William Malone

Wilkin Emilio Ramírez was born on October 25, 1985 in the Dominican Republic. The Detroit Tigers signed him as an amateur free agent in 2003. He made his Major League debut for them in 2009, appearing in 15 games that summer. Ramírez only got 13 plate appearances in those 15 games, going 4-for-11 (.364) with two walks and one home run. He didn't reach the Majors again until 2011 with the Atlanta Braves, where he hit .231 with two RBI during a 20 game sample. Ramírez signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins, and split 2012 between Double-A New Britain and Triple-A Rochester. He returned on a second minor league deal in 2013, cracking their Opening Day roster after hitting .404 in spring training. Ramírez hit .272 with six RBI across 35 games for the Twins that season, playing all three outfield positions. This was the end of his time at the big league level, but Ramírez did spend 2014 and 2015 in the Twins minor league system. His final professional season came in 2016 with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League. View full player

Robert Michael Veselic was born on September 27, 1955 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Minnesota Twins selected him ninth overall in the 1976 MLB Draft. He made his Major League debut for them in 1980, allowing two runs over a four inning relief appearance. It was his only big league outing that season. Veselic made five more appearances for the Twins in 1981, logging 22.2 innings in long relief outings. He went 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA, striking out 13 opponents. This was the end of his Major League career, but he pitched in the minor leagues until 1983. He passed away from cancer in 1995 at the age of 40. View full player

Frank Rodriguez won the Dick Howser Award in 1991, which is given annually to the best player in college baseball. He won the award despite playing for Howard College, a JUCO program in Texas. This makes him one of only two non-NCAA Division I players to win. We all had goals growing up as a kid, and one of my goals was to play professional baseball. So everything that I did aligned with that. That's what I'm trying to do with my daughter now in softball. She's just starting out. It was always a goal for me. Not really that particular award, but put myself in position to make it to the professional level. And part of that was the college route. It helped me grow up and mature within the game. Just getting better every day. The Boston Red Sox drafted Rodriguez in round two. He pitched just 15 ⅓ big-league innings for them, before getting traded to the Minnesota Twins for All-Star closer Rick Aguilera. The trade happened when [the Red Sox] were in Minnesota. I got called in from the bullpen, and I had to go meet Terry Ryan in the office. He goes "I'm gonna send you down and see how you develop down there." And I'm like "Terry, respectfully, at this point you have a minor-league team up here. So why can't I develop up here?" He seemed to like that, and I was starting two days later against the Red Sox. Aguilera was only a rental piece for the Red Sox, and he came back to Minnesota that winter as a free agent. Aside from being traded for each other a year earlier, Rodriguez had grown up cheering for Aguilera when he pitched for the New York Mets. It's a crazy joke. I grew up a Mets fan in Queens, so I told my mom to mail me our souvenir ball from the '86 World Series. I was like "Rick, would you sign this ball?" I told him I was only 15 when [the 1986 World Series] happened. And now I'm sitting here next to him, so it's a blessing. He goes "no way, you just made me feel so old. I'm not going to talk to you." And then he didn't talk to me for a week on purpose. Twins legend Kirby Puckett was hit in the face by a pitch on September 28, 1995. He had to leave the game, and it was ultimately his final major-league plate appearance. Puckett retired months later after developing glaucoma. I was actually starting that game, and we almost got into a brawl with the Indians. Dennis Martinez let a couple of sliders go. He hit [Chuck] Knoblauch to start the game, because his hands were over the plate. He was always notoriously getting hit. That wasn't a big thing. Then Dennis just hung a slider and hit Kirby right in the face. He went down, and that was the last time he was in uniform. TK [Tom Kelly] pulls me into the tunnel. I'll say this nicely. I'll leave out all the curse words. It was pretty much "you better hit somebody or I'll take your whole check." And I had to hit Albert Belle. Kelly was great with young players such as Rodriguez, as he tried to lay the foundation for the Twins future. Tom Kelly was a great mentor to me. For me, I've always had respect for myself and what I've needed to do to get better. And he respected that in me, because he always saw that I was trying that every day on the field. We'd always have a couple of words like "how's things going" and "how can I help?" I'm thankful for this. I can say this with my head held up high. I'm thankful for the moments that he gave me. He always came up to me and acknowledged my work ethic. Rodriguez is back in New York, and has served as an assistant coach for Division III SUNY Maritime and Division II Mercy University. I started out by helping a good friend of mine, [SUNY Maritime head coach] Charlie Barbieri, at Maritime College. And then I went to Division II, hoping to get the Division II head job at some point. It just sort of didn't work out. The travel was taking time away from my family. So it was time for me to shut it down. Now, I work with some friends doing security for a private company and just play a lot of golf. Rodriguez shared his coaching philosophies in regards to getting the most out of Division II and Division III kids. You've got to figure out the right things to say to the right guys. You always want to be upfront with everybody. I've found the best way to coach is to manage personalities. Everybody understands the game. Everybody has some sort of talent. So you want to bring out that best talent from each kid. Everything we work for, even in Division III and Division II, was always preparing them for their moment. Once they understood the work that goes into being ready for their moment, they really were mentally prepared. View full article

But now think of the White Sox. Just a few years ago, they had the best farm system in baseball. Made playoffs in 2020 and 2021. Everyone thought it was only the beginning…but now look at them. That could be the Orioles fate.

Orioles are just like the White Sox from a few years ago. Chicago made playoffs in 2020 and 2021 after a very long rebuild. Everybody thought that was only the beginning, but it was as good as it got.

Matthew Bates Merullo was born on August 4, 1965 in Winchester, Massachusetts. The Chicago White Sox selected him in round seven of the 1986 MLB Draft. He reached the big league debut for them in 1989. Merullo spent the next several seasons jumping up and down between the Majors and Triple-A with the White Sox, often resurfacing when Chicago needed a third catcher. He hit .206 with six home runs and 32 RBI for them, appearing in 143 games between 1989 and 1993. Merullo played four games for the Cleveland Indians in 1994, and then signed with the Minnesota Twins in 1995. He slashed .282/.355/.379 with one home run and 27 RBI for the Twins, appearing in 76 games. His lone home run was a grand slam off of Kansas City Royals reliever Billy Brewer on August 5, 1995. Merullo retired after spending 1996 in the minors. He was an area scout based in New England for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1999 through 2010. Merullo then managed three years in the Orioles farm system, going 101-105 as their Short Season Single-A skipper. He was an assistant coach at Fairfield University in Connecticut. As of 2025, he is an assistant coach at Gilford High School in Connecticut. His son serves as the head coach. View full player

Meredith Leroy Sanford Jr was born on December 24, 1966 in Americus, Georgia. The Cincinnati Reds selected him in round 32 of the 1988 MLB Draft. He made his Major League debut for them in 1991, going 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA in five starts as a rookie. Sanford spent all of 1992 in Triple-A, and was then taken by the Colorado Rockies during the expansion draft. He pitched 11 games out of their bullpen in 1993, and spent all of 1994 in the minors. Sanford came to the Minnesota Twins on a minor league deal in 1995. He broke camp with the team, and tossed 2.1 shutout innings of relief during a 9-0 loss on Opening Day. Minnesota released him in June after he posted a 5.30 ERA over 18.1 relief innings. This was the end of his time in the Major Leagues, but Sanford continued to pitch professionally through 2000. View full player

Francisco Rodriguez was born on December 11, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York. The Boston Red Sox selected him in round two of the 1990 MLB Draft. He made his Major League debut for them in 1995, but was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Rick Aguilera later on that season. Rodriguez made 16 starts for the Twins in the second half of that season, going 5-6 with a 5.38 ERA. He was a regular in their rotation during the 1996 season, posting a 5.05 ERA and leading the Twins with 13 wins. Rodriguez hurled three complete games that year. There was a fourth occasion where he completed nine innings, but the game went into extras. He jumped between the rotation and bullpen during the next two seasons. The Seattle Mariners selected him off of waivers in 1999. Rodriguez pitched for the Mariners in 1999 and 2000. He finished his Major League career with the Cincinnati Reds in 2001. Since retiring, Rodriguez has been very involved in several youth programs in and around Brooklyn. He has also served as a pitching coach for Division II Mercy University and Division III SUNY Maritime. Both colleges are local to New York City. View full player

Addison Devon Reed was born on December 27, 1988 in Monclair, California. The Chicago White Sox selected him in round three of the 2010 MLB Draft out of San Diego State. He made his Major League debut for them in 2011, and became their closer the following season. Reed recorded 69 saves for Chicago between the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired him in a trade on December 13, 2013. He had 32 saves in 2014, but lost his closer job to Brad Ziegler during the 2015 campaign. Reed was traded to the New York Mets at the 2015 deadline, and became the set-up man for Jeurys Familia. New York reached the World Series that fall, losing to the Kansas City Royals in five games. Reed was the losing pitcher in the decisive game five, allowing five runs in the 12th innings of a 7-2 loss. He had allowed just one run in eight postseason appearances leading up to that. Reed had a career year in 2016, posting a 1.97 ERA over a career high 80 appearances. He had a 2.84 ERA across 77 appearances in 2017. The Minnesota Twins signed Reed to a two year, $16.75 million contract on January 15, 2018. He began the year setting up veteran closer Fernando Rodney, who was also signed by Minnesota that winter. Reed got off to a strong start, owning a 2.83 ERA with seven holds through the end of May. He had struck out 29 opponents through 28.2 innings. But things turned after that, and Reed recorded a 6.26 ERA over the remainder of the season. This included a stint on the disabled list due to a triceps injury in July. He allowed ten runs over 5.1 innings during spring training in 2010, and started the season sidelined with a thumb sprain. Reed allowed eight runs over 5.0 innings on a rehab assignment in Triple-A, and was designated for assignment in late-May. View full player

How many of those losses are the White Sox? Or wins for the Yankees? You can't let one team weigh too much. I will ask you for a seventh time!!! Can you show your work that the AL East was better than the AL Central last year? Prediction: you will not!

Luis Ignacio Ayala Hernández was born on January 12, 1978 in Mexico. He began his professional career in 1997 at the age of 19 in the Mexican League, eventually signing a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies in 1999. Colorado released him in 2001, and Ayala returned to the Mexican League having never pitched above Class-A. The Montreal Expos signed Ayala to a minor league contract in 2002. He reached the Major Leagues in 2003. Ayala made 320 relief appearances for the Expos/Washington Nationals between 2003 and 2008, posting a 3.33 ERA and recording nine saves. The New York Mets acquired Ayala in an August waiver trade during the 2008 season. He went 9-for-11 in save opportunities for the Mets down the stretch, filling in for an injured Billy Wagner. New York was ultimately eliminated from playoff contention on the last day of the regular season. He signed a one year deal with the Minnesota Twins that winter. His time with the Twins was overshadowed by personal conflicts with manager Ron Gardenhire, who didn't like how Ayala often complained about his role in the Minnesota bullpen. This ultimately led to his release in late-June. Ayala signed with the Florida Marlins, and was designated for assignment after pitching an 11.47 ERA over ten appearances with them. He spent 2010 on a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies. His career finally got back on track in 2011 with the New York Yankees. Ayala made their Opening Day roster after showing up to camp on a minor league contract. He had a 2.09 ERA in 52 games for the Yankees that summer, eventually settling into the set-up man role ahead of Mariano Rivera. The Baltimore Orioles signed him in 2012. He had a 2.64 ERA for them that season, and a 3.27 ERA in 2013, splitting the year with Baltimore and the Atlanta Braves. That was the end of his time in the Majors, but he continued to pitch professionally through 2018. Most of this time was spent back home in the Mexican League. View full player

That's cool! What did they do in the other games? You can't just go off of head-to-head. The other games count too. Can you show you work that the AL East was better than the AL Central last year? Prediction: you won't. You will cherry pick things that do not matter.

I don't care what the last place team did. That's just one of five teams. Someone could go 0-162. It doesn't make the other four teams better or worse. Can you show your work that the AL East was good last year? Cool. The Yankees and Orioles were good. The others were not. Twins went 10-9 vs Red Sox, Blue Jays and Rays. They could've been third in that division. They were fourth in a much better AL Central.

Gerald William Arrigo was born on June 12, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago White Sox signed him as an amateur free agent in 1959, but he was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 1960 minor league draft. Arrigo made his Major League debut for the Twins in 1961, posting a 10.24 ERA across two starts and five relief appearances as a rookie. He continued to pitch sparingly at the big league level over the next two years, tossing just 16.2 innings between the 1962 and 1963 seasons. Arrigo became more of a regular for Minnesota in 1964, going 7-4 with a 3.84 ERA over 12 starts and 29 relief appearances. He hurled two complete games, including a one hit shutout against the White Sox on June 26th. The no-hitter was broken up with a lead-off single in the ninth inning. His first Major League save came on August 30th against the Washington Senators. The Twins traded him to the Cincinnati Reds for César Tovar on December 4, 1964. He went 24-27 with a 3.86 ERA and three saves over parts of five seasons in Cincinnati, often jumping between the rotation and bullpen. Arrigo also had short stints with the New York Mets and White Sox. View full player

Andrew Edward Butera was born on August 9, 1983 in Evansville, Indiana. The New York Mets selected him in round five of the 2005 MLB Draft. He was traded to the Minnesota Twins for veteran second baseman Luis Castillo at the deadline in 2007. Butera made his Major League debut in 2010, making the Opening Day roster after projected back-up catcher José Morales got injured during spring training. He slashed .197/.237/.296 (.533) in 49 games as a rookie. His first big league home run came in dramatic fashion on June 19th against the Philadelphia Phillies. Butera launched a tenth inning, tie breaking home run while pinch hitting for Matt Guerrier in a game played under National League rules. Minnesota won the game 13-10. He returned to the Twins in 2011, seeing an increase in playing time after Joe Mauer was forced out of action due to bilateral leg weakness. His offensive numbers got even worse from the year prior, finishing with a .167/.210/.239 slash line over 93 games. Butera caught Franciaco Liriano's no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox on May 3, 2011. He delivered a walk-off single against the San Diego Padres on June 19, 2011. Minnesota signed free agent catcher Ryan Doumit ahead of the 2012 campaign, and Butera began that season in Triple-A. Doumit got a lot of playing time as a corner outfielder and designated hitter, causing the Twins to occasionally call up Butera to serve as a third catcher. He appeared in 42 games that season, slashing .198/.270/.297 with one home run and five RBI. Butera spent most of 2013 in Triple-A, appearing in only two Major League games for the Twins. He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the deadline. The rest of his career was spent as a journeyman backup catcher. Butera played for the Dodgers (2013-14), Los Angeles Angels (2015 and 2021), Kansas City Royals (2015-18) and Colorado Rockies (2018-20). He won a World Series with the Royals in 2015 as the backup catcher to Salvador Perez, appearing in three games off the bench that October. Butera played for Team Italy in the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classic. His father, Sal Butera, won a World Series with the Twins in 1987. As of 2025, he is on the Major League coaching staff for the Chicago White Sox. Butera had previously been on the Los Angeles Angels coaching staff in 2022 and 2023. View full player