June 18

Charlie Ganzel (1862)
Russ Hodges (1910)
Ron Necciai (1932)
Lou Brock (1939)
Bill James (1949)
Andres Galarraga (1961)
Sandy Alomar (1966)
Felix Heredia (1975)
Tommy Watkins (1980)

Russ Hodges was a baseball broadcaster from 1929-1970, most notably with the Giants.  He is most famous for his home run call on Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World" in 1951.

Ron Necciai struck out 27 batters in a nine inning game while playing for Bristol in the Appalachian League in 1952.

It may never happen, but Bill James belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Infielder Thomas Gray Watkins appeared in nine games for the Twins in 2007.  Born and raised in Fort Myers, he was drafted by Minnesota in the 38th round in 1998 and spent his entire career in the Twins’ organization.  You could say that he rose through the ranks rather slowly:  he was in rookie ball for three years, in Class A for three more years, in AA for two-plus years, and in AAA for three-plus years.  He was never a hitter, either for average or for power.  In three years of rookie ball he hit .240 with an OPS of .647; in three years at Class A he hit .244 with an OPS of .628; in AA his average was .246 and his OPS .671; and in AAA it was an average of .255 and an OPS of .689.  His main asset appears to have been the ability to play a variety of positions, as he logged time at shortstop, second base, third base, outfield, and even caught once and made three appearances as a pitcher.  Watkins’ best year was probably 2007, when he hit .272 with an OPS of .753 at AAA Rochester.  That was also the year he spent his only time in the majors, about two weeks in the month of August.  He made the most of it, going 10-for-28 for a line of .357/.438/.357.  He was always a very popular player in the minors; Rochester held a “Tommy Watkins Day” in 2009 when it became apparent that his playing career was coming to a close.  He started his coaching career at mid-season of 2010, working for the GCL Twins and the Ft. Myers Miracle.  He became the batting coach at Beloit in 2011 and followed the team to Cedar Rapids, staying there through 2015.  Tommy Watkins is currently the batting coach for the Chattanooga Lookouts.

June 17

Pete Browning (1861)
Joe Bowman (1910)
Ray Scott (1919)
Dave Concepcion (1948)
Joe Charboneau (1955)
Tom Drees (1963)
Manny Lee (1965)
Mike Magnante (1965)

Ray Scott broadcast Minnesota Twins games from 1961-1966 and 1973-1975.

Outfielder Joe Charboneau was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round of the January draft in 1976, but did not sign.

Lefthander Thomas Kent Drees did not play for the Twins, but was at AAA for them in 1993.  He was born in Des Moines, went to high school in Edina, Minnesota, attended Creighton University, and was drafted by the White Sox in the seventeenth round in 1985.  He did really well in the Gulf Coast League that year, walked far too many batters in Class A in 1986, but then settled in to have some solid minor league seasons.  He went 12-11, 3.37, 1.27 WHIP at AAA Vancouver in 1989.  He threw three no-hitters that season, two of them consecutive (one a seven-inning game as part of a doubleheader), and appeared ready for the majors.  The White Sox had a pretty good rotation in 1990, though, and Drees was sent back to AAA.  He did not do as well, and apparently missed about half the season due to injury.  Again at Vancouver in 1991, he went 8-8, 3.52, 1.34 WHIP and got a September call-up.  It did not go well for him.  He made four appearances, all in relief, and posted an ERA of 12.27 with a WHIP of 2.18.  Two of his appearances were against the Twins, who scored six runs off him in a total of one inning.  Unfortunately for Drees, he never made it back to the majors.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with Texas for 1992.  He pitched poorly in AAA, moved on to the Seattle organization, and continued to pitch poorly.  He moved on to the Twins organization for 1993 and went to AAA Portland.  He was 15-10, which sounds good, but he had an ERA of 6.22 and a WHIP of 1.60.  At some point he developed a problem with his hip, which may be the reason his AAA pitching took such a nosedive.  1993 was the end of the line for him as a professional baseball player.  He became a stockbroker and appears to be successful at it.  At last report, Tom Drees was living in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and was the executive director of the Morgan Stanley office in Bloomington.

June 16

Lefty Phillips (1919)
Max Surkont (1922)
Ernie Johnson (1924)
Richard Jacobs (1925)
Bob Miller (1926)
Ken Johnson (1933)
Joe Decker (1947)
Ron LeFlore (1948)
Salome Barojas (1957)
Wally Joyner (1962)
Calvin Schiraldi (1962)
Kevin Young (1969)
Chris Gomez (1971)
Kerry Wood (1977)
Joe Saunders (1981)
Jonathan Broxton (1984)

Lefty Phillips managed the California Angels from 1979-1981.

Richard Jacobs was the owner of the Cleveland Indians from 1986-2000.

The Bob Miller born today, although a pitcher, is not the Bob Miller who pitched for the Twins.

Right-hander George Henry ”Joe” Decker played for the Twins for four years in the mid-1970s.  He was born in Storm Lake, Iowa, went to high school in Petaluma, California, and was drafted by the Cubs in the ninth round in 1965.  He took a while to get started, pitching one year in rookie ball and two at Class A.  His first good season in the minors came in 1968, a season split between A and AAA.  He followed that up with a good year at AAA Tacoma, making his major league debut as a September call-up in 1969.  He was with the Cubs for much of the next two years, sometimes starting, sometimes relieving, but not pitching particularly well in either role.  Decker returned to the minors for most of 1972 and after the season was traded to Minnesota with Bob Maneely and Bill Hands for Dave LaRoche.  He was in the Twins’ starting rotation the next two years and pitched pretty well, winning 16 games in 1974 with a 3.29 ERA.  He pitched 248.2 innings, however, by far the most of his career.  After that he struggled with injuries and was never an effective pitcher again.  The Twins released him in June of 1976 and he signed with Detroit, finishing the year at AAA.  He signed with the Cubs for 1977, was released on Independence Day, and finished the season in the Mexican League.  Decker signed with Seattle for 1978 and had a couple of decent years in AAA, making it back to the majors for about six weeks in 1979.  He was apparently out of baseball in 1980-1981, then attempted a comeback in 1982, pitching in AAA for Seattle for two more seasons before ending his playing career after the 1983 campaign.  As a Twin, Joe Decker was 29-34, 4.09.  He pitched in 89 games, 80 of them starts, and worked 503.1 innings.  He continued to enjoy playing baseball, and pitched in the Seniors League in 1989-1990.  He moved to Fraser, Michigan, where he passed away on March 2, 2003 following a fall down stairs.  He is buried in his original home town of Storm Lake, Iowa.

Infielder Christopher Cory Gomez played for the Twins in 2003.  He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in Lakewood, California, and attended Cal State–Long Beach.  He was drafted by Detroit in the third round in 1992.  He did not hit particularly well in the minors, but made the big leagues in mid-July of 1993.  In 1994 he hit .257 with 8 homers as a part-time middle infielder, which was good enough for fourth in Rookie of the Year voting.  He stayed with the Tigers in a mostly regular middle infield role until June of 1996, when Gomez was traded to San Diego.  He was immediately installed as the regular shortstop for the Padres, a position he held through 1998.  He was not particularly good, but he hit around .260 and so was considered good enough to keep the job.  In 1999, however, Gomez started dealing with injuries, and was out much of the 2000 season.  He batted poorly in 2001 and was released in late June.  Tampa Bay signed him and he bounced back, hitting .302 the rest of the way.  He went back to his typical .265 in 2002 and was released after the season.  Minnesota signed him and he played in 58 games as a utility infielder.  His line was .251/.279/.354 in 175 at-bats.  Gomez moved on to Toronto for 2004 and had a good year, for him, batting .282 as a part-time player.  He went to Baltimore in 2005 and went on to have the best years of his career.  His playing time was limited, but as an Oriole for nearly three seasons Gomez hit .302 in 520 at-bats.  Despite that, the Orioles put him on waivers, and he was selected by Cleveland in early August.  Gomez played for Pittsburgh in 2008, hitting .273, and then became a free agent again.  He signed with Baltimore again for 2009, but was released at the end of spring training and his playing career was over.  His career covered 16 seasons, which is not bad for a guy with a lifetime OPS of .685.  At last report, Chris Gomez was a coach with OC Sun Devils Baseball in Orange County, California.

June 15

Babe Dahlgren (1912)
Bernice Gera (1931)
Mario Cuomo (1932)
Billy Williams (1938)
Ty Cline (1939)
Bruce Dal Canton (1941)
Ken Henderson (1946)
Champ Summers (1946)
Dusty Baker (1949)
Lance Parrish (1956)
Brett Butler (1957)
Wade Boggs (1958)
Tony Clark (1972)
Ramiro Mendoza (1972)
Andy Pettitte (1972)
Zach Day (1978)
Jeremy Reed (1981)
Tim Lincecum (1984)
Trevor Plouffe (1986)
Eduardo Nunez (1987)
Jake Locker (1988)

Bernice Gera was the first female umpire in Organized Baseball, umpiring one game in the New York-Penn League in 1972.

Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo was an outfielder for the Brunswick Pirates of the Georgia-Florida League in 1952.

Quarterback Jake Locker was drafted by the Angels as an outfielder in the tenth round in 2009.  He signed a contract with them, but never played a game of professional baseball.

Right-hander Stephen Zachary Day did not pitch for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for about a month in 2008.  Born and raised in Cincinnati, he was drafted by the Yankees in the fifth round in 1996.  He advanced slowly, not getting out of A ball until 2000.  When he did, he was no longer in the Yankees’ system; he was traded to Cleveland in late June of 2000.  He reached AAA for the Indians in 2001, but after one game there he was traded to Montreal at the July deadline.  He made his major league debut with the Expos in 2002, spending about two and a half months with the team that year.  He was mostly used as a relief pitcher in 2002, but was in the starting rotation in 2003-2004.  He was decent in those years, not great but not terrible.  He moved to Washington with the team in 2005, but was traded to Colorado in July.  He spent time in the minors that year as well, and also split 2006 between AAA and the majors.  He was waived in late April of 2006 and went back to Washington.  He made five mediocre starts with the Nationals, then had rotator cuff surgery and never made it back to the majors.  He kept trying for a while, though.  He signed with Kansas City for 2007, was in AAA that season, then signed with Minnesota for 2008.  The Twins sent him to Ft. Myers due to his continuing shoulder problems.  The hope was that the shoulder would improve, but it was not to be.   He made six relief appearances for Ft. Myers and went 1-0, 5.62, 1.88 WHIP in eight innings.  The Twins released him in early May.  His continuing health problems led him to not try to play for another team, and his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Zach Day had moved back to his home town of Cincinnati.  He currently is the founder and owner of Zigoo Pets, a company which makes pet toys.  He is also the manager of business development for TrackMan A/S, which consults with software development experts to translate principles of peak athletic performance into teaching applications.

Outfielder Jeremy Thomas Reed did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 2011.  He was born in San Dimas, California, went to high school in LaVerne, California, then attended Cal State—Long Beach.  He was drafted by the White Sox in the second round in 2002.  He hit very well in his first couple of years in the minors, reaching AAA in 2004.  In late June of that season he was traded to Seattle and made his major league debut for the Mariners that September.  He was their starting center fielder in 2005, but hit only .254 with no power.  It was his only year as a major league regular.  He was a reserve for Seattle in 2006, then spent most of 2007 in AAA, coming back to the majors only as a September call-up.  He started 2008 in the minors again but came back to Seattle in late May and stayed the rest of the season.  He was traded to the Mets for the 2009 season.  He was in the majors all year, playing in 126 games but getting only 161 at-bats.  Fifty-three of those games were as a pinch-hitter.  Given his use, he didn’t do badly, batting .242, but it was his last full season in the majors.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Toronto for 2010, played seldom, and was released in early July.  The White Sox picked him up and sent him to AAA for the rest of the season.  He signed with Milwaukee for 2011, went 0-for-7 as a pinch hitter, was sent to the minors, then was traded to Minnesota in early June for future considerations.  He played in four games for Rochester, went 0-for-15, and then got hurt and did not return.  He was a free agent after the season, but did not play in 2012.  He signed with Arizona for 2013 but retired during spring training.  The Diamondbacks apparently held out hope that he might change his mind, as they did not release him until after the season.  He elected to stay retired, however, and is currently the minor league batting coordinator for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Third baseman Trevor Patrick Plouffe has played for the Twins in 2010 and 2011.  He was born in West Hills, California and was selected by Minnesota in the first round of the 2004 amateur draft.  He progressed at a pace of roughly a level per season.  His minor league numbers are not bad but not terribly impressive, either.  His highest batting average is .274 and his highest OPS is .736 (both at New Britain, 2007); his lowest batting average is .223 and his lowest OPS is .645 (both at Beloit, 2006).  He had four brief stints with Minnesota in 2010, getting a few days in May, a week in June, about a week in August, and coming back for a September call-up.  He was with the Twins for about a month in 2011, spending most of the season in Rochester.  He started to develop some power in 2009, hitting 13 homers in Rochester that season and 15 there in 2010.   He split 2011 between Rochester and Minnesota, hitting 15 more homers in Rochester in just 220 at-bats and eight more in Minnesota in 286 at-bats.   He became the regular third baseman for Minnesota in 2012 and has remained there ever since.  He had been remarkably consistent year-to-year, but this year has so far declined significantly, not in batting average but in walks and power.  At this writing, Trevor Plouffe has hit .245/.306/.417 in nearly 2500 major league at-bats.  He's 30 today, so while he may get back to his regular career numbers it's unlikely he's ever going to significantly surpass them.  Some have suggested that he be traded to make room for Miguel Sano at third base, but so far the Twins have resisted that suggestion.  As long as he's with the Twins, Trevor Plouffe is likely to remain their regular third baseman.

Infielder/outfielder Eduardo Michelle (Mendez) Nunez came to the Twins in April of 2014.  He was born in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, went to high school in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and signed with the Yankees as a free agent in 2004.  He did not reach AA until 2009, but it should be remembered that he was still only 22 then.  He reached AAA in 2010 and made his major league debut in August of that year.  Prior to 2016, he has never been a particularly strong batter, although he hit for a decent average.  In 2016, however, he is at this writing batting .324/.354/.507.  His AAA line is .273/.317/.359 in 666 at-bats.  His major league numbers so far have been similar, although with a little more power:  .276/.315/.407 in 1357 at-bats at this writing.   Despite the fact that the Yankees knew they would soon be looking for a shortstop, they traded Nunez to Minnesota in April of 2014 for Miguel Sulbaran.  He has mostly played shortstop and third base in the majors, although he does have a handful of games at second and in the outfield.  He turns 29 today.  It seems very unlikely that he'll be able to maintain his current batting pace, but if he can just keep his averages around where they've been, he'll probably have a job in the majors for at least a few more seasons.

June 14

Charlie Buffinton (1861)
Harvey Watkins (1869)
Charles Barrett (1871)
Don Newcombe (1926)
Jim Constable (1933)
Bill Fahey (1950)
Greg Brock (1957)
Mike Laga (1960)
George Tsamis (1967)
Peter Munro (1975)
Michael Hollimon (1982)

Harvey Watkins managed the New York Giants for 35 games in 1895.  Most of his career was spent managing the Barnum & Bailey Circus and the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show.

Charles Barrett was a long-time scout, mostly working for whatever team was employing Branch Rickey.

Left-hander Jimmy Lee “Sheriff” Constable was an original Twin, in a way, but he did not play for them.  He was born in Jonesborough, Tennessee and signed with the New York Giants as a free agent in 1951.  He pitched very well in the low minors, reaching AAA in 1954.  He stumbled in his first couple of years there, possibly because he had averaged 225 innings in his previous two seasons.  He did very well in AAA in 1956, though, making a brief appearance with the Giants in June.  He spent much of 1957 in the majors and did well on those rare occasions when he was given a chance to pitch.  1958 was his first full season in the majors, but he spent it with three different teams:  he started with the now San Francisco Giants, was chosen off waivers by Cleveland in June, and was chosen off waivers by Washington in July.  That off-season, while playing winter ball in Cuba, Constable suffered what was termed a mental breakdown and was out of baseball for three years.  The franchise kept him on the roster until April 11, 1961, when the now Minnesota Twins released him.  He came back with the Milwaukee Braves in 1962, getting back to the majors for three games.  He returned to the Giants in 1963 and was in their minor league system for two years, making four more major league appearances in 1963.  For his career, Jim Constable went 3-4, 4.87 with two saves and a WHIP of 1.53.  He appeared in 56 games, six of them starts, and pitched 98 innings.  After leaving baseball, Constable became a control analyst for Magnavox, then became a teacher back in his home town of Jonesborough.  Jim Constable passed away on September 4, 2002.

Left-hander George Tsamis was with the Twins for most of 1993.  He was born in Campbell, California, attended Stetson University, and was drafted by Minnesota in the fifteenth round in 1989.  He was a starter in the minors and had a tremendous year at Class A Visalia in 1990, going 17-4, 2.21.  As he climbed up the ladder, his ERA and his WHIP rose, but his won-lost record remained very good.  For example, in 1992 he was 13-4 for AAA Portland, but with an ERA of 3.90 and a WHIP of 1.50.  He made three poor starts for Portland in 1993, but came up to the Twins in late April and stayed the rest of the season.  Why he stayed is another question:  Tsamis was 1-2, 6.19 with a WHIP of 1.65 in 68.1 innings spread over 41 appearances.  The Twins led him go after the season, and he moved on to Seattle, pitching in the minors for the Mariners for a little over a year.  He pitched briefly in the Pirates’ system in 1995, then spent over three seasons in independent ball, pitching for Mohawk Valley, Newburgh, Meridian, Bangor, and Waterbury through 1998.  Since then, he has been managing in independent ball.  George Tsamis has been the manager of Waterbury (1999-2000), New Jersey (2001-2002) and St. Paul (2003-present).  He is also director of player personnel for the St. Paul Saints.  He was a coach for Team USA in the 2003 Baseball World Cup.  In the off-season, George Tsamis lives in Colchester, Connecticut.

Right-hander Peter Daniel Munro did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for a couple of months in 2004 and for all of 2006..  He was born in Flushing, New York, went to high schol in Bayside, New York, and was drafted by Boston in the sixth round in 1993. He did well in Class A but struggled whe promoted to AA 1997 and continued to struggle in AAA in 1998.  He was traded to Toronto in late July of the latter season.  He did no better there in the rest of 1998 but began 1999 in the majors anyway.  Not surprisingly, he did not pitch well, although he did better when sent back to AAA.  He began 2000 in AAA, too, and did no better.  In August he was traded to Texas.  He spent all of 2001 in AAA and had a medicore year.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Houston for 2002 and had his first good year above Class A, pitchng well at AAA and coninuing to pitch well when promoted to Houston in late June.  He went 5-5, 3.57 in 19 appearances, 14 of them starts.  It was his only good year in the majors, though.  He started 2003 in the majors but was sent back to AAA at the end of July.  A free agent after the season, he signed wth Minnesota for 2004.  He pitched well in Rochester, going 6-3, 3.88 with a 1.22 WHIP in ten starts, but was still released at then end of May.  The Astros signed him again a week later, but he again could not succeed in the majors.  He signed with the Yankees in 2005, was in AAA all season, then signed again with Minnesota for 2006.He was in the Red Wings’ rotation all year but did not do well, going 8-12, 4.32 with a 1.45 WHIP.  He played in China in 2007 and made the all-star team there.  He came back to the United States and played for York in the Atlantic League in 2008, but was injured and ended his playing career.  Pete Munro is currently an instructor for ProSwing, a baseball instructional company located in Port Chester, New York.  He is also the owner of PDM Pitching, LLC, of Brooklyn, which “focuses on the training and development of youth athletes in all phases of development”.

Infielder Michael Travis Hollimon did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for two years.  Born and raised in Dallas, he attended both the University of Texas and Oral Roberts University.  He was drafted three times:  by the Dodgers in 2001, by Minnesota in 2003, and by Detroit in 2005.  He signed with the Tigers and got his professional career underway that year.  He started very well, batting around .280 with double-digit doubles, triples, and homers each of his first two years and falling a triple short of doing it a third year.  He got a cup of coffee at AAA in that third year, 2007, and started 2008 there.  He hit a wall in AAA, however; he has never had a good season higher than AA unless you count 29 games in 2011.  He got his first and so far only big league time in 2008, spending about six weeks with the Tigers as a reserve infielder.  He did well in limited playing time, going 6-for-23 with two doubles, a triple, and a homer.  He hit only .211 in AAA, though, and when he did not particularly improve in AA in 2009 he was released.  Hollimon played for independent Grand Prairie in the American Association in 2010.  The Twins gave him another chance, signing him for 2011.  He started horribly for New Britain, but played fairly well after the first month, earning a promotion to Rochester, where he continued to do well.  Back in Rochester for 2012, he again got off to a slow start, then was injured and missed the rest of the season.  He elected to retire after the season.  His career was probably not what he hoped it would be, but he got twenty-three big league at-bats and hit a major league home run, and most of us would probably give a lot to be able to say that.  Michael Hollimon is now a sports agent and vice president with Select Sports Group and is living in the Dallas area.

June 13

Jim Mutrie (1851)
Bill Bergen (1878)
Gene Desautels (1907)
Mel Parnell (1922)
Dave Rosenfield (1931)
Tom Cheek (1939)
Marcel Lachemann (1941)
Antonio Pulido (1951)
Ernie Whitt (1952)
Darrell May (1972)
Pedro Strop (1985)
Jonathan Lucroy (1986)

Jim Mutrie managed teams in New York for nine years.  He has been called the founding father of baseball in New York City.

Catcher Bill Bergen spent eleven seasons in the majors.  He appeared in 947 games and had 3,028 at-bats.  His lifetime stats are .170/.194/.201.  Everything you read about him says he was a tremendous defensive catcher, and one assumes he must have been.

Dave Rosenfield was the general manager of the Tidewater/Norfolk Tides for over forty-five years.

Tom Cheek was the voice of the Toronto Blue Jays from 1977-2004.

Antonio Pulido was a closer in the Mexican League for many years, getting 197 saves.  He also had 70 saves in the Mexican Pacific League.

There do not appear to be any players with connections to the Minnesota Twins who were born on this day.

June 12

Joe Hornung (1857)
Sol White (1868)
Red Dooin (1879)
Matty McIntyre (1880)
Otto Knabe (1884)
Bill Foster (1904)
Dutch Rennert (1930)
Gerry Arrigo (1941)
Jim Strickland (1946)
Scott Aldred (1968)
Damon Buford (1970)
Ryan Klesko (1971)
Damon Hollins (1974)
Hideki Matsui (1974)

Sol White was a Negro League player, manager, and executive.  He wrote the first history of African-American baseball, "Sol White's History of Colored Baseball", in 1907.

Bill Foster was a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues.  He was the stepbrother of Rube Foster.

Dutch Rennert was a National League umpire from 1974-1992.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Eric B. B.  Wherever he is.

Left-hander Gerald William Arrigo pitched for the Twins in the early 1960s.  Born and raised in Chicago, he signed with the home town White Sox in 1960.  After a fine season in Class D Clinton the Twins chose him in that off-season’s first year player draft.  He did not do particularly well in 1961 but was called up for a month anyway, working 10.2 innings in seven appearances.  He was better in the minors in 1962, making one appearance in the majors as a September call-up.  He pitched well in AA in 1963, again getting a September call-up.  In 1964, still only 23, Arrigo got his first full year in the majors, making twelve starts and twenty-nine relief appearances for the Twins.  He did okay, going 7-4, 3.84 with a WHIP of 1.35 in 105.1 innings.  He was substantially better working out of the bullpen than in the rotation.  After the season, however, Arrigo was traded to Cincinnati for Cesar Tovar.  He was in the majors most of the season but did not pitch well, and when he got off to a slow start in 1966 he was sold to the Mets.  He pitched in New York for about three months, then was sold back to Cincinnati, finishing the season at AAA.  He then got three full seasons with the Reds, working mostly out of the bullpen in 1967 and mostly in the rotation in 1968-1969.  In the first two of those years he pitched pretty well, but he had a bad year in 1969 and was traded to the White Sox after the season.  He started 1970 in Chicago but was awful and finished the season in AAA.  Arrigo made three appearances in AAA for Atlanta in 1971, then his playing career ended.  No information about Gerry Arrigo’s life after baseball was readily available.  It seems odd that someone who was in the big leagues that long would just drop off the radar screen, but perhaps he prefers it that way.

Left-hander James Michael Strickland pitched for the Twins in the early 1970s.  He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in Lakewood, California, and signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1964.  He was in the Dodgers’ system for three seasons and posted quite unimpressive numbers, although he did strike out quite a few batters.  He then missed the 1967-1968 seasons due to military service.  He was a much better pitcher when he returned, having a decent season in for AA Albuquerque in 1969 and an outstanding one there in 1970.  The Twins selected him in the minor league draft that off-season, and after thirteen outstanding appearances at AAA Portland they brought him up the big club.  He was not used very often, but did very well when given the chance, posting an ERA of 1.44 and a WHIP of 1.21 in 31.1 innings over 24 games.  1972 was similar:  he started at AAA, pitched very well, came up to Minnesota at mid-season, and continued to pitch very well but seldom.  1973, however, was a different story.  Strickland had a poor year at AAA and was awful in seven big-league appearances.  The Twins apparently gave up on him after that, trading him with Mike Brooks to Cleveland for Bill Butler and Dick Colpaert.  As a Twin, Jim Strickland was 4-2, 2.72 with a WHIP of 1.39.  He pitched 72.2 innings in 56 relief appearances.  He got straightened out somewhat in the Indians’ minor league system, pitching fairly well for two years and getting a September call-up in 1975.  He had a poor year in 1976, however, and his playing career came to an end.  No information about what Jim Strickland has done after that was readily available, but from accounts he appears to be a very nice man.

Left-hander Scott Phillip Aldred pitched for the Twins from 1996-1997.  He was born in Flint, Michigan, went to high school in Montrose, Michigan, and was drafted by Detroit in the sixteenth round in 1986.  His early minor league numbers are rather bland–he never stunk it up, but he was never really good, either.  He was promoted to AAA in 1990 and got a September call-up despite not having a very good year in Toledo.  He was marginally better in AAA in 1991, which resulted in two and a half months with the Tigers.  He started 1992 in the majors, was terrible, and went back to Toledo in mid-June, where he was merely bad.  He was taken by Colorado in the expansion draft, which worked about as well as one would expect, and was waived at the end of April, selected by Montreal.  He apparently was injured early in his tenure with the Expos, as he appeared in only three games.  He missed all of 1994, was released, and signed back with Detroit for 1995.  He made 15 appearances in the low minors, did pretty well, started 1996 in the Tigers’ rotation, was awful again, and was waived in late May, selected by Minnesota.  The Twins made him their fifth starter and he continued to be bad.  He began 1997 in the rotation, was even worse, and was finally sent back to AAA in mid-June.  The Twins let him go after the season; as a Twin, Scott Aldred was 8-15, 6.10 with a WHIP of 1.54.  He worked 199.1 innings over 42 appearances, 32 of them starts.  He signed with Tampa Bay for 1998.  He was not pitching very well in AAA for the Devil Rays but was brought up in mid-May, placed in the bullpen, and had what for him was a decent year (he set a record that year, since broken, for the most appearances in a season without a decision).  He could not sustain it in 1999, however, and was traded in late July to Philadelphia.  He was marginally adequate the rest of the season, but started poorly in 2000 and was done as a major leaguer by late May.  He kept at it, though; Aldred was in the Yankees’ organization in 2001, the Dodgers’ system in 2002, and the Red Sox’ chain in 2003.  He then pitched for Somerset in the Atlantic League in 2004 before hanging it up for good.   Scott Aldred has become a minor league coach since then, working for Charleston (2006), Trenton (2007-2008), Empire State (2012) Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (2009-11, 2013-15).  This season he is the minor league pitching coordinator for the Yankees.

Outfielder Damon Hollins did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for a few months in 2001.  He was born in Fairfield, California, went to high school in Vallejo, California, and was drafted by Atlanta in the fourth round in 1992.  He hit .321 in rookie ball in 1993 and then started to develop power, hitting 23 homers in Class A in 1994 and 18 in AA in 1995.  He had a bad year in 1996, when he apparently was battling injuries, but bounced back to hit 20 homers in AAA Richmond in 1997.  He made his major league debut in 1998, but got only six at-bats in three games before being sent back to AAA.  In September he was traded to the Dodgers, for whom he got nine more at-bats.  For some time, it looked like that would be the extent of his major league career.  The Dodgers released him after the season.  He signed with Cincinnati for 1999, was a free agent after the season, signed with Milwaukee for 2000, and was a free agent after the season again.  He was decent in AAA in those years, but did nothing to attract any attention.  The Twins signed him for 2001 and sent him to AAA Edmonton.  He played in 69 games there, hitting .276/.342/.405 in 232 at-bats.  He was traded back to the Braves’ organization on July 22 in a conditional deal.  He stayed there through 2004, each year putting up decent numbers but never getting another shot at the big leagues.  In 2004, he hit .301 with 20 homers for Richmond, also getting another ten days in the majors that year.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with Tampa Bay.  Hollins started the year in the minors, but was called up in a month and became a major league regular for the first time at the age of 30.  He played in 241 games for the Devil Rays over the next two seasons and hit 28 home runs, but batted only .239.  A free agent after the 2006 season, he went to Japan for 2007, then signed with Kansas City and spent 2008 in Omaha.  He signed with Philadelphia for 2009, but did not make the team and his playing career ended.  Still, his persistence got him almost two full years in the big leagues, which is more than a lot of people can say.  Since his playing career ended, Damon Hollins has been coaching in the Kansas City system, serving as a coach for Wilmington in 2012, Idaho Falls in 2013 and 2014, and Lexington in 2015 and 2016.