Bob Allison (1934) John Sevcik (1947) Yorman Bazardo (1984) Bryan Augenstein (1986)
Outfielder William Robert ”Bob” Allison played his entire career with the Washington/Minnesota franchise, beginning in 1958 and ending in 1970. Born and raised in Raytown, Missouri, he attended the University of Kansas (where he starred in football as well as baseball) and signed with Washington as a free agent in 1955. His minor league numbers were not all that impressive, although he did hit .307 in AA Chattanooga in 1958. He got a September call-up that year and never went back to the minors again. He was the starting center fielder for Washington in 1959, hit .261 with 30 homers, led the league in triples with nine, was Rookie of the Year and made his first all-star team. He moved to right field in 1960, and while he did not match his numbers from his first year, he had another fine season. He came to Minnesota with the team in 1961. He stayed in right field through 1963, moved to first base in 1964, and moved to left field in 1965, where he stayed the rest of his career. From 1961-1968 (excluding 1966, when he missed most of the season due to a broken left hand), he averaged .260 with 28 home runs, 21 doubles, and an OPS of .850. He led the league in OPS in 1963 and made the all-star team in 1963-1964. It shows the power of the Twins in those years that he was the second banana to Harmon Killebrew and then the third banana to Killebrew and Tony Oliva. Allison fell to part-time status in 1969 and was largely a bench player in 1970. For his career, Bob Allison hit He chose to retire after the 1970 season. He went to work for the Coca-Cola Company, becoming general manager of the company’s Twins Cities Marketing Division. He suffered from ataxia, a neurological disorder, and passed away April 9, 1995 in Rio Verde, Arizona. The Twins now give the Bob Allison award for the Twins player who best exemplifies determination, hustle, tenacity, competitive spirit, and leadership both on and off the field.
Catcher John Sevcik had sixteen at-bats for the Twins in 1965. He was Oak Park, Illinois, went to high school in Berwyn, Illinois, and then attended the University of Missouri. He played for the Sturgis (SD) Titans in the Basin League in 1963, and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1964. He was in Class A at Wisconsin Rapids that season, did fairly well, and found himself as the third catcher on the Twins in 1965, backing up Earl Battey and Jerry Zimmerman. He appears to have been with the team the whole season–at least, he did not play in the minors and was in at least one major league game almost every month–but he played very sparingly. He appeared in one game in April, one in May, six in June, one in July, two in September, and one in October. He made only three starts. In his 12 games, he went 1-for-16 with a walk and a sacrifice. His hit was a double. Sevcik went back to the minors after that season, staying in the Twins’ organization through 1971. He was a part-time player every season for them, averging 72 games and 232 at-bats. His lifetime OPS in the minors was .683. Sevcik’s playing career ended after the 1971 season. For several years, John Sevcik was living in San Antonio and was an executive for the Jim Beam company. He is now retired and living in Austin, Texas.
Right-hander Yorman Michael (Osario) Bazardo did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for the first part of 2011. He was born in Maracay, Aragua, Venezuela, and signed with Florida as a free agent in 2000. He pitched quite well in the low minors, but advanced slowly, probably due to his young age. He reached AA in 2005, even getting one appearance in the majors in late May (1.2 innings 0f a blowout loss). He was traded to Seattle at the trade deadline that season. He did pretty well in AA for them in 2006, especially considering he was still only 21. He was traded to Detroit that off-season. He had a fine season in AAA in 2007 and made eleven very good appearances for the big club. He started 2008 in the majors, but after only three appearances he was sent down. He had a bad year in AAA and became a free agent, signing with Philadelphia. The Phillies released him at the end of spring training, and he moved on to Houston. He did okay in AAA for the Astros and spent the last two months of 2009 in the major leagues. It looks like that will be his major league swan song, though. He was again a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota for 2011. He went to Rochester, didn’t do much, and was released in mid-June. He finished the season pitching for Camden in the Atlantic League. He did not play in 2012, at least as far as b-r.com is concerned, but he has continued to play in Caribbean winter leagues and is playing in Italy in 2013. In his big league career so far, he appeared in 25 games (eight starts), going 3-4, 6.86, 1.69 WHIP in 60.1 innings. He is 29 today and is pitching very well in Italy. It seems really unlikely that he’ll ever return to the majors, but stranger things have probably happened.
Right-hander Bryan Christopher Augenstein did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for two months in 2013. Born and raised in Sebastian, Florida, he attended the University of Florida, and was drafted by Arizona in the seventh round in 2007. He pitched very well in the low minors, but struggled when promoted to AAA in 2009. Despite that, he made two starts for the Diamondbacks in May and got a September call-up, making five appearances out of the bullpen. He struggled in AAA again in 2010 and was placed on waivers by Arizona after the season. St. Louis claimed him and surprisingly, he made the Cardinals out of spring training. Unsurprisingly, he did not do well in five appearances, although one really bad appearance makes his numbers look worse than they would have been otherwise. He did better in AAA in 2011, but was not really good, and was released after the season. Tampa Bay signed him and sent him to AAA again for 2012. He actually had a fairly good season working out of the bullpen (he had been converted to relief in 2011), but did not get called up and was released by the Rays after the season. Minnesota signed him for 2013, but he was injured, did not pitch for any of the Twins affiliates, and was released at the end of May. He has not been picked up by anyone at this writing. In his major league career, he was 0-2, 8.34, 1.90 WHIP in 22.2 innings. He pitched in twelve major league games, which is twelve more than most people reading this have pitched in, starting two of them. He’s only twenty-seven, so he certainly could get picked up by somebody if he can show he’s healthy, and if he does, who knows? Maybe he’ll get another shot at the big leagues.
Marty Cordova (1969) Outfielder Marty Cordova played for the Twins from 1995-1999. Born and raised in Las Vegas, he was drafted by Minnesota in the tenth round in 1989. He was young and took a few years to get going, but hit .341 with 28 homers for Class A Visalia in 1992. He stumbled a little when promoted to AA the next year, but came back with a bang, hitting .358 with 19 homers and an OPS of 1.018 for AAA Salt Lake in 1994. He was the Twins’ starting left fielder the next season and won the Rookie of the Year award with 24 home runs and a .277 average. He was 25 years old and big things were predicted, but that was as good as it got for Cordova. He had a good 1996, hitting .309 and driving in 111 runs, but then had a couple of off years, due partly to plantar fasciitis. He bounced back some in 1999, hitting .285 with 14 homers, but became a free agent after the season and signed with Boston. Surprisingly, the Red Sox cut Cordova late in spring training, and he signed with Toronto. He had an undistinguished year there, went to Cleveland for 2001, and had something of a renaissance, hitting .301 with 20 home runs. He went to Baltimore for 2002, but played only nine games in 2003 due to an elbow injury. He missed all of 2004 with that injury. He briefly tried to come back with Tampa Bay in 2005 but decided to retire instead. As a Twin, Marty Cordova hit .277/.348/.451 in 2,322 at-bats. At last report, Marty Cordova was the Chief Operating Officer of Bent Pixels, which helps people earn money from YouTube videos.
Wally Post (1929) Hal Haydel (1944) Steve Luebber (1949) Outfielder Walter Charles Post had 47 at-bats for the Twins in 1963, near the end of a solid career. He was born in St. Wendelin, Ohio and signed with Cincinnati as a free agent in 1946. Perhaps because of his youth, he did not play much in the minors in his first few seasons, but as he got older he played more and played well. He hit .306 with 21 homers for AAA Buffalo in 1951 and .289 with 33 homers for AAA Indianapolis in 1953. He played briefly with the Reds each season from 1951-1953, then made the team for good at the start of 1954. He was the starting right fielder for the Reds for three seasons; easily the best was 1955, when he hit .309 with 40 homers and 109 RBIs. He finished twelfth in MVP voting that year, the only season in which he received MVP consideration. It was also the only time he topped .300 in a season. He was a solid, unspectacular player. He was also strikeout-prone, leading the league in that category three times. After an off year in 1957, Post was traded to Philadelphia for Harvey Haddix. His playing time was reduced some, but he was still the mostly regular right fielder with the Phillies. He continued to be a solid contributor, but in June of 1960 he was traded back to Cincinnati. Post was a part-time player for the Reds through mid-May of 1963, when he was sold to Minnesota. He stayed with the Twins the rest of the season but rarely played, hitting .191/.224/.362 in 47 at-bats. The Twins released him after the season and he signed with Cleveland, but got only eight at-bats before being released in mid-May. He played in AAA for Detroit, then his playing career came to an end. He returned to Ohio after his playing career ended, working for the Minster Canning Company. He is the grandfather of Ohio State and NFL quarterback Bobby Hoying. He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1965. Wally Post passed away from cancer on January 6, 1982, in St. Henry, Ohio.
Right-handed reliever John Harold Haydel appeared in 35 games for the Twins in 1970-1971. Born and raised in Houma, Louisiana, he signed with the Milwaukee Braves as a free agent in 1962. He had a decent first year in Class D Dublin and was chosen by Houston in the first-year player draft. At the end of spring training, Houston sent Haydel to the Cubs. He was a starter in the minors and did okay, progressing to AA in 1965 and spending two Phoenix for three years, not doing badly but not doing well enough to really attract anyone’s attention, either. After the 1969 campaign, Minnesota chose Haydel in the Rule 5 draft. Something must have been worked out, because Haydel was in AAA for most of 1970, coming to the Twins only as a September call-up. In 1971 he came up to the Twins in late June and stayed the rest of the season. His stint with the Twins was like most of his minor league career, neither great nor terrible. As a Twin he was 6-2, 4.04 with a WHIP of 1.31. He pitched 49 innings over 35 games, all in relief. He had a bad year in AAA Tacoma in 1972, and then his playing career was over at age 28. No information about Hal Haydel’s life since that time was readily available.
Right-hander Stephen Lee Luebber pitched for the Twins in 1971-1972 and again in 1976. He was born in Clinton, Missouri, went to high school in Joplin, Missouri, and was drafted by Minnesota in the thirteenth round in 1967. Used mostly as a starter in the minors, he had some really good years, going 17-11, 1.78 in 237 innings at Class A Orlando in 1970 (as a 20-year-old), and 9-1, 1.97 at AA Charlotte in 96 innings at in 1971. He was jumped from there to the big leagues in late June of 1971 and placed into the starting rotation at age 21. He was not ready, going 2-5, 5.06 in 12 starts and six relief appearances. He went to AAA in 1972 and had a solid year, working 215 innings, and got a September call-up. He was apparently injured for part of 1973, working only 77 innings. He resumed a heavy minor league workload the next season, throwing 176 innings in AA Orlando in 1974 and 224 innings in Orlando and AAA Tacoma in 1975. Luebber was back with the Twins in 1976, his only full season in the majors. Used in both starting and relief roles, he was not terrible, going 4-5, 4.00 in 119.1 innings. The Twins sent him back to AAA in 1977, and released him after the season. As a Twin, Steve Luebber was 6-10, 4.32 in 189.2 innings. He appeared in 58 games, 24 of them starts. He signed with the White Sox and was in AAA with them in 1978. He moved on to Toronto in 1979, making one appearance in the majors with the Blue Jays. He was released late in spring training in 1980, and signed with Baltimore. He pitched well in AAA for them, making seven appearances with the Orioles in 1981. He never made it back to the majors, but he hung around in the minors for a long time. Luebber pitched in the Detroit and Texas organizations in 1983, for the Detroit and San Diego chains in 1984, and made appearances in the minors for San Diego from 1986-1988. He also pitched for the Ft. Myers Sun Sox in the seniors league. Luebber did not have much of a major league career, but one wonders what he might have done had he not thrown so many innings in the minors. Since 1988, Luebber has been a minor league pitching coach, working in the San Diego, Baltimore, Texas, and Florida organizations. Since 2007, he has been the pitching coach for the Wilmington Blue Rocks in the Kansas City organization.
Due to a family situation, I have not been able to publish Twins birthday biographies. I hope to be back doing so Monday or Tuesday. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Chuck Stobbs (1929) Samuel Deduno (1983) Rene Tosoni (1986) Left-hander Chuck Stobbs was an original Twin, appearing in twenty-four games for them in 1961. He was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, went to high school in Norfolk, Virginia, and signed with Boston as a free agent in 1947. He pitched very well that season for Class B Lynn, going 9-2, 1.72, got a September call-up at age 18, and never went back to the minors again. He may have been injured in 1948, as he appeared in only six games, but after that he was a regular major league pitcher until the end of his playing career. He was primarily a starting pitcher with Boston, and frankly was not a very good won despite decent won-lost records. His ERA with Boston was 4.70 and his WHIP was 1.49, but he was 33-23. He changed his socks from Red to White after the 1951 season, as he was traded to Chicago. He was there only one year, both starting and relieving, and was traded to Washington for Mike Fornieles. He had his best season in the majors in 1953, going 11-8, 3.29 with a 1.24 WHIP in 27 appearances, 20 of them starts. During that year, he gave up what is generally considered to be the longest home run in major league history, a shot by Mickey Mantle that went completely out of Griffith Stadium and traveled an estimated 565 feet. He had another good year in 1956, going 15-15, 3.60 in 37appearances, 33 of them starts. Other than that, however, he did not do a lot for Washington. He remained in their rotation for the most part, however, until he was placed on waivers in July of 1958. He was claimed by St. Louis, which moved him into the bullpen. He did quite well there in 39.2 innings, but the Cardinals released him during the off-season, and he signed back with Washington for 1959. Now primarily a relief pitcher, he had two good years for them before the team moved to Minnesota. He came with the team in 1961 but did not pitch well, posting a 7.46 ERA in 44.2 innings. The Twins released him after the season, ending his playing career at age 32. He became an insurance salesman for a while, and was a coach at George Washington University. He moved to Florida in 1971, working at a baseball academy operated by the Kansas City Royals. He then worked as a minor league instructor for the Cleveland Indians from 1980-1984. He was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. Chuck Stobbs passed away after a long battle with throat cancer on July 11, 2008.
Right-hander Samuel (Lake) Deduno has been with the Twins since 2012. He was born in La Romana, Dominican Republic and signed with Colorado as a free agent in 2003. A starter for most of his minor league career, he climbed a level a season (if you call A and high-A different levels) despite there being no good reason why he should have done so. From 2005-2007, his lowest ERA was 4.80 and his lowest WHIP was 1.46. He did not play in 2008, presumably due to injury, and when he came back in 2009 he was a much better pitcher. He had a fine season in AA in 2009, and despite being injured much of 2010 pitched very well in six AAA starts. He made his major league debut that season, appearing in four games for the Rockies in a late-season call-up. By then, however, he was twenty-seven. The Rockies no longer considered him a prospect and put him on waivers. He was claimed by San Diego and actually started the season with the Padres, but was sent to AAA after only two appearances. He did not do badly at AAA, but was allowed to become a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota for 2012. Sent to Rochester, he pitched well in nine starts and came up to Minnesota in July. He finished the season in the rotation and wasn’t awful, although he walked far too many batters. He has had control problems for most of his career, averaging five walks per nine innings in the minors. He also struck out about nine and a half batters per nine innings, though, so he’s done well when he’s put the ball in the strike zone. In 2013 he made three starts in Rochester before coming up to the Twins, and has been in their rotation ever since. He has walked far fewer batters so far this year, although he is also striking out fewer. He turns thirty today, which is awfully old to still be getting started, but it’s possible that Samuel Deduno could still carve out a decent major league career.
Outfielder Rene Michael Tosoni played for the Twins in 2011. He was born in Toronto and drafted by Minnesota in the thirty-sixth round in 2005. After spending some time in the Gulf Coast League, he hit .300 in a 2007 split between Elizabethton and Beloit and hit .300 again in Ft. Myers in 2008. He then spent two years in New Britain and had solid seasons both times, although he missed much of 2010 with injuries. He was the Most Valuable Player of the Futures Game in 2009, leading some to think he was better than he really was. His numbers in Rochester in 2011 were not very good, but due to injuries and lack of depth, Tosoni made his major league debut with the Twins in late April and was up and down the rest of the season. He did little for the Twins in sporadic playing time, which is about what one would expect. He battled injuries again in 2012, did not play well in Rochester, was sent back to New Britain, did not do well there either, and finished the season on the disabled list. A free agent after the season, he signed with Milwaukee for 2013 and is having a decent but not particularly impressive season in AA. As a Twin, Rene Tosoni hit .203/.275/.343 in 172 at-bats. He turns 27 today. It’s not impossible that he could make it back to the majors, but if he’s going to he’d better make a move pretty soon.
First baseman/outfielder Justin Huber had two at-bats with the Twins in 2009. He was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia and was signed by the Mets in 2000. He hit well throughout his early minor league career, reaching AAA briefly in 2004. He was then traded to Kansas City, for whom he reached the majors for a week in June and then received a September call-up in 2005. He had been a catcher in the Mets’ system, but was moved to first base by the Royals. He hit well in AAA for Kansas City, but got only brief trials with the big club, batting only 98 times in three seasons. He was sold to San Diego late in spring training of 2008 but did not get much of a chance there, getting 61 at-bats in 33 games. Huber became a free agent after the 2008 season and the Twins signed him. He hit .273 with 22 homers in Rochester in 2009, earning a September call-up. Unfortunately, he got only two at-bats, going 1-for-2, before being injured for the rest of the season. Minnesota released him after the season, and he signed to play for the Hiroshima Carp in Japan. He came back to the United States and signed with Minnesota for 2011, but was released during spring training. He played for Somerset in the Atlantic League, then went back to his native Melbourne to play in the Australian League, where he was still playing over the winter. He probably could never have been a star, but he was a guy with some pop in his bat who could play first, corner outfield, and catch. It seems like that would have been a valuable bench player, but no one wanted to give him the chance to do it, and it’s probably too late now.
Also posted at wgom.org Al Newman (1960) Mark Grudzielanek (1970)
Infielder Al Newman played for the Minnesota Twins from 1987-1991. He was born in Kansas City, attended San Diego State, and was drafted by Montreal in the first round of the June Secondary draft in 1981. He was not much of a hitter in the minors, although he did draw a pretty fair number of walks. After the 1983 season, he was traded to San Diego as part of a three-team deal, but in July of 1984 he was traded back to Montreal. He hit .282 at AAA in 1985, which got him about two months in the majors as a reserve infielder. He began 1986 with the Expos, and was in the majors to stay. He hit a home run that season, his only home run in the majors. After the 1986 season, however, he was traded to Minnesota for Mike Shade. His best role was always as a utility player. He was considered a good glove man who could play three infield positions well. On the other hand, his bat left much to be desired. His best year at bat was 1989, which was also the year he got the most playing time, but even then, he hit only .253 with an OPS of .643 (although with an OBP of .341). In 1991 he slumped to .191 with an OPS of .471, and he was allowed to become a free agent after the season. Despite his numbers, many fans were upset that the popular Newman was let go, especially coming off a World Championship season. As GM Andy McPhail explained, however, “Any way you look at it, .191 is still .191.” It turned out to be a wise decision; Newman played only one more season, with Texas in 1992, and then was done as a player. As a Twin, he hit .231/.306/.275 in 1,647 at bats. He remained in baseball after his playing career ended. Newman was a minor league manager for the Twins from 1995-1997 and 1999-2001 and a coach for them from 2002-2005. He became an advance scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2006. At last report, Al Newman lived in Savage, Minnesota and was special events coordinator for the AFLAC Kids Program. He is also the manager of the Alexandria Blue Anchors of the Northwoods League.
Infielder Mark Grudzielanek did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for about three weeks in 2009. He was born in Milwaukee, went to high school in El Paso, and was drafted by Montreal in the eleventh round in 1991. He started slowly in the minors, but hit .322 at AA in 1994 and followed that up with .298 in AAA in 1995, which got him to the majors for a little over half the season. He became the Expos’ starting shortstop the next year. It was his best season as an Expo: he hit .306 and made the all-star team. He remained the Expos’ starting shortstop, posting solid batting averages but doing little else offensively, until the end of July, 1998, when he was traded to the Dodgers. He had a fine 1999, hitting .326, but then went back to being the player he had been with the Expos, which wasn’t bad, but wasn’t great, either. He shifted to second base in 2000, which is where he would play the rest of his career. Grudzielanek was traded to the Cubs after the 2002 season. He had a couple of good years as a Cub, hitting over .300 in both of his seasons for them. He signed with the Cardinals for 2005, hitting .294, then moved on to Kansas City. He was a Royal for three years, hitting .300, but could not find a job after the 2008 season. The Twins picked him up in mid-July of 2009 and sent him to the minors for about three weeks, then released him. He was quoted as saying the Twins had wasted his time, although no other teams were clamoring for his services. Grudzielanek signed with Cleveland for 2010. He hit .273 as a part-time player and was released June 10, ending his playing career, although he did not officially retire until February 23, 2011. At last report, Mark Grudzielanek as living in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
Harmon Killebrew (1936) Trey Hodges (1978) Dusty Hughes (1982) An original Twin, Harmon Clayton Killebrew was with the Twins through the 1974 season. Born and raised in Payette, Idaho, he was signed by Washington in 1954 under the “bonus baby” rules, which required him to be on the major league roster for two full years. While he obviously overcame it, one has to think that slowed his development, as he got only 93 at bats in his first two major league seasons. He got 34 more at bats through June of 1956, then his two years finally expired and he got regular playing time in the minors, coming back as a September call-up. He hit around .280 in the minors in 1957 and 1958, hitting a total of 48 home runs, and got brief time in the majors both years. Finally, in 1959, Killebrew reached the majors to stay. He had been exclusively a third baseman in the minors, and he was the regular third baseman for Washington in 1959. He responded by hitting 42 home runs, driving in 105 runs, making his first of eleven all-star teams, and finished fifteenth in MVP voting. He played both first and third in 1960, had another fine year, and came to Minnesota with the team in 1961 as its first star player. He played mostly first base in 1961, then moved to the outfield for 1962-1964. He kept hitting, belting between 45 and 49 homers each season, posting an OPS over .900 every year, finishing in the top eleven in MVP voting, and making the all-star team every year except 1962 (an odd omission, since he led the league in homers and RBI that year). He was injured part of 1965, when he was moved back to the infield, but still finished fifteenth in MVP balloting as he helped lead the Twins to the World Series. He bounced back to play in every game in 1966 and 1967, playing primarily at third in 1966 and almost exclusively at first in 1967. He hit a total of 83 homers with 234 walks in those seasons and finishing in the top four in MVP voting each year. In 1968, Killebrew was having a bad year when he was famously injured in the all-star game, not coming back until September. It was a bad year for Harmon, but he came back to play in every game in 1969, mostly at third but a substantial number at first, and leading the league in homers, RBIs, walks, and OBP and winning his only MVP award. He remained at third in 1970 and had another fine year. Shifted to first in 1971, Killebrew continued to play well, but signs of decline began to show; his OPS that season was the lowest of his career to that point other than in 1968. He slipped a little more in 1972 and became a part-time player after that. Killebrew became a free agent after the 1974 season. The Twins thought he was finished, but he thought he wasn’t, so he signed with Kansas City. Unfortunately, the Twins were right: Killebrew hit only .199 with fourteen homers as a Royal, and his playing career came to an end. It was a tremendous career, though. As a Twin/Senator, he hit .258/.278/.514, with 559 homers, giving him a total of 573 home runs for his career. He made eleven all-star teams, including nine in a row from 1963-1971. He was in the top ten in MVP voting seven times and in the top fifteen ten times. Harmon Killebrew was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984, the first Twin to be so honored. Despite denials from major league baseball, Killebrew is widely thought to be the model for the MLB logo. He was a television broadcaster for the Twins from 1976-1978, with Oakland from 1979-1982, with California in 1983, and back with the Twins from 1984-1988. Harmon Killebrew retired to Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was the chair of the Harmon Killebrew Foundation, which is dedicated to enriching the quality of life by promoting positive and healthy participation in sports. He also founded the Danny Thompson memorial golf tournament, which has raised millions of dollars for leukemia research. Sadly, Harmon Killebrew passed away from esophageal cancer on May 17, 2011.
Right-hander Trey Allen Hodges did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for a month in 2005. He was born in Houston, went to high school in Spring, Texas, attended LSU, and was drafted by Atlanta in the seventeenth round in 2000. He had an outstanding year in 2001 in Class A, followed that with a fine season in AAA in 2002, and reached the majors as a September call-up in 2002. He was with the Braves for all of 2003, his only full season in the majors. A starter in the minors, he was used out of the bullpen that season and struggled with his control, something that had not been a problem for him in the minor leagues, and had a mediocre year, going 3-3, 4.66, 1.52 WHIP. He was back in AAA in 2004 and having another mediocre year when he was released in late June, finishing the season in Japan. He signed with the Twins for 2005 and was sent to Rochester, where he went 0-0, 5.62, 1.69 WHIP in nine relief appearances (16 innings). The Braves re-signed him a couple weeks later, but he continued to not pitch well and was released again a month later. Hodges was out of baseball in 2006 but decided to give it another try in 2007. Atlanta gave him another chance, and he stayed in AAA all season, but he really was no better than he had been before. He moved to the Texas AAA team in 2008 and played for independent Lancaster in 2009, then his playing career came to an end. At last report, Trey Hodges was a financial representative for Northwestern Mutual in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Left-hander Dustin Robert Hughes appeared in fifteen games for the Twins in 2011. He was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, went to high school in Horn Lake, Mississippi, attended Delta State University, and was drafted by Kansas City in the eleventh round in 2003. He pitched very well in the low minors through 2004, then had a terrible year in 2005 at Class A. This may have been due to injury; he missed all of the 2006 season. He pitched well in AA in 2007 and 2008, but less well when promoted to AAA in 2008. He moved to the bullpen in 2009 and did well in AAA Omaha, earning a September call-up. He was with the Royals for all of 2010, going 1-3, 3.83, but with a WHIP of 1.47 in 57 appearances (56.1 innings). Kansas City wasn’t fooled and placed him on waivers. The Twins claimed him and he started the season in Minnesota. He was mostly bad; in 15 appearances (12.2 innings) he went 1-0, 9.95, 2.13 WHIP, giving up 19 hits and 8 walks. Sent back to AAA, he was better, but not particularly good. A free agent after the season, he signed with Atlanta for 2012 and was fairly mediocre in AAA for them as well. He re-signed with Atlanta for 2013 but was released on May 10 and later announced his retirement. Dusty Hughes has a degree in marketing form Delta State, and one hopes he will put it to good use.
Also posted at wgom.org Don Baylor (1949) Chris Speier (1950) Clay Christiansen (1958) Ron Mahay (1971) Corey Koskie (1973) Outfielder Don Edward Baylor played in twenty games for the Twins in 1987 and also played in seven post-season games. Born and raised in Austin, Texas, he was drafted in the second round by Baltimore in 1967. He had a tremendous minor league record, hitting .310 or more every season and hitting 20 or more home runs in his last two seasons, both at AAA Rochester. He also stole over twenty bases each of his last three minor league years. Baylor got cups of coffee in the majors in 1970 and 1971 before making the big leagues for good at the start of the 1972 season. He was a part-time player the first year, mostly regular in 1973, and a full time outfielder after that. He remained with the Orioles through 1975, hitting around .280 with double digit homers and about 30 stolen bases every season. His best year in Baltimore was his last one, when he hit .282 with 25 homers and 32 steals and finished twentieth in MVP voting. Just before the 1976 season, Baylor was traded to Oakland in a multi-player deal which included Reggie Jackson and Mike Torrez. He had a down year for Oakland, although he set a career high with 52 stolen bases, and became a free agent, signing with the Angels. He stayed in California through 1982, gradually moving from the outfield to designated hitter. He had some fine years for the Angels. The best was 1979, when he led the league in both runs and RBIs, hit .296 with a career-high 36 homers and a career-high 71 walks, and won the Most Valuable Player award. After the 1982 campaign, Baylor became a free agent and signed with the Yankees, staying there three seasons. He had a couple of good years there, too, but entered into the decline phase of his career. His last two years with the Yankees were the first of four consecutive seasons he led the league in getting hit by pitch (he led the league a total of eight times in his career). He was traded to Boston in late March of 1986 for Mike Easler in a trade of aging DHs. He was nothing special for the Red Sox, but was traded to the Twins for a player to be named later (Enrique Rios) just in time to be placed on the post season roster. He hit .286/.397/.306 in 49 at-bats the rest of the way, but went 7-for-18 in the post-season with a home run in helping the Twins to their first World Series championship. A free agent again after the season, he went to Oakland for the 1988 season, then retired. Baylor has remained in major league baseball, serving as a coach for Milwaukee (1990-1991) and St. Louis (1992), as manager for Colorado (1993-1988), as a coach for Atlanta (1999), as manager for the Cubs (2000-2002), and as a coach for the Mets (2003-2004), Seattle (2005), Colorado (2009-2010), and Arizona (2011-2013).
Shortstop Chris Edward Speier played 12 games for the Twins in 1984. Born and raised in Alameda, California, he attended UC–Santa Barbara and was chosen by San Francisco with the second pick in the January Secondary draft in 1970. He spent one year in AA, hitting .283 in Amarillo, and was the starting shortstop for the Giants in 1971 at age 20. He made the all-star team in 1972, the first of three consecutive seasons in which he did so. He remained the Giants’ starting shortstop through April of 1977. He was a solid player for several years, but slumped in 1976. When he did no better at the start of 1977 he was traded to Montreal. He was the regular shortstop for the Expos through 1982. He was never great offensively, but in his good years he would hit in the .250s or .260s. He fell to part-time status in 1983, and when his offense collapsed in 1984 he was traded to St. Louis on July 1. He hit no better there, but the Twins were desperate for a shortstop in 1984, so they acquired Speier for a player to be named later (Jay Pettibone) on August 19. Unfortunately, Speier was injured much of his time with the Twins, playing in only twelve games. He went 7-for-33 for a line of .212/.278/.212. Speier became a free agent after the season. He signed with the Cubs, hitting .260 over two seasons as a part-time player. He then moved on to San Francisco, where he was a reserve infielder for three seasons before retiring. Speier remained in baseball after his playing career ended. He was a roving instructor for the Giants from 1990-1994, hitting coach for the Orlando Cubs in 1995, managed in the Arizona organization from 1996-1999, was a major league coach for Milwaukee in 2000, for Arizona in 2001, for Oakland in 2004, and for the Cubs in 2005-2006. He became bench coach for Cincinnati in 2007, a position he continues to hold.
Right-hander Clay C. Christiansen did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for part of 1986 and 1987. Born in Wichita, Kansas, went to high school in Columbia, Kansas, attended the University of Kansas and was drafted by the Yankees in the fifteenth round in 1980. He pitched well in the low minors, going up a level per year. He won 16 games in back-to-back seasons at A and AA in 1981 and 1982. He stumbled on his first try at AAA in 1983 but did better there in 1984, earning a promotion to the majors for about six weeks in mid-summer and then coming back as a September call-up. A starter in the minors, he was used almost exclusively in relief in the majors and did not pitch well, going 2-4, 6.05, 1.60 WHIP in 38.2 innings (24 appearances, 1 start). Those would turn out to be his career totals, as he never made it back to the majors. He pitched well in AAA in 1985, but not well enough to get promoted, and the Yankees released him in June of 1986. The Twins signed him and sent him to AAA, where he stayed until June of 1987 when he was traded to Houston for Eric Bullock. B-r.com does not give his numbers just in the Twins’ organization, but he did not have a particularly good year either of those seasons. He stayed in the Houston system until 1988, then his playing career came to an end. At last report, Clay Christiansen was living in Olathe, Kansas and was working for Pepsi as an install driver for the vending department.
Left-handed reliever Ronald Matthew Mahay joined the Twins in late August of 2009 and stayed through 2010. He was born in Crestwood, Illinois, went to high school in Palos Heights, Illinois, and was drafted by Boston in the eighteenth round in 1991. He was drafted as an outfielder, remaining one through 1995. His minor league batting record is nothing to shout about, but he still was brought up to the majors briefly in 1995, spending about a week as their starting center fielder. He went 4-for-20 with a home run. Mahay turned to pitching in 1996 and reached the majors as a pitcher in 1997. He has been with several teams since then, and has frequently been sent back to the minors–he has only three full seasons in the major leagues. He was with the Red Sox from 1997-1998, with Oakland from 1999-2000, with Florida in 2000, with the Cubs in 2001-2002, with Texas from 2003-2007, with Atlanta in 2007, and with Kansas City from 2008-2009. In that span, he was waived once, sold once, released twice, traded once, and allowed to become a free agent twice. In late August of 2009, he was released for the third time and signed with Minnesota. He pitched pretty well as a Twin, going 2-1, 3.14, 1.19 WHIP in 43 innings (57 appearances). He became a free agent after the 2010 season, signed with the Dodgers, was released in spring training, signed with Arizona, was released after a month in AAA, signed with the Cardinals in July, for whom he also pitched in AAA, and was released in August. He signed with Cincinnati for 2012, was again in AAA, and was released in mid-May. He did not sign with anyone and announced his retirement in January of 2013. He had a pretty solid career, though, lasting fourteen major league seasons. He never pitched more than 67 innings in a season, leading to season ERAs as low as 1.86 and as high as 8.59. No information about what Ron Mahay has done since his playing career ended was readily available.
Third baseman Cordel Leonard Koskie played for the Twins from 1998-2004. He was born in Anola, Manitoba and went to high school in Outbank, Manitoba. He attended Des Moines Area Community College and Kwantlen University College of Surrey, British Columbia before being drafted by the Twins in the twenty-sixth round in 1994. He advanced through the minors about one level per season and did pretty well, hitting over .300 twice and topping twenty home runs twice. He got a September call-up in 1998 and in 1999 was the Twins’ semi-regular third baseman, sharing time with Ron Coomer. By 2000 he was the Twins’ regular third baseman and remained in that role through 2004. He was solid there, posting an OPS in the low to mid 800s every season. His best year is generally considered to be 2001, when he scored 100 runs, hit 26 homers, and drove in 103 runs. In fact, though, his OPS then was not particularly better than in any other year; his higher numbers are at least partly due to the fact that he played 153 games that season. He became a free agent after the 2004 season and his career went almost straight down hill. He signed with Toronto, suffered through an injury-plagued 2005, and was traded to Milwaukee for Brian Wolfe in the off-season. Koskie was playing well for the Brewers in 2006 when he suffered a concussion in early July. He never really recovered from it, at least not in a baseball sense. He tried to play in the 2009 World Baseball Classic and in spring training with the Cubs that year. He convinced himself that he could still play, but could not convince himself that it was worth risking further injury, and opted to retire. At last report, Corey Koskie was operating a couple of Planet Fitness clubs in the Twin Cities area.
Also posted at wgom.org Wayne Terwilliger (1925) Chuck Coles (1931) Luis Rodriguez (1980)
Willard Wayne Terwilliger, known as “Twig”, did not play for the Twins, but was part of their organization for several years. Unrelated to Dick Terwilliger, who was also born on June 27, they are the only two people with the last name “Terwilliger” to have played in the major leagues. He was born in Clair, Michigan, attended Western Michigan University, and was signed by the Cubs as a free agent in 1948. A second baseman, he had a fine year at AAA in 1949 and made his major league debut that year, coming to the Cubs in early August. He was the Cubs’ regular second baseman in 1950, but hit only .242 with ten homers. He remained the Cubs’ regular second sacker at the start of 1951, but when he hit no better he was traded to Brooklyn as part of an eight-player deal. He was okay as a reserve the rest of the season, backing up Jackie Robinson, but in 1952 he went down to AAA St. Paul, where he hit .312. The Dodgers were obviously not impressed, because Terwilliger was put on waivers after the season. Washington selected him and made him their started second baseman for two seasons. Twig was sold to the New York Giants for 1955. He split the next two seasons between New York and AAA Minneapolis, then was in Minneapolis for all of 1957. He was traded to Detroit for 1958, spent all of that season in the minors, and was taken by the Kansas City Athletics in the Rule 5 draft. He was with the Athletics for all of 1959, was in the minors for nearly all of 1960, and then turned to managing and coaching (he made a few brief appearances in the minors all the way through 1968, presumably when his team was short of infielders). His minor-league managing career was in the Yankees’ organization in 1961, the Washington chain from 1963-1968, Houston in 1973, Texas in 1975 and 1980, and with independent Ft. Worth from 2003-2005. He was a major league coach with Washington/Texas from 1969-1972 and 1981-1985, and the Twins from 1986-1994. He was a minor league coach with the St. Paul Saints from 1995-2002 and Ft. Worth from 2006-2010, when he finally retired at age 85. He is a member of the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame and has written an autobiography, “Terwilliger Bunts One.”
Outfielder Charles Edward Coles did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system from 1961-1962. He was born in Fredericktown, Pennsylvania and attended Waynesburg College in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, one of two major league players produced by that school (Dick Gray). He signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers as a free agent in 1950. He hit well in the minors through 1952, then missed two seasons due to the Korean War. He was 24 when he returned. He continued to hit well but could not get a chance above Class A in the Dodgers’ organization. He played for independent Albuquerque in 1957, then moved to the Cincinnati system in 1958. He hit .307 with 29 home runs in AA and got a September call-up. He went 2-for-11 in five games, but it looked like, at age 27, Chuck Coles might finally get his chance. It didn’t happen. He had a terrible year in AA in 1959; one wonders if he might have been hurt, because his numbers are completely out of line with the rest of his career. He bounced back with a solid year in AA in 1960, but by then he was 29 and was no longer considered a prospect. He came to the Twins’ organization in 1961 and had a solid year at Class A Charlotte, but that was as good as it would get for him as a Twin. He split 1962 between Charlotte and Class B Wilson, played for independent Tidewater in 1963, then ended his playing career. In twelve minor league seasons, mostly in A and AA, Chuck Coles hit .293/.330/.466 with 176 home runs. After his playing career, he was employed as a millwright in Jefferson, Pennsylvania. He passed away in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on January 25, 1996 at the age of 64. In 2009, Chuck Coles was posthumously inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
Infielder Luis Orlando Rodriguez played for the Twins from 2005-2007. Born and raised in Codejos, Venezuela, he signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1997. He primarily played second base and shortstop in the minors. He put up consistent but unspectacular numbers in the minors, generally hitting around .270 and drawing a good number of walks, but showing little power. He was in his third year of AAA when he came up to the Twins in late May of 2005. He did about as well as you’d expect a reserve infielder to do at the plate and got his only full season in the majors in 2006. He was with the Twins for nearly all of 2007 as well, but his offense got worse every year, and since he was never known for his defense, the Twins placed him on waivers after the season. As a Twin, Luis Rodriguez hit .243/.311/.339. He played in 206 games and had 445 at-bats. He signed with San Diego and in the majors with them for the second half of 2008 and nearly all of 2009. He signed with Cleveland for 2010, was released in late April, and signed with the White Sox. He was in AAA for them all season, then signed with Seattle for 2011. Surprisingly, he made the Mariners as a reserve infielder and split the season between the majors and AAA. He was still in the Mariners organization in 2012 and had a fine year at AAA Tacoma, batting .296 with an OPS of .841, but was not been recalled to the majors. A free agent after the season, he signed with the Angels for 2013 and is currently playing for AAA Salt Lake. He turns 33 today and is certainly not a prospect, but it’s not that much of a stretch to think he could get back to the majors at some point.
A day late. Sorry about that. But there are no players related to the Twins born on this day anyway. The closest we come is Joe Kuhel (1906), who played for the franchise while it was in Washington and also managed the team there.
I'll be out of range of the internet tomorrow, and I don't see a way to schedule this ahead of time, so you'll get it a day early. Don Mincher (1938) Tom Klawitter (1958) Doug Bernier (1980) First baseman Don Mincher played for the Twins from 1961-1966. Born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama, he was signed by the White Sox as a free agent in 1956. He had a very good minor league record, batting over .300 twice and hitting over 20 homers three times. Just before the 1960 season, Mincher was traded to Washington with Earl Battey and $150,000 for Roy Sievers, a trade which worked very well for the soon-to-be Minnesota Twins. Mincher was given the first base job for Washington in 1960, but did not hit well and was back in the minors by mid-May. He was with the new Minnesota Twins in 1961, but again did not hit and was back in the minors in late May. Mincher finally made the majors to stay in 1962, but as the Twins also had Vic Power and Harmon Killebrew, he had a hard time getting playing time. He appeared in 86 games, but 61 of them were as a pinch-hitter, as he played the field in only 25 contests. Given his role, he did pretty well, hitting .240 with 9 homers for an OPS of .894. He got into the field more in 1963, but still only batted 225 times, posting an OPS of .871. By 1964 Power was gone, but Sam Mele chose to give Bob Allison substantial playing time at first base. Mincher did get 65 starts and hit 23 homers in 287 at-bats, recording an OPS of .847. Finally, in 1965, he got semi-regular status, sharing first base with Harmon Killebrew (Killebrew shifted to third when Mincher played). Mincher finally got almost regular playing time in 1966, at age 28, but after the season was traded to California with Pete Cimino and Jimmie Hall for Dean Chance and a player to be named later (Jackie Hernandez). He had a very good year for the Angels in 1967, hitting .273 (which was very good for 1967) with 25 homers and making his first all-star team. He slumped in 1968, however, and was left unprotected in the expansion draft. Seattle chose him, and he was easily their best offensive player, hitting 25 homers, again posting an OPS over .800, and making his second all-star team. He was traded to Oakland after the season and had another solid year, but was again traded in May of 1971, this time to Washington. He hit fewer homers as a Senator but had the highest batting average of his career, .291, and again had an OPS over .800. That was his last good year; he got off to a poor start when the team moved to Texas in 1972, was traded to Oakland in July, and ended his career as he had started it, as a pinch-hitter. As a Twin, Don Mincher hit .244/.340/.479. There were reasons he didn’t play more, but one wonders what sort of numbers he might have posted if he had been given regular playing time in his mid-twenties. Don Mincher remained in baseball after his playing career ended. He became general manager and part-owner of the Huntsville Stars in the Southern League, holding those titles from 1994-2001. At that point, he became president of the Southern League, a position he held until his death. He was elected to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. Don Mincher passed away in Huntsville, Alabama on March 4, 2012.
Left-hander Tom Klawitter appeared in seven games for the Twins in 1985. He was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin and attended Wisconsin-La Crosse. Klawitter was drafted by the Dodgers in the nineteenth round in 1980. He struggled in the Dodgers’ system, reaching AA in 1982 but never posting an ERA under four. The Dodgers released him in May of 1983. Minnesota picked him up and sent him to Class A Wisconsin Rapids, where he pitched fairly well the rest of the season. Promoted to AAA for 1984, Klawitter continued to do fairly well, going 10-6, 3.59 with a 1.35 WHIP. He made the Twins out of spring training in 1985; then manager Billy Gardner would make a claw gesture to the bullpen when he wanted Klawitter in the game. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen for very long, as his control, which had always been shaky, pretty much deserted him. Klawitter made five relief appearances and two starts for the Twins. He gave up seven runs on seven hits and thirteen walks in 9.1 innings. The record is not clear about what happened to him after mid-May of 1985; Klawitter was no longer with the Twins, but he does not appear to have gone to the minors, either. At any rate, he made six appearances for AA Knoxville in 1986, and then his playing career was over. Tom Klawitter is currently is a high school girls basketball coach in Janesville, Wisconsin, a position he has held for several years.
Infielder Douglas Paul Bernier has not played for the Twins yet, but is currently in their farm system. Born and raised in Santa Maria, California, he attended Oral Roberts University and was signed by Colorado as a free agent in 2002. He spent two years in high-A and two years in AA before getting to AAA Colorado Springs in 2007. He had a couple of solid seasons there, but considering that it’s Colorado Springs, his numbers were not all that impressive. He appeared in two games for the Rockies in the middle of June, one as a defensive replacement and one as a starter, and went 0-for-4. That’s the sum and substance of his major league career so far. He has been in AAA since then, but has moved around some. He became a free agent after the 2008 season and signed with the Yankees. He had a poor year in 2009, moved to the Pittsburgh organization in 2010, continued to not hit much, moved back to the Yankees organization from 2011-2012, and signed with Minnesota for 2013. At this writing, he is having the best season he’s had since 2008, batting in the .280s and drawing walks. Still, he’s 32 today. If he keeps hitting, it’d be nice to see him get a September call-up just to get a chance to get a major league hit, but even that’s a long shot at this point.
Right-handed reliever Gregory Scott Booker appeared in six games for the Twins in 1989. The son-in-law of Jack McKeon, he was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, went to high school in Burlington, North Carolina, and then attended Elon University in Elon, North Carolina (a school also attended by Dick Such). He was drafted by San Diego in the tenth round in 1981. Mostly a starter in the minors, he did not have very good numbers there at all, although much of his time was spent in hitter-friendly Las Vegas in the PCL. Despite never posting a minor league ERA under 5.25 or a WHIP under 1.6, Booker got a September call-up in 1983. He went back-and-forth between San Diego and Las Vegas from 1984-1986. He was almost exclusively a reliever in the majors, making only four career starts. His major league numbers are substantially better than his minor league totals, although it should be noted that Booker never pitched as many as seventy innings in a major league season. His only two full seasons in the majors were 1987-1988, and he pitched pretty well in those years, posting ERAs in the low threes and WHIPs around 1.35. He did not pitch as well in 1989, was sent back to AAA in June. In late June, his father-in-law traded him to Minnesota for Fred Toliver. Most of his time with the Twins was in AAA, but he came up to the majors in September. He appeared in six games and pitched 8.2 innings. Had no record, giving up four runs on eleven hits for a 4.15 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. The Twins allowed him to become a free agent and he signed with the Cubs, but he was released at the end of spring training. He signed with the Giants for 1990 and was in AAA most of the year, playing in two major league games in late May. That was the end of his playing career. He has stayed in professional baseball since then, coaching in the Indians and Rockies organizations, and was the major league pitching coach for San Diego from 1997-2003. Greg Booker is currently the pitching coach of the Syracuse Chiefs in the International League. His son, Zach Booker, is on the roster for the AAA Norfolk Tides in the Baltimore organization, but has barely played since 2008 and is currently on the disabled list. One suspects they may be using him as an extra coach, but this could not be confirmed.
Infielder Luis Alberto Maza did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for several years. Born and raised in Cumana, Venezuela, he signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1997. Partly due to his age, Maza was in the low minors for several years, not reaching AA until 2004. He hit .311 there that year and was promoted to AAA in 2005. He had a bad year in Rochester in 2006, hitting only .207, and became a free agent after the season. He signed with the Dodgers, played very well in the minors, and reached the majors in mid-May of 2008, staying for two months. He hit only .228, however, and so far this has been Maza’s only time in the majors. He hit .378 in Albuquerque that year, and followed it up with a .300 season last year. When he did not get a call back to the big leagues, Maza again became a free agent, this time signing with Philadelphia. He moved on to Houston in late June, but was released in early August. He signed with Grosseto in the Italian Baseball League for 2011, played for Rimini in that same league in 2012, and was still with them at last report. He played for Aragua in the Venezuelan Winter League last year.
Dave Goltz (1949) Jim Deshaies (1960) Right-hander Dave Goltz pitched for the Twins through most of the 1970s. He was born in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, went to high school in Rothsay, Minnesota. He was a four-sport star, playing basketball, football, and participating in track as well as playing baseball (he was all state in both basketball and baseball). Goltz was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 1967. He had two very good years in the low minors, then missed all of the 1969 season due to military service and made only two appearances in 1970 due to injuries. He came back to have a fine 1971 campaign and was doing fairly well in AAA in 1972 when he was called up to Minnesota in mid-July to replace an injured Jim Kaat. He pitched extremely well the rest of the way, going 3-3, 2.67 with a WHIP of 1.10 and an ERA+ of 121. The Twins moved him to the bullpen for 1973, however, and he did not flourish in the role. He was moved back to the rotation in late July and was extremely inconsistent, mixing brilliant outings with horrible ones. The next year, he was in the rotation from the beginning, and had the first of five consecutive very good seasons for the Twins. His best years were 1977-1978, when he went a combined 35-21, 2.99 with a WHIP of 1.24 in 523.1 innings (303 0f which came in 1977, when he won 20 games and finished sixth in Cy Young voting). He had double-digit complete games in each of those five seasons, with a high of nineteen in 1977. He started to slip in 1979 and the Twins allowed him to become a free agent. It turned out to be a good decision, as he never had as good a season again. Goltz had a poor year in 1980, went to the bullpen in 1981, and when he was no better at the start of 1982 he was released in late April. California signed him in late May and he did somewhat better, but he did nothing in 1983 and was released again in early July, ending his playing career. He won twenty games once, got a World Series ring (with the Dodgers in 1981), and set one record, although not a good one. Dave Goltz holds the record for most runs allowed while getting a save, giving up eight runs while getting a three-inning save against Cleveland on June 6, 1973. Gene Mauch once was quoted as saying Goltz was the best starting pitcher he had ever managed. As a Twin, Dave Goltz was 96-79, 3.48 with a 1.31 WHIP. He appeared in 247 games, 215 of them starts, and worked 1,638 innings. After retirement, Goltz returned to Minnesota. He is currently an insurance agent, with offices in Fergus Falls and Rothsay, Minnesota. He also was the baseball coach for Fergus Falls Community College for two years.
Left-hander Jim Deshaies was with the Twins for most of 1993 and all of 1994. Born and raised in Massena, New York, he attended LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, one of six major league players that school has produced. He was drafted by the Yankees in the twenty-first round in 1982. He put up some really good numbers in the Yankees’ system, reaching AAA by 1984. He also made his major league debut that year, making two starts for the Yankees in August. He did not have a good year in AAA in 1985, however, and was traded to Houston in mid-September as part of a deal for Joe Niekro. It was a good move for Deshaies, as he was immediately placed in the Astros rotation and stayed there for six years. He was pretty good for five of those years; the best was 1989, when he went 15-10, 2.91 with a WHIP of 1.15. He pitched poorly in 1991, however, and when contract expired he was allowed to become a free agent. He signed with Oakland, but was released in spring training of 1992. San Diego signed him in late April, sent him to AAA, and brought him to the majors in early July, place him in their starting rotation. He bounced back pretty well, but was a free agent after the season, signing with Minnesota. He did okay in 1993, not great but not terrible. The Twins fell out of the race, however, and in late August Deshaies was traded to San Francisco for Andres Duncan, Aaron Fultz, and a player to be named later (Greg Brummett). Deshaies was a free agent after the season and returned to Minnesota for 1994. He was much worse in his second go-round with the Twins, leading the league both in home runs allowed and in earned runs allowed. As a Twin, he was 17-25, 5.71 with a WHIP of 1.46. He appeared in 52 games, all of them starts, and pitched 297.2 innings. He became a free agent again and signed with Philadelphia for 1995. He did well in AAA, but flopped in two starts with the Phillies and was released in late July, ending his playing career. In 1986, he struck out the first eight batters of the game, setting a modern-day record. He also holds the record for most at-bats without an extra-base hit. Jim Deshaies was a television broadcaster for the Houston Astros from 1997-2012 and is currently a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs.
Jackie Collum (1927) Jay Pettibone (1957) Garrett Jones (1981)
Left-hander Jack Dean “Jackie” Collum pitched in eight games for the Twins in 1962. He was born in Victor, Iowa and went to high school in Newburg, Iowa. He signed with St. Louis as a free agent in 1946. He was used as both a starter and a reliever in the minors and appears to have pitched pretty well in both roles. He got cups of coffee in the majors in both 1951 and 1952, appearing in a total of five games for the Cardinals. 1953 was his first full season in the majors, but most of it was not spent in St. Louis, as Collum was traded to Cincinnati in late May. He stuck with the Reds through 1955, making 31 starts and appearing in 98 games. He did a good job, posting ERAs in the mid-threes. He was traded back to St. Louis for 1956, and unfortunately things went downhill for him after that. He did not do particularly well for the Cardinals, was traded to the Cubs after the season, pitched poorly, and was traded to Brooklyn in late May. Most of his time with the Dodgers that year was spent in AAA, and he remained in AAA for the Dodgers through 1960. He did fairly well there, but was traded to the Twins sometime afte the 1960 season “in an unknown transaction.” He stayed in AAA in 1961 but had a strong season there in 1962, earning about three weeks with the Twins. It did not go well, h0wever; as a Twin, Jackie Collum was 0-2, 11.15 in 15.1 innings. He appeared in eight games, three of them starts. On August 20, he was traded to Cleveland with a player to be named later (Georges Miranda) and cash for Ruben Gomez. He made one appearance with the Indians, and then his playing career was over. He was a good hitter, batting .269 in the minors and .246 in the majors. He occasionally played outfield in the minors as well as pitching. After retiring from baseball, Collum became the owner of the Pioneer Oil Company in Grinnell, Iowa. Jackie Collum passed away on August 29, 2009 in Grinnell.
Right-hander Harry Jonathan ”Jay” Pettibone made four starts for the Twins in 1983. He was born in Mount Clemens, Michigan, attended Chapman University of Orange, California, one of seven major leaguers to have attended that school. He was drafted by Texas in the thirtieth round in 1979. He was in the minors with the Rangers for two ineffective years, not rising above Class A, and was released in December of 1980. The Twins signed him in February of 1981 and sent him to Class A Visalia, where he went 14-8, although with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. He had a good year in Visalia in 1982 and a half-way decent year in AA Orlando in 1983, earning a September call-up in the latter season. His first game was a complete game 3-1 loss, but he did not pitch well in the other three starts. He was 0-4, 5.33 with a WHIP of 1.33 in 27 innings. Pettibone was back in the minors in 1984 and did not pitch particularly well. After the season, he was the player to be named later in the deal that brought Chris Speier to the Twins from St. Louis for a month and a half in 1984. He did not pitch in the Cardinals organization, however; his playing career ended after the 1984 campaign. He auditioned for a job as a replacement player in 1995, and was working as a special agent in the Treasury Department at that time. At last report, Jay Pettibone was working for the Department of Homeland Security. His son, Jonathan Pettibone, is currently pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Outfielder/first baseman Garrett Thomas Jones had three stints with the Twins in 2007, totalling about two and a half months. He was born in Harvey, Illinois, went to high school in Tinley Park, Illinois. He was drafted by Atlanta in the fourteenth round in 1999. He was in rookie ball for three years, did not do a whole lot (although he did hit .289 in 2001), and was released in May of 2002. Minnesota signed him three days later and sent him to Class A Quad Cities. He hit for low averages for two years in Class A, but he began to develop some power, and finally in 2004 in AA New Britain he put things together. He hit .311 that season with 30 home runs. He spent almost all of the next four seasons at AAA Rochester, hitting over 20 homers three of those years and posting an OPS over .800 the last two. He appeared in 31 games for the Twins in 2007, twelve of them at DH, eight at first base, six in the outfield, and five as a pinch-hitter. He hit .208/.262/.338 in 77 at-bats. Jones was allowed to become a free agent after the 2008 season and signed with Pittsburgh. He started the season in AAA but came up on July 1 and was a regular for the Pirates, although at three different positions (right field, first base, and left field). Surprisingly, he did very well, hitting .293 with 21 homers, posting an OPS of .938, and finishing seventh in Rookie of the Year voting. He continued to play regularly for the Pirates in 2010, but has failed to match his 2009 totals. 2011 turned out to be much more similar to 2010 than 2009 and he found himself being platooned, although as a left-handed batter he still got the bulk of the playing time. He was still platooned some in 2012, but came back to have a better season. He is not doing as well in 2013, however; while he’s not embarrassing himself, his numbers are not sufficient for a player with limited defensive value. He turns 32 today. He certainly could get things going yet this season. Even if he doesn’t, though, he’s put together a very respectable career for someone who got started that late.
Infielder Juan Gabriel Castro played for the Twins in 2005 and the first part of 2006. Born and raised in Los Mochis, Mexico, Castro signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1991. He had decent batting averages in the minors, but did not walk very much nor did he show much power. He gained a reputation as a fine fielder, however, and made his major league debut as a September call-up in 1995. He spent the next two years going back and forth between Albuquerque and Los Angeles, putting up good numbers in the minors but bad numbers in the majors, where he was used as a utility player. He got his first full season in the majors in 1998, again as a utility player, and hit only .195 with an OPS of .499. He was back in AAA for almost all of 1999 and then was traded to Cincinnati. He started 2000 in AAA but was back in the majors in late April and remained with the Reds through 2004, again as a utility infielder. He continued to not hit very well– his best year was 2003, when he hit .253 with nine homers for an OPS of .678. Castro became a free agent after the 2004 campaign and signed with Minnesota. As a Twin, he basically was what he was–a weak hitter with a reputation as a good fielder. He hit .248/.271/.357 in 428 at-bats. He stayed with Minnesota until mid-June of 2006, when he was traded to Cincinnati for Brandon Roberts. He had a good rest-of-2006 for the Reds, but did little in 2007 and was released in early May of 2008. He signed with the Rockies, played in AAA there for two and a half months, then was traded to Baltimore. He was with the Dodgers in 2009, moved on to Philadelphia for 2010, was released in mid-July, and signed with the Dodgers again. He was still with the Dodgers in 2011, but spent most of the season in the minors and retired on July 10. Upon his retirement, Juan Castro was named a special assistant for player personnel for the Dodgers, a position he continued to hold at last report. He was also a coach for Mexico in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
Also posted at wgom.org Doug Mientkiewicz (1974) Alex Preito (1976) Dustan Mohr (1976) First baseman Douglas Andrew Mientkiewicz played for the Twins in all or part of seven seasons. He was born in Toledo, went to high school in Miami, and attended Florida State. He then was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 1995. He started slowly but had a big year in New Britain in 1998, batting .323 with 16 home runs. That resulted in a September call-up, and in 1999 he started the season as the Twins’ regular first baseman, startling people who had expected David Ortiz to get the job. He hit well in April but did not do much after that, gradually losing playing time to Ron Coomer. In 2000 he had another big year in the minors, hitting .334 with 18 homers in Salt Lake and getting another September call-up. He also played on the gold medal U. S. Olympic team that year. He regained the regular first base job with the Twins in 2001 and held it through July of 2004. His best year as a Twin was 2001, when he hit .306 with 15 homers and finished fourteenth in MVP voting. He also won the Gold Glove that year, which despite his reputation as a tremendous defensive player was the only time he ever won that award. He had a bad year in 2004 and was traded to Boston at the end of July in a four-team traded that netted the Twins Justin Jones from the Cubs (Orlando Cabrera was also involved in the trade). He was a part-time first baseman for the Red Sox the rest of the season, winning a World Championship ring. He then started bouncing around, playing for the Mets in 2005, Kansas City in 2006, the Yankees in 2007, and Pittsburgh in 2008. For most of those years, he was basically what he had been, a good defensive first baseman who hit for a decent average, drew some walks, and had moderate power. Mientkiewicz signed with the Dodgers for 2009 but was injured much of the season. The Dodgers released him at the end of 2010 spring training and he went unsigned until early May, when he hooked on with the Marlins. He was in AAA for about two weeks, but opted out of his contract after playing in only four games. As a Twin, he hit .275/.367/.408 in 2,147 at-bats. Doug Mientkiewicz eventually went into coaching, and is currently in his first year as the manager of the Fort Myers Miracle.
Infielder Alejandro Antonio Prieto appeared in 24 games for the Twins in 2003-2004. Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, he was signed as a free agent by Kansas City in 1992 at age 16. He was in the low levels of the minors for five seasons before getting a promotion to AA in 1998. Prieto had little power, but hit for a decent average and drew a decent number of walks. He was primarily a shortstop but saw some time at second and third and played a few games in the outfield. He did fairly well in his second year of AA in 1999, and so moved up to AAA for 2000. He did well his second year there, 2001, as well, but after that he became a minor league free agent and signed with Minnesota. He was a consistent batter for Rochester, neither particularly good nor particularly bad. Prieto got a couple of stints in the majors with the Twins, the only big league playing time he got. In 2003 he was with the Twins for about a month, going 1-for-11. In 2004 he was there for about five weeks, going 8-for-32. Put it all together, and you have a line of .209/.255/.302 in 43 at-bats. He became a free agent after the 2004 season and spent three more years in the minors. He signed with the Philadelphia organization for 2005, was traded to the Kansas City system in late April, stayed there for 2006, and moved on the Red Sox’ chain for 2007, playing in AAA there until his release in late August. He then played in the independent Atlantic League in 2008 and 2009. He played for four independent teams in 2010, then his playing career came to an end. It appears that Alex Prieto has moved back to his native Caracas, but this could not be confirmed.
Outfielder Dustan Kyle Mohr played for the Twins for two-plus years in the early part of the decade of the 2000s. Born and raised in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, he attended the University of Alabama and was drafted by Cleveland in the ninth round in 1997. His minor league numbers were fairly good but not all that impressive, and the Indians released him in late March of 2000. The Twins signed him, and in 2001 he hit .336 with 24 homers for AA New Britain. That got people’s attention, and he was called up to the big leagues in late August of that season and stuck for a few years. He was a semi-regular outfielder for the Twins in 2002 and 2003, playing mostly in right. He mostly shared the position with Bobby Kielty. He was decent–Mohr finished eighth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2002. In mid-season of 2003, however, the Twins traded for Shannon Stewart, making Mohr expendable. He was traded after the season to San Francisco for a player to be named later (J. T. Thomas). As a Twin, he hit .258/.319/.408 in 782 at-bats. He hit well for the Giants in 2004 as a fourth outfielder, but was allowed to become a free agent and signed with Colorado. He was again a reserve outfielder, but hit only .214, and his big league career was nearing its close. He was with Boston and Detroit in 2006 and Tampa Bay in 2007, but was in the minors most of that time, getting only forty at-bats with the Red Sox and sixteen with the Devil Rays. He was with Colorado Springs in the Rockies organization for a month in 2008 then played for the independent Wichita Wingnuts the rest of 2008 and 2009. He played for the independent Long Island Ducks in 2010, then his career came to an end. At last report, Dustan Mohr had gone into the insurance business and was an insurance agent for New York Life in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Tommy Watkins (1980) 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. Tommy Watkins is currently the batting coach for the Cedar Rapids Kernels.
Also posted at wgom.org Tom Drees (1963) This is also the birthday of Ray Scott (1919), who broadcast Twins games from 1961-1966 and 1973-1975.
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.
Zach Day (1978) Jeremy Reed (1981) Trevor Plouffe (1986)
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 is the owner of Naked Dingo, a company which provides home delivery of wholesome pet foods, as well as Zigoo Pets, a company which makes pet toys. He is also the pitching coordinator 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 does not appear to have played this season. He’s only thirty-two, so you never know, but one has to think that Jeremy Reed’s playing career has probably come to an end.
Infielder 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 was the regular third baseman for Minnesota in 2012 and hit 24 home runs, allowing him to make a positive contribution despite hitting .235 with a .301 OBP. In 2013 he was off to a decent start, though no more than that, when he was injured. He should be returning to the Twins shortly, possibly by the time this is published. So far, Trevor Plouffe has hit .234/.301/.424 in 883 major league at-bats. He’s 28 today, so he’s not likely to get a lot better, but he doesn’t seem likely to get a lot worse in the near future, either. As could be said of many players, he will remain in his role until the Twins find somebody better.
Also posted at wgom.org Joe Decker (1947) Chris Gomez (1971)
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 coaching youth baseball in Costa Mesa, California.
Jim Constable (1933) George Tsamis (1967) Peter Munro (1975) Michael Hollimon (1982) 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-f0r-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. We wish him well in his future career.
Gerry Arrigo (1941) Jim Strickland (1946) Scott Aldred (1968) Damon Hollins (1974)
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.
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 in Charleston (2006), Trenton (2007-2008), and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (2009-present).
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 and Idaho Falls in 2013.
