December 14

John Anderson (1873)

Lefty Tyler (1889)

Bob Weiland (1905)

Eddie Smith (1913)

Rusty Peters (1914)

Bobby Adams (1921)

Sam Jones (1925)

Bob Clear (1927)

Pete Whisenant (1929)

Jim Roland (1942)

Jerry May (1943)

Greg Goossen (1945)

Bill Buckner (1949)

Craig Biggio (1965)

Ken Hill (1965)

Scott Hatteberg (1969)

Marcus Jensen (1972)

Billy Koch (1974)

Rodrigo Lopez (1975)

Dave Gassner (1978)

Bob Clear was in baseball from 1945-1987 as a minor league player and manager, major league coach, and as a scout.

Outfielder Thomas Peter Whisenant was one of the original Minnesota Twins, although he didn't stay long. He was born in Asheville, North Carolina, and signed with the Boston Braves as a free agent in 1947. He began his professional career as a 17-year-old, and naturally needed a few years to get going. In 1950, however, he had a big year for Class A Denver, hitting .312 with 24 home runs. Whisenant did not play at all in 1951 due to military service. He split 1952 between Boston and AAA, although he did not particularly excel at either level. Whisenant was in AAA through May of 1955, but when he hit .333 with 13 homers in two months at Toledo, he was traded to St. Louis. The Cardinals promoted him to the big leagues, but he struggled and was traded again after the season, this time to the Cubs. Whisenant got by far the most playing time of his career that season--it was the only time he played in over 90 games (103) or had more than 210 at-bats (314). He didn't do much with it, though, hitting .239 (the highest season average of his career) with 11 homers, and after the year he was on the move again, this time traded to Cincinnati. He stayed with the Reds through April of 1960, was sold to Cleveland, and two weeks later was traded to the Washington Senators for Ken Aspromonte. He came to Minnesota with the Twins in 1961. He played in ten games for them, going 0-for-6 with a walk, and was released in mid-May of 1961. He was signed by Cincinnati, batted 15 times in three months, and then was released, his career over. Looking at his stats, it's hard to figure out how he hung around so long; not only does he not seem to have any one outstanding skill, he really doesn't even appear to have been average at anything. That's probably too harsh, because there has to be some reason he got nearly 1000 at-bats in the big leagues, but that reason is not readily apparent. After his retirement he became a coach for the Reds for a while; nearly twenty years later, he came back to baseball, managing in the Oakland system in the early 1980s. Pete Whisenant passed away in Port Charlotte, Florida on March 22, 1996.

Left-handed pitcher James Ivan Roland played for Minnesota in the 1960s. Born in Franklin, North Carolina, Roland went to high school in Raleigh and signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1961. A starting pitcher in the minors, Roland had a couple of fine years with Class B Wilson, getting a September call up in 1962, when he pitched two scoreless innings. He was with the Twins for all of 1963 and 1964, but probably suffered some injuries both years, as he went for long stretches without being used both years. Despite pitching well enough when he did pitch, Roland was sent to AAA Denver for all of 1965 and nearly all of 1966. He had a poor year in 1966, losing 19 games and posting a 4.80 ERA with a 1.59 WHIP. Roland again apparently battled injuries at the beginning of 1967, and when he returned he was in the Minnesota bullpen. He pitched well there for two years, posting ERAs in the low to mid threes and WHIPs of 1.3 to 1.4. In February of 1969, Roland was sold to Oakland. He was in the Athletics bullpen for a little over three years and did even better, with an ERA of 2.51 and a WHIP of 1.21. In late April of 1972 he was again sold, this time to the Yankees. He pitched poorly in limited duty over four months in New York, was traded to Texas in late August, and was out of baseball after the season. As a Twin, Jim Roland was 10-9 with a 3.42 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in 244.2 innings. Following his playing career he worked for E. C. Frazier & Associates, a sporting goods wholesaler. Jim Roland passed away from cancer on March 6, 2010 in Shelby, North Carolina.

Catcher Jerry Lee May did not play for the Twins, but he went to spring training with them in 1974. He was born in Staunton, Virginia, and signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent in 1961. He had a couple of very good years in Class D ball, but never hit very much when he advanced to higher levels. He was reputed to be a very good defensive catcher, which is how he managed to have a substantial major league career despite a weak bat. He got a September call-up in 1964, another in 1965, and then was in the majors to stay. He was the third catcher for the Pirates in 1966, behind Jim Pagliaroni and Jesse Gonder, but became the mostly regular in 1967, when he had his best year at bat, hitting .271. He got the most playing time of his career in 1968, but slumped to .219 and was never a regular catcher again. He played for several more years, though, backing up Manny Sanguillen in 1969 and 1970, then getting traded to Kansas City, where he shared catching duties with several players. He was sold to the Mets in May of 1973, was released in July, and was picked up by Pittsburgh for the remainder of the season. Most of that season was spent in AAA, however, and he was let go after the campaign was over. Minnesota signed him for 1974, but he could not beat out such luminaries as Glenn Borgmann, Phil Roof, and an aging Randy Hundley. He failed to make the team, and his playing career was over. Jerry May apparently retired to his home state of Virginia. He passed away in Swoope, Virginia, in 1996 at age 52 as the result of a farming accident.

Catcher Marcus Christian Jensen was with the Twins for the first four months of the 2000 season. A native of Oakland, he went to high school there and was drafted by San Francisco in the first round in 1990. He spent a year in rookie ball and four years in A ball before being promoted to AA in 1995 and AAA in 1996. He played briefly (nine games) in the big leagues in 1996, and for six years after that he spent part of each year in the majors and part in AAA. He was with a lot of organizations during that time. Jensen was traded to Detroit in July of 1997, was released six days later, was re-signed four days after that. He was released by the Tigers again in March of 1998 and signed with Milwaukee for that season. He moved on to St. Louis in 1999, became a free agent after the season, and signed with Minnesota for 2000. He was with the Twins through the end of July, hitting .209/.325/.338 in 139 at-bats. It was the most he would ever play in a major league season. He was then sent back to AAA Salt Lake, and once again became a free agent at the end of the year. He played for the 2000 Olympic team, and went to spring training with Dodgers, but failed to make the team. Boston picked him up, then waived him in mid-June. He was selected by Texas finished 2001 there, and then went to Milwaukee for 2002. He got 64 more big-league at-bats during that time, four for Boston, 25 for Texas, and 35 for the Brewers. Jensen moved on to the Phillies organization for 2003, but was traded to the Yankees' organization before the season started. He played in the Mexican League in 2004 and then spent two years with independent teams before finally hanging up his spikes. He had 343 major league at-bats spread over seven seasons, with a lifetime batting average of .184. Marcus Jensen managed the AZL Athletics in the Arizona League from 2009-2013, was the minor league batting coordinator for the Athletics in 2014, and has been a coach in the majors for Oakland since 2015.  He was their bullpen coach from 2021-2022 and is currently their quality control coach.

Left-hander David Kenneth Gassner made two starts with the Twins in 2005. Born in Hortonville, Wisconsin, he went to Purdue, getting a degree in education. He was drafted by Toronto in the 24th round in 2001. He pitched pretty well in the Blue Jays' organization for three years, reaching AA in 2003 and also making two starts at AAA. After that year, he was sent to the Twins as the player to be named later in the deal that also sent Shannon Stewart to Minnesota for Bobby Kielty. He had a very good season for Rochester in 2004, going 16-8, 3.41 with a 1.18 WHIP. His two starts in 2005 came in April; he pitched very well against Cleveland, then was blasted by Kansas City. Gassner was 1-0, 5.87 in 7.2 innings in what were his only major league games. Things went downhill for him after that: he had a poor year at Rochester in 2005, was out much of 2006 with a left elbow strain, had another poor year in 2007, and was allowed to become a free agent. Gassner signed with Cincinnati for 2008, but was released in spring training. He pitched seven games for the independent York Revolution before the Red Sox' organization picked him up in early June. He did not do well for AA Portland, however, and was released again. He once again pitched for York in 2009, but a muscle strain in his neck limited his effectiveness, and he announced his retirement after the season and returned to Wisconsin. At last report, Dave Gassner was a physical education teacher and baseball coach at Appleton West High School in Appleton, Wisconsin for some years, and at last report was a pitching coach for XLR8  Sports Training in Menasha, Wisconsin.

December 13

Jack Taylor (1873)

Hank Majeski (1916)

Larry Doby (1923)

Shotgun Shuba (1924)

Carl Erskine (1926)

Billy Loes (1929)

Bubba Morton (1931)

Lindy McDaniel (1935)

J. C. Martin (1936)

Ron Taylor (1937)

Ferguson Jenkins (1942)

Paul Boris (1955)

Dale Berra (1956)

Mike Mordecai (1967)

Matthew LeCroy (1975)

Ricky Nolasco (1982)

Right-handed pitcher Paul Stanley Boris appeared in twenty-three games for Minnesota in 1982, which was all of his major league career. He was born in Irvington, New Jersey, went to Rutgers, and was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 1978. A reliever, he pitched very well in four years in the Yankees farm system, spending two years in Class A and one each in AA and AAA. Boris was taken by the Twins in the Rule 5 draft in December of 1981, but was returned on April 2. A week later, Boris was traded to Minnesota, along with Ron Davis and Greg Gagne, for Roy Smalley. Boris was sent to AAA Toledo, did okay, and was promoted to the Twins in late May. He was used in long relief, and by Twins standards of 1982 he was actually pretty decent: a 3.99 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in 49.2 innings. Something happened to him after that, though. He failed to make the team in 1983, pitched poorly in Toledo, was sent to AA, continued to pitch poorly, and was released after the season. He signed with Atlanta for 1984, but pitched only seven games for AAA Richmond before being released again, his career over. It seems likely that an injury was involved, but this could not be confirmed. At last report, Paul Boris was a manager for Chubb in Zurich, Switzerland.

Catcher/DH Matthew Hanks LeCroy was with Minnesota from 2000-2005 and again in 2007, which was nearly all of his major league career. He was born in Belton, South Carolina and went to high school there. He then attended Clemson and was drafted by the Twins in the first round in 1997. He showed quite a bit of power early on, hitting 53 home runs in his first two minor league seasons. He got brief shots at AAA in each of his those years, but was essentially jumped from Class A to the majors at the start of 2000. Understandably, he was not ready, and was sent to AA in mid-June after hitting .170. Le Croy did not get a full season in AAA until 2001, when he hit .328 with 20 homers for Edmonton. That got him a September call-up, and in 2002, he was in the majors. By this time, LeCroy was seldom used as a catcher, getting most of his at-bats as a designated hitter. He was never more than a part-time player--his highest at-bat total was 374--but he was a solid contributor to the Twins from 2002 through 2005. After the 2005 season, LeCroy became a free agent and signed with Washington. There was no reason to think this would go well--there was no DH in the National League, and LeCroy's defensive abilities, which were always suspect, had been taken away by injuries. Used primarily as a pinch hitter, he hit .239 with two home runs in 67 at-bats. The Twins re-signed him in 2007, but he had a poor year for Rochester. LeCroy was given a last hurrah that September, and then his career was over. As a Twin, he hit .261/.324/.444 with 58 homers. Matthew LeCroy was the manager of the Class AA Harrisburg Senators in the Washington organization in 2012 and 2013, was the Nationals' bullpen coach in 2014 and 2015, and was back in Harrisburg, once again as manager, from 2016-2019.  He was to be their minor league quality control coordinator in 2020, but of course there wasn't really very much for him to do in that position in 2020.  He has managed the Rochester Red Wings since 2021.

Right-hander Carlos Enrique "Ricky" Nolasco joined the Twins in 2014.  He was born in Corona, California, went to high school in Rialto, California, and was drafted by the Cubs in the fourth round in 2001.  A starter for his entire minor league career, he pitched very well in the low minors, fairly well at AA in 2004, and very badly in nine starts at AAA in 2004.  Left in AA for all of 2005, he had an outstanding year, going 14-3, 2.89, 1.22 WHIP with 173 strikeouts in 161.2 innings.  After that season, however, he was traded with two other players to the Marlins for Juan Pierre.  He made his major league debut in 2006 and stayed with the Marlins all season, not doing particularly well but not being totally overmatched at age twenty-three, either.  He was injured much of 2007, but came back in 2008 and was a solid rotation starter for several years.  In his six seasons prior to joining the Twins, he averaged 31 starts, 192 innings, and a 4.30 ERA.  He did not do that well for the Twins in 2014, making 27 starts, pitching 159 innings, and posting a 5.38 ERA.  Many times he did not look that far away from being a good pitcher, but he could never get the corner turned.  He was injured most of 2015 and did not pitch well when he did pitch.  He continued to not pitch well in 2016, so on August 1 the Twins traded him along with Alex Meyer to the Angels for Hector Santiago and Alan Busenitz.  He did quite well for them in eleven starts that season, but struggled again in 2017.  He turns thirty-five today.  As a Twin, Ricky Nolasco was 15-22, 5.44, 1.47 WHIP in 321 innings (57 games, 56 starts).  He signed with Kansas City for 2018 but was released in spring training.  He did not play in 2018 but signed with Arizona for 2019 and made eleven minor league appearances, not doing very well.  He did not sign with anyone for 2020 and his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Ricky Nolasco was living in Los Angeles.

December 12

Phenomenal Smith (1864)

Tully Sparks (1874)

Buzzie Bavasi (1915)

Clyde Kluttz (1917)

Ralph Garr (1945)

Gorman Thomas (1950)

Steve Farr (1956)

Alonzo Powell (1964)

Orlando Hudson (1977)

Ervin Santana (1982)

Sawyer Gipson-Long (1997)

Matt Wallner (1997)

Emil "Buzzie" Bavasi was the general manager of the Dodgers from 1951-1968, San Diego from 1969-1972, and the Angels from 1977-1984.

Outfielder Alonzo Sidney Powell did not play for Minnesota, but was in their farm system for a year. He was born in San Francisco, went to high school in San Francisco, and was signed by San Francisco as a free agent in 1983. He was in the Giants' system for two years, but didn't hit. The Giants kept him under contract for 1985, but loaned him to independent San Jose. He did a little better, but was traded to Montreal after the season ended. The trade seemed to help him--he hit .301 in AA in 1986 and started 1987 in the majors. That lasted only a month, but he hit .299 in AAA at age 22 and looked poised to make a move. Instead, he went backward, hitting .262 in AAA in 1988 and .232 in 1989. He was traded to Minnesota after the 1989 season as the player to be named later when the Twins traded Jim Dwyer to the Expos. Again, the trade seemed to help him, as he hit .322 in Portland in 1990. It made no impression on the Twins, though; they let him become a free agent after the season. Signing with Seattle, Powell was hitting .375 at AAA Calgary when he was promoted to the majors in late May. He was given sporadic playing time, however, and did not do much with it. He started 1992 in Calgary again, but then signed with Chunichi Dragons in Japan. Powell stayed in Japan until 1998, when he decided to give it one last shot in the United States. He was in AAA with the organizations of Toronto, the Yankees, and Colorado through 2000, but never got back to the big leagues. He played in 2001 for independent Newark, and then retired. Powell then went into coaching. On May 9, 2009, he became the hitting coach for the Seattle Mariners, a job he held until 2011.  From 2012-2015, Alonzo Powell was the assistant batting coach of the San Diego Padres.  He was the assistant batting coach of the Houston Astros from 2016-17.  He was the batting coach for San Francisco from 2018-2019.  In 2020 he went back to Japan, and was a roving batting instructor for the Chunichi Dragons.  He returned to the United States in 2024, and was the batting coach of the Salt Lake Bees.

Second baseman Orlando Thill Hudson played for the Twins in 2010. Born and raised in Darlington, South Carolina, he was drafted in the 43rd round by Toronto in 1997. He posted decent but unspectacular batting averages early in his minor league career, hitting a fair number of doubles and drawing a good number of walks. He came on in 2001, hitting .306 in a season split between AA and AAA and following it up with a .307 average in AAA in 2002. He made his big league debut in the latter season, coming up in late July and immediately taking over as the Blue Jays’ starting second baseman. He remained their starting second baseman through the 2005 season, hitting around .270 with an OPS of around .750 and winning a Gold Glove in his last season there. He was traded to Arizona after the 2005 campaign and was the second baseman for the Diamondbacks from 2006-2008. He hit a little better there, hitting over .300 in 2008, winning two more Gold Gloves, and making the all-star team in 2007. He was a free agent after the 2008 season and signed with the Dodgers for 2009, making another all-star team and winning another Gold Glove. A free agent again after the 2009 season, he signed with Minnesota for 2010. He neither made the all-star team nor won the gold glove, hitting .268 with an OPS of .710. A free agent after the season, he signed with San Diego and had the worst year of his career, hitting .246 with an OPS of .681.  He was worse in 2012, batting .211 when he was released in mid-May.  He signed with the White Sox and stayed the rest of the season as a reserve, but batted just .197.  He stated in 2013 that he was not ready to retire, but major league baseball was apparently ready to retire him, and his playing career came to an end.  Orlando Hudson founded the C.A.T.C.H. foundation, an organization that seeks to provide resources and a support system for youth coping with autism.  At last report, he was a player development assistant for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Right-hander Ervin Ramon Santana played for the Twins from 2015-2018.  Born in La Romana, Dominican Republic, he signed with the Angels as a free agent in 2000.  He pitched very well throughout the minors and made his major league debut for the Angels in 2005, becoming a rotation starter in mid-May at the ripe old age of twenty-two.  He wasn't great, but he showed he belonged in the majors and has been there ever since, other than a few rehab assignments.  He was up and down early in his career, but has pitched pretty well since 2010.  He's had some problems with the gopher ball, giving up a league-leading thirty-nine homers in 2012.  That was his last year with the Angels, as he became a free agent after the season and signed with Kansas City.  He pitched well as a Royal but did not get any run support.  A free agent again after the season, he signed with Atlanta and had another solid season.  He signed with Minnesota for 2015 and was suspended for the first half of the season due to a failed drug test, but he came back to pitch well in the second half of the season.  He had an excellent season in 2016, although his won-lost record did not show it.  He had another excellent season in 2017, and this time his won-lost record did show it.  He also made his second all-star team in 2017.  He was injured nearly all of 2018, however, and was ineffective when he did pitch.  He signed with the White Sox for 2019 but was released in late April after three poor games.  He signed with the Mets in late May and did not pitch very well in AAA.  He did not play in 2020, but he played winter ball and signed with Kansas City for 2021 and was somewhat okay pitching out of the bullpen.  He became a free agent after the season.  He played winter ball that off-season, but that brought his playing career to an end.  At last report, it appeared that Ervin Santana was working with Peculiar Fitness in the Atlanta area.

Right-hander Alec Sawyer Gipson-Long did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system from 2019-2022.  He was born in Lithia Springs, Georgia and attended Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.  He really did not pitch all that well in college--his numbers are 13-5, 5.59, 1.47 WHIP--but he struck out 165 batters in 140 innings and was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in 2019.  He struggled in 2019 in rookie ball, did not play in the COVID season of 2020, and did not do all that well in Class A in 2021, although he did continue to strike out a lot of batters.  In 2022, however, he appeared to turn a corner, going 5-2, 1.99, 0.93 WHIP in ten high-A starts before being traded to Detroit for Michael Fulmer.  They promoted him to AAA for seven starts that season.  He did well in AA in 2023, but not as well in eight appearances in AAA.  Despite that, he was given a September call-up and pitched very well in four major league starts, going 1-0, 2.70, 1.10 WHIP with 26 strikeouts in 20 innings.  He was injured most of 2024, making just one rehab appearance for Class A Lakeland.  He turns twenty-seven today, and is hoping to return in 2025.

Outfielder Matthew John Wallner came up to the Twins in September of 2022.  Born and raised in Forest Lake, Minnesota, he attended the University of Southern Mississippi and was drafted by the Twins in the first round in 2019.  He batted very well in college, posting an OPS of over a thousand every year.  He has batted well at every stop in the minors, too.  He spent most of 2019 at Elizabethton, posting an OPS of .813.  He did not play in the COVID year of 2020, but in 2021 he had an OPS of .858 in Cedar Rapids.  He started 2022 in Wichita, soon proved that he was too good for AA, went to St. Paul and kept hitting, and reached the majors in mid-September.  He split 2023 between AAA and the majors, spending most of the last half of the season in Minnesota.  He had some hot streaks and some slumps, but he ended up at .249/.370/.507, which is pretty good.  He split 2024 the same way, and had similar results.  He turns twenty-seven today.  On the one hand, he hasn't really established himself in the majors, but on the other hand, he's posted an OPS of .866 in essentially a full season of at-bats.   He's been much better against right-handers than against left-handers, but he's had fewer than one hundred at-bats against left-handers.  It's time to give him a full-time job and see what he can do.

December 11

Old Hoss Radbourn (1854)

Art Wilson (1885)

Fred Toney (1888)

Willie Gisentaner (1899)

Swish Nicholson (1914)

Hal Brown (1924)

Lee Maye (1934)

Mike Henneman (1961)

Thomas Howard (1964)

Jay Bell (1965)

Derek Bell (1968)

Frankie Rodriguez (1972)

Joe Blanton (1980)

Dalton Pompey (1992)

In 2014, Dalton Pompey became the first big leaguer ever to have the given first name "Dalton".  In case anyone remembers Dalton Jones (whose birthday was yesterday), his given first name was James.

Infielder Jay Stuart Bell did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them. Born on Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, he attended high school in Pensacola, and was drafted by Minnesota with the eighth pick of the 1984 draft. He was not in the Twins' system long--on August 1, 1985, he was traded to Cleveland with Richard Yett, Curt Wardle, and Jim Weaver for Bert Blyleven. His minor league numbers were okay, but nothing to get terribly excited about; his best year in the minors was probably 1987, when he hit .260 with 17 homers. Bell got a September call-up in 1986 and spent parts of 1987 and 1988 in Cleveland, but was not particularly impressive. One has to remember his age, however; in 1988 he was still only 22 years old. In March of 1989, Bell was traded to Pittsburgh. He was a part-time player in 1989, but became the regular shortstop in 1990. Bell would remain a big-league regular for the next twelve years. He really first rose to prominence in 1991, when he hit .270 with 16 homers and finished 12th in MVP voting. He made his first all-star team in 1993, when he hit .300 for the only time in his career. He also won a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger award that season. Bell remained in Pittsburgh through 1996, was traded to Kansas City for 1997, and signed with Arizona as a free agent for 1998. In 1999, he made the all-star team again and finished 13th in MVP voting. He started to slip in 2001, and battled injuries much of 2002. Bell signed with the Mets for 2003, finishing up his career that season as a reserve infielder/pinch-hitter. Bell was known as an excellent fielder and a superb bunter, twice leading the league in sacrifice bunts. Bell was a coach for Arizona through 2006, but then retired to spend more time with his family.  Eventually, however, he must have decided he had spent enough time with them, because in 2011 and 2012 he was the batting coach of the AA Mobile BayBears.  In 2013 he was the batting coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and in 2014-2015 was the bench coach for the Cincinnati Reds.  He apparently was out of baseball in 2016, but was the manager of the Tampa Yankees in 2017, managed the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League, moved up to AA Trenton in the Yankees organization in 2018, and moved up again to the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in 2019.  He was the manager of the Rocket City Trash Pandas, the AA affiliate of the Angels, from 2020-2021.  He did some coaching for the Tri-City ValleyCats in the Frontier League in 2022.  He is on the advisory board of Baseball Assistance Team, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping major league, minor league, and Negro league players through financial and medical difficulties.

Pitcher Francisco “Frankie” Rodriguez spent the bulk of his major league career with Minnesota. He was born in Brooklyn and went to high school there. He was drafted by Boston in the second round in 1990, but did not sign until June of 1991, instead attending junior college.  While there, he was named College Player of the Year by Baseball America. Rodriguez was drafted as a shortstop, but after one season in Class A Elmira, in which he hit .271, he was converted to pitching. He advanced one level per season, reaching the big leagues in 1995. He pitched only nine games for the Red Sox, though, because in July he and J. J. Johnson were traded to Minnesota for Rick Aguilera. Rodriguez was immediately inserted into the starting rotation. He won 13 games in 1996, which got some people excited, but his ERA was 5.05 and his WHIP was 1.43. Still, he was 23, and the thought was that he would only get better. It didn't work out that way. He struggled in 10 starts in 1997 and was sent to the bullpen. He actually did pretty well as a reliever, posting a 2.88 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP in that role. He could not repeat that success in 1998. He did poorly both as a starter and a reliever, and was sent back to AAA Salt Lake for half the year. Rodriguez started 1999 in Salt Lake, but did poorly in nine starts and was placed on waivers in late May. Seattle selected him and he finished 1999 with the Mariners. He remained in Seattle for most of 2000, but did not pitch well and was released after the season. Rodriguez got a last shot with Cincinnati in 2001 and did well in the Louisville bullpen. He spent about three weeks with the Reds that year; his numbers look awful, but are skewed by two bad outings. Still, Cincinnati released him after the season. Rodriguez made a brief comeback with the independent Newark Bears in 2008, pitching for them for about a month, but then was done for good. As a Twin, Frankie Rodriguez was 25-32 with a 5.20 ERA. He appeared in 117 games, 75 of them starts. He is currently living in the New York City area.  He was an assistant coach for SUNY Maritime College in 2021 and became the pitching coach for Mercy University in 2022. He is the founder of 33RODZ Baseball, "New York City's premier youth baseball organization", at least according to their facebook page.

December 10

Jimmy Johnston (1889)

Rudy Hernandez (1931)

Jaime Jarrin (1935)

Doc Edwards (1936)

Bob Priddy (1939)

Dalton Jones (1943)

Steve Renko (1944)

Tim Kurkjian (1956)

Paul Assenmacher (1960)

Doug Henry (1963)

Luis Polonia (1963)

Mel Rojas (1966)

Joe Mays (1975)

Dan Wheeler (1977)

Gregorio Petit (1984)

Pedro Florimon (1986)

Wil Myers (1990)

Carlos Rodon (1992)

Pitcher Rudy Hernandez was a member of the old Washington franchise in 1960, but was chosen by the new Washington franchise in the expansion draft in December of 1960.

Jaime Jarrin was the Dodgers' Spanish-language broadcaster from 1959-2022.  For all the accolades Vin Scully received (and they were deserved), it would have been nice if Jarrin had gotten a little more attention.

Tim Kurkjian has been a baseball writer/reporter since 1978.

Right-hander Joseph Emerson Mays played for the Twins from 1999-2003 and again in 2005. He really only had one good major league season, but he turned it into some substantial money. A cousin of Carl Mays, he was born in Flint, Michigan, went to Southeast High School in Bradenton, Florida, and was drafted by Seattle in the sixth round in 1994. He pitched well in the minors, but took a long time to advance, spending three and a half years combined in rookie and A ball. The first three of those years were in the Mariners organization; at the end of the 1997 season, he was traded to Minnesota as the player to be named later in the deal that sent Roberto Kelly to Seattle. He advanced to AA in 1998, then was jumped to the big leagues in 1999. For a 23-year-old who had never pitched above AA, he didn't do too badly. In 2000, however, he stumbled, going 7-15 with a 5.56 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP in 160 innings. Then, in 2001, he had by far his best season, going 17-13 with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He led the league in ERA+ that year with 145 and made his only all-star appearance. The Twins rewarded him with a long-term contract, but unfortunately, Mays almost immediately started to have arm trouble, and never had a good year again. He struggled through sub-par seasons with the Twins in 2002 and 2003, did not pitch at all in 2004, and continued to struggle in 2005. He made 64 starts for Minnesota in those years, posting an ERA well over five. A free agent after 2005, he bounced around, as teams kept hoping he would regain his 2001 form. Mays started 2006 with Kansas City, was released in May, finished the season with Cincinnati, signed with the Dodgers for 2007, went to the minors, and was released in May again, his career over. At last report, Joe Mays had returned to live in the Bradenton area.

Infielder Gregorio Jesus Petit appeared in twenty-six games for the Twins in 2018.  He was born in Ocumare del Tuy, Venezuela and signed with Oakland as a free agent in 2001.  He had a solid year for Class A Kane County in 2005, did well in AA Midland in 2007, and was promoted to AAA for the second half of the 2007 season.  He reached the majors for about six weeks in 2008, used mostly as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement, but batted well in the few chances he got, going 8-for-23 over 14 games.  2009 was similar, as he again spent about six weeks in the majors and got 31 at-bats over 11 games.  He then started bouncing around, going to Texas in 2010, not signing with anyone in 2011, going to Cleveland in 2012, and moving to San Diego in 2013.  He did not play in the majors in any of those seasons.  In 2014, however, he went to Houston and made it back to the majors, spending a little over two months with the Astros and batting .278 over 97 at-bats.  He moved on to the Yankees in 2015, getting 47 big-league at bats.  2016 found him with the Angels, where he got the most playing time of his career.  Unfortunately, he didn't do a lot with it.  He wasn't terrible, but he batted .245/.299/.348 in 204 at-bats.  He was in AAA with Toronto in 2017.  He signed with the Twins shortly before his birthday in 2018.  At that time, we said, "One assumes he is roster filler/minor league depth.  He'll never be a regular, but he looks like someone who could fill in for a few weeks and at least resemble a major league ballplayer."  I'd say we got that about right.  In his twenty-six games for the Twins, he batted .246/.313/.279.  He signed with Philadelphia for 2019, but was released in spring training, bringing an end to his playing career.  Gregorio Petit was the manager of the Corpus Christi Hooks in the Houston organization from 2021-2022.  He was the manager of the Stockton Ports in 2023 and the Midland Rockhounds in 2024, both in the Oakland organization.

Shortstop Pedro Alexander Florimon, Jr. played for the Twins from 2012-2014.  He was born in La Romana, Dominican Republic and signed with Baltimore as a free agent in 2004.  He must have played somewhere that season and in 2005, but his stats at b-r.com begin in 2006.  He hit .333 in 120 at-bats for Rookie-level Bluefield that season, but struggled at bat since then.  With the exception of seven games in 2009, he did not get above Class A until half-way through the 2010 season, when he finally went to AA Bowie.  He struggled there that season, but in 2011 had his best batting season since rookie ball, hitting .267/.344/.396.  The Orioles were impressed enough to give him a September call-up, in which he went 1-for-8.  They weren't impressed enough to keep him around, though, placing him on waivers in early December.  The Twins claimed him and sent him to New Britain.  When he hit for a decent average in a little over a month there, he was promoted to AAA, and in mid-August he made his debut in Minnesota.  He was the starting shortstop the rest of the season, hitting .219/.269/.303.  He was the Twins' regular shortstop in 2013 and hit about the same.  He started 2014 as the Twins' regular shortstop, but his offense fell apart completely and he was sent to AAA in early May.  The Twins waived him in September and he was claimed by Washington, but the Nationals waived him in November.  He was claimed by Pittsburgh.  He started 2015 in the minors but got back to the Pirates for nearly half the season, playing mostly as a pinch-runner or a defensive replacement.  He was again in AAA in 2016 but got a September call-up.  He signed with Philadelphia for 2017 and spent most of the year at AAA, coming to the majors in mid-August and playing in fifteen games.  He batted .348, although in only forty-six at-bats.  He split 2018 between the majors and AAA and went back to normal.  He signed with Atlanta for 2019 and spent the season in AAA.  He did not play in 2020, other than in winter ball, but signed with San Diego for 2021 and again spent the season in AAA.  He played in the Mexican League in 2022 and played winter ball in Dominican Republic that off-season, but his playing career appears to have ended after that.  No information about what Pedro Florimon has done since that time was readily available.

December 9

Joe Kelley (1871)

Cy Seymour (1872)

Adam Comorosky (1905)

Joe DeMaestri (1928)

Billy Klaus (1928)

Darold Knowles (1941)

Jim Merritt (1943)

Del Unser (1944)

Jerry Cram (1947)

Doc Medich (1948)

Steve Christmas (1957)

Ed Romero (1957)

Juan Samuel (1960)

Tony Tarasco (1970)

Todd Van Poppel (1971)

Tony Batista (1973)

Adam Wilk (1987)

Louie Varland (1997)

Outfielder Del Unser was drafted by Minnesota in the second round in 1965, but did not sign. Catcher Steve Christmas was drafted by Minnesota in the thirty-third round in 1975, but did not sign.

Left-handed pitcher James Joseph Merritt began his major league career in Minnesota, pitching there from 1965-1968, and had his best years as a Twin. Born in Altadena, California, he went to high school in Edgewood, California, and was signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 1961. The record does not show that he played in the minors in 1961, but despite that, he was selected by Minnesota in the 1961 first-year player draft. Merritt won 19 games with Class D Erie in 1962, pitching 223 innings that season at age 18. Promoted to AA the next year, he stumbled a little, but he put in two fine seasons at AAA before being promoted to the Twins at the beginning of August, 1965 (Merritt pitched a combined 266.2 innings between AAA and the majors as a 21-year-old). Used mostly as a starter, he was a solid contributor to the Twins through 1968. Merritt apparently got little run support (it was a low-run era), as he compiled a 37-41 record with a 3.03 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in 122 games, 89 of them starts. After the 1968 season, Merritt was traded to Cincinnati for Leo Cardenas. The Reds apparently supported him better than the Twins did (of course, the rules changed in 1969), as Merritt won 37 games the next two years despite ERAs over four. In 1970, his only 20-win season, Merritt made the all-star team, finished fourth in Cy Young voting and 21st in the MVP balloting. After that, though, Merritt fell off a cliff. The cause was apparently an arm injury which began during the 1970 campaign. His ERA did not significantly increase, but in 98 more appearances (32 starts) over the next five years, he went 7-24. The first two of those years were with Cincinnati, although he was in the minors for much of 1972. After the 1972 season, Merritt was traded to Texas, where he played until his release in July of 1975, which finished his career.  He was honored with a plaque in the West Covina, California Walk of Fame.  At last report, Jim Merritt was living in Hemet, California.

Right-hander Gerald Allen Cram did not play for the Twins, but was originally signed by them. The right-hander was born in Los Angeles, and was signed by Minnesota as a free agent in 1967. He had a couple of fine years at Class A, and was chosen by Kansas City in the expansion draft. He again pitched well at Class A in 1969, and was able to pitch decently in AAA as well, earning a September callup that season. He continued to pitch decently in AAA, and you'd think that an expansion team would have given him a shot, but instead the Royals appear to have given up on him. They moved him to the bullpen in 1972 (where he did very well), and after that season traded him to the Mets. He had three good years in the bullpen at AAA Tidewater, but again struggled to get a chance in the majors, making 10 appearances for the Mets in 1974 and four in 1975. Before the next season, Cram was traded back to Kansas City. He continued to pitch well in Omaha, but could not get a shot at the majors, making four appearances there in 1976 and none thereafter. He remained in the Omaha bullpen through 1980, made two appearances there in 1981, and then called it a career. For his major league career, he made 23 appearances (two starts) and pitched 48.1 innings, posting an ERA of 2.98 and a WHIP of 1.35. He spent a total of 13 seasons at AAA (including 1981), making 411 appearances, 74 of them starts. He was 79-61 with a 3.53 ERA. As desperate as teams have always been for pitching, it's odd that nobody would give him a shot. Jerry Cram was a minor league pitching coach from 1984-2017, when he was the pitching coach of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes.  He then retired, and at last report was living in Round Hill, Virginia.

Infielder Leocadio Francisco "Tony" Batista spent part of 2006 with Minnesota near the end of his career. Born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, he attended Mao High School and was signed by Oakland as a free agent in 1991. He was up and down early in his minor league career, and nearly had his career end in 1993 when a collision with an outfielder resulted in a fractured skull. Batista got things going in 1996, when he hit .322 in his first two months at AAA, earning a promotion to Oakland. He hit .298 for the Athletics that year, finishing seventh in the rookie of the year voting. He had a sophomore slump the next year, hitting only .202 and spending some time back at AAA. He was left unprotected in the expansion draft, and was selected by Arizona. Batista suddenly developed some power in 1998, hitting 18 homers to go with a .277 batting average. In June of 1999, he was traded to Toronto. He hit 31 homers that year and 41 the next, when he made his first all-star team. He slumped in 2001, hitting only .207 in late June, and the Blue Jays placed Batista on waivers. He was quickly chosen by Baltimore, and he rebounded in 2002, hitting 31 homers and again making the all-star team. By this time, he had become strictly a low-average, low OBP slugger. Batista became a free agent after the 2003 season and signed with Montreal, where he hit 32 home runs. He again became a free agent, and went to Japan to play for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks in 2005. He returned to the United States for 2006 and signed with Minnesota, where he was handed the third base job. He promptly handed it back, hitting .236/.303/.388 with poor defense in fifty games. He was released in mid-June, and was out of baseball the rest of the season. Washington signed him for the 2007 season, but with his power gone he really had no positive to offer. He began 2008 at AAA Columbus, but was released on May 1, ending his career.  He is best remembered for his unusual batting stance in which, according to b-r.com, "he takes his place at the very rear of the batter's box with an exaggeratedly open stance that has him almost facing the pitcher straight on; he then takes a huge step forward as the pitch is delivered, attacking the ball with all his might, but very little control."  No information about Tony Batista's life after his release was readily available, but we're confident that whatever he's doing, everyone likes the results.

Left-hander Adam Robert Wilk made three appearances for the Twins in 2017.  He was born in Anaheim, went to high school in Cypress, California, attended Cal State--Long Beach and was drafted by Detroit in the eleventh round in 2009.  He pitched very well in the low minors, made three starts in AA in 2010, then jumped to AAA in 2011, where he continued to pitch well.  He made five appearances in the majors that year, apparently filling in due to injuries, and posted a 5.40 ERA in thirteen innings.  He started 2012 in the Tigers' rotation, but after three starts, one of which was okay and two of which were not, went back to AAA for the rest of the season.  He again pitched quite well there, and was only twenty-four, but the Tigers apparently gave up on him, releasing him after the season.  He ended up going to Korea for 2013 but came back to the United States in 2014, pitching in AAA for Pittsburgh.  He was no longer considered a prospect, but continued to play, signing with the Angels for 2015.  He made one appearance for them in April and then again spent the rest of the season in AAA.  He had a good year in AAA for Tampa Bay in 2016.  He signed with the Mets for 2017, made one appearance for them and six in AAA, and was waived in May.  The Twins claimed him.  He made two appearances for them in May and one in June, not getting much accomplished.  He did little in three appearances in Rochester, either, and was released after about six weeks in the Twins' organization.  He was in AAA for Cleveland in 2018 and was okay, but nothing special.  He became a free agent, went unsigned, and his playing career ended.  For his career, he is 0-5, 7.36 in 40.1 innings (13 appearances, 5 starts).  As a Twin, he was 0-1, 7.84, in 10.1 innings (3 appearances, 1 start).  Adam Wilk's twitter page says "I play baseball for a living, remodel houses, and am a proud Dirtbags alumni."  As he is no longer playing baseball for a living, we assume he has much more time to remodel houses than in the past.  At last report, he was living in Buena Park, California and was coaching high school baseball there.

Right-handed starter Louis Dennis Varland made five starts for the Twins in 2022.  Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, he attended Concordia University and was drafted by Minnesota in the fifteenth round in 2019.  He pitched 8.2 innings in Elizabethton that year and missed the COVID year of 2020, but came back strong in 2021, going 10-4, 2.10, 1.09 WHIP in a year split between Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids.  He started 2022 in Wichita, made four excellent starts in St. Paul, and made five starts as a September call-up in the majors.  He pitched from five to 5.2 innings in each start and went 1-2, 3.81, 1.23 WHIP with twenty-one strikeouts in twenty-six innings.  He was up-and-down between AAA and the majors a few times in 2023, making ten starts and appearing in relief seven times.  He did much better as a reliever, going 1-0, 1.50, 0.58 WHIP in 12 innings versus 3-3, 5.30, 1.36 WHIP as a starter.  He began 2024 in the rotation, but was sent back to AAA after four ineffective starts and was up-and-down between AAA and the majors again the rest of the season, pitching poorly both as a starter and in relief and not doing much in AAA either.  He turns twenty-seven today.  Louie Varland is going to have to take a step forward soon if he's going to have much of a major league career.

December 8

Jack Rowe (1856)

Jimmy Austin (1879)

Spoon Carter (1902)

Sam Zoldak (1918)

Hank Thompson (1925)

Jim Pagliaroni (1937)

Brant Alyea (1940)

Ed Brinkman (1941)

Ken Roy (1941)

Masahiro Doi (1943)

Alan Foster (1946)

Jeff Grotewold (1965)

Mike Mussina (1968)

Garvin Alston (1971)

Reed Johnson (1976)

Vernon Wells (1978)

Josh Donaldson (1985)

Ken Roy was a minor league umpire for two years before becoming a Catholic priest.  He said that his umpiring career helped him in ministry because it gave him more patience with people and made him a better listener.

Masahiro Doi was a fifteen-time all-star in the Japanese Pacific League, playing from 1962-1981.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to AMR’s son, HPR.

Outfielder Garrabrant Ryerson Alyea played for the Twins from 1970-1971, the first of which was the best season of his career. Born in Passaic, New Jersey, he attended Rutherford High School in Rutherford, New Jersey. He then went to Hofstra, and was signed by Cincinnati as a free agent in 1962. He had a tremendous year for Class D Geneva, hitting .319 with 32 home runs. After the 1962 season, Alyea was drafted by Washington in the first-year draft. He jumped to Class A in 1963, and advanced a level per season after that. He reached AAA in 1965, hitting 27 homers for Hawaii, earning a September callup. In 1966, however, he fell to .218 with 21 homers for Hawaii, and the next year, 1967, he found himself back in AA. Alyea rebounded in 1968, hitting .253 with 31 home runs for AAA Buffalo, and was back in the big-leagues by late July, this time to stay a while. He had a mediocre season in 1969 as a part-time outfielder for the Senators, and was traded to Minnesota in March of 1970 for Joe Grzenda and Charlie Walters. He went on to have his best season in 1970, setting career highs in batting average (.291), home runs (16), doubles (12), and RBIs (61), and at-bats (258). The next year, however, he fell on his face, hitting only .177 with two homers. Left unprotected, he was chosen by Oakland in that winter's rule 5 draft. He did little for Oakland, was traded to St. Louis in May, did little there, and was returned to the Athletics in July. He was traded to Texas in the off-season, didn't make the team, went to AAA Pawtucket in the Boston organization, and then retired. After baseball, Alyea went into bartending, the insurance business, worked for a casino in Atlantic City, then worked for a Volvo dealership in Huntington, Pennsylvania. His son, Brant Jose Alyea, born in Nicaragua, played in the minor leagues from 1985-1990, briefly reaching AAA.  Brant Alyea passed away at his home in Pleasantville, New Jersey, on February 4, 2024.

Catcher/first baseman Jeffrey Scott Grotewold, who shares his first two names with your author, did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 1993. He was born in Madera, California, went to the University of San Diego, and was signed by Philadelphia as a free agent in 1986. He rose slowly through the Phillies’ system, reaching AA in 1989 and AAA in 1991. Nothing about his minor league record is particularly noteworthy, either for good or for bad. His best season was probably 1990, when he hit .269 with 15 homers and an OPS of .827. He reached the majors in 1992, spent nearly the entire season there, and was used almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter, playing 72 games but making just 75 plate appearances.  In July of that year, he hit three pinch-hit home runs in three consecutive days, setting a record.  He hit only four home runs in his major league career. In late March of 1993, the Phillies traded Grotewald to Minnesota for minor league infielder Mica Lewis. The Twins sent him to AAA Portland, where he did okay as a reserve, hitting .252/.370/.450 in 151 at-bats. He signed with Detroit for 1994, was released late in spring training, and played in independent ball that year. He then signed with Kansas City and spent two years playing in AAA Omaha, getting about one month in the majors in 1995. His playing career ended after the 1996 season. He then went into business, and has successfully started Grotewold Construction, Inc., Carpet Station, Inc., and Motocinch, Inc. in the Los Angeles area.  At last report, he was living in Running Springs, California.

Right-hander Garvin James Alston did not play for the Twins, but he was their pitching coach in 2018.  Born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, he attended Mercy College, one of two big-leaguers that school has produced (Brian Sweeney) and also attended Florida International University.  He was drafted by Colorado in the tenth round in 1992.  He didn't do much in his first couple of years, when he was a starter, but had a fine year in AA in 1995 when he went to the bullpen.  He pitched poorly in AAA in 1996, despite which he got about two weeks in the majors in June.  He made six appearances, pitching well in three and not pitching well in the other three, which gave him a line of 1-0, 9.00, 2.00 WHIP with 5 strikeouts in 6 innings.  He missed all of 1997, presumably due to injury, and while he came back he never really did much again.  He was in the minors with the Rockies in 1998, with the Dodgers in 1999, and with the Dodgers and Kansas City in 2000, posting ERAs above five each season.  He made eight appearances in independent ball in 2003, pitching well, but then he was done.  He then went into coaching.  He served in the minors from 2005-2007, as the pitching rehab coordinator for Oakland from 2008-2014, and as Oakland's minor league pitching coordinator in 2015.  He got his first major league coaching assignment in 2016 as the bullpen coach for Arizona.  He was the bullpen coach for Oakland in 2017 and was the Twins' pitching coach in 2018.  He was let go, along with manager Paul Molitor and various other coaches, after the 2018 season.  I don't know what he did in 2019-2020, but in 2021-2022 he was the pitching coach of AAA Sacramento in the Giants' organization and in 2023 was the Giants' bullpen coach.  He was the pitching coach for San Francisco in 2024, but will be back to bullpen coach in 2025.  His son, Garvin Alston, Jr., was a pitcher for Arizona State and pitched in the minors for the White Sox in 2021 and for Washington in 2022-2024.

Third baseman Joshua Adam Donaldson came to the Twins in 2020.  He was born in Pensacola, Florida, went to high school in Mobile, Alabama, attended Auburn University,  and was drafted by the Cubs in the first round in 2007.  He was dominating in Class A in 2008 when he was traded to Oakland in a trade involving Chad Gaudin and Rich Harden.  He was okay in AA in 2009 but struggled in AAA in 2010, despite which he was brought to the majors in two stints that totaled about a month.  He spent all of 2011 at AAA.  He was up and down a couple of times in 2012, dominating at AAA but struggling in the majors, although he got better as the season went a long.  In 2013 he finally made the majors to stay and had a big year, batting .301 with 24 homers and finishing fourth MVP voting.  He was down some in 2014, although he wasn't bad by any means.  He was traded to Toronto after that season and had an excellent season, winning the MVP award by batting .297 with 40 homers and leading the league in RBIs.  He continued to play well through 2017, but had an injury-plagued and down year in 2018 and was traded to Cleveland at the August deadline.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with Atlanta, for whom he hit 37 homers with an OPS of .900.  A free agent again, he signed with Minnesota for 2020 and was their regular third baseman for two seasons.  He was a solid offensive contributor, posting numbers of .243/.355/.474 in 538 at-bats.  In spring training of 2022 he was traded to the Yankees with Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela.  It did not go well for him in New York in 2022, as he batted just .222 with an OPS of .682.  In 2023 he batted .142 with the Yankees, was released in late August, signed with Milwaukee, and batted .169 for them.  He became a free agent after the season and went unsigned, ending his playing career.  No information about what Josh Donaldson is doing now was readily available.