction) Academy, offering baseball instruction to kids of all ages in the New Orleans area.

March 2

Horace Fogel (1861)

Moe Berg (1902)

Woody English (1906)

Jack Knott (1907)

Mel Ott (1909)

Mort Cooper (1913)

Jim Konstanty (1917)

Jim Nettles (1947)

Pete Broberg (1950)

Larry Wolfe (1953)

Terry Steinbach (1962)

Ron Gant (1965)

Jay Gibbons (1977)

Glen Perkins (1983)

Bud Norris (1985)

Horace Fogel was a sportswriter who became manager of the New York Giants in 1902.  His time as Giants manager is best remembered for his attempt to move Christy Mathewson to first base.  He was fired 41 games into the season and replaced by Heinie Smith, who put an end to such nonsense.  Instead, he tried to move Mathewson to shortstop.

We assume everyone reading this knows Ron Gant's connection to the Minnesota Twins.

The brother of Graig Nettles, outfielder James William Nettles played for the Twins from 1970-1972.  Born in San Diego, he attended high school there and then went to San Diego State.  Minnesota drafted him in the fourth round in 1968.  He hit for decent averages in the minors, not a lot of power, but a good number of walks.  His best minor league year was 1970, when he hit .317/.400/.452 in AAA Evansville.  He got a September call-up that year.  Nettles started 1971 in the minors, but was called up by mid-May and spent the rest of the season in Minnesota.  Nettles was the Twins' regular center fielder for the month of July, one of three players the Twins tried in that role, but he hit only .242 and could not hold the job.  1972 was his first full season in the big leagues; Nettles hit only .204 as a part-time player.  He went back to the minors for 1973 and was traded to Detroit after the season for Paul Jata.  He started 1974 in the minors but was called up in mid-July and stayed the rest of the season as a reserve.  It would be five years before he got to the majors again.  Nettles played in Japan in 1975 and in Mexico in 1976.  He came back into organized ball in 1977, playing in AAA for Pittsburgh.  He moved on to the Royals' organization for 1978 and 1979, and in the latter year he got a September call-up.  He moved to the Yankees' AAA team for 1980 and to Oakland in 1981.  He made one last major league appearance in 1981, getting a September call-up again and coming to the plate once (a successful sacrifice bunt).  He played briefly at AAA for Oakland in 1982, and then his playing career came to an end.  As a Twin, Jim Nettles hit .225/.309/.333 in 423 at-bats.  After his playing days, he was a minor league manager from 1983-1996, managing in the Oakland, Seattle, and Toronto organizations along with one year of independent ball.  He was last in baseball as a coach for the Spokane Indians in 2005 and 2006.  His daughter, Shara, is the wife of Mike Sweeney.  At last report, Jim Nettles was an instructor with the Northwest Prospects Academy in the Tacoma, Washington area and was also a coach with the Mike Sweeney Catholic Baseball Camp (his daughter Shara is married to Mike Sweeney).  Those last reports, however, are several years old now.

Third baseman Laurence Marcy Wolfe played for the Twins from 1977-1978.  He was born in Melbourne, Florida, but went to high school in Rancho Cordova, California.  He attended Sacramento City College, and then was drafted by Minnesota in the ninth round in 1973.  He began his minor league career as a shortstop, but was quickly moved to third base.  His best years in the Twins' system was 1974, when he hit .303 at Class A Wisconsin Rapids, and 1977, when he hit .304 at AAA.  He got a September call-up that year.  Wolfe's first full year in the majors came in 1978.  He was platooned at third with Mike Cubbage and hit .234 in 235 at-bats.  Wolfe was traded to Boston prior to the 1979 season for Dave Coleman.  He was with the Red Sox all year, but was used primarily as a defensive replacement for second baseman Jerry Remy.  Wolfe batted only 78 times all season, hitting .244.  He started 1980 in the minors, but was brought up in July, again used mainly as a defensive replacement.  Let go by Boston after the season, he was in AAA with Cincinnati in 1981, went to Japan for 1982, and then his playing career was over.  After baseball, he was in sales for the Oroweat Bread Company in the Sacramento area.  He was inducted into the Sacramento City College Hall of Fame in 2013.  In 2015 Larry Wolfe was the manager of the Sacramento Stealth of the Great West League, a collegiate summer league.  He also coached high school baseball for several years.  At last report, Larry Wolfe was living in Bella Vista, California.

Catcher Terry Lee Steinbach played for the Twins from 1997-1999, at the end of his career.  He was born in New Ulm and went to high school there, then attended the University of Minnesota.  He was drafted by Oakland in 1983 in the ninth round.  Steinbach hit pretty well at every level of the minors; his best year was 1986, when he hit .325 with 24 homers and 33 doubles at AA Huntsville.  That got him a September call-up, and the next year Steinbach skipped AAA and went to Oakland, never to return to the minors.  Steinbach was essentially the regular catcher for the Athletics from 1987-1996, but only in four of those years did he start more than 100 games behind the plate, and only twice did he start more than 110 games there.  He does not seem to be platooned, nor does he seem to have been injury-prone.  Rather, he simply was given quite a few days off, as well as making occasional starts at third base, first base, corner outfield, and designated hitter.  Steinbach was an all-star three times with Oakland, and received minor consideration for MVP in 1996.  1996 was his best year:  he hit .272 with 35 homers, almost as many homers as he had hit in the previous three years combined (his next highest home run total was 15).  A free agent after the 1996 season, he signed with  Minnesota.  He was 35 years old by then, and could not duplicate his previous season, but was still a decent backstop for the Twins.  As a Twin, Terry Steinbach hit .256/.321/.399 in about 1,200 at-bats.  He retired after the 1999 season.  He was the bench coach and catching instructor for the Twins from 2013-2014, but was let go after the 2014 season.  His son, Jake, played baseball for the University of St. Thomas.  He was living in Medina, Minnesota continued to be active in helping raise money for ALS research at last report.  He is a member of the Cape Cod League Hall of Fame.

Left-hander Glen Weston Perkins played for the Twins from 2006-2017.  He was born in St. Paul and went to high school in Stillwater, Minnesota.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the first round in 2004.  He pitched fairly well throughout his minor league career, getting a September call-up in 2006 after posting a 3.91 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in AA New Britain.  He missed time in 2007 due to injury, making 19 relief appearances in the majors and eight in the minors.  He made six starts in Rochester in 2008 before being called back to the Twins in mid-May.  He was 12-4 with Minnesota that year, but with a 4.41 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.  He was injured again for part of 2009, with his major league campaign ending in early August.  He stayed healthy in 2010 but didn’t get much accomplished, pitching poorly in Rochester as well as for the Twins when he was called up in mid-August.  In 2011, however, he was moved to the bullpen and had by far his best season to date, posting a 2.48 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP, and striking out 65 batters in 61.2 innings.  He began 2012 in a setup role, but became the Twins closer when Matt Capps was removed from the role due to injury and ineffectiveness.  Perkins had a fine 2012 season and followed that up with an even better 2013 campaign.  His numbers in 2014 were not quite as good but were still quite good.  He was pitching very well through July of 2015, not as well in August, then missed about three weeks in September.  He missed almost all of 2016 due to injury.  He tried to come back in 2017, making eight appearances for the Twins in September, but it was not to be, and he retired.  As a Twin, Glen Perkins was 35-25, 3.88 with a 1.29 WHIP in 409 games (624.1 innings).  As a reliever he was 17-13, 3.09, 1.16 WHIP with 120 saves in 374.1 innings (365 games).  At last report, he was still living in the Twin Cities area, was a part-time analyst for Fox Sports North, and was enjoying his hobby of woodworking.

March 1

*Dickey Pearce (1839)

Paul Hines (1855)

Farmer Vaughn (1864)

*Pepper Martin (1904)

*Nish Williams (1904)

Harry Caray (1914)

Bing Devine (1916)

Othello Renfroe (1923)

*Al Rosen (1924)

Larry Brown (1940)

Vern Fuller (1944)

*Steve Mingori (1944)

Jeff Holly (1953)

Dick Bremer (1956)

Johnny Ray (1957)

Mark Gardner (1962)

Rich Rodriguez (1963)

Tony Castillo (1963)

Omar Daal (1972)

Ramon Castro (1976)

*Terrence Long (1976)

Ken Harvey (1978)

Trevor Cahill (1998)

*Born February 29.

Bing Devine worked in baseball front offices from 1939-1978, spending most of that time in the Cardinals organization.  He was the St. Louis general manager from 1957-1964 and 1968-1978, serving as the general manager of the Mets from 1965-1967.

Othello Renfroe played in the Negro Leagues for several years.  He eventually became a broadcaster, sportswriter, scout, and public address announcer.  He was also the first African-American official scorer in major league baseball.

A lifelong Minnesotan, Dick Bremer has been a Twins broadcaster from 1983 to the present with the exception of 1986.

Left-hander Jeffrey Owen Holly pitched for the Twins for parts of three seasons from 1977-1979.  He was born in San Pedro, California and attended high school in Redondo Beach, California.  He was drafted by the White Sox in the 17th round in 1971.  Holly was used both as a starter and reliever in the minors.  His best year in the minors was 1974, when he posted an ERA of 3.34 and a WHIP of 1.29 as a 21-year-old at AA Knoxville.  Holly was apparently injured in 1975; he pitched only 38 ineffective innings.  The White Sox released him in early April of 1976, and he went unsigned until the end of May, when he was picked up by Minnesota.  He had a fine year that season at AA Orlando, and had a good ERA (although with a high WHIP) at AAA in 1977 when he was called up to the Twins.  He had two stints in Minnesota that year, totalling about three months, and went 2-3, 6.89 in 18 appearances, five of them starts.  Moved to the bullpen full time in 1978, Holly had a tremendous half-season at Orlando, going 6-0, 0.77 in 25 games.  Called up to the Twins in early July, he pitched pretty well, going 1-1, 3.57 with a 1.30 WHIP in 35 innings.  Holly started 1979 with the Twins, but was sent down within a month, having pitched 6.1 ineffective innings.  He had a good year in AAA Toledo, but did not get called back to the majors.  That off-season, Holly was traded to Detroit for Fernando Arroyo but did not make the team and his career ended.  His big league numbers, all with the Twins, were 3-4, 5.60 in 90 innings.  He made 39 appearances, six of them starts.  He was a high school baseball coach for a couple of seasons.  At last report, Jeff Holly was coaching youth baseball and was an instructor for Joe Delia's X-Pros Sports Performance Pro Training in his home town (Holly's, not Joe Delia's, although for all I know it may be Joe Delia's home town, too) of Redondo Beach, California, but that last report is a few years old now.

First baseman Kenneth Eugene Harvey did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 2007.  He was born in Los Angeles and went to high school in Beverly Hills.  Harvey then attended the University of Nebraska and was drafted by Kansas City in the fifth round in 1999.  He hit tremendously well in his first few years in the minors, batting .397 in 1999 at Class A Spokane, .335 in 2000 at Class A Wilmington, and .350 in 2001 in a year split between Wilmington and AA Wichita.  Promoted to AAA Omaha in 2002, his averaged dropped to .277, but he hit 2o homers and 30 doubles.  That was good enough to get him promoted to Kansas City, where he was a regular for two years, playing both first base and designated hitter.  He hit for a decent average, but never developed the power the Royals had hoped.  His best year was 2004, when he hit .287 with 13 homers and 20 doubles and made the all-star team.  It wasn't good enough for Kansas City--Harvey started 2005 in the majors, but was sent down in early May after only 45 at-bats.  He again put up big numbers in Omaha, but then was injured and missed all of 2006.  The Royals released him after the season, and he was signed by Minnesota.  He again was injured almost the entire season, getting only 37 minor league at-bats.  A free agent again after 2007, he started playing in independent leagues, playing in the Northern League and the Atlantic League through 2009.  His playing career came to an end after that.  In 2013, Ken Harvey returned to the University of Nebraska to get a degree in communications and was an assistant baseball coach there from 2014-15.  At last report, he was an instructor with Engaged Athletics of Riverside, Missouri.

February 28

Terry Turner (1881)

Jud Wilson (1897)

Bill Holland (1901)

Bob Howsam (1918)

George Maloney (1928)

Frank Malzone (1930)

Bill Haller (1935)

Marty Perez (1946)

Mark Wiley (1948)

Tom Gamboa (1948)

Jim Wohlford (1951)

Mike Milchin (1968)

Trent Oeltjen (1983)

Aaron Thompson (1987)

Aroldis Chapman (1988)

Niko Goodrum (1992)

Randy Arozarena (1995)

Jud Wilson played in the Negro Leagues from 1922-1945 and had a lifetime batting average of .351.

Bob Howsam was the general manager of the Cincinnati Reds and helped put together the Big Red Machine.

George Maloney was an American League umpire from 1969-1983.

Bill Haller is the older brother of Tom Haller and was an American League umpire from 1963-1982.

Tom Gamboa was a minor league manager who won league championships twice and reached the playoffs four other times in a ten year career.  Unfortunately, he is best known as the Kansas City Royals coach attacked by two White Sox "fans" in Comiskey Park in 2002.

Right-hander Mark Eugene Wiley appeared in fifteen games for the Twins in 1975.  He was born in National City, California, went to high school in La Mesa, California, and attended Cal Poly-Pomona.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the second round in 1970.  He pitched very well in the lower minors but struggled when promoted to higher levels.  Wiley had been a starter in the minors, but was moved to the bullpen in 1974.  He both started and relieved in 1975 and had a big year, going 9-1, 2.15 in 92 innings.  Wiley came up to the Twins in mid-June and did not do well, going 1-3, 6.05 in 38.2 innings.  He went back to starting in Tacoma in 1976 and had a fairly good year, but the Twins released him in March of 1977.  San Diego signed him and sent him to AAA Hawaii, where he had a couple of unspectacular seasons.  He made four appearances with the Padres in 1978, and two for Toronto that same year (he was traded there in September).  He was in the minors for the Blue Jays in 1979 and was released in March of 1980.  While pitched for the Orioles' AAA affiliate in Rochester that year, and then his playing career came to an end.  Wiley went into managing and coaching.  He has been the pitching coach for Baltimore (1987, 2001-2004), Cleveland (1988-1991, 1995-1998), Kansas City (1999), and Florida (2005, 2008-2009).  After the 2009 season, Mark Wiley became a special assistant to the front office and a scout, positions he held through 2012.  In 2013, he moved to Colorado, where he was the Director of Pitching Operations for the Rockies until his retirement at the end of 2021.

Left-hander Michael Wayne Milchin was with the Twins for about three months in 1996.  He was born in Knoxville and attended Clemson.  Milchin was drafted by St. Louis in the second round in 1989.  He pitched well at the lower levels of the minors, but struggled when he reached AAA in 1991.  His third year of AAA, 1993, was not too bad, but by then the Cardinals had given up on him and placed him on waivers.  Milchin was claimed by the Dodgers.  He missed all of 1994 due to reconstructive elbow surgery, and was rather mediocre at AAA Albuquerque in 1995.  He became a minor league free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota for 1996.  He was adequate, but no more, in the Salt Lake bullpen, but was still called up to the Twins in mid-May.  Milchin made 26 appearances for Minnesota, all in relief, and went 2-1, 8.31 with a 1.99 WHIP in 21.2 innings.  He was waived in early August and taken by Baltimore, for whom he finished the season.  He was let go after that and his career was over.  Since then he became a player agent, and at last report was with ISE Baseball.  At last report, he was living in Windermere, Florida.

Outfielder Trent Carl Wayne Oeltjen did not play for Minnesota, but he was in their farm system for several years.  He was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 2001.  He posted some solid batting averages in the minors, but with little power and not a lot of walks.  When he reached AAA, the batting average went away, too:  he hit only .238 at Rochester in 2007, and the Twins allowed him to become a minor league free agent.  Arizona signed him, and the move was good for Oeltjen.  He hit over .300 in consecutive years at Albuquerque and also improved his power numbers a little.  Oeltjen was called up to the majors in early August in 2009.  In 70 at-bats, he hit .243/.250/.457.  He was again allowed to become a free agent after the season, and signed a minor league contract with Milwaukee for 2010.  He hit .301 in AAA for the Brewers, but was still released in early July.  He signed with the Dodgers a few days later and finished the season in Albuquerque, where he hit .347 and earned a September call-up.  He began 2011 in Albuquerque, but came up to the Dodgers in mid-June after hitting .339 there.  He appeared in 61 games, the most of his career, but all but thirteen of those appearances were as a substitute.  Not surprisingly, his numbers suffered, as he hit only .197 in 71 at-bats.  He had another good year in AAA in 2012, batting .294 with an OPS of .831, but did not get called back to the Dodgers.  A free agent after the season, he became a free agent and signed with the Angels.  It was the same story:  a good year in AAA, but no call-up.  He became a free agent and signed with Arizona for 2014, but played little and was released in mid-May, finishing the season in the Mexican League.  He announced his retirement after that season, but played a couple of games of independent ball in 2016, played in the Australian League this off-season, and it appears may be playing for Australia in the World Baseball Classic.  In 747 games of AAA he hit .294/.358/.479, but never really got a chance in the majors.  No one ever promised that either baseball or life would be fair.  At last report, Trent Oeltjen was the owner, along with Ryan Rowland-Smith of NxtGen Baseball Camps, which operates in both the United States and Australia.

Left-hander Aaron Mitchell Thompson played for the Twins in 2014-2015.  He was born in Beaumont, Texas, went to high school in Houston, and was drafted by Florida in the first round in 2005.  He pitched well in rookie ball and in Class A, but has had no real success above that.  His best season above Class A was probably 2009, when we went a combined 5-12, 3.93 for the AA teams of Florida and Washington.  He struck out 102 in 146.2 innings, but posted a WHIP of 1.41.  He was traded to the Nationals' system at the trade deadline of 2009 for Nick Johnson.  He stayed there through the end of 2010, when he was claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh.  Despite having made only six career appearances in AAA (five starts), he was called up in late August of 2011 and appeared in four games, his only major league time to date.  He did about as well as one would expect, allowing six runs on thirteen hits and six walks in 7.2 innings for an ERA of 7.04.  The Twins signed him as a free agent in December of 2011.  He spent 2012 in New Britain but didn't get much accomplished, going 3-8, 5.23, 1.59 WHIP.  He moved to the bullpen in 2013, doing very well in 11 appearances in New Britain and not badly in 31 appearances in Rochester.  He spent 2014 pitching out of the Rochester bullpen and did not do anything noteworthy, but he got a September call-up anyway and did okay, posting a 2.45 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP in 7.1 innings.  He spent the first half of 2015 with the Twins.  He did okay for the first month or two, but ultimately went 1-3, 5.01, 1.33 WHIP in 32.1 innings (41 appearances) and finished the year in Rochester.  He was released at the end of spring training of 2016 and spent the summer pitching for Sugar Land in the Atlantic League, but was nothing special there.  That brought his playing career to an end.  His totals with the Twins are 1-3, 4.54, 1.34 WHIP in 39.2 innings (48 appearances).  At last report, Aaron Thompson was the owner of Infinity Health and Wellness in the Phoenix area.

Infielder/outfielder Cartier Niko Goodrum appeared in eleven games for the Twins in 2017.  Born and raised in Fayetteville, Georgia, he was drafted in the second round by Minnesota in 2010.  When one looks at his career, one has to conclude he simply didn't develop the way the Twins hoped he would when they drafted him in the second round.  He spent three years in rookie ball, and by 2012 still only had an OPS of .768--not bad, but not what you'd want, either.  From there, he went to Cedar Rapids in 2014, to Fort Myers in 2015, and to Chattanooga in 2016, batting around .250 and posting an OPS each season somewhere in the vicinity of .700.  Not terrible, really, but not numbers that suggest we're dealing with a big-league prospect here.  He went to Rochester in 2017 and had a similar season, batting .265/.309/.425, a better year than he'd been having but not outstanding by any means.  He got a September call-up and played in eleven games, three as a pinch-hitter and two as a pinch-runner.  He went 1-for-17 with a walk, giving him a stat line of .059/.111/.059.  Those are his total numbers as a Twin. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Detroit for 2018.  At that time we said, "It's still possible that he'll figure something out--it would be unusual at this point, but not unprecedented."  And it looks like he did, at least to a limted extent.  Playing six different positions, he batted .245/.315/.432 with 16 home runs in 492 plate appearances.  He played seven positions for the Tigers in 2019 and put up similar numbers.  He played only two positions in 2020, however, and had a poor year, batting just .184 in the shortened season.  He rebounded some, but not a lot, in 2021, batting .214 while playing five positions.  He signed with Houston for 2022 but did not hit, was sent to AAA in mid-May, and was released in early September.  He signed with Boston for 2023.  The position thing is nice, but he's going to have to hit to stay in the majors.  Given that he turns thirty-one today, that seems unlikely.

February 27

Walter Briggs (1877)

Cy Perkins (1896)

Hilton Smith (1907)

Bill Capps (1919)

Buck Elliott (1919)

Johnny Pesky (1919)

Connie Ryan (1920)

John Wockenfuss (1949)

Ron Hassey (1953)

Greg Cadaret (1962)

Pete Smith (1966)

Matt Stairs (1968)

Willie Banks (1969)

Craig Monroe (1977)

Anibal Sanchez (1984)

Denard Span (1984)

Yovani Gallardo (1986)

Walter Briggs was involved in the ownership of the Detroit Tigers from 1920-1952, becoming sole owner in 1935.

Hilton Smith was a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues from 1931-1950.  Some observers considered him the equal of, if not better than, Satchel Paige.

Bill Capps was a third baseman who played in the minors for twenty years, fifteen of them at Class A or below.

Buck Elliott was an outfielder who played in the minors for fourteen years, all but one of them at Class A or below.

Right-hander Willie Anthony Banks pitched for the Twins in the early 1990s.  He was born in Jersey City and attended high school there.  He was drafted by Minnesota with the third pick of the 1987 draft.  Banks was up and down in the minors.  He was very wild in his first two seasons, walking 169 batters in 190 innings.  He pitched well for Class A Visalia in 1989, but less well for AA Orlando in 1990 and AAA Portland in 1991.  Banks made his big league debut in 1991, making three not-very-good starts in August.  In 1992, however, he seemed to be putting things together:  he went 6-1, 1.92 in eleven starts in Portland, and was called up to the majors and placed in the Twins' starting rotation in early June.  He lasted two months there, going 4-4, 4.62 before being sent to the bullpen for the rest of the season.  Banks was in the starting rotation for all of 1993, his first full season in the majors.  He went 11-12, 4.04, but with a WHIP of 1.54.  After the season, he was traded to the Cubs for Dave Stevens and Matt Walbeck.  Banks was in the Cubs' rotation in 1994 until he got hurt in August, but did not pitch particularly well.  Moved to the bullpen for 1995, he pitched quite badly and was traded to the Dodgers in July.  He made six starts for the Dodgers, was placed on waivers, and was chosen by the Marlins.  He made nine starts for Florida, was waived again after the season, and was chosen by Philadelphia.  The Phillies released him in March of 1996, and he did not play baseball that season.  He signed with the Yankees for 1997 and pitched well in AAA, getting a September call-up.  He got off to a poor start in 1998 and was traded to Arizona.  He pitched pretty well out of the bullpen for the expansion Diamondbacks, but he was allowed to become a free agent after the season.  Banks went to Japan for 1999, but in 2000 came back to play in the Mets' organization.  He returned to the Diamondbacks' organization for 2001, was released in August, and was picked up by Boston.  He actually pitched quite well out of the Red Sox' bullpen, going 2-1, 2.72 with a WHIP of 1.11 for the rest of 2001 and all of 2002 (49.2 innings).  Boston let him go after 2002, however; he was in AAA with the Yankees and Cubs in 2003, and was in independent ball in 2004 and 2005.  Banks’ mother passed away in 2006, which plunged him into a severe depression and contemplating suicide.  Instead, however, he returned to baseball, reaching out to his friend Tim Raines, manager of the Newark Bears.  Raines offered him a job as a pitcher/pitching coach, jobs he held through 2012.  At last report, Willie Banks was a coach and instructor at the Toms River Baseball Academy in Toms River, New Jersey.

Outfielder Craig Keystone Monroe played for the Twins in 2008.  Born in Texarkana, Texas, he attended high school there, then was drafted by Texas in the eight round in 1995.  His minor league numbers were unimpressive until he started to develop power in 1998:  he hit 17 homers in each of 1998 and 1999 and hit 20 homers in each of 2000 and 2001.  Monroe made his major league debut in 2001, getting called up to the Rangers in late July and staying the rest of the season.  He batted only 52 times in the majors, hitting .212, and was placed on waivers after the season.  He was selected by Detroit and hit .321 in AAA Toledo in 2002, although with only ten homers.  He also got 25 at-bats in the majors, hitting .120.  Monroe started 2003 in the minors, but was called up within a few weeks and came to stay.  He was the regular left-fielder and hit 23 homers, although he hit only .240.  He remained a regular outfielder for the Tigers until he was traded in August of 2007.  His best average as a Tiger was .293 in 2004; the most home runs he hit was 28 in 2006.  That was as good as it would get.  Monroe was having a poor year in 2007 when he was traded to the Cubs.  The change of scenery did not help him, and he was sent to Minnesota after the season "as part of a conditional deal."  Used mostly as a designated hitter/pinch hitter, Monroe hit only .202/.274/.405 in 163 at-bats in 2008 and was released in August.  He signed with Pittsburgh for 2009 but was used sparingly and again did not hit.  He was released in July, bringing his playing career to an end.  Monroe is a cousin of Chicago Bears defensive back Nathan Vasher.  Monroe's mother's first name is Marilyn.  At last report, Craig Monroe was a baseball analyst for Bally Sports Detroit.

Right-hander Anibal Alejandro Sanchez did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them for a couple of weeks in 2018.  Born and raised in Maracay, Venezuela, he signed with Boston in 2001.  He did pretty well in the minors, reaching AA in 2005 at age 21.  After that season he was traded to Florida in a deal that involved Hanley Ramirez, Josh Beckett, and Mike Lowell.  He started 2006 in AA but was jumped to the majors in late June and was tremendous, going 10-3, 2.83, 1.19 WHIP in 17 starts.  He then struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness for the next three seasons.  He came back in 2010 to have a fine year and was a solid major league pitcher through 2014.  He was traded to Detroit in July of 2012 and had no problems in switching leagues.  In fact, in 2013 he had the best season of his career, going 14-8, 2.57 and leading the league in ERA and FIP and finishing fourth in Cy Young voting.  He struggled from 2015-2017, going 20-30, 5.67.  He signed with the Twins on February 20, 2018, but was released two and a half weeks later and signed with Atlanta.  There was no real reason to think he'd be an effective pitcher again but he was, 7-6, 2.83, 1.08 WHIP.   He was a free agent after the season and signed with Washington for 2019, for whom he didn't match those totals but still had another fine season.  He could not keep it going, however, as he had a very poor season for the Nationals in 2020.  It was reported that he had received offers to pitch in 2021, but between the terms of the offers and COVID concerns he chose not to.   He came back with Washington in 2022, though, and pitched fairly well in fourteen starts.  He turns thirty-nine today and is a free agent again at this writing.  It seems like he could get a chance to pitch for someone in 2023 if he wants to badly enough.

Outfielder Keiunta Denard Span played for the Twins from 2008-2012.  He was born in Tampa and went to high school there.  The Twins drafted him in the first round in 2002.  His minor league record is okay, but not spectacular--he never really had a bad year, but he never really had an outstanding year, either, although he did attract attention when he hit .339 in 186 at-bats in Ft. Myers in 2005.  He started 2008 with Minnesota, but was sent down in late April when he was hitting .258 with no extra-base hits.  He hit .340 in 156 at-bats in Rochester, and was back in Minnesota by the end of June.  He became the regular right fielder in the absence of Michael Cuddyer and ended the season hitting .294.  In 2009, playing primarily in center but all over the outfield to some extent, Span hit .311 and led the league in triples with 10.  The trade of Carlos Gomez made Span the regular center fielder in 2010, but he did not respond well; while he again hit ten triples, he hit only .264 with an OBP of .331.  2011 was no better; he again hit .264 with an OBP of .328 in a concussion-plagued season.  He bounced back somewhat in 2012, batting .283 with an OBP of .342.  After the season, he was traded to Washington for Alex Meyer.  He led the league with eleven triples in 2013, but otherwise had a season that fits in with the rest of his career.  In 2014, however, he had his best season since 2009, leading the league in hits and batting over .300.  He was on his way to another fine season in 2015 but missed nearly half the season with back and abdominal injuries.  A free agent after the season, he signed with San Francisco for 2016 and was their regular center fielder through 2017, doing okay but nothing special.  He was traded to Tampa Bay after the 2017 season with three other players for Evan Longoria.  He was their left fielder through late May, then was traded to Seattle, where he had another okay season.  His playing career ended after the 2018 season.  As a Twin, Denard Span hit .284/.357/.389, with his first two seasons being easily his best.  He's married to Olympic hockey player Anne Schleper, and has started the Denard Span Foundation to aid single parent families.  At last report, Denard Span was a special assistant in baseball operations for the Tampa Bay Rays.

February 26

Grover Alexander (1887)

Rip Collins (1896)

Preacher Roe (1916)

Johnny Blanchard (1933)

Don Lee (1934)

Hiromitsu Kadota (1948)

Jack Brohamer (1950)

Rick Wieters (1955)

Kelly Gruber (1962)

Scott Service (1967)

J. T. Snow (1968)

Mark DeRosa (1975)

Trevor Larnach (1997)

Hiromitsu Kadota is third on the Japanese professional baseball home run list with 567.

The father of Matt Wieters, Rick Wieters pitched in the minor leagues for five years, reaching AA.

Right-hander Donald Edward Lee pitched for Minnesota in 1961 and the first part of 1962.  His father, Thornton Lee, was also a major league pitcher (both Lees surrendered home runs to Ted Williams, the only time a player has hit a home run against a father and son).  Don Lee was born in Globe, Arizona, attended the University of Arizona, and signed with Detroit as a free agent in 1956.  He pitched very well in the Sally League that year, and was in Detroit in April of 1957.  He started the season in the starting rotation, but lost his spot in mid-May, was used sporadically, and then sent back to the minors.  Lee was in AAA Charleston the next two years and pitched very well, winning 14 games each year and posting an ERA of 3.20 in 420 innings.  After the 1959 season, Lee was traded to Milwaukee, but the Braves left him unprotected and he was chosen by Washington in the Rule 5 draft.  He pitched well for Washington, working mostly in relief until late July, when he entered the rotation.  In 1961, Lee came to Minnesota with the team and was used mostly as a "swing man", with ten starts scattered throughout the season.  In both years he pitched well, posting ERAs in the mid-threes.  He started 1962 in the Twins' rotation, but started poorly, and was traded to the Los Angeles Angels in mid-May for Jim Donohue.  As a Twin, he was 14-16, 3.63, 1.29 WHIP.  He was an Angel until June 1 of 1965.  He was used both as a starter and a reliever, and pitched well through 1964.  He was pitching out of the bullpen in 1965, and was off to a poor start, when he was traded to Houston.  Much of Lee's time with Houston was spent in the minors; he made seven appearances in the big leagues in 1965 and nine in 1966.  He was sold to the Cubs in June of 1966, did poorly in sixteen appearances, and was sent to the minors.  He made seven minor league appearances in 1967, pitching in the Cubs and Giants organizations, and then his career was over.  At last report, Don Lee was living in Tucson, Arizona.

Outfielder Trevor John-Ikaiakaloa Larnach was with the Twins for a little more than half of 2021.  He was born in Walnut Creek, California, went to high school in Pleasant Hill, California, attended Oregon State, and was drafted by Minnesota with the twentieth pick of the first round in 2018.  He hit very well from rookie ball through AA in 2018 and 2019, missed the COVID year of 2020, and started 2021 in AAA.  He was promoted to the Twins in early May and was given a full chance to take the left field spot, but failed to hit and was sent back to AAA in mid-August.  He was in the majors for most of 2022, but missed a lot of time due to injury and did not do all that much when he was able to play.  His major league numbers are .226/.316/.371 in 481 at-bats.  His AAA numbers (in only twenty-four games) are .195/.311/.310, so he really hasn't hit much above AA.  He turns twenty-six today.  He certainly could still improve, but he really needs to have a good and healthy year in 2023.