Jeff A

Also posted at wgom.org. John Smiley (1965) Dan Masteller (1968) Scott Downs (1976) Left-hander John Patrick Smiley pitched for the Twins in 1992. He was born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania and went to high school in Graterford, Pennsylvania. He was drafted by Pittsburgh in the twelfth round in 1983. He struggled early in his minor league career and was moved to the bullpen in 1986. He had a very good year in relief, posting an ERA of 3.10 and a WHIP of 1.16 in 90 innings in Class A. That got him a September call-up, and the next year he stayed in the majors, never going back to AA or AAA. Smiley was used in relief in 1987 and did not do a whole lot, but he joined the starting rotation in 1988 and stayed in a major league rotation for ten years. He was in the Pirates' rotation through 1991. His last year with Pittsburgh was his best, as Smiley went 20-8, 3.08 in 207.2 innings. He made his first all-star appearance that year, finished third in Cy Young voting, and was fourteenth in MVP balloting. In March of 1992, Smiley was traded to the Twins for Midre Cummings and Denny Neagle. He had an excellent year for the Twins, going 16-9, 3.21 with a 1.12 WHIP and setting a career high with 241 innings. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Cincinnati. Smiley struggled in 1993, dealing with both injuries and ineffectiveness. He bounced back in 1994 and had three consecutive years with ERAs under four and WHIPs under 1.30. He made the all-star team for the second time in 1995 He had a poor year in 1997, and an injury shortly after his mid-season trade to Cleveland led Smiley to retire after the 1997 season. John Smiley was never a superstar, but he was a solid rotation starter for several years. At last report, he was living in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. First baseman/outfielder Dan Patrick Masteller was with the Twins for a little over half of the 1995 season. He was born in Toledo, attended Michigan State, and was drafted by Minnesota in the eleventh round in 1989. He did not show much power in the minors, but hit over .300 for three consecutive years, most of which were in AAA Salt Lake. He was in the third of those years when he was brought up to Minnesota in late June of 1995. The left- handed hitter was used almost exclusively against right-handed pitching, sharing first base with Scott Stahoviak and also playing a little corner outfield. Masteller played in 71 games that season, getting 198 at-bats. He hit .237/.303/.343 with three homers and 21 RBIs. Released after the season, he was signed by Montreal and again hit for a high average in AA, but apparently no one was impressed; he was let go in mid-season and finished the year in the independent North Atlantic League. 1996 was to be Masteller's last season in organized baseball. At last report, Dan Masteller was living in Akron, Ohio and was a senior vice president with CB Richard Ellis, a real estate investment broker which proclaims itself "the global leader in real estate services." Left-hander Scott Jeremy Downs did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system briefly in 1999. Born and raised in Louisville, he attended the University of Kentucky and was drafted by the Cubs in the third round in 1997. He pitched pretty well in their system for two seasons, but in November of 1998 he was the player to be named later in the deal that sent Mike Morgan to the Cubs. He pitched 19.2 innings in New Britain and 9.2 innings in Ft. Myers, doing poorly for the former and well for the latter, when he was sent back to the Cubs on May 21 of 1999 along with Rick Aguilera for Kyle Lohse and Jason Ryan. He made the Cubs starting rotation at the start of the 2000 season, but did not do well and was traded to Montreal at the July trading deadline for Rondell White. He made one start for the Expos and then went down with an injury, missing the entire 2001 season. He spent most of the next three years in the minors, making one major league start in 2003 and 12 in 2004. After that season, he was released by the then Washington franchise and signed with Toronto. He started the season in the minors but made it back to the big leagues for good in mid-May of 2005 and began a transition to the bullpen. He began pitching better immediately, and started pitching really well as a LOOGY in 2007. He was a free agent after the 2010 season, signed with the Angels, and continued to pitch well. From 2007-2012, Downs has appeared in 379 games and pitched 334 innings. He is 17-17 with 25 saves, an ERA of 2.32, and a WHIP of 1.16. Last year was the worst of those years, but he still posted an ERA of 3.15 and a WHIP of 1.31. He's 37 today. It's possible last year signaled a decline that will have in out of baseball soon, but it's at least equally possible that Scott Downs can continue as a LOOGY for several more years.

Also posted at wgom.org. John Smiley (1965) Dan Masteller (1968) Scott Downs (1976) Left-hander John Patrick Smiley pitched for the Twins in 1992. He was born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania and went to high school in Graterford, Pennsylvania. He was drafted by Pittsburgh in the twelfth round in 1983. He struggled early in his minor league career and was moved to the bullpen in 1986. He had a very good year in relief, posting an ERA of 3.10 and a WHIP of 1.16 in 90 innings in Class A. That got him a September call-up, and the next year he stayed in the majors, never going back to AA or AAA. Smiley was used in relief in 1987 and did not do a whole lot, but he joined the starting rotation in 1988 and stayed in a major league rotation for ten years. He was in the Pirates' rotation through 1991. His last year with Pittsburgh was his best, as Smiley went 20-8, 3.08 in 207.2 innings. He made his first all-star appearance that year, finished third in Cy Young voting, and was fourteenth in MVP balloting. In March of 1992, Smiley was traded to the Twins for Midre Cummings and Denny Neagle. He had an excellent year for the Twins, going 16-9, 3.21 with a 1.12 WHIP and setting a career high with 241 innings. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Cincinnati. Smiley struggled in 1993, dealing with both injuries and ineffectiveness. He bounced back in 1994 and had three consecutive years with ERAs under four and WHIPs under 1.30. He made the all-star team for the second time in 1995 He had a poor year in 1997, and an injury shortly after his mid-season trade to Cleveland led Smiley to retire after the 1997 season. John Smiley was never a superstar, but he was a solid rotation starter for several years. At last report, he was living in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. First baseman/outfielder Dan Patrick Masteller was with the Twins for a little over half of the 1995 season. He was born in Toledo, attended Michigan State, and was drafted by Minnesota in the eleventh round in 1989. He did not show much power in the minors, but hit over .300 for three consecutive years, most of which were in AAA Salt Lake. He was in the third of those years when he was brought up to Minnesota in late June of 1995. The left- handed hitter was used almost exclusively against right-handed pitching, sharing first base with Scott Stahoviak and also playing a little corner outfield. Masteller played in 71 games that season, getting 198 at-bats. He hit .237/.303/.343 with three homers and 21 RBIs. Released after the season, he was signed by Montreal and again hit for a high average in AA, but apparently no one was impressed; he was let go in mid-season and finished the year in the independent North Atlantic League. 1996 was to be Masteller's last season in organized baseball. At last report, Dan Masteller was living in Akron, Ohio and was a senior vice president with CB Richard Ellis, a real estate investment broker which proclaims itself "the global leader in real estate services." Left-hander Scott Jeremy Downs did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system briefly in 1999. Born and raised in Louisville, he attended the University of Kentucky and was drafted by the Cubs in the third round in 1997. He pitched pretty well in their system for two seasons, but in November of 1998 he was the player to be named later in the deal that sent Mike Morgan to the Cubs. He pitched 19.2 innings in New Britain and 9.2 innings in Ft. Myers, doing poorly for the former and well for the latter, when he was sent back to the Cubs on May 21 of 1999 along with Rick Aguilera for Kyle Lohse and Jason Ryan. He made the Cubs starting rotation at the start of the 2000 season, but did not do well and was traded to Montreal at the July trading deadline for Rondell White. He made one start for the Expos and then went down with an injury, missing the entire 2001 season. He spent most of the next three years in the minors, making one major league start in 2003 and 12 in 2004. After that season, he was released by the then Washington franchise and signed with Toronto. He started the season in the minors but made it back to the big leagues for good in mid-May of 2005 and began a transition to the bullpen. He began pitching better immediately, and started pitching really well as a LOOGY in 2007. He was a free agent after the 2010 season, signed with the Angels, and continued to pitch well. From 2007-2012, Downs has appeared in 379 games and pitched 334 innings. He is 17-17 with 25 saves, an ERA of 2.32, and a WHIP of 1.16. Last year was the worst of those years, but he still posted an ERA of 3.15 and a WHIP of 1.31. He's 37 today. It's possible last year signaled a decline that will have in out of baseball soon, but it's at least equally possible that Scott Downs can continue as a LOOGY for several more years.

Also posted at wgom.org. Rick Renick (1944) Infielder/outfielder Warren Richard Renick played for the Twins from 1968-1972. Born and raised in London, Ohio, he attende Ohio State and was signed by Minnesota as a free agent in 1965. Renick did not show a whole lot of promise in the minors, although he did hit 20 homers at Class A Wilson in 1967. He was hitting .247 with ten homers at AAA Denver in 1968 when he was called up in mid-July to try to fill a void at shortstop. Renick held the starting shortstop job for about a month, but when he hit no better than the others the Twins had tried he went to the bench. Renick stuck in the majors, though, staying with Minnesota for the next four full seasons. He was used primarily at third base and left field the rest of his time in the big leagues. Renick never got 200 at-bats in a season, never batted higher than .245, and never hit more than seven home runs in a season. After the 1972 season, Renick played six years at AAA, four with the Twins and two in the Montreal organization. As a Twin, Rick Renick hit .221/.302/.373 in 553 at-bats over 276 games. For his last five seasons at AAA, Renick was a player-coach. His playing career ended after the 1978 season, and he became a coach for Kansas City from 1979-1981. He managed in AA for Montreal from 1982-1984, and then became a major league coach for the Expos from 1985-1986. Renick was a coach for the Twins from 1987-1990, then managed at AAA for the White Sox from 1991-1996. Renick coached in the majors for Pittsburgh from 1997-2000, for the Expos in 2001, and for Florida in 2002. Rick Renick appears to currently be living in retirement in Sarasota, Florida. His son, Josh, played in the minor leagues from 2001 through 2007, spending 2001-2003 in the Twins organization, before becoming an assistant coach for Tennessee Wesleyan College.

Also posted at wgom.org. Rick Renick (1944) Infielder/outfielder Warren Richard Renick played for the Twins from 1968-1972. Born and raised in London, Ohio, he attende Ohio State and was signed by Minnesota as a free agent in 1965. Renick did not show a whole lot of promise in the minors, although he did hit 20 homers at Class A Wilson in 1967. He was hitting .247 with ten homers at AAA Denver in 1968 when he was called up in mid-July to try to fill a void at shortstop. Renick held the starting shortstop job for about a month, but when he hit no better than the others the Twins had tried he went to the bench. Renick stuck in the majors, though, staying with Minnesota for the next four full seasons. He was used primarily at third base and left field the rest of his time in the big leagues. Renick never got 200 at-bats in a season, never batted higher than .245, and never hit more than seven home runs in a season. After the 1972 season, Renick played six years at AAA, four with the Twins and two in the Montreal organization. As a Twin, Rick Renick hit .221/.302/.373 in 553 at-bats over 276 games. For his last five seasons at AAA, Renick was a player-coach. His playing career ended after the 1978 season, and he became a coach for Kansas City from 1979-1981. He managed in AA for Montreal from 1982-1984, and then became a major league coach for the Expos from 1985-1986. Renick was a coach for the Twins from 1987-1990, then managed at AAA for the White Sox from 1991-1996. Renick coached in the majors for Pittsburgh from 1997-2000, for the Expos in 2001, and for Florida in 2002. Rick Renick appears to currently be living in retirement in Sarasota, Florida. His son, Josh, played in the minor leagues from 2001 through 2007, spending 2001-2003 in the Twins organization, before becoming an assistant coach for Tennessee Wesleyan College.

Wayne Granger (1944) Steve Stroughter (1952) Mickey Hatcher (1955) Mike Pagliarulo (1960) Dan Perkins (1975) Right-handed reliever Wayne Allan Granger was co-closer with Dave LaRoche in 1972. He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, went to high school in Huntington, Massachusetts, and then attended Springfield College, the same school attended by ex-Twin Glenn Adams. Granger signed with St. Louis as a free agent in 1965. He was a starter that year, but shifted to the bullpen in 1966. He pitched quite well in the minors, reaching AAA in 1967. In 1968, after posting a 2.16 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP in 25 AAA innings, Granger made his big league debut in early June. He pitched very well the rest of the season, going 4-2, 2.25 with four saves in 44 innings. He was traded to Cincinnati after the season and did very well there for three years. He led the league in saves with 35 in 1970 and led the league in appearances in 1969 and 1971. He twice received consideration for the MVP award and finished eighth in Cy Young voting in 1970. After the 1971 season, Granger was traded to Minnesota for Tom Hall. He continued to pitch very well, going 4-6, 3.01 with 19 saves and a 1.24 WHIP for the Twins in 1972. After the season, though, Granger was on the move again, traded to St. Louis for John Cumberland and Larry Hisle. After that, he seemed to kind of hit the wall, and while he had a couple more decent years, he was never a top reliever again. Granger did not pitch particularly well for the Cardinals and was traded to the Yankees in August of 1973. The Yankees released him in late March of 1974 and Granger signed with the White Sox. He spent much of 1974 at AAA, and did not do well in the majors when he did pitch there. Released after the season, Granger signed with Houston for 1975 and was decent, but no more. He was released after the season and signed with Montreal for 1976. He was with the Expos for the first half of the season and was okay, but not very good, and was sent to the minors. The Expos released him in February of 1977, he signed with Atlanta, and was released again in March. Granger pitched in Mexico in 1977, apparently did not play in 1978, and then tried to come back with Montreal in 1979 but was ineffective in AAA, ending his playing career. Wayne Granger was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Fame in 1982. After leaving baseball, he worked for a sporting goods company, then at a boat dealership, and then started a billiard business that lasted for fourteen years, until his retirement. Outfielder Stephen Lewis Stroughter did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for a couple of months in 1981. Born and raised in Visalia, California, he attended the College of the Sequoias and was drafted by San Francisco with the sixth pick of the 1971 June Secondary draft. He hit pretty well in the minors but his power was inconsistent at first, plus he struck out a lot, so he did not get to AA until 1974 and did not leave Class A behind for good until after the 1975 season. After that season, when he hit .301 with 15 homers for Fresno at age 23, he was sold to California. He had two fine years at AA El Paso and then went to AAA Salt Lake City, where he hit .325/.419/.535 in 1978. Not only did that not earn him a call-up to the majors, Stroughter was released at the end of spring training in 1979. He was out of baseball until the middle of June, when Seattle signed him. He had a couple of solid years at AAA Spokane in 1979 and 1980, but was traded to Minnesota after the 1980 season for Mike Bacsik. In 82 at-bats at Toledo, he hit .247/.317/.411 and then was sold back to Seattle at the end of May. He finished the season in Spokane, then finally made his major league debut at the start of the 1982 season. He was used almost exclusively as a bench player, getting only 40 at-bats by May 19. He did not impress in those at-bats and was sent back to AAA Salt Lake City. He was back with the Mariners for the month of July, but got only seven more at bats, hitting .170/.235/.255 for the season. Those would be his career major league numbers; he was in AAA for Toronto and in Japan in 1983, and then his playing career ended. He appears to have been limited defensively, but he hit .303/.377/.503 in 1,818 AAA at-bats. Much of that was in the Pacific Coast League, but it’s still hard to think he couldn’t have helped somebody if he’d been given the chance. After baseball, Steve Stroughter returned to Visalia, where he is an “independent entertainment professional.” Outfielder/first baseman/third baseman Mickey Vaughn Hatcher played for the Twins from 1981-1986. Hatcher was born in Cleveland, but went to high school in Mesa, Arizona and attended the University of Oklahoma, where he also played football. He was drafted by the Dodgers in the fifth round in 1977. He hit very well in the minors--his career minor league batting average is .339 in 1,403 at-bats. He split 1979 and 1980 between AAA and the majors, but his minor league success did not immediately translate to the majors, as he hit only .243 in 177 at-bats. In late March of 1981, Hatcher was traded to Minnesota with Kelly Snider and Matt Reeves for Ken Landreaux. While he only had one season in which he played in over 120 games (1984), Hatcher was a semi-regular, at least, in his six years with the Twins. He was generally used in the outfield, playing mostly in center in 1981, splitting time in the two corner outfield positions in 1982, playing mostly in right in 1983, and moving to left for 1984-1986. He topped .300 in consecutive years, 1983-1984. As a Twin, he hit .284/.315/.383 in 2,366 at-bats (672 games). Despite hitting .278 in 1986, Hatcher was released by the Twins in March of 1987. He signed with the Dodgers and played for them for four years as a reserve. He continued to hit for a high average in his first three years, but in the fourth year he dropped to .212. He played briefly for AAA Albuquerque in 1991, and then his playing career came to an end. Hatcher remained in baseball, coaching for the Texas Rangers in 1993 and 1994, managing and coaching in the minors, and coaching for the Dodgers in 1998. He became the batting coach of the Angels in 2000, a job he held until mid-May of 2012, when he reportedly clashed with Albert Pujols (note: it is a bad idea for the batting coach to clash with the best batter on the team). At last report, he had returned to the Dodgers as a special assistant to the general manager. Third baseman Michael Timothy Pagliarulo played for the Twins in the early 1990s. Born in Medford, Massachusetts, he attended the University of Miami and then was drafted by the Yankees in the sixth round in 1981. His batting averages in the minors were nothing special, but he hit for power (41 homers from 1982-1983) and drew a high number of walks. He was actually having a poor year in AAA Columbus in 1984 when he was brought up to the majors in early July to replace Toby Harrah. He remained the Yankees' third baseman through June of 1989. He never hit for average, but he hit 105 home runs in a Yankee uniform. When Pagliarulo hit in the .230s, his power numbers made him acceptable to the Yankees, but in 1988 both his power and his average dropped, and the next year he was traded to San Diego. His power never did come back, but he was able to raise his batting average, hitting .254 as the mostly-regular third baseman for the Padres in 1990. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota. Platooned with Scott Leius in 1991, Pagliarulo hit .279 for the World Champion Twins. He missed much of 1992 with injury, but came back in 1993 and was hitting .292 in late August when he was traded to Baltimore for a player to be named later (Erik Schullstrom). He finished the year at .303. As a Twin, Mike Pagilarulo hit .272/.317/.376 in 723 at-bats (246 games). He was a free agent in 1994 and played in Japan. He came back in 1995 as a platoon third baseman for Texas, but hit only .232, and his playing career came to an end. Mike Pagliarulo was the owner of the website dugoutcentral.com. He is currently a principal in an international sports consulting company called The Baseline Group as well as the founder of a nonprofit corporation called the Baseball Institute of Development, which collaborates with leading experts from various fields of sports and medicine to provide qualified resources and develop solutions to advance athletic performance knowledge. One of the officers of the Baseball Institute of Development is Dan Gladden. Pagliarulo’s son, also named Mike, played baseball for Dartmouth College. Right-hander Daniel Lee Perkins was with the Twins for much of 1999. A native of Miami, Perkins was drafted by Minnesota in the second round in 1993. His minor league numbers are not particularly impressive: a career ERA of 4.98 and a career WHIP of 1.50. He did have an excellent year at Ft. Myers in 1996, going 13-7, 2.96 with a 1.19 WHIP in 136 innings. Perkins reach AAA late in 1998 and got attention by going 5-0 in seven starts; however, his ERA was 4.82 and his WHIP 1.46, leading one to believe he benefitted from good run support. Still, he began 1999 in the Twins' bullpen, and became a member of the starting rotation for most of May and June. In all, he made twelve starts and seventeen relief appearances, going 1-7, 6.54 with a 1.85 WHIP. He was relatively effective as a reliever, with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP, but was disastrous as a starter. Oddly, he was much more effective against lefties: right-handers hit him at a .363/.419/.606 clip that year. 1999 would be Perkins' only year in the majors; after an awful 2000 at AAA Salt Lake the Twins let him go. He signed with Cleveland, but made only one start at AA Akron before ending his career. No information about what has happened to Dan Perkins since that time was readily available.

Wayne Granger (1944) Steve Stroughter (1952) Mickey Hatcher (1955) Mike Pagliarulo (1960) Dan Perkins (1975) Right-handed reliever Wayne Allan Granger was co-closer with Dave LaRoche in 1972. He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, went to high school in Huntington, Massachusetts, and then attended Springfield College, the same school attended by ex-Twin Glenn Adams. Granger signed with St. Louis as a free agent in 1965. He was a starter that year, but shifted to the bullpen in 1966. He pitched quite well in the minors, reaching AAA in 1967. In 1968, after posting a 2.16 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP in 25 AAA innings, Granger made his big league debut in early June. He pitched very well the rest of the season, going 4-2, 2.25 with four saves in 44 innings. He was traded to Cincinnati after the season and did very well there for three years. He led the league in saves with 35 in 1970 and led the league in appearances in 1969 and 1971. He twice received consideration for the MVP award and finished eighth in Cy Young voting in 1970. After the 1971 season, Granger was traded to Minnesota for Tom Hall. He continued to pitch very well, going 4-6, 3.01 with 19 saves and a 1.24 WHIP for the Twins in 1972. After the season, though, Granger was on the move again, traded to St. Louis for John Cumberland and Larry Hisle. After that, he seemed to kind of hit the wall, and while he had a couple more decent years, he was never a top reliever again. Granger did not pitch particularly well for the Cardinals and was traded to the Yankees in August of 1973. The Yankees released him in late March of 1974 and Granger signed with the White Sox. He spent much of 1974 at AAA, and did not do well in the majors when he did pitch there. Released after the season, Granger signed with Houston for 1975 and was decent, but no more. He was released after the season and signed with Montreal for 1976. He was with the Expos for the first half of the season and was okay, but not very good, and was sent to the minors. The Expos released him in February of 1977, he signed with Atlanta, and was released again in March. Granger pitched in Mexico in 1977, apparently did not play in 1978, and then tried to come back with Montreal in 1979 but was ineffective in AAA, ending his playing career. Wayne Granger was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Fame in 1982. After leaving baseball, he worked for a sporting goods company, then at a boat dealership, and then started a billiard business that lasted for fourteen years, until his retirement. Outfielder Stephen Lewis Stroughter did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for a couple of months in 1981. Born and raised in Visalia, California, he attended the College of the Sequoias and was drafted by San Francisco with the sixth pick of the 1971 June Secondary draft. He hit pretty well in the minors but his power was inconsistent at first, plus he struck out a lot, so he did not get to AA until 1974 and did not leave Class A behind for good until after the 1975 season. After that season, when he hit .301 with 15 homers for Fresno at age 23, he was sold to California. He had two fine years at AA El Paso and then went to AAA Salt Lake City, where he hit .325/.419/.535 in 1978. Not only did that not earn him a call-up to the majors, Stroughter was released at the end of spring training in 1979. He was out of baseball until the middle of June, when Seattle signed him. He had a couple of solid years at AAA Spokane in 1979 and 1980, but was traded to Minnesota after the 1980 season for Mike Bacsik. In 82 at-bats at Toledo, he hit .247/.317/.411 and then was sold back to Seattle at the end of May. He finished the season in Spokane, then finally made his major league debut at the start of the 1982 season. He was used almost exclusively as a bench player, getting only 40 at-bats by May 19. He did not impress in those at-bats and was sent back to AAA Salt Lake City. He was back with the Mariners for the month of July, but got only seven more at bats, hitting .170/.235/.255 for the season. Those would be his career major league numbers; he was in AAA for Toronto and in Japan in 1983, and then his playing career ended. He appears to have been limited defensively, but he hit .303/.377/.503 in 1,818 AAA at-bats. Much of that was in the Pacific Coast League, but it’s still hard to think he couldn’t have helped somebody if he’d been given the chance. After baseball, Steve Stroughter returned to Visalia, where he is an “independent entertainment professional.” Outfielder/first baseman/third baseman Mickey Vaughn Hatcher played for the Twins from 1981-1986. Hatcher was born in Cleveland, but went to high school in Mesa, Arizona and attended the University of Oklahoma, where he also played football. He was drafted by the Dodgers in the fifth round in 1977. He hit very well in the minors--his career minor league batting average is .339 in 1,403 at-bats. He split 1979 and 1980 between AAA and the majors, but his minor league success did not immediately translate to the majors, as he hit only .243 in 177 at-bats. In late March of 1981, Hatcher was traded to Minnesota with Kelly Snider and Matt Reeves for Ken Landreaux. While he only had one season in which he played in over 120 games (1984), Hatcher was a semi-regular, at least, in his six years with the Twins. He was generally used in the outfield, playing mostly in center in 1981, splitting time in the two corner outfield positions in 1982, playing mostly in right in 1983, and moving to left for 1984-1986. He topped .300 in consecutive years, 1983-1984. As a Twin, he hit .284/.315/.383 in 2,366 at-bats (672 games). Despite hitting .278 in 1986, Hatcher was released by the Twins in March of 1987. He signed with the Dodgers and played for them for four years as a reserve. He continued to hit for a high average in his first three years, but in the fourth year he dropped to .212. He played briefly for AAA Albuquerque in 1991, and then his playing career came to an end. Hatcher remained in baseball, coaching for the Texas Rangers in 1993 and 1994, managing and coaching in the minors, and coaching for the Dodgers in 1998. He became the batting coach of the Angels in 2000, a job he held until mid-May of 2012, when he reportedly clashed with Albert Pujols (note: it is a bad idea for the batting coach to clash with the best batter on the team). At last report, he had returned to the Dodgers as a special assistant to the general manager. Third baseman Michael Timothy Pagliarulo played for the Twins in the early 1990s. Born in Medford, Massachusetts, he attended the University of Miami and then was drafted by the Yankees in the sixth round in 1981. His batting averages in the minors were nothing special, but he hit for power (41 homers from 1982-1983) and drew a high number of walks. He was actually having a poor year in AAA Columbus in 1984 when he was brought up to the majors in early July to replace Toby Harrah. He remained the Yankees' third baseman through June of 1989. He never hit for average, but he hit 105 home runs in a Yankee uniform. When Pagliarulo hit in the .230s, his power numbers made him acceptable to the Yankees, but in 1988 both his power and his average dropped, and the next year he was traded to San Diego. His power never did come back, but he was able to raise his batting average, hitting .254 as the mostly-regular third baseman for the Padres in 1990. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota. Platooned with Scott Leius in 1991, Pagliarulo hit .279 for the World Champion Twins. He missed much of 1992 with injury, but came back in 1993 and was hitting .292 in late August when he was traded to Baltimore for a player to be named later (Erik Schullstrom). He finished the year at .303. As a Twin, Mike Pagilarulo hit .272/.317/.376 in 723 at-bats (246 games). He was a free agent in 1994 and played in Japan. He came back in 1995 as a platoon third baseman for Texas, but hit only .232, and his playing career came to an end. Mike Pagliarulo was the owner of the website dugoutcentral.com. He is currently a principal in an international sports consulting company called The Baseline Group as well as the founder of a nonprofit corporation called the Baseball Institute of Development, which collaborates with leading experts from various fields of sports and medicine to provide qualified resources and develop solutions to advance athletic performance knowledge. One of the officers of the Baseball Institute of Development is Dan Gladden. Pagliarulo’s son, also named Mike, played baseball for Dartmouth College. Right-hander Daniel Lee Perkins was with the Twins for much of 1999. A native of Miami, Perkins was drafted by Minnesota in the second round in 1993. His minor league numbers are not particularly impressive: a career ERA of 4.98 and a career WHIP of 1.50. He did have an excellent year at Ft. Myers in 1996, going 13-7, 2.96 with a 1.19 WHIP in 136 innings. Perkins reach AAA late in 1998 and got attention by going 5-0 in seven starts; however, his ERA was 4.82 and his WHIP 1.46, leading one to believe he benefitted from good run support. Still, he began 1999 in the Twins' bullpen, and became a member of the starting rotation for most of May and June. In all, he made twelve starts and seventeen relief appearances, going 1-7, 6.54 with a 1.85 WHIP. He was relatively effective as a reliever, with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP, but was disastrous as a starter. Oddly, he was much more effective against lefties: right-handers hit him at a .363/.419/.606 clip that year. 1999 would be Perkins' only year in the majors; after an awful 2000 at AAA Salt Lake the Twins let him go. He signed with Cleveland, but made only one start at AA Akron before ending his career. No information about what has happened to Dan Perkins since that time was readily available.

The Twins rotation looks like a bunch of fourth and fifth starters. That's not great, but at least they do, for the most part, look like legitimate major league starters. If they can just pitch five or six innings consistently, it will at least be an improvement over last year.

That looks like a team that's going to be really interesting to watch.

None of the shortstop candidates is likely to hit, so they might as well go with the best defensive player. If that's Florimon, then it makes sense to give him the job.