February 16

Alex Ferguson (1897)

Parnell Woods (1912)

Creepy Crespi (1918)

Atsushi Aramaki (1926)

Bobby Darwin (1943)

Terry Crowley (1947)

Bob Didier (1949)

Glenn Abbott (1951)

Jerry Hairston (1952)

Barry Foote (1952)

Bill Pecota (1960)

Eric Bullock (1960)

Dwayne Henry (1962)

Jerome Bettis (1972)

Eric Byrnes (1976)

Parnell Woods was an infielder in the Negro Leagues for fourteen years.  He later became the business manager for the Harlem Globetrotters.

Atsushi Aramaki was a dominant pitcher in Japan in the 1950s and is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

Better known as an NFL running back, Jerome Bettis is a part-owner of the Altoona Curve and the State College Spikes.

Outfielder Arthur Bobby Lee Darwin played for the Twins in the early-to-mid 1970s.  Born in Los Angeles, he attended high school in Watts and was signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Angels in 1962.  The signing was not as outfielder, but as a pitcher.  He made his big-league debut that same year, getting a September call-up and pitching 3.1 innings.  He also batted once and struck out, which was a sign of things to come.  It would be seven years before he made a major league appearance again.  Based on sporadic minor-league records, he appears to have struck out quite a few batters, but also walked a lot of batters.  He spent five years in the Baltimore system, never getting higher than AA.  He had a good year for AA Elmira in 1968, going 10-6, 2.21 with a 1.12 WHIP.  At that point, Darwin was left unprotected and was selected by the Dodgers in the Rule 5 draft.  He started 1969 with the Dodgers, but pitched sporadically and poorly, and did no better when he was sent to AAA.  He was now 27 years old and did not appear to be a prospect at all, but apparently someone noticed that this Darwin kid was a pretty fair hitter, and moved him to the outfield.  He spent two years in the minors working on his batting, playing in the big leagues for a little over a month in 1971.  After the season was over, the Dodgers traded Darwin to the Twins for Paul Powell.  Minnesota immediately made him a starting outfielder, initially putting him in center, then shifting him to right.  He showed some power, averaging over twenty homers per season, and did well when he made contact.  Making contact, however, was the problem:  Darwin led the league in strikeouts every year that he was a regular player.  As a Twin, Bobby Darwin hit .257/.318/.417 in 1,817 at-bats, striking out 453 times.  In June of 1975, with Darwin off to a slow start, the Twins traded him to Milwaukee for Johnny Briggs.  The Brewers gave Darwin a chance as a regular, but gradually reduced his playing time.  He was traded to the Red Sox in June of 1976, was traded to the Cubs in May of 1977, and was released in August, ending his career.  Still, for a guy who went undrafted and spent his first eight professional years trying to be a pitcher, Bobby Darwin didn't do too badly.  His grandson, Andrew Darwin, was selected in the 2008 amateur draft, but apparently did not sign.  An internet search for Bobby Darwin leads to information about singer Bobby Darin and about a song by country artist Tracy Lawrence called "Bobby Darwin's Daughter."  Upon ending his playing career, however, our Bobby Darwin became a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers, a job he continued to hold at last report.

Outfielder/first baseman/designated hitter Terrence Michael Crowley did not play for the Twins, but was their hitting coach from 1991-1998.  He was born in Staten Island, New York, went to high school there.  He attended the Brooklyn campus of Long Island University and was drafted by Baltimore in the eleventh round in 1966.  He was decent, but nothing to attract anyone's attention, until 1969, when he hit .282 with 28 homers for AAA Rochester.  That earned him a September call-up, and in 1970 Crowley got his first full year in the big leagues as a bench player, batting .257 with five homers in 152 at-bats.  He was used almost exclusively against right-handed pitching, a pattern which would hold throughout his career.  In 1971 Crowley took a step backward, going to AAA for most of the year, although he spent about six weeks in Baltimore, where he was used almost entirely as a pinch-hitter.  In 1972 he was back in the majors and got the most playing time he would get in a big league season, playing in 97 games and batting 247 times.  He hit only .231, although he did hit 11 home runs.  His playing time was roughly cut in half in 1973, his production fell, and he was sold to Texas after the season.  Crowley never played a game for the Rangers, though--he was sold again, this time to Cincinnati, just before the season.  He was used primarily as a pinch-hitter for the Reds for two years, and did about as well as one could expect in that role.  He was traded to Atlanta in April of 1976, was released in early May after getting only six at-bats, and three weeks later re-signed with Baltimore.  He spent part of 1976 and most of 1977 in Rochester (hitting .308 there in 1977), then was a reserve for the Orioles through 1982.  His best year was 1980, when he hit .288 with 12 home runs in 233 at-bats.  Crowley was released by the Orioles just before the 1983 season, signed with Montreal, and retired after the season.  He became the Baltimore batting coach in 1985, was the batting coach for the Twins from 1991 through 1998, and then went back to Baltimore, where he was the batting coach through 2010.  After that, he opted for semi-retirement, agreeing to serve as a special advisor and roving minor-league coach for the Orioles in 2011.  In June, however, he became the Orioles’ bullpen coach, replacing Rick Adair, who became the pitching coach.  He returned to his role as a special advisor for the Orioles in 2012 and still held that job at last report.

Outfielder Eric Gerald Bullock got seventeen at-bats for the Twins in 1988.  He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in South Gate, California, and was drafted by Houston in the first round of the secondary phase of the 1981 draft.  He hit for a high average with a fair number of doubles throughout the minor leagues.  In 1985, he hit .319 at AAA Tucson, and hit .384 there in 1986 (though in only 151 at-bats).  The Astros were reluctant to give him a chance, however; in both years he was briefly in the majors, but got only a total of 46 at-bats.  Once again sent back to AAA in 1987, he was having a down year when he was traded to Minnesota for Clay Christiansen in June.  The Twins left Bullock in AAA the rest of that year and most of 1988, but brought him to the majors in late July.  He was used almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter, playing in 16 games and getting 17 at-bats.  He went 5-for-17 with three walks and no extra-base hits.  After the season, Bullock was traded to Philadelphia with Tom Herr and Tom Nieto for Shane Rawley.  He had another decent year in AAA, batted four times in the majors, and became a free agent after the 1989 season.  He signed with Montreal for 1990, had another decent year, and got two more at-bats in the majors.  Finally, in 1991, Eric Bullock got a full year in the majors.  Again, he was used almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter, playing in 73 games but coming to bat only 82 times.  He began 1992 in in the majors as well, but was sent down at the end of April after only five at-bats.  He would never return to the big leagues:  he was at AAA for the Expos for the remainder of the season, went to the Mets' organization for 1993, was out of baseball in 1994, and went to the Padres' organization in 1995 before his career came to an end.  A lifetime .294 hitter in the minors, he never got more than 72 at-bats in a major league season.  He did some minor league coaching in 1999 for Ft. Wayne.  At last report, Eric Bullock was a supervisor for UTi Integrated Logistics of Glendale, Arizona, a company that  provides services through a network of freight forwarding offices and contract logistics centers.

February 15

Sliding Billy Hamilton (1866)
Charlie Irwin (1869)
Jimmy Ring (1895)
George Earnshaw (1900)
Larry Goetz (1900)
Lorenzo Ponza (1915)
Chuck Estrada (1938)
Ron Cey (1948)
Rick Auerbach (1950)
Joe Hesketh (1959)
Mark Davidson (1961)
Melido Perez (1966)
Ugueth Urbina (1974)
Alex Gonzalez (1977)
Luis Ugueto (1979)

Lorenzo Ponza invented the modern pitching machine.

Larry Goetz was a National League umpire from 1936-1957.

Outfielder John Mark Davidson played for the Twins from 1986-1988.  His father, Max Davidson, was a minor league outfielder from 1947-1954.  Mark Davidson was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and attended both the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Clemson.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the eleventh round in 1982.  He was up and down in the minors, but got people's attention in 1985, when he hit .302 with 25 home runs for AA Orlando.  He did not do as well in 1986, when he was promoted to AAA, but still was with Minnesota for about two months as a reserve outfielder.  He did nothing that year, batting only .118 in 68 at-bats, but was with the Twins for all of 1987 and most of 1988.  He was decent as a reserve in 1987, batting .267, but fell to .217 in 1988.  Davidson started 1989 in the minors, then was traded to Houston in May for a player to be named later (Greg Johnson).  Houston initially kept him in AAA, but brought him to the majors for the second half of the season.  He split 1990 between AAA and the majors and was with Houston all of 1991 (always as a reserve).  He became a free agent after the season and signed with the Cleveland organization, spending two years at AAA before ending his playing career.  As a Twin, Mark Davidson hit .219/.283/.287 in 324 at-bats spread over three seasons.  At last report, Mark Davidson was living in Statesville, North Carolina.

Infielder Luis Enrique Ugueto did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 2007.  He was born in Caracas, Venezuela, went to high school in Maracay, Venezuela, and signed with Florida as a free agent in 1996.  He had no power, and while he had some decent minor league batting averages, he did not hit for a terribly high average.  He stole some bases, but not a huge number, and did not draw a ton of walks, either.  He was considered a tremendous defensive player, however, and because of that he played in the minors for quite a few years.  He stayed in rookie and A ball through 2001, hitting a combined .243.  His last year in Class A, he hit .263/.330/.342.  After the 2001 season, he was selected by Pittsburgh in the Rule 5 draft and was sold to Seattle the same day.  He spent the 2002 season in the majors but was used mostly as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement, appearing in 62 games but making only 25 plate appearances.  He was in the majors for about a month in 2003 in a similar role, appearing in twelve games and getting six plate appearances.  He was in AAA for the Mariners in 2004 and actually had the best year of his career, hitting .271/.341/.440 in Tacoma, but it was not good enough.  He became a free agent after the season and was in AAA with Kansas City in 2005; however, he was suspended twice for using performance-enhancing drugs and was released in August.  He played in Taiwan in 2006; then the Twins signed him in 2007.  He was mostly in Ft. Myers, appearing in seven games for Rochester, and hit a combined .223/.288/.299.  He played in Italy in 2008 and for Laredo in the independent United Baseball League in 2009.  It is unclear what he was doing in 2010, but in 2011 he played briefly for Yuma of the North American League.  He played for Anzoategui in the Venezuelan league that winter, but did not catch on with anyone for 2012.  However, he was again with Anzoategui this winter.  B-r.com does not list him with anyone, but milb.com says his parent club is San Diego, so maybe he's going to get another shot.  His major league record is .214/.290/.321 in 74 games (28 at-bats).  One assumes that's where it will stay, but he's still playing, so you never know for sure.

February 14

Joe Gerhardt (1855)

Arthur Irwin (1858)

Morgan Murphy (1867)

Candy LaChance (1870)

Bob Quinn (1870)

Earl Smith (1897)

Mel Allen (1913)

Red Barrett (1915)

Len Gabrielson (1940)

Ken Levine (1950)

Larry Milbourne (1951)

Will McEnaney (1952)

Dave Dravecky (1956)

Alejandro Sanchez (1959)

John Marzano (1963)

Kelly Stinnett (1970)

Damaso Marte (1975)

Bob Quinn was a long-time executive for the St. Louis Browns, the Boston Red Sox, and the Boston Braves.  He was later the director of the Hall of Fame.

Ken Levine has been a broadcaster for Baltimore, San Diego, and Seattle.  He has also worked on a number of television programs, notably including "Cheers" and "Frazier".

John Marzano was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1981, but he did not sign.

Infielder Lawrence William Milbourne played for the Twins for a little less than two months in 1982.  Born in Port Norris, New Jersey, he signed with Baltimore as a free agent in 1969.  He hit .305 in rookie ball, but that wasn't enough to satisfy the Orioles, who released him the next spring.  Milbourne was out of baseball in 1970, but signed with San Francisco for 1971.  He hit .301 in Class A and was selected by California that November in the Rule 5 draft.  Something was apparently worked out, because he was in AA for 1972.  Left unprotected again, he was selected by St. Louis in the next year's Rule 5 draft.  Again, something must have been worked out, because he was in AAA for 1973.  It was deja vu all over again that November; he was left unprotected and chosen in the Rule 5 draft, this time by Houston.  He stayed in the big leagues all of 1974, but was seldom used, getting most of his playing time as a defensive replacement for Tommy Helms.  He split the 1975 and 1976 seasons between Houston and AAA, getting about 150 major league at-bats both years.  Milbourne was traded to Seattle just before the 1977 season.  That trade enabled him to stick in the big leagues, as he was a reserve infielder for the Mariners for four seasons.  His best year as a Mariner was 1979, when he hit .278 in 356 at-bats.  Seattle traded Milbourne to the Yankees in November of 1980.  He had his highest average in the big leagues as a Yankee in 1981, hitting .313 in 163 at-bats.  In May of 1982, the Yankees sent Milbourne, Pete Filson, John Pacella, and cash to Minnesota for Roger Erickson and Butch Wynegar.  He was the Twins' starting second baseman for about a month but didn't hit, lost the job, and was traded to Cleveland on July 3 for Larry Littleton.  As a Twin, Larry Milbourne hit .235/.283/.265 in 98 at-bats.  He was the regular second baseman for Cleveland for the rest of the season and hit .275, but was sold to Philadelphia in 1983.  He was sold back to the Yankees in July of 1983, and was traded back to Seattle before the 1984 season.  He was a reserve infielder for the Mariners for all of 1984, went back to the minors in 1985, and was released in August, ending his career.  He then went into minor league coaching and managing, coaching for the Mets in the late 1980s and managing in the St. Louis organization in the early 1990s.  He also played in the Seniors' League in the late 1980s.  After that, however, Milbourne appears to have left baseball, and at last report was living in Vineland, New Jersey.  He is a member of the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame.

Outfielder Alejandro (Pimentel) Sanchez got 16 at-bats with the Twins in 1986.  He was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, and signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1978.  He gradually worked his way through the Phillies' system, making his mark by batting .306 with 13 homers for AAA Oklahoma City in 1982.  That got him a September call-up.  He started 1983 with Philadelphia, but played in only two games, batting once, before being sent back to the minors.  He had a poor year there, but still got another September call-up.  It was his swan song in Philadelphia, however, as he was traded to San Francisco during spring training of 1984.  Sanchez had a tremendous year in Phoenix in 1984, hitting .318 with 26 home runs.  That got him a September call-up again, and it also got him another spring training trade, as he was sent to Detroit.  1985 was the closest he came to a full year in the majors, as he came up in late April and stayed the rest of the season.  He was strictly a reserve, however, batting only 133 times and hitting .248, although with six home runs.  In the off-season, Sanchez was sent to Minnesota with Chris Pittaro for Dave Engle.  He started the 1986 season with the Twins but played in only eight games in a month, going 2-for-16, before being sent back to AAA.  He became a free agent again after the season and signed with Oakland.  He hit .310 at AAA in 1987, but got only three at-bats in the big leagues, the last three he would have.  He was in AAA all of 1988, and then his playing career seemingly came to an end.  In 1997, however, he made a comeback of sorts, playing for two years in independent leagues before retiring again in 1998, this time for good.  At last report, Alejandro Sanchez was living in Passaic, New Jersey.

February 13

Bill Bradley (1878)

Hal Chase (1883)

Eddie Foster (1887)

Butch Hughes (1942)

Sal Bando (1944)

Donnie Moore (1954)

Jerry Browne (1966)

Matt Mieske (1968)

Kevin Stocker (1970)

Howie Clark (1974)

Nathan Eovaldi (1990)

Nathan Eovaldi is the only player in major league history whose last name begins with "Eo".

Infielder Howard Roddy Clark had eight at-bats for the Twins in 2008.  Born in Huntington Beach, California, Clark was drafted by Baltimore in the 27th round in 1992.  He advanced slowly through the Orioles minor league system, spending two years in rookie ball, two years at Class A, and two years in AA before making his AAA debut in 1998.  He then went back-and-forth between AA and AAA from 1998-2000.  Along the way, he posted solid but unspectacular numbers.  He had a good batting average, hit a good number of doubles, and had a far number of walks, but appears to have lacked any one outstanding skill that would have attracted the attention of the Orioles' front office.  Clark became a minor-league free agent after the 2000 season and went unsigned, playing in the Mexican League and the independent Western League.  He rejoined the Orioles in 2002, went to Rochester, and hit .309.  He finally made his major league debut that season, spending about three weeks with the Orioles.  Clark became a free agent again after the season and signed with Toronto.  He was in the Blue Jays organization in both 2003 and 2004, staying in the majors for about half of each season.  He was in AAA for Pittsburgh in 2005, for Baltimore in 2006 (getting seven big league at-bats), went to 2007 spring training with San Diego, was released, signed with Toronto in May, got two more months in the big leagues, and signed with the Twins for 2008.  According to the Mitchell Report, it was in 2005 that Clark used performance enhancing drugs, although they don't seem to have particularly helped him.  At any rate, Clark hit .293 in 2008 for Rochester, and was with the Twins for about a week in May.  As a Twin, Howie Clark went 2-for-8, with both his hits being doubles.  A free agent again after the season, Clark went back to the Blue Jays' organization for 2009 and was in AAA all season.  He re-signed with Toronto for 2010, was sent to AAA, but did not play and was released in early May.  He was out of baseball the rest of the season.  He tried to come back in the Mexican League in 2011, but did not make a team and his playing career ended.  At last report, Howie Clark was an instructor for HB Total Baseball, a baseball instructional school in Huntington Beach, California.

February 12

Chick Fulmer (1851)

Mike McGeary (1851)

Pants Rowland (1879)

Chick Hafey (1903)

Dom DiMaggio (1917)

Joe Garagiola (1926)

Pat Dobson (1942)

Mike Martin (1944)

Ray Corbin (1949)

Lenny Randle (1949)

Don "Full Pack" Stanhouse (1951)

Cam Bonifay (1952)

Chet Lemon (1955)

Greg Johnston (1955)

Joe Bitker (1964)

Ryan Lefebvre (1971)

Cole De Vries (1985)

Clarence "Pants' Rowland spent his life in baseball.  A catcher, he went on to manage the Chicago White Sox to the World Championship in 1917.  He was an American League umpire from 1923-1927.  He was also a minor league manager and executive, and was president of the Pacific Coast League from 1944-1954.  He is a member of the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.

Mike Martin has won over 1,400 games as the head coach of Florida State.

Ryan Lefebvre appeared in six minor league games for the Watertown Indians in 1993.  He was a Twins broadcaster in the 1997 and 1998 before moving to Kansas City in 1999, where he has been a broadcaster for the Royals ever since.

Joe Bitker was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in the 1984 January draft, but he did not sign.

This is a great day for players with colorful nicknames.  In addition to those listed above, we have Sweetbread Bailey (1895), Kiddo Davis (1902), Dutch Dietz (1912), and Monk Dubiel (1918).

Right-hander Alton Ray Corbin pitched for the Twins from 1971-1975 and spent his entire professional baseball career with them.  He was born and raised in Live Oak, Florida and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1967.  He was used as both a starter and reliever in his first couple of years in the minors, but became a full-time starter in 1969.  He pitched quite well throughout the minors, and after a good year at AA Charlotte in 1970, he skipped AAA and went right to the majors in 1971 at age 22.  He was briefly in the rotation in June, but was mostly used as a "swing man", starting eleven games and relieving in 41.  He struggled with his control that year, but got better as his career went on.  Corbin started the season in the bullpen in 1972, but joined the rotation in late June and had a fine year, winning only eight games but posting a 2.62 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.  He moved back to the bullpen for most of 1973, starting only seven games, and had another fine year, with an ERA of 3.03 and a WHIP of 1.24.  It went downhill after that, however; used as both a starter and a reliever again, he did not do well in either role.  He had another down year in 1975, was sent back to the minors in July, and was released in May of 1976.  For his career, Ray Corbin was 36-38, 3.84 in 652.1 innings.  He made 181 appearances, 63 of them starts.  One can't help but wonder if he might have had a longer career if the Twins had ever settled on a role for him.  At last report, Ray Corbin was living in Franklin, North Carolina.

Outfielder Gregory Bernard Johnston played briefly for the Twins in 1980 and 1981.  Born in Los Angeles, he was drafted by San Francisco in the 12th round in 1975.  He advanced a level per year, reaching AAA in 1978.  He hit .296 with moderate power at AAA in 1979, resulting in a promotion to the majors in late July of that year.  He was used primarily as a pinch-hitter, batting .203 in only 74 at-bats.  At the start of the 1980 season, Johnston was purchased by Minnesota.  He again hit .296 with moderate power at AAA, getting  September call-up and hitting .185 in 27 at-bats.  Johnston began 1981 with the Twins, but was sent back to the minors at the end of April after getting only 16 at-bats and hitting .125.  He hit only .235 at AAA Toledo, and his career in the United States came to an end at the age of 26.  As a Twin, Greg Johnston hit .163 in 43 at-bats.  While in the minors, Johnston pitched three innings, giving up no runs and only one hit.  He apparently played in Japan in 1982, but no details about his career there were readily available, nor was any information about what he has done since his playing career ended.

Right-hander Cole William De Vries made his debut with the Twins in 2012.  He was born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, went to high school in Eden Prairie, went to the University of Minnesota, and was signed as a free agent in 2006.  He pitched well in the low minors in 2007 and 2008 but struggled when promoted to New Britain in 2009.  He was shifted to the bullpen in 2010 and did even worse.  As an undrafted free agent who had struggled for two years at AA, his future did not look very promising.  The Twins stuck with him, though, and in 2011, still in the bullpen, he did very well in New Britain and did not do badly when promoted to Rochester.  He went back into the starting rotation for the Red Wings in 2012 and made twelve starts for them, going 3-5, 4.37 but with a 1.21 WHIP.  He then was promoted to Minnesota, and while he didn't blow anybody away he certainly showed enough to be given a longer look.  In seventeen appearances, sixteen of them starts, De Vries went 5-5, 4.11, 1.21 WHIP in 87.2 innings.  He turns 28 today.  No one is predicting stardom for him, but as undrafted free agent he has already beaten the odds.  It's not out of the question that Cole De Vries could put together a decent major league career.

February 11

Jimmy Ryan (1863)

Kenjiro Tamiya (1928)

George Alusik (1935)

Ollie Brown (1944)

Ben Oglivie (1949)

Tom Veryzer (1953)

Todd Benzinger (1963)

Scott Pose (1967)

Kenjiro Tamiya is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, playing from 1949-1963.  He began as a pitcher, and came within one out of pitching the first perfect game in Nippon Pro Baseball history.  A shoulder injury required him to switch to the outfield in 1952.  He was a seven-time all-star.

Outfielder Scott Vernon Pose did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 1995.  He was born in Davenport, Iowa, went to the University of Arkansas, and was drafted by Cincinnati in the thirty-fourth round in 1989.  He hit for high averages with quite a few walks in the minors, reaching AA in 1991.  He hit .342 in AA Chattanooga in 1992, but was left unprotected after the season and was chosen by Florida in the Rule 5 draft.  He was the starting center fielder in the first game the Marlins ever played, but quickly lost the job and was back in the minors by late April.  He stayed in AAA for several years.  He was released by the Marlins in March of 1994 and signed with Milwaukee.  A free agent after the season, he signed with the Dodgers for 1995 but was released in mid-April.  The Twins signed him on June 1 and sent him to Salt Lake, where he hit .310/.395/.364 in 203 at-bats.  He was a free agent again after the season, signed with Cleveland for 1996, but was traded to Toronto during spring training.  He was once again a free agent after the season and signed with the Yankees for 1997.  He actually spent most of that season in the big leagues as a reserve outfielder, hitting .218 in 87 at-bats.  He stayed in the Yankees’ organization in 1998, then moved on again, this time to Kansas City.  He spent two full seasons in the majors with the Royals, his only two full seasons in the majors, but was basically a defensive replacement, appearing in 133 games but getting only 185 at-bats.  He was in AAA for Houston in 2001 and for Texas and the Dodgers in 2002, after which his playing career ended.  At last report, Scott Pose was a baseball analyst for the Big Ten Network and for the Durham Bulls.  He was also a territory manager for Hologic, a leading developer, manufacturer, and supplier of premium diagnostic products, medical imaging systems, and surgical products.

February 10

Horace Wilson (1845)

Jim Keenan (1858)

Curt Welch (1862)

Billy Evans (1884)

Herb Pennock (1894)

Bill Adair (1913)

Allie Reynolds (1917)

George Sobek (1920)

Randy Jackson (1926)

Billy O'Dell (1933)

Dick Bogard (1937)

Jim Barr (1948)

Larry McWilliams (1954)

Lenny Dykstra (1963)

Lenny Webster (1965)

Jayhawk Owens (1969)

Alberto Castillo (1970)

Bobby Jones (1970)

Kevin Sefcik (1971)

Lance Berkman (1976)

Cesar Izturis (1980)

Liam Hendriks (1989)

Horace Wilson was an American professor English at Tokyo University.  He is credited with introducing baseball to Japan in either 1872 or 1873.

Billy Evans was the youngest umpire in major league history, starting his career at age 22.  He was an American League umpire from 1906-1027.  He would later become general manager of the Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers, and was president of the Southern Association from 1942-1946.

Bill Adair was a long-time minor league player (1935-1956) and manager (1949-1973).  He also was the scout credited with signing Andre Dawson and Tim Raines.

Jim Barr was drafted six different times before finally signing.  Minnesota drafted him in the sixth round of the January Secondary draft in 1970, but he did not sign.

Today is also the birthday of Twins prospect Max Kepler (1993).

Catcher Leonard Irell Webster played for the Twins in 1989-1993 and had a longer career than you may realize.  He was born in New Orleans, went to high school in Lutcher, Louisiana, and then attended Grambling State University.  The Twins drafted him in the 21st round in 1985.  Webster really didn't do a whole lot in the minors--his best year was probably 1988, when he hit .288 with 11 homers in his second full year at Class A Kenosha.  He got September callups every year from 1989 through 1991, also spending a couple of weeks in June with the Twins in 1991.  He had two full seasons with Minnesota, 1992 and 1993, as the backup catcher to Brian Harper.  He had a little over 100 at-bats each season and showed the vagaries of small sample size, hitting .280 in 1992 and .198 in 1993.  Montreal acquired him from the Twins in March of 1994 in what is described as a "conditional deal."  Webster then spent a few years bouncing around:  he was the backup catcher for the Expos in 1994, the backup for Philadelphia in 1995, back to being the backup in Montreal in 1996, and then on to Baltimore for 1997.  He stayed a little while in Baltimore, reaching part-time status and getting over 300 at-bats for the only time in his career in 1998.  He was released at mid-season in 1999, however, finished out the season in Boston, and went back to Montreal for the 2000 season.  He ended his playing career after that.  As a Twin, Lenny Webster hit .254/.324/.370 in 284 at-bats.  At last report, he was an instructor with The Batter's Box Training Center of Decatur, Georgia, which "offers hitting, pitching & fielding instructions at reasonable rates".

Catcher Claude Jayhawk Owens did not play for Minnesota, but was drafted by them.  He was born in Cincinnati and went to high school there.  He then attended Middle Tennessee State before being drafted by the Twins in the second round in 1990.  He put up fairly pedestrian numbers in three years in their minor league system, which led to Owens being left unprotected in the expansion draft.  Colorado took him, and after he hit .310 in 174 at-bats in Colorado Springs in 1993 they brought him to the big leagues.  He played sparingly, however, hit .209 in only 86 at-bats, and spent most of 1994 and 1995 back in Colorado Springs.  He continued to be pretty average, but in 1996 he was called up to the majors in late April and spent the rest of the season with the Rockies as the right-handed part of a platoon with Jeff Reed.  He again failed to hit and never got back to the majors again.  Owens was in Colorado Springs all of 1997, came back to the Twins' organization for the start of 1998, hit .205 in AAA Salt Lake, finished the season in the Cincinnati organization, stayed in the Reds' chain for 1999, and then his career came to an end.  After that, he was a minor league manager and coach, mostly in the Cincinnati organization, a career that came to an end in 2007.  He was inducted into the Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Hall of Fame in 2012.  At last report, Jayhawk Owens was living in Castle Rock, Colorado.

Right-hander Liam Johnson Hendriks appeared in four games for the Twins in 2011.  He was born in Perth, Australia and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 2007.  He pitched well in the GCL in 2007, missed all of 2008, but came back to pitch well in 2009 and ever since.  His best year as a minor league was 2010, when he went a combined 8-4, 1.74, 0.84 WHIP with 105 strikeouts in 108.2 innings for Beloit and Ft. Myers at age 21.  He began 2011 in New Britain and pitched very well, earning a promotion to Rochester.  His ERA in nine starts there was an unimpressive 4.56, but his WHIP was 1.12.  He has had very good control wherever he's been:  his highest walks per nine innings is 2.2 in 2007, and he has never been above two at any other stop.  He made four starts in Minnesota in 2011 and did not look ready, but did not totally embarrass himself, either,  going 0-2, 6.17, 1.50 WHIP with 16 strikeouts in 23.1 innings.  He spent about half of 2012 in Rochester, despite the fact that he had nothing to learn there, and half of it in Minnesota, where he struggled.  So far, Liam Hendriks is 1-10, 5.71, 1.54 WHIP in 108.2 innings.  He has made twenty major league appearances, all of them starts.  In 25 AAA starts, he is 13-7, 2.95, 1.o2 WHIP in 155.2 innings.  He turns 24 today.  It will do him no good to go to AAA, as he has clearly shown he can dominate there.  It's time for Liam Hendriks to take a step forward in the big leagues.