January 15

Johnny Nee (1890)

Ray Chapman (1891)

Steve Gromek (1920)
Georges Maranda (1932)
Dr. Mike Marshall (1943)
Bobby Grich (1949)
Rance Mulliniks (1956)
Jerry Narron (1956)
Don Cooper (1956)
Delino DeShields (1969)
Ray King (1974)
Matt Holliday (1980)
Armando Galarraga (1982)

Johnny Nee was a long-time minor league manager and scout.

Right-handed pitcher Georges Henri Maranda is the only major league player ever named "Georges". He was with Minnesota for all of 1962. Born in Levis, Quebec, Canada, he was signed by the Boston Braves as a free agent in 1951. He spent the next five years pitching in Class C leagues, spending three years in Quebec and two years in Eau Claire. He bounced back and forth between starting and relieving in those years: his best was 1954, when he went 18-6, 3.16 in 228 innings. Finally, in 1956, Maranda was promoted to AA Austin, where he spent most of the next three seasons. He posted decent numbers there, too, although nothing particularly eye-popping. Then, in 1959, he was promoted to AAA Louisville, where he went 18-6, 2.48. He was just about to turn 28, however, and was left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft. San Francisco selected him, and he was in the majors for 1960. He was used sparingly, making four starts and thirteen relief appearances, and while he was not terrible he was not particularly good, either. Back in the minors in 1961, he had another good year at AAA, but again was left unprotected, and again was chosen in the Rule 5 draft, this time by Minnesota. Maranda again made four starts, but made 28 relief appearances. He was actually fairly decent as a reliever, posting a 3.48 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP in that role. His four starts were not good, however, and his total stats as a Twin are 1-3, 4.46 with a 1.43 WHIP in 72.2 innings. After the season, Maranda was sent to Cleveland as the player to be named later in a trade that also sent Jackie Collum and cash to the Indians for Ruben Gomez. He pitched in AAA in 1963, and then his career was over. He went on to do some minor league managing in Canada. The baseball stadium in Levis is named for him, and he was inducted into the Quebec Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000. Georges Maranda passed away on July 14, 2000, in his home town of Levis, Quebec.

Right-handed reliever Michael Grant Marshall played for the Twins from 1978-1980 and was the Twins' closer for a little over two seasons. He was born in Adrian, Michigan and attended high school there. He was signed as a free agent by Philadelphia in 1960. He was drafted as a shortstop, and played four minor league seasons at that position, rising as high as AA. You really can't say he washed out at that position, because in his last season as a regular shortstop, 1964, he hit .275 as a 21-year-old in AA Chattanooga. Still, he became a pitcher in 1965, and remained one the rest of his career, with the exception of 12 games at shortstop in 1966 and an emergency appearance in the outfield in 1969. He was successful almost immediately, beginning the year as a reliever in Class A but being promoted to AA in 1965. At the start of the 1966 season, he was sold to Detroit and made his major league debut as a Tiger in 1967. He pitched extremely well, posting a 1.98 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP in 59 innings. Detroit then decided to make Marshall a starter, and sent him to AAA for 1968. He pitched extremely well again, going 15-9 with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP, but these were the 1968 Tigers, with Denny McLain, Mickey Lolich, Earl Wilson, and Joe Sparma in the rotation and Pat Dobson and John Hiller to make spot starts, so there simply was no room for Marshall. As a result, despite his record, Marshall was left unprotected, and was chosen by Seattle in the expansion draft. Still a starter, he got off to a strong start but then struggled, was removed from the rotation in mid-June, and was sent to the minors in early July. He was sold to Houston after the 1969 season and then traded to Montreal in June. The Expos returned him to the bullpen, made him the bullpen ace, and that's when he became a star. In three and a half years with Montreal, Marshall led the league in games finished three times, in appearances twice, and in saves once. He finished in the top four in Cy Young voting twice and in the top ten in the MVP voting twice. In 1973, Marshall appeared in 92 games and pitched 179 relief innings, incredible numbers. That off-season, he was traded to the Dodgers, and proceeded to top those incredible numbers. In 1974, Mike Marshall appeared in 106 games and pitched 208.1 relief innings, records that will probably stand for quite some time. He won the Cy Young Award that year, made the all-star team for the first time, and finished third in MVP voting. Marshall again made the all-star team in 1975, but then it appeared that the workload had caught up to him. He struggled through two mediocre seasons, was traded to Atlanta in June of 1976, sold to Texas in April of 1977, and became a free agent after the 1977 campaign. He went unsigned until May 15, 1978, when the Twins took a chance on him. He immediately became their closer, although the term "closer" is misleading in Marshall's case, as all through his career he was brought into tie games and games when his team was behind, and he was frequently brought in earlier than the ninth inning. He posted ERAs in the mid-twos in 1978 and 1979, setting an American League record in 1979 by appearing in 90 games and pitching 142.2 relief innings. Marshall finished in the top seven in Cy Young voting in both years and finished 11th in the MVP voting in 1979. Marshall got off to a poor start in 1980 and was released in June. He was out of baseball until August of 1981, when he signed with the Mets. He pitched well for them in 20 appearances and ended his career after that. As a Twin, Mike Marshall was 21-30 with 54 saves and a 2.99 ERA. He made 162 appearances and pitched 274 innings. After his playing career ended, Mike Marshall received a Ph. D in kinesiology from Michigan State. He currently coaches young pitchers in proper pitching techniques.  He also has a website, drmikemarshall.com, where you can watch free instructional videos and email him pitching questions for free.

Right-handed pitcher Donald James Cooper was with the Twins in the early 1980s. Born in New York, he attended the New York Institute of Technology, one of four major league players that school has produced. He was drafted by the Yankees in the 17th round in 1978. His early minor league record was unimpressive, but he had a big year in 1980, going 12-7 with a 1.93 ERA mostly as a reliever in a season split between AA and AAA. He was left unprotected, however, and was chosen by Minnesota in that year's Rule 5 draft. He was with the Twins all of the 1981 season, was used rather sparingly, and was, well, not totally awful, but not particularly good, either. Sent back to AAA for 1982 and converted to a starter, he was not all that good again, but still got a September call-up. After that season, the Twins traded Cooper to Toronto for Dave Baker. The Blue Jays sent Cooper to AAA and returned him to the bullpen, where he had a good year in Syracuse and got another September callup. He was traded in spring training of 1984 to the Yankees, who again sent him to AAA. He had two very good years in the Columbus bullpen, but only pitched seven games for the big club, all in 1985. Released by the Yankees after the 1985 campaign, he signed with Oakland, moved on to the Toronto organization for 1986, and to the Baltimore chain for 1987, pitching well in AAA both years but not getting a shot in the majors. After the 1987 season, Cooper gave up and called it a career, although he did play in the seniors league in 1989-1990. As a Twin, Don Cooper made 33 appearances, three of them starts. In seventy innings, he was 1-6, 5.14. After his playing career ended, Cooper went into coaching in the White Sox' organization, worked his way up through the minor league system until he became the major league pitching coach in 2002.  He has remained the White Sox pitching coach since then.  Cooper also will provide private analysis of pitching mechanics via video through his website, doncooperbaseball.com.

January 14

Billy Meyer (1892)

Smead Jolley (1902)

Phil Piton (1903)

Chet Brewer (1907)

Sonny Siebert (1937)

Dave Campbell (1942)
Ron Clark (1943)
Derrel Thomas (1951)
Wayne Gross (1952)
Terry Forster (1952)
Mike Pelfrey (1984)

Billy Meyer won 1,604 games as a minor league manager, mostly in the Yankees organization.

Phil Piton was president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues from 1964-1971.

Chet Brewer was a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues known for his mastery of throwing scuffed baseballs.

Infielder Ronald Bruce Clark was with Minnesota from 1966-1969. He was born in Ft. Worth, Texas, and attended high school in White Settlement, Texas.  In his youth, he competed in rodeo and in the Golden Gloves.  He signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1961. After a poor year with Class C Bakersfield he was sent to the Angels in what was described as an "unknown transaction". He did somewhat better at Class C San Jose, but came to Minnesota after the 1962 season in another unknown transaction. Clark had a good year at Class A Wilson in 1963, had two undistinguished years in AA, but then hit .294 with 16 homers in 1966 for AAA Denver. He briefly held the regular third base job in 1967, but did not hit and then was injured for about half the season. Clark was used as a utility player in 1968, but again did not hit. He started 1969 in Minnesota, but was sent back to AAA in April and was sold to Seattle in July. After that season, he was traded to Oakland. Clark was in AAA for the Athletics all of 1970 and 1971 with the exception of two games in Oakland in April of 1971. He started 1972 in AAA, came up to the majors in mid-May, and was traded to Milwaukee in mid-June. He was with the Brewers for about a month and was traded to the Angels, who sent him to AAA. He was traded again in June of 1973, going to San Diego, and at the end of the season was traded one more time, this time to Philadelphia. He was with the Phillies organization for two years, getting one last at-bat in the majors in 1975 before his career ended. As a Twin, Ron Clark hit .182/.238/.253 in 296 at-bats. He became a minor-league manager and major league coach, last managing the Iowa Cubs in 1996. At last report, Ron Clark was living in Florida and was a scout for the Kansas City Royals.

Left-handed reliever Terry Jay Forster did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 1987. He was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, went to high school in Santee, California, and was drafted by the White Sox in the second round in 1970. He made ten excellent appearances in Class A that year and jumped from there all the way to the majors at the start of the 1971 season. He did well in limited duty, making 45 appearances but pitching only 49.2 innings. He was a solid reliever for the White Sox through 1975, leading the league in saves with 24 in 1974. In 1976, he was converted to starting, and the results were not good: he went 2-12, 4.37, 1.50 WHIP. After the season, Forster was traded to Pittsburgh with Rich Gossage for Richie Zisk. He stayed with the Pirates only one season, becoming a free agent and signing with the Dodgers for 1978. He had an excellent year for the Dodgers that season, posting a 1.93 ERA and saving 22 games. He started suffering injuries after that, pitching less than 60 innings in the next three seasons combined. He came back to have a fine season in 1982, just in time to become a free agent again. Atlanta signed him, and while he continued to battle injuries he pitched very well when healthy.  He also battled weight problems and gained some fame when David Letterman termed him a "fat tub of goo." The Braves released him on April 1, 1986 and he signed with the Angels, for whom he posted a good ERA but a very high WHIP. A free agent once more after the season, he was out of baseball until June 15, when the Twins signed him. He made thirteen appearances for AAA Portland, went 0-1, 7.27, and his playing career was over. Overall, he made 614 major league appearances, pitched 1,105.2 innings, had a 3.23 ERA and 127 saves.  At last report, Terry Forster was a special assignment scout for the Angels and was doing some coaching for the University of Ottawa.

Right-hander Michael Alan Pelfrey came to the Twins less than a month ago.  Born on Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, he went to high school in Wichita, Kansas, attended Wichita State, and was drafted by the Mets with the ninth pick of the 2005 draft.  He did not make his professional debut until 2006, but he shot through the Mets system, making four starts at Class A, twelve at AA, two in AAA, and four in the major leagues.  He went back and forth between AAA and the majors in 2007 before coming to the majors for good in 2008.  He has been rather inconsistent as a major league pitcher.  He seems to have had a Bret Saberhagen kind of thing going, doing fairly well in even-numbered years (2008 and 2010) but not so well in odd-numbered years (2009 and 2011).  He was off to a good start in 2012, but was injured after only three starts and missed the rest of the season.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota.  In 2013 he was, well, not very good, going 5-13, 5.19, 1.55 WHIP.   He started poorly, did better in the summer months, then fell apart at the end of the season.  He was a free agent after the season but re-signed with the Twins for 2014.  He made only five starts, none of them very good, before missing the rest of the season with groin and elbow injuries.  He turns 31 today.  If he can get healthy, he may be able to help the Twins.  On the other hand, in his best seasons he was never that far above average.  There's a chance he'll be an adequate major league pitcher this year, but there's probably a better chance that he won't be.

January 13

Ernie Calbert (1887)

Fred Schulte (1901)

Ron Brand (1940)

Makoto Matsubara (1944)

Mike Tyson (1950)

Bob Forsch (1950)

Odell Jones (1953)

Gene Roof (1958)

Kevin Mitchell (1962)

Kevin McClatchy (1963)

Elmer Dessens (1971)

Ernie Calbert won six minor league home run titles.  He also once pitched a minor league no-hitter.

Makoto Matsubara was an eleven-time all-star in Japan.

Kevin McClatchy was the CEO of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1996-2007.

When Elmer Dessens made his major league debut in 1996, he was the first big leaguer in thirty-five years to have the first name "Elmer".

There do not appear to be any players with connections to the Minnesota Twins who were born on this day. The closest we come is Gene Roof, whose brother, Phil, played for the Twins.

January 12

Henry Larkin (1860)

Tom Kinslow (1866)

George Browne (1876)

Joe Hauser (1899)

Lee Allen (1915)

Alfredo Ortiz (1944)

Ron Polk (1944)

Paul Reuschel (1947)

Randy Jones (1950)

Terry Whitfield (1953)

Mike Marshall (1960)

Tim Hulett (1960)

Casey Candaele (1961)
Andy Fox (1971)
Luis Ayala (1978)
Dontrelle Willils (1982)

Joe Hauser twice hit over 60 home runs in a season in AAA.

Historian and writer Lee Allen contributed much to the Hall of Fame and to the first edition of the Baseball Encyclopedia.

Alfredo Ortiz won 287 games in the minor leagues, mostly in the Mexican League, and 104 more in the Mexican Winter League.

Ron Polk was a very successful college baseball coach, most notably at Mississippi State.

The Mike Marshall listed above is the outfielder/first baseman who played mostly for the Dodgers.

Infielder Andrew Junipero Fox did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 2005. Born and raised in Sacramento, he was drafted by the Yankees in the second round in 1989. He started very slowly, hitting a combined .231 in four seasons of rookie and Class A ball. He had a better year in AA in 1993, hitting .275, but slumped to .222 in AA the following season. Finally, in 1995, he got things going, batting .296 with 14 homers in a year spent mostly at AAA. In 1996, he got his first full season for the big leagues, but batted just .196 as a reserve infielder for the Yankees and found himself back in the minors in 1997. A solid season in AAA earned him a September call-up, but he was traded to Arizona the following March. He was a regular in the batting order for the Diamondbacks in 1998 but had no regular position, starting games at each outfield position and each infield position except shortstop. He responded with his best major league season, hitting .277 with an OPS of .751. Oddly, shortstop became his primary position in 1999, as he was a semi-regular there and hit .255. He was traded to Florida in June of 2000. He stayed there through 2003, filling a reserve role each season but 2002, when he was the regular shortstop. Once again, he did better as a regular than as a reserve, but not enough better that a team would want to keep using him as a regular. A free agent after 2003, he signed with Texas, but was left unprotected and was chosen by Montreal in the Rule 5 draft. He was with the Expos through mid-July, was released, and finished the season with Texas. A free agent again, he signed with Minnesota for 2005, but was released in late March. He signed with the Angels on April 1, but retired four weeks later, ending his playing career. Fox has stayed in baseball as a manager and coach both in the majors and minors. Andy Fox has been the minor league infield coordinator for the Boston Red Sox since 2011.

Right-handed reliever Luis Ignacio Ayala played for Minnesota for about half of the 2009 season. He was born in Los Mochis, New Mexico, and attended high school there. He was playing in the Mexican League when he was purchased by the Colorado Rockies in October of 1999. He played in the Colorado minor league system, but failed to impress and was sold back to Saltillo in the Mexican League in May of 2001. He was purchased by Montreal in August of 2002 and pitched well in his brief time in AAA that year, but became a free agent after the season and was signed by Arizona. Left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft, the Expos drafted him, and he was a valuable member of their bullpen for the next three years. Injured in 2006, he came back to have another fine year for the team, by then playing in Washington, in 2007. For a while, it looked like that might be the last good year Ayala had. He pitched poorly in 2008 for Washington, was traded to the Mets in mid-August, and continued to pitch poorly. Signed by Minnesota for 2009, he did better, but nothing that great--he was 1-2, 4.18 with a WHIP of 1.42 in 32.1 innings--and when he complained about how he was used, Ayala was released in early July. Florida signed him, and he pitched ten scoreless innings in AAA before being brought up to the Marlins, where he gave up ten earned runs in 7.2 innings. He was apparently the subject of an attempted kidnapping over the winter of 2009-2010. He was in AAA for the Dodgers, Arizona, and Colorado in 2010, not pitching very well for any of them. It appeared that his career might be over, but the Yankees signed him for 2011.  Surprisingly, he made the team of out of spring training and stayed almost the entire season.  Even more surprisingly, he had a very good year, going 2-2, 2.09, 1.27 WHIP in 56 innings (52 appearances).  A free agent after the season, he signed with Baltimore for 2012 and turned in another very good year.  He started 2013 with the Orioles, but in early April he was traded to Atlanta, for whom he had a rather high walk total (in only 31 innings) but otherwise pitched well.   That turned out to be his swan song, though.  He signed with Washington for 2014 but was released half-way through spring training.  He signed with Baltimore, spent a couple of months pitching poorly in AAA, and was released again.  He signed with Toronto, again pitched poorly in AAA, and was released again.  He also made eight appearances for Tabasco in the Mexican League and did well there.  He can probably pitch there again in 2015 if he wants to, but the chances are very slim that we will see him in a major league uniform again.

January 11

George Pinkney (1859)

Silver King (1868)
Elmer Flick (1876)
Max Carey (1890)
George Trautman (1890)
General Crowder (1899)
Schoolboy Rowe (1910)
Don Mossi (1929)
Gene Cook (1932)
Jim McAndrew (1944)
Jack Zduriencik (1951)
Rocket Wheeler (1955)
Lloyd McClendon (1959)
Donn Pall (1962)
Warren Morris (1974)

George Trautman was the president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Clubs from 1947 until his death in 1963.

Gene Cook was the general manager of the Toledo Mud Hens from 1978-1998.  He is credited with convincing Jamie Farr to wear a Mud Hens cap on M*A*S*H.

Jack Zduriencik is the general manager of the Seattle Mariners.

Rocket Wheeler has been a manager in the low minors for twenty-two seasons.  He was the manager of the GCL Braves in 2014 and will manage the Danville Braves in 2015.

Second baseman Warren Randall Morris was with Minnesota for about a week at the beginning of the 2002 season. Born in Alexandria, Louisiana, he attended high school there and then went to LSU. To the extent he is remembered, it is for a walkoff home run he hit to win the 1996 College World Series. Morris was drafted by Texas in the fifth round in 1996. He played for the U. S. Olympic team that year, and so did not begin his professional career until 1997. He hit over .300 with double-digit home runs in each of his first two minor league seasons, but was traded to the Pittsburgh organization midway through the second one, in 1998. In 1999, Morris won the starting second baseman job for the Pirates, and would hold it for two years. He had a strong rookie year, hitting .288 with 15 homers and finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting. In 2000, however, he slumped to .259 with three home runs, and in 2001 he lost the second base job to Pat Meares. Morris spent part of that 2001 season in AAA, where he again hit well, but was released before the 2002 season. Minnesota signed him and gave him seven at-bats in the majors (he went 0-for-7) before sending him to AAA Edmonton. In mid-June, the Twins traded him to the Cardinals organization for a player to be named later (Seth Davidson), and in mid-July he was selected off waivers by the Red Sox' chain. A free agent again after the 2002 campaign, he went to the Tigers, starting in AAA but coming to the majors in early June. He was the Tigers' regular second baseman for most of the second half of the year, and responded by hitting .272. He lost the job in 2004 to Omar Infante, and spent the season in AAA Toledo. He was with the Brewers' organization for much of 2005 and finished the year in AA with Cleveland. He had minor league offers to play in 2006, but decided to call it a career. At last report, Warren Morris was an investment banker with Red River Bank in Alexandria, Louisiana. He also was working with a variety of Christian-oriented sports organizations.

January 10

Harry Wright (1835)

Chick Stahl (1873)

Del Pratt (1888)

Ziggy Sears (1892)

Max Patkin (1920)

George Strickland (1926)

Jim O'Toole (1937)
Willie McCovey (1938)
Chuck Dobson (1944)
Wilfredo Sanchez (1948)
Richard Dotson (1959)
Kelvin Torve (1960)
Wally Bell (1965)
Kevin Baez (1967)
Gary Rath (1973)
Adam Kennedy (1976)

Outfielder Ziggy Sears played in the minors for sixteen years, mostly in the Texas League.  He once drove in eleven runs in a game.  He was a National League umpire from 1934-1945.

Max Patkin was a well-known baseball clown from 1944-1995.

Wilfredo Sanchez was a star in Cuba from 1968-1986, winning five batting titles.

Wally Bell was a major league umpire from 1992-2013, when he passed away from a heart attack.

First baseman Kelvin Curtis Torve was with the Twins for about a month in 1988. Born in Rapid City, South Dakota, Torve attended Oral Roberts University, then was drafted by San Francisco in the second round in 1981. He had some solid years in the Giants' minor-league system, but appeared to top out at AA and was traded to Baltimore after the 1984 season. He again did well in AA in 1985, but less well when placed in AAA for 1986 and 1987. Torve became a minor league free agent after the 1987 campaign, and was signed by Minnesota. He hit .301 for AAA Portland in 1988 and was promoted to Minnesota in late June as a pinch-hitter and reserve first baseman. He batted only 16 times, hitting .188 with one home run (hit off Stu Cliburn) before being sent back to Portland in late July. Torve had another good year in Portland in 1989, but became a free agent after the season, signing with the Mets. He hit well for AAA Tidewater in 1990 and 1991, getting brief appearances in the majors both years. He is the last player to wear the number 24 for the Mets, having been accidentally given the number briefly after it had been unoffically retired in honor of Willie Mays. He was released by the Mets after the 1991 season, went to Japan for two seasons, and then called it a career. When asked about his hitting ability, Torve said, "I hit well enough to be employed for thirteen years." At last report, Kelvin Torve was the director of development at Covenant Classical School in Davidson, North Carolina.

Shortstop Kevin Richard Baez did not play in Minnesota, but was in the Twins' minor-league system for a year. A native of Brooklyn, he attended high school there and then went to Dominican College of Orangeburg, New Jersey, one of two major league players that school has produced (Frank Cimorelli). He was drafted by the Mets in the seventh round in 1988. Baez had an undistinguished minor league career, but kept getting promoted a level every season and reached AAA in 1991. He actually made his major league debut before that, getting 12 at-bats with the Mets in 1990. He made another brief major league appearance in 1992, and in 1993 was brought up in mid-June to spend the rest of the season with New York as a reserve infielder. He never hit, and should not have been expected to, as he did not hit well in the minors. In the big leagues, Kevin Baez compiled an average of .179 in 151 major league at-bats. He kept plugging away in the minors for several more years. After the 1993 season, he was traded to Baltimore. A free agent after the season, he moved to the Tigers organization for 1995-1996, and then signed with the Twins for 1997. He actually had a pretty good year in AAA Salt Lake, hitting .274. He moved back to the Tigers for 1998, but was traded to Cincinnati before the season started. He went back to the Mets' organization early in 1999, staying there through 2001. He then played independent ball through 2005, going back to the Reds organization briefly in 2003. Kevin Baez became a coach for the independent Long Island Ducks in 2009 and became their manager in 2011.

Left-hander Alfred Gary Rath made five appearances, one of them a start, for Minnesota in 1999. He was born in Gulfport, Mississippi and went to high school in Long Beach Mississippi. Rath then attended Mississippi State and was drafted by the Dodgers in the second round in 1994. He basically topped out at AA; he never had an ERA under four at any level higher than that. In 1998, after three not very good years at AAA, Rath made his major league debut with the Dodgers, pitching 3.1 innings over three games and giving up four earned runs. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota. He was having another poor year at AAA in 1999 when the Twins brought him up for a start in late May. He gave up five runs in three innings, taking the loss. Rath then made four relief appearances before being sent back to Salt Lake. As a Twin, he was 0-1, 11.57 in 4.2 innings. He finished out the year in Salt Lake and then again became a free agent. He appeared briefly in the Boston and Arizona organizations in 2000 and also pitched some independent ball. He then began pitching overseas, pitching in South Korea in 2001-2002, 2004, and 2008; in Japan in 2003 and 2005; in Venezuela in 2006; and in Taiwan in 2007. In 2009, Gary Rath became the head baseball coach at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, a position he held until resigning in May of 2014.  At last report, Gary Rath was an insurance agent with State Farm in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

January 9

Bill Thomas (1905)

Johnny Washington (1916)

John Kibler (1928)

Julio Navarro (1936)

Ralph Terry (1936)

Masaaki Mori (1937)

Al Clark (1948)

Joe Wallis (1952)

Ivan DeJesus (1953)
Otis Nixon (1959)
Stan Javier (1964)
Jay Powell (1972)

Bill Thomas pitched in the minors from 1924-1952. He set records for games pitched (1,016), wins (383), losses (347), innings (5,995), hits allowed (6,721), and runs allowed (3,098).

Outfielder/first baseman Johnny Washington played in the Negro Leagues for nearly twenty years.

John Kibler was a National League umpire from 1963-1989.

Masaaki Mori was involved with twenty-seven pennant winners in Japan, sixteen as a player, three as a coach, and eight as a manager.

Al Clark was a long-time American League umpire.

Outfielder Otis Junior Nixon was with Minnesota in 1998, near the end of his long career. A native of Columbus County, North Carolina, Nixon was chosen by the Yankees with the third pick of the 1979 draft. His minor league career showed what Nixon would become at his best--he had no power whatsoever, but hit for a high average, drew a lot of walks, and stole a lot of bases. His best year in the minors was 1982, a year which he split between AA Nashville and AAA Columbus. Combined, he hit .282, drew 108 walks, and stole 107 bases. He remained in the minors for 1983, however (with the exception of 14 big league at-bats), and that off-season was traded to Cleveland. Nixon made the Indians out of spring training in 1984, but hit only .154 and found himself back in the minors by mid-June. He was a seldom-used reserve outfielder in 1985 and 1986, was back in the minors much of 1987, and then became a free agent, signing with Montreal. The Expos finally gave him a chance to play, making him a semi-regular, but he didn't do much; he hit only .237 in three years with Montreal, although he did steal 133 bases. In April of 1991, the now 32-year-old Nixon was traded to Atlanta. His lifetime batting average at that point, in over eleven hundred at-bats, was .228. There was certainly no reason to think that he would suddenly learn to hit, but he did, batting over .290 in each of his first two seasons with the Braves. Nixon was a Brave for three seasons, stealing 160 bases in that time. A free agent after the 1993 season, he signed with the Red Sox. He had a good year in Boston in 1994, but was traded to Texas after the season in a deal involving Jose Canseco. He was with the Rangers for 1995, went to Toronto in 1996, and was traded by the Blue Jays to Los Angeles in August of 1997. A free agent again after that season, he signed with Minnesota for 1998. Now 39, Nixon did everything the Twins could have expected him to do that season, hitting .297/.361/.344 with 37 stolen bases despite missing a month with a broken jaw. He signed with Atlanta for 1999, but hit only .205, and his career was over. After hitting .228 through age 31, Nixon batted .284 from ages 32-39. His career spanned 17 seasons, and he stole 620 bases, stealing more bases in the 1990s than anyone else. He is tied for the major league record with six stolen bases in a game.  His brother, Donell, also played in the major leagues. Otis Nixon was the CEO of On-Track Promotions, working with several communities to provide baseball camps with a Christian emphasis throughout the southeast United States.  He also started the Otis Nixon Foundation, assisting formerly incarcerated and homeless individuals to re-assimilate into society.  His book, "Keeping It Real", was released in October of 2009.  Unfortunately, in the last couple of years, Nixon has had trouble keeping it real.  He was implicated in a fraud scheme in 2013 in which he allegedly promised that he could help prisoners get early parole for a fee.  He also was arrested in May of 2013 for possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia.  The results of those legal troubles could not be found, but he apparently was arrested for violating probation in January of 2014 and was arrested again on drug charges in September of 2014.  One certainly hopes he can overcome whatever demons he is dealing with.