Jeff A

There appear to be no players with connections to the Minnesota Twins who were born on this day.

Also posted at wgom.org Greg Olson (1960) Roy Smith (1961) Pat Meares (1968) Micheal Nakamura (1976) Catcher Gregory William Olson appeared in three games for the Twins in 1989. He was born in Marshall, Minnesota, went to high school in Edina, Minnesota, attended the University of Minnesota, and was drafted by the Mets in the 7th round in 1982. He should not be confused with pitcher Greggory William Olson, who also played for the Twins. The Olson we’re dealing with here had not caught in high school, but was converted to catcher in college. He spent six years in the Mets’ minor-league system, usually as a part-time player, putting up offensive numbers that were not awful but that would not catch anyone’s attention, either. Olson became a six-year minor league free agent, and the Twins signed him after the 1988 season. He was in Portland for 1989, and did not do much on offense there either, hitting .235 in 247 at-bats. He was with the Twins for about a week from the end of June through the fourth of July, appearing in three games and going 1-for-2. The Twins let Olson go after the season, and he was signed by the Braves. He was a semi-regular for the Braves for four years. His best year was 1990 when he hit .262 in 298 at-bats and somehow made the all-star team. Released after the 1993 campaign, Olson signed with the Mets, but did not make it out of spring training. After his playing career ended, he became a manager for some independent league teams. Later, he got a real estate license. At last report he was the general manager of Bearpath Golf & Country Club in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and was also a broker for Bearpath Realty. Right-hander LeRoy Purdy Smith pitched for the Twins from 1986-1990. Born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, he attended Fordham University and was drafted by Philadelphia in the 3rd round of the 1979 draft. He did well early, spending a year in rookie and A ball, but after repeating AA he was traded after the 1982 season with two other players to Cleveland for John Denny. Smith was in AAA Charleston in 1983, and then split the next two years between AAA Maine and the Indians. After the 1985 campaign, he was traded with Ramon Romero to Minnesota for Bryan Oelkers and Ken Schrom. Smith was in AAA for most of the next three seasons, getting a brief call-up with Minnesota each year, before getting two full years in the majors in 1989 and 1990. Smith was in the starting rotation most of the time in those years, doing fairly well in 1989 and not as well in 1990. He became a free agent and signed with Baltimore for 1991. Smith split that year between Baltimore and AAA Rochester, was apparently out of baseball in 1992, and pitched in the Pittsburgh organization in 1993 before calling it a career. As a Twin, Smith was 19-18 with a 4.28 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP in 85 games, 54 of them starts. Roy Smith has spent time in the Dodgers’ and Pirates’ front office, and at last report was a scout for the New York Mets. Shortstop Patrick James Meares played for the Twins from 1983-1988. He was born in Salina, Kansas, went to Wichita State, and was drafted in the 12th round by the Twins in 1990. He was rather up and down in his minor league career, but the Twins needed a shortstop after Greg Gagne became a free agent, and Meares got the job in 1993. His first three years, he somewhat shared the shortstop position with Jeff Reboulet, but he was the full-time regular for 1996-98. He did a solid job for the Twins, never making anyone’s all-star team but never being someone you looked to replace, either. He became a free agent after the 1998 season and signed with Pittsburgh, but had injury problems and never really panned out for them. His last game was in 2001; Meares was on the Pirates disabled list for two seasons after that. At one point, he filed a grievance, claiming that he was healthy enough to play, but the grievance was eventually dropped; by then, the Pirates apparently preferred to pay him to not play. As a Twin, Pat Meares batted .265/.301/.382 with 41 homers and 303 RBIs in 742 games. He is a member of the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame. At last report, it appeared that Pat Meares was living in Wichita, Kansas. Sidearming reliever Micheal Yoshihide Nakamura appeared in twelve games for the Twins in 2003. He was born in Nara, Japan, went to high school in Melbourne, Australia, and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1997. He apparently had some injury problems in the minors, as he had good numbers but not very many innings. He had a strong 2003 in Rochester and got a trial with the Twins that year, but did not do well in limited opportunities. He was with the Twins for nearly a month and went 0-0, 7.82, giving up 11 runs and 20 hits in 12.2 innings over 12 games. Nakamura was placed on waivers early in 2004 and was selected by Toronto with similar results: good numbers in AAA but no success in the majors. He left American baseball after the 2004 season for Japan, where he has pitched ever since. He spent three years with the Nippon Ham Fighters, moved on to the Yomiuri Giants in 2009, and is with the Seibu Lions this season. He has dual citizenship with Japan and Australia (his father is Japanese and his mother is Australian), and has played for the Australian Olympic and WBC teams. He seems to be doing well in Japan–he appears to have been injured in 2011, but pitched well for them in 2012. He did well enough in Japan that he might have been able to get another shot at the majors, but he appears to have not been interested, and retired from playing after the 2012 season. No information about what Mike Nakamura is doing now was readily available.

Also posted at wgom.org Randy Choate (1975) Jason Hart (1977) This is also the birthday of Karl Kuehl (1937), who was a coach for the Twins from 1977-1982. Left-handed reliever Randol Doyle Choate never actually played in a regular season game with the Twins, but he was in spring training with them in 2007. Born and raised in San Antonio, he attended Florida State and was drafted by the Yankees in the fifth round in 1977. He spent three years at Class A, but jumped to AAA in 2000 and rode the New York-Columbus shuttle from 2000-2003, appearing in 82 games for the Yankees over four seasons. The Yankees traded Choate to Montreal after the 2003 season, and the Expos traded him to Arizona at the end of 2004 spring training. He then started bouncing between Arizona and AAA Tucson, appearing in 114 games for the Diamondbacks from 2004-2007. After the 2006 season, Arizona released Choate and the Twins signed him, but Minnesota released him at the end of spring training and the Diamondbacks signed him again. Released by Arizona after 2007, he spent 2008 with AAA Nashville in the Milwaukee organization. Randy Choate signed with Tampa Bay for 2009. He was strictly a LOOGY for the Rays: over two seasons he appeared in 146 games but logged just 81 innings. He did well for them in that role, but was a free agent after the season and signed with Florida. He pitched very well for the Marlins for a year and a half, then was traded to the Dodgers in late July. After the season, he was a free agent again and signed with the Cardinals for 2013. He’s again having a fine year in his role. He has played in parts of thirteen major league seasons, but did not get a full season until 2010. He’s been a tremendous LOOGY, though, and while a LOOGY’s life is never stable, he may continue in the majors for several years to come. Outfielder Jason Wyatt Hart did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system for a couple of months. He was born in Walnut Creek, California, went to high school in Fair Grove, Missouri, attended Missouri State University, and was drafted by Oakland in the fifth round in 1998. He had a couple of tremendous years in the low minors, hitting .326 with 30 homers at AA Midland in 2000. He stumbled when he reached AAA, however, hitting about .250 with around twenty homers a year over three seasons. Only one of those seasons was spent in the Athletics organization, as he was traded to Texas after the 2001 season in a multi-player deal. He was a September call-up for the Rangers in 2002, going 4-for-15 with 3 doubles in ten games. He was injured all of 2004, but there was no significant difference in his numbers when he came back in 2005. A free agent after the season, the Twins signed him for 2006 and sent him to Rochester. He hit .225/.267/.425 there in 80 at-bats, hitting four home runs and four doubles. On June 1, the Twins sent Hart back to Texas. He finished the season in AAA for them and then his playing career was over. He was the batting coach for the Rangers’ Arizona League affiliate in 2009, for the Hickory Crawdads, the Rangers’ Class A affiliate in the South Atlantic League in 2010-2011, and for the Frisco RoughRiders, the Rangers’ AA affiliate in the Texas League, in 2012-2013.

Also posted at wgom.org Paul Jata (1949) Aaron Fultz (1973) Pat Neshek (1980) ​ Outfielder/first baseman Paul Jata did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 1976. He was born in Astoria, New York, went to high school on Long Island, and was drafted by Detroit in the fifth round in 1967. His minor league numbers don’t stick out, but he was always very young for his league, reaching AA at age 20 and AAA at age 21. He made the Tigers out of spring training in 1972 at age 22 but was used mostly as a pinch-hitter/defensive replacement, getting only 71 at-bats through July 19. At that point he was sent to the minors, coming back for three games as a September call-up. Given his age and his role, he didn’t do so badly: .230/.296/.257 in 74 at-bats. Unfortunately, those would be his major league career numbers. He split 1973 between AA and AAA and had what may have been his best year in the minors. After the season, he was traded to Minnesota for Jim Nettles. He did not play in either 1974 or 1975 for reasons that we could not find. He played in AA Orlando in 1976 but appeared in only 22 games, batting .242/.351/.306. His playing career ended after that. It’s kind of an odd career, and one wishes to know more about it. However, no further information about Paul Jata was readily available. Left-handed reliever Richard Aaron Fultz played for the Twins in 2004. He was born in Memphis, went to high school in Munford, Tennessee, attended North Florida Community College, and was drafted by the Giants in 1992 in the sixth round. He pitched pretty well in rookie ball that year and in Class A in 1993, but was traded to the Twins in August of 1993 with Andres Duncan and Greg Brummett for Jim DeShaies. After just over two years (1994 and 1995) in the Twins system, Fultz was released, and he went back to the Giants. He generally had to repeat levels in the minors, with the result that he did not reach AAA until 1998. Fultz was not particularly impressive in AAA in either 1998 or 1999, but made the Giants with a strong spring training in 2000. Fultz spent three years with the Giants as a middle reliever, posting ERAs in the mid-fours, but was allowed to become a free agent after 2002 and signed with Texas. He did not pitch particularly well for the Rangers, and was again allowed to become a free agent, signing with the Twins for the 2004 campaign. Fultz appeared in 55 games for the Twins, going 3-3 with a 5.04 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in 50 innings. The Twins placed him on waivers after the season, and he was selected by Philadelphia, for whom he had his best year in 2005, going 4-0 with a 2.24 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP in 72.1 innings. He did not repeat his success in 2006, and again became a free agent, signing with Cleveland for 2007. He did a good job for the Indians, going 4-3 with a 2.92 ERA in 37 innings, but was again released after the season. He has since played in the Detroit, Colorado, and Cincinnati organizations, as well as playing in Taiwan. Fultz played a little independent ball in 2009 before retiring in June. At last report, Aaron Fultz was the pitching coach for the Lakewood BlueClaws in the South Atlantic League. Right-handed reliever Patrick J. Neshek was with the Twins from 2006-2010. He was born in Madison, Wisconsin, went to high school in Park Center, Minnesota, and was drafted in the 45th round out of high school by the Twins in 1999. He did not sign, choosing instead to go to Butler University. The Twins kept watching him, and drafted him again in 2002 in the sixth round. He spent roughly a year at each minor league level, and pitched well at all of them, posting a WHIP below 1.00 in each of his first two minor league seasons. He came up to the Twins in July of 2006, and continued to pitch very well, becoming the Twins’ top set-up man. In 2007, he was one of five players who was in the running for the final spot in the all-star game, losing to Hideki Okajima. Neshek then began to battle injuries, undergoing Tommy John surgery, and missed most of 2008 and all of 2009. He came back in 2010, beginning and ending the season in Minnesota but spending most of it in Rochester, where he was decent but no more than that. The Twins waived him in March of 2011 and he was claimed by San Diego. He was up and down a few times in 2011; he’s was again decent but no more in AAA and not very good in the majors. A free agent after the season, he signed with Baltimore for 2012 and pitched very well in AAA but did not get promoted. He was purchased by Oakland in early August and was awesome in 24 appearances, striking out sixteen in 19.2 innings while posting an ERA of 1.37 and a WHIP of 0.81. Unfortunately, he could not sustain it in 2013. He wasn’t awful, but he wasn’t particularly good, either, and was designated for assignment last week. As a Twin, Pat Neshek was 11-6, 3.05, 1.01 WHIP. He appeared in 132 games and pitched 129.2 innings. He turns 33 today. One suspects he will get another chance, but he may be approaching the time when the chances are running out.

Also posted at wgom.org Ced Landrum (1963) Matt Capps (1983) Outfielder Cedric Bernard Landrum did not play for the Twins, but was briefly in their minor league system. He was born in Butler, Alabama, went to high school in Sweet Water, Alabama, attended the University of North Alabama, and signed with the Cubs as a free agent in 1985. Standing a 5’9″ and weighing 165 pounds, he hit for a solid average in the minors, although with little to no power. He was hitting .336 at AAA Iowa in 1991 when he was brought up to the majors in late May. He was strictly a reserve, appearing in 56 games but getting only 86 at-bats. He was back in AAA in 1992 and hit .311, despite being traded to the Milwaukee in mid-season. A free agent after the 1992 season, the Twins signed him on February 23 and sent him to AAA Rochester. He played in four games, batted four times, and went 0-for-4 before being released on April 17. The Mets signed him about a month later, bringing him to the majors in mid-August. He was once again a reserve, getting 19 at-bats in 22 games. He was released after the season and was out of baseball in 1994. He made a comeback in 1995, playing in AAA Colorado Springs in the Rockies’ organization, but hit only .259 and his playing career came to an end. In 105 major league at-bats, he hit .238/.304/.286 with 27 stolen bases. After his playing days ended, he remained in baseball, coaching first with the Expos’ organization and then in the Orioles’ system. He was the batting coach for the Joliet Jackhammers in 2011. At last report, Ced Landrum was an instructor for Lone Star Baseball, an instructional baseball academy in Euless, Texas. Right-handed reliever Matthew Dicus Capps was with the Twins from 2010-2012. Born and raised in Douglasville, Georgia, he was drafted in the seventh round by Pittsburgh in 2002. He was a starter from 2003-2004, doing well in that role in rookie ball in 2003 but poorly at Class A in 2004. He became a full-time reliever in 2005 and advanced rapidly, starting the season in Class A and ending it in the major legaues. He never went back to the minors again, other than on a rehab assignment in 2008. He was a set-up man in 2006, took over as closer at mid-season in 2007, and has been a closer ever since. He has never put up big saves numbers, which seems to be at least partly a function of having played on bad teams most of his career. After one and a half successful years as the Pirates’ closer, he had a bad year in 2009, posting an ERA of 5.80 and a WHIP of 1.66. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Washington. He was having a fine season there when he was traded to Minnesota for Joe Testa and Wilson Ramos. He has set a personal record for saves in 2010 with forty-two, sixteen of them for Minnesota. He began 2011 as a set-up man for Joe Nathan, but became the closer when Nathan appeared not to be fully recovered from surgery. It did not go particularly well, and Capps lost the closer role to Nathan at mid-season. It was later reported that he was pitching with an injury much of 2011. He was injured again for much of 2012, but pitched well when he could pitch. He signed with Cleveland for 2013 but has again been injured nearly the entire season, appearing in only six games in AAA. As a Twin, Matt Capps was 7-11, 3.61, 1.17 WHIP. He appeared in 126 games and pitched 122 innings, saving 45 games. He’s 30 today and hasn’t had a healthy season since 2010. At this point, one has to think the chances of Matt Capps coming back to be a useful pitcher are no better than 50-50.

Also posted at wgom.org Don Williams (1935) Jerry Crider (1941) Danny Goodwin (1953) Terry Jorgensen (1966) ​Right-hander Donald Reid Williams made three appearances for the Twins in 1963. He was born in Los Angeles and was signed as a free agent by the Kansas City Athletics in 1956. He pitched fairly well in Class D, but did not do particularly well after that. He missed all of the 1959 season and was traded to the White Sox in 1960. The White Sox sent him on to the Twins minor-league system in June of 1960 in an unknown transaction. Williams pitched reasonably well in three AAA seasons for the Twins, and spent two weeks with the big-league club in August of 1963, pitching 4.1 innings in three games. He gave up five runs on eight hits and six walks in 4.1 innings, getting no decisions and posting an ERA of 10.38. He was back in the minors in 1964, and pitched two AAA seasons in the Washington organization before calling it a career after the 1966 season. Don Williams passed away on December 20, 1991 in La Jolla, California. Right-hander Jerry Stephen Crider appeared in 21 games for the Twins in 1969. Born and raised in Sioux Falls, SD, he pitched on three state champion American Legion teams, being named player of the year in 1959, and pitched Humboldt, SD to its only state amateur baseball championship in 1961 before being signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1962. He began to hit his stride in the minors in 1964, and after two good years at AAA Denver, he was called up to Minnesota in May of 1969. Crider pitched in 21 games for the Twins, working 28.2 innings with a record of 1-0 and an ERA of 4.71 but a WHIP of 1.61. The next year, he was traded in May to the White Sox for Cotton Nash. Crider spent most of 1970 in Chicago, and did not do that badly, but it was his last year in the big leagues. He pitched a year and a half at AAA for the Padres and another year and a half at AAA for the Giants, and did okay for both organizations, but did not get another chance in the majors. After leaving baseball, Crider moved to Mexico and owned and operated a hunting and fishing business, helping to film programs for Bill Dance, Rowland Martin, and the American Sportsman shows. A member of the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, Jerry Crider passed away on April 4, 2008, after a long battle with emphysema. First baseman Danny Kay Goodwin played for the Twins from 1979-1981. He was born in St. Louis, went to high school in Peoria, and was drafted out of Southern University and A & M College by the California Angels with the first pick of the 1975 draft. He got 10 at-bats with the big club that year, going 1-for-10. Goodwin was drafted as a catcher, but a shoulder injury suffered early in his minor league career left him unable to throw out all but the slowest runners, and resulted in a move to first base. He hit well throughout the Angels minor-league system, hitting 25 home runs for AA El Paso in 1978. After brief trials with California in 1977 and 1978, he was traded after the 1978 season to the Twins with Ron Jackson for Dan Ford. He was a part-time player who was used mostly at DH for the Twins, never compiling more than 160 at-bats in a season. He had a good year in 1979, but hit poorly in 1980 and 1981 and was released after the 1981 season. He spent the next four years playing for AAA Tacoma in the Oakland system, making a brief appearance with the A’s in 1982. Danny Goodwin appeared in 172 games as a Twin, batting .242/.312/.372 with 8 home runs and 55 RBIs in 475 at-bats. Goodwin is the only player to have been twice chosen with the first pick in the draft, having been chosen but not signed by the White Sox in 1971. He is one of three players, along with David Clyde and Joe Mauer, to be chosen with the first pick by their home town team. After he retired, Danny Goodwin was the director of the Atlanta Braves Foundation, developing programs for underprivileged children in Atlanta. At last report, he was the president of First Choice Management Services in the Atlanta area. He is a member of the Greater Peoria (IL) Sports Hall of Fame and the College Baseball Hall of Fame Corner infielder Terry Allen Jorgensen played for the Twins in 1989 and again from 1992-1993. He was born in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, and was drafted by the Twins in the second round out of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1987. He got a September call-up in 1989, getting twenty-three at-bats, but then did not make it back to the big leagues until 1992. Primarily a third baseman in the minors, Jorgensen was decent but unspectacular, batting around .300 in three seasons with AAA Portland with moderate power. After a second brief trial in 1992, he spent about half of 1993 with the Twins, but failed to impress. He became a free agent after that season and signed with the Marlins, playing in their minor-league system for two years. He played for Green Bay in the independent Prairie League in 1996 before his playing career came to an end. Terry Jorgensen played in 91 games as a Twin, batting .240/.292/.292 with 1 home run and 19 RBIs in 233 at-bats. He is a member of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Hall of Fame. His brother, Tim Jorgensen, was also primarily a third baseman and played for four years in the Cleveland and Pittsburgh organizations, getting as high as AA. At last report, Terry Jorgensen was a physical education instructor and high school baseball coach for Luxemburg-Casco, Wisconsin, which appears to be his alma mater.

Also posted at wgom.org Rob Wilfong (1953) David West (1964) Second baseman Robert Daniel Wilfong played for the Twins from 1977-1982. He was born in Pasadena, California, went to high school in Covina, California, and was drafted in the thirteenth round by the Twins in 1971. He had somewhat mixed results in the minors, but after hitting .305 with AAA Tacoma in 1976, he made his big-league debut with the Twins at the start of the 1977 season. He spent most of that season with the Twins, going back to AAA for a month or so, and then was in the big-leagues to stay. Wilfong was almost exclusively a second baseman. For much of his Twins career, he shared the position with Bobby Randall, but as a left-handed batter, Wilfong got the majority of the playing time. His best year was 1979, when he hit .313 and led the league in sacrifice bunts with twenty-five. He remained with the Twins until May of 1982, when he was traded to the Angels along with Doug Corbett for Tom Brunansky, Mike Walters, and $400,000. Wilfong remained with the Angels as a part-time player through 1986. He was released just before the start of the 1987 season, and signed with the Giants. but played only two games for them before retiring. As a Twin, Wilfong played in 554 games, batting .262/.322/.360 with 22 home runs and 152 RBIs. At last report, Rob Wilfong was a scout for the Angels based in San Dimas, California. Left-hander David Lee West played for the Twins from 1989-1992. Born and raised in Memphis, he was drafted by the Mets in the fourth round in 1983. It took him three years to get higher than Class A, but then he took off, having two excellent years in AAA Tidewater in 1987-88, during which he posted a combined ERA of 2.00 in 247 innings. He made his debut with the Mets in 1988, pitching six innings in a September callup. In July of 1989, West was traded to the Twins with Rick Aguilera, Kevin Tapani, Tim Drummond, and Jack Savage for Frank Viola. A highly touted prospect, West was immediately placed in the Twins’ rotation, but he never really panned out for them, and after spending part of 1992 in AAA he was traded to Philadelphia in the off-season for Mike Hartley. He pitched much better in Philadelphia when he was available, but battled injury problems much of his time there, and became a free agent after the 1996 season. He spent 1997 in Japan, playing for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, but was back in 1998, splitting the year in AAA for Houston and Boston and making his major league swan song by pitching two innings for the Red Sox. He pitched in eight games in the minors in 1999, and then his career was over. As a Twin, David West was 15-18 with a 5.33 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP in 63 games, 47 of them starts. At last report, David West had returned to Memphis and was the director of pitching for the Memphis Baseball Academy.

Also posted at wgom.org Mike Hartley (1961) Pat Howell (1968) Tim Raines (1979) Armando Gabino (1983) Pitcher Michael Edward Hartley played for the Twins in 1993. He was born in Hawthorne, California, went to high school in El Cajon, California, attended East Carolina University, and was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals in 1981. He had a good year in rookie ball in 1982, but then spent the next four years at Class A before being drafted by the Dodgers in the minor league draft. They started him at Class A in 1987, but advanced him to AA and then pitched him in two games in AAA that year. Hartley split 1988 between AA and AAA. In 1989, after an excellent year at AAA Albuquerque, he earned a September call-up with the Dodgers, and had a fine year for them in 1990, pitching mostly in relief. The Dodgers traded Hartley to Philadelphia mid-way through the 1991 season, and after a year and a half there, he was traded to the Twins for David West. Hartley was not awful as a long reliever for the Twins in 1993, pitching in 53 games, all in relief, and going 1-2 with an ERA of 4.00 and a WHIP of 1.51 in 81 innings. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed with the Angels, but was sold to the Chiba Lotte Marines three days later. After pitching in Japan in 1994, Hartley returned to the United States and signed with the Red Sox organization, spending most of 1995 in the minors but making five appearances with Boston and three with Baltimore, who signed him after he was released by the Red Sox. He played independent ball in 1997, and later got into coaching. He was the pitching coach for the Reno Silver Sox from 2005-2007, making one appearance for them in 2005. From 2008-2009 Mike Hartley was a coach and part-time pitcher for a German professional team, the Heidenheim Heidekopfe, becoming the first former big-leaguer to play in Germany. He returned to Europe in 2012 as manager of Grosseto in the Italian Baseball League, and was still there at last report. Outfielder Patrick O’Neal Howell did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 1991 and in their minor league system in 1993. He was born in Mobile, Alabama, attended high school in Prichard, Alabama, and was drafted by the Mets in the ninth round in 1987. A speedy outfielder with no power, he advanced slowly up the Mets’ system, playing in rookie ball for two years and Class A for two more. His best season at that point had been in Class A in 1989, when he hit .290 (with a .346 slugging percentage). The Twins thought they saw something in him, though, and took him in the Rule 5 draft after the 1990 season. The Twins clearly wanted to keep him, but simply could not justify leaving him on the major league roster, and on April 5 returned him to the Mets. He reached AA that season and AAA in 1992, and while he neither hit nor walked much he stole a lot of bases, including 64 of them in 1991. The Mets even called him up for about two months in 1992 and used him as a reserve outfielder. He did about what you’d expect from his minor league record: .187/.218/.200 in 75 at-bats. The Twins still liked him, though, and after the 1992 season they traded Darren Reed for him. They sent him to AAA Portland, and while he stole 36 bases he hit .209 with an OPS of .505, which was enough to finally convince the Twins that there was nothing there. He went back to the Mets for 1994, played in Mexico from 1995-1997, to Taiwan in 1998, and then played in independent leagues for eight seasons before finally ending his playing career after the 2004 season. At last report, Pat Howell had returned to the Mobile area and was working with baseball clinics there. The son of the all-star, outfielder Timothy Raines Jr. was in spring training with the Twins for a couple of weeks in 2006. He was born in Memphis, went to high school in Sanford, Florida, and was drafted by Baltimore in the sixth round in 1998. His minor league record is rather unimpressive, but after hitting .274 for three minor league teams in 2001 he got a September call-up and appeared in seven games. In 2003, still only twenty-three years old, he hit .304 in a season split between AA and AAA and was called up to the Orioles in late August, playing in twenty more games. He had three stints in the majors in 2004, totalling roughly half the season, hitting .255 in 94 at-bats. He had a down year in 2005 in AAA Ottawa, hitting .254, and became a free agent after the season. He signed with the Twins as a free agent on January 31, 2006, but was released on March 2. He bounced around after that, going to the Washington organization in 2006, Houston in 2007, Arizona in 2008, and Kansas City in 2009, spending time both in AA and AAA but never making it back to the majors. He also played briefly in Taiwan. He played in the Atlantic League in 2010 and moved to Newark of the Can-Am League for 2011, where he was managed by his father. Tim Raines, Jr. was a coach for Newark in 2012, with his father becoming director of player development, but neither appears to be with the team in 2013. No further information about Tim Raines, Jr. was readily available. Right-hander Armando Leisdeker (Garcia) Gabino made two appearances for the Twins in 2009. He was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and signed with Cleveland as a free agent in 2001. He may have spent a couple of years in the Dominican Summer League or something, because his official minor league statistics do not begin until 2004, when he pitched five games in the Appalachian League. He came to the Twins organization the following year in the minor league draft. He had a poor 2005, but has pitched well in the minors since, posting a 2.94 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in AAA Rochester in 2009. He has been predominantly a relief pitcher in the minors, making only 13 starts in 176 minor-league appearances. He made one start and one relief appearance for the Twins, pitching 3.2 innings and allowing seven runs on nine hits and five walks. The Twins placed Gabino on waivers after the season and he was claimed by Baltimore. He has spent most of the 2010 season at AAA Norfolk but made five appearances for the Orioles, again allowing seven runs on nine hits, but this time in 4.2 innings. He has had a fine year for Norfolk, however, posting a 2.09 ERA in 77.1 innings. He continued to pitch well in the minors for the Orioles in 2011, but did not gotten a shot back in the majors. He was a free agent after the season, but no major league team signed him. He did not give up, though, pitching in the Mexican League in 2012 and in the Atlantic League in 2013. He turns 30 today and it seems unlikely that he will get another shot, but teams are always desperate for pitching, so as we always say, you never know.

Also posted at wgom.org Roger Erickson (1986) Luis Rivas (1979) Right-hander Roger Farrell Erickson played for Minnesota from 1978-1982. He was born in Springfield, Illinois, and was drafted by the Twins out of the University of New Orleans in the third round in 1977. He had an excellent year in AA Orlando, going 8-4 with a 1.98 ERA, and found himself in Minnesota at the start of the 1978 season. He went 14-13 that year with a 3.96 ERA in 256 innings, but could not replicate his success the following year, falling to 3-10 with a 5.63 ERA. The next two years he had good ERAs but poor won-loss records, and in May of 1982 he was traded to the Yankees with Butch Wynegar for Pete Filson, John Pacella, Larry Milbourne, and cash. Erickson was decent for the Yankees, posting ERAs in the mid-fours, but was sent to Columbus for part of the 1983 season and traded in the off-season with Steve Balboni to Kansas City for Duane Dewey and Mike Armstrong. He spent time in the Detroit and St. Louis organizations, but never did make it back to the big leagues, and retired following the 1989 season. Erickson is the nephew of former major league pitcher Don Erickson. As a Twin, Erickson appeared in 114 games, 106 of them starts. He was 31-47 with a 4.10 ERA in 712 innings. He was a pitching coach in the Cardinals organization for a couple of years in the early 1990s. At last report, Roger Erickson was working at a winery in Georgia. His nephew, Casey Erickson, is an assistant baseball coach at Benedictine University in Springfield. Infielder Luis Wilfredo Rivas played for the Twins from 2000-2005. Born and raised in LaGuaira. Venezuela, he signed with the Twins as a free agent at age 16. He came through the minors one level at a time, never hitting a lot until 2000, when he batted .318 at AAA Salt Lake in 41 games. That earned him a September call-up, and in 2001 Rivas became the Twins’ regular second baseman. He consistently posted batting averages in the .250s and .260s, not drawing a lot of walks and not hitting for much power. The Twins kept waiting for him to improve, but it did not happen, and in 2005 Rivas was sent to AAA Rochester for part of the season and was released after the season. He spent 2006 in the Tampa Bay organization, was with the Cleveland organization in 2007, appearing in four major-league games, was with Pittsburgh in 2008, and was with AAA Iowa in the Cubs organization in 2009. He became a free agent after the 2009 season, and does not appear to have signed with anyone, ending his major league career. Luis Rivas played 565 games as a Twin, batting .262/.307/.383 with 30 home runs and 177 RBIs in 1884 at-bats. He apparently was shot in the leg during a robbery while he was visiting his family in Venezuela. No information about what Luis Rivas is doing these days was readily available.

Also posted at wgom.org Bill Latham (1960) Henry Blanco (1971) Steve Lomasney (1977) Left-hander William Carol Latham played for the Twins in 1986. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, he was signed out of Auburn University as a free agent by the Mets in 1981. He did well in the minors, winning 13 games in both 1984 and 1985 with an ERA under 3.00 both years, mostly at AAA Tidewater. Latham started 1985 with the Mets and did not do badly, posting an ERA of 3.97 and a WHIP of 1.24 in 22.2 innings, starting three games and relieving four. In the off-season, the Mets traded him along with Billy Beane and Joe Klink to the Twins for Pat Crosby and Tim Teufel. Latham pitched well in AAA Toledo, and appeared in seven games for the Twins in 1986, two of them starts, going 0-1 with a 7.31 ERA in 16 innings. He started poorly in 1987 with AAA Portland and was traded back to the Mets in May for Jayson Felice. He spent the rest of 1987 and all of 1988 in the Mets’ minor-league organization, and then his playing career came to an end. At last report, Bill Latham was a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers after having done that job for several years for the Red Sox. Catcher Henry Ramon Blanco played for the Twins in 2004. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela, went to high school in Miranda, Venezuela, and was signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 1989. He did not hit much in the minors, but slowly moved up, making his AAA debut in 1995. A .313 average at AAA Albuquerque in 1997 earned him a cup of coffee with the Dodgers, but he was back in Albuquerque for all of 1998. Blanco became a minor-league free agent after that season, and was signed by the Rockies. His first full year in the majors came in 1999 for Colorado, but it was his only season there, as he was traded to the Brewers as part of a three-team deal that also included future Twin Jeff Cirillo. Blanco spent two seasons as a part-time player in Milwaukee, and then was traded to Atlanta in spring training of 2002. After two years in Atlanta, he became a free agent. Minnesota signed him during the 2003-04 off-season to back up Joe Mauer, but when Mauer was hurt, Blanco became the regular, playing 114 games, the most he has ever played in a season. He had never hit well in the majors and did not do so in Minnesota, batting .206/.260/.368 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs, but he gave the Twins good defense behind the plate. The Twins let him go after that season, and Blanco moved on to the Cubs, where he spent four years as a part-time catcher. Let go by the Cubs after 2008, he signed with the Padres for 2009, moved on to the Mets for 2010, was with Arizona in 2011-2012, signed with Toronto for 2013, was released in mid-June, and signed with Seattle three days later. Henry Blanco has thrown out 43 percent of opposing base stealers for his career, throwing out 58 percent in 2000 and twice leading the league in that category. Needless to say, the Twins still miss him. Catcher Steven James Lomasney did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for about four months in 2006. He was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, went to high school in Peabody, Massachusetts, and was drafted by Boston in the fifth round in 1995. He was not too bad in the low minors, hitting 20 homers or more in consecutive seasons in 1998-1999. In 1999, after hitting .259 with twenty home runs in a season split between Class A and AA, Lomasney got a September call-up. He made his major league debut in the last game of the season, replacing Jason Varitek in the fifth inning. He went 0-for-2, striking out against B. J. Ryan and Brian Falkenborg. Unfortunately, that was Lomasney’s major league swan song as well, as he never got back to the major leagues. He struggled when he got to AAA, posting a batting average of .220 and an OPS of .590 with seven home runs in 631 career AAA at-bats. He suffered a serious eye injury near the end of 2001 when he was struck by a batted ball and his eyesight never fully recovered, which partly explains his struggles in the high minors. He became a free agent after the 2002 season and signed with Baltimore for 2003. After one year in their farm system, he moved on to the Cincinnati chain for 2004-2005. He signed with Minnesota for 2006, spending most of the season at New Britain with ten at-bats in Rochester. The Twins released him in August 3, bringing his playing career to an end. At last report, Steve Lomasney was running The Show, a baseball academy in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He is also the coach of an under-fifteen baseball team which won the New England championship in 2010 and finished second in the national AAU championship for under-sixteen (there was no under-fifteen division).

Also posted at wgom.org Brendan Harris (1980) Eric Fryer (1985) Darin Mastroianni (1987) Infielder Brendan Michael Harris was with the Twins from 2008-2010. Born and raised in Queensbury, New York, he was drafted out of the College of William and Mary by the Cubs in the fifth round of the 2001 draft. He hit well throughout the minors, usually averaging over .300 with double-digit home runs, and played mostly second base and third base. He made his major-league debut with the Cubs in 2004, playing in three games for them before being sent to Montreal in the four-team trade that involved Doug Mientkiewicz going to Boston. Harris spent most of 2005 and 2006 in the minors, making brief appearances in both years with Washington before being traded to Cincinnati in August of 2006 in a multi-player deal that involved Austin Kearns and Ryan Wagner. The following off-season, Harris was traded to Tampa Bay in what baseball-reference.com describes as “a conditional deal”. The conditions must have been met, because Harris was with the Devil Rays all year, his first full season in the majors. After one season with Tampa Bay, he was traded to the Twins in the deal that sent Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Eduardo Morlan to Tampa Bay for Harris, Delmon Young, and Jason Pridie. Harris was a semi-regular utility infielder for the Twins from 2008-2009, seeing time at second, short, and third. He seemed likely to see most of his time at third base in 2010 but got off to a horrible start, batting just .157 in 108 at-bats before being sent to Rochester in mid-June. Things did not go well in Rochester, either, as he hit just .233. After the season, he was traded to Baltimore with J. J. Hardy and cash for Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey. He did no better in AAA for the Orioles, hitting .225. A free agent after the season, he signed with Colorado and has had a good year for AAA Colorado Springs, hitting .317. A free agent again after the season, he signed with the Angels and somewhat surprisingly made the team out of spring training. He didn’t do much for them, though, and was released in late July. He signed with the Yankees three days later and was sent to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Harris turns thirty-three today. One suspects that he is just about out of chances, but as we often say, you never know. Catcher Eric Joseph Fryer, has not played with the Twins, but has been in their minor league system in 2013. He was born in Columbus, Ohio, went to high school in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, attended an Ohio State University, and was drafted by Milwaukee in the tenth round in 2007. He didn’t do much in rookie ball that season, but hit .335 in the Sally League in 2008. He was traded to the Yankees that off-season, and in the middle of 2009 was traded to Pittsburgh in a deal involving Eric Hinske. He had a solid year in the Florida State League in 2010, although he was twenty-four by then. He did really well in the Eastern League in 2011 and got called up to the majors for about six weeks in the middle of the season. He had a poor year in AAA in 2012, but still got a couple more weeks in the majors as a backup catcher. A free agent after the season, he signed with Minnesota and has spent 2013 in Rochester, where he hasn’t done much. He draws a lot of walks, but that’s really been his only offensive contribution since his 2011 season. At this writing, he has an OBP of .344 for the Red Wings, but is batting only .217. His major league numbers are .267/.353/.267 in 30 at-bats. He turns 28 today, so he probably is what he is. One assumes he’ll never hit, but it’s possible that he’ll get some more chances somewhere as a backup. Outfielder Darin Paul Mastroianni has been in the Twins organization in 2012. He was born in Mount Kisco, New York, went to high school in Bedford, New York, attended the University of Southern Indiana, and was drafted by Toronto in the sixteenth round in 2007. His numbers in the low minors were decent, but not outstanding. He stole a lot of bases, though–seventy of them in 2009 in a season split between A and AA. He had a very good year in AA in 2010, hitting .301 with an OBP of .390 and 46 steals, and it looked like he was poised to make a move. He was disappointing in a 2011 split between AA and AAA (plus one game for the Blue Jays, going 0-for-2), however, and the Blue Jays gave up on him, putting him on waivers. The Twins claimed him in February of 2012. He started the season in the minors, but after hitting .346 twenty games in Rochester he came up to the big leagues. He’s been a reserve outfielder for the Twins, and has done about as well as he could reasonably be expected to do. Following the trades of Denard Span and Ben Revere he was in the mix for the Twins’ center field job in 2013, but was injured in spring training and missed half the season. When he came back, he was optioned to Rochester, He turns twenty-eight today and will never be a regular player for very long. What we said last year still applies. He will probably always be one slump away from being sent out, but he’s fast, plays good defense, and isn’t an automatic out at the plate. He just may be able to carve out a decent major league career as a reserve outfielder.

Also posted at wgom.org Kevin Correia (1980) Right-hander Kevin John Correia came to the Twins prior to the 2013 season. He was born in San Diego, went to high school in La Mesa, California, attended Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, and was drafted by San Francisco in the fourth round in 2002. He had an indifferent time in low class A that season, but started 2003 in AA, was promoted to AAA, and reached the majors by mid-August. He did well there, too, going 3-1, 3.66 in 39.1 innings. He split 2004 between AAA and the majors, not doing particularly well in either place. 2005 was similar. In 2006, however, he was shifted to the bullpen and spent the whole year in San Francisco, going 2-0, 3.49, 1.23 WHIP in 69.2 innings. He continued to do well as a reliever in 2007. 2008, however, was pretty much a disaster for him, and he became a free agent after the season. He signed with San Diego and spent two years with them, doing all right in 2009 but not so well in 2010. A free agent again, he signed with Pittsburgh and spent two years there as well. He made the all-star team in 2011, but was not particularly good (although not awful, either) in both years. His career numbers at that point were 60-65, 4.54, 1.41 WHIP. Once again a free agent, he signed with Minnesota for 2013. He got off to a hot start, but for the season has pitched pretty much as he had his whole career–at this writing he has an ERA of 4.61 and a WHIP of 1.44. He turns 33 today. At this point, one has to think he is what he is, and the only question about him is whether he’ll age quickly or slowly.

Also posted at wgom.org Marty Martinez (1941) Jerry White (1952) Randy St. Claire (1960) Casey Blake (1972) This is also the birthday of the late Carl Pohlad (1915). Infielder Orlando (Oliva) “Marty” Martinez played in 37 games for the Twins in 1962. He was born in Havana, Cuba and was signed by Washington as a free agent in 1960. An infielder, he made his major league debut in 1962 with the Twins as a bench player, appearing in 37 games but getting only 24 plate appearances, batting .167/.286/.278. Sent back to the minors, Martinez did not start to hit until 1966, when he hit .313 as a 24-year-0ld at AAA Denver. That was good enough to get him noticed, and the Atlanta Braves selected him at the end of the season in the Rule 5 draft. Martinez spent the next six years in the big leagues, mostly as a reserve. His only year as a semi-regular was in 1968, when he got 356 at-bats with the Braves and hit .230. Traded to Houston that off-season for Bob Aspromonte, Martinez had his best year in 1969, batting .308 in 198 at-bats. It did not translate into any more playing time, however, and after two less-productive seasons he was traded to St. Louis. Martinez played for three teams in 1972, St. Louis, Oakland, and Texas, totalling only 88 at-bats. Martinez then turned to coaching and managing, first as a player-coach, then taking a full-time job on the bench. He managed in the Texas and Seattle organizations in the minor leagues, coached for Seattle at the major-league level, and was interim manager for Seattle for one game in 1986. Marty Martinez passed away on March 8, 2007. Outfielder Jerome Cardell White did not play for the Twins, but coached for them for several years. He was born in Shirley, Massachusetts, went to high school in San Francisco, and was drafted by Montreal in the fourteenth round in 1970. He quietly progressed about a level a season, never particularly standing out but never having a really bad year, either. He got a September call-up in 1974 and started 1975 in Montreal as a rarely-used reserve; through May 20 he had played in fifteen games and gotten six at-bats. The Expos finally decided that wasn’t particularly useful so they sent him back to AAA Memphis, where he hit .297 with ten homers at AAA Memphis. He was again called up in September, was given a chance to play, and went on to hit over .300 the rest of the year. He got his first full major league season in 1976, but could not take advantage of it, hitting only .245 as a part-time player. White was back in AAA in 1977, getting just a September call-up. He started 1978 in Montreal, but it was a rerun of 1975; through May 20, he played in eighteen games and had ten at-bats. He was sent down and then traded to the Cubs in late June. He stayed in the majors the rest of that season, but then the Cubs sent him back to the Expos. He finally stuck with Montreal in 1979, staying through 1983. Used as a reserve outfielder and pinch-hitter, he only once got as many as 200 at-bats and his averages varied quite a bit. He became a free agent after the 1983 season and went to Japan for a couple of years, coming back to the United States with St. Louis in 1986. That was his swan song; he batted twenty-four times, getting three hits, and was released in mid-June, ending his playing career. He joined the Twins’ organization in 1987 as a roving outfield and baserunning coach. He was with the Twins from 1987-2012 other than 1997, when he was the first base and baserunning coach for Detroit. He was the Twins’ first base coach in 2012, but was let go after the season. No information about what Jerry White is doing this season was readily available. Pitcher Randy Anthony St. Claire was with the Twins in 1989. He was born in Glens Falls, New York, and was signed by the Montreal Expos as a free agent in 1978. He stuggled in his first few years in the minors, but got things going in 1983, and earned a September callup to Montreal in 1994. St. Claire bounced back and forth between AAA and Montreal until 1988, when he was traded to Cincinnati in a deal that also included ex-Twin Jeff Reed. Released by the Reds at the end of spring training 1989, the Twins quickly signed him. He again split the season between AAA and the majors, pitching well in Portland, but not so well in Minnesota. St. Claire spent all of 1990 at AAA with Texas and Houston, 1991-92 bouncing between AAA and Atlanta, 1993 in AAA with Atlanta, Seattle, and Toronto, most of 1994 at AAA with a two-game cup of coffee with Toronto, and 1995 at AAA with Pittsburgh. In all that bouncing around, he always pitched well in AAA (3.38 ERA), and not all that badly in the majors, really (4.14 ERA, 1.37 WHIP). St. Claire never spent a full season in the big leagues, but he was there in parts of nine seasons. As a Twin, he was 1-0 with a 5.24 ERA in 22.1 innings. Randy St. Claire also got into coaching at the end of his playing days, and was the pitching coach for the Montreal/Washington franchise for 6 1/2 years until he was fired in June of 2009. He was the pitching coach for the Miami Marlins from 2010-2012. Randy St. Claire is currently the pitching coach for the Las Vegas 51s in the Mets organization. Third baseman William Casey Blake played for the Twins from 2000-2002. He was born in Des Moines, went to high school in Indianola, Iowa, went to Wichita State, and was drafted in the seventh round by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1996. He struggled his first two years in the minors, then had a big year in 1998 hitting a combined .357 with 18 homers and 103 RBI, although as a 24-year-old at advanced A and AA. Promoted to AAA in 1999, Blake hit only .245, although with 22 home runs. He played 14 games with Toronto that year, but was back in AAA at the start of 2000, and batting only .217 there, when he was taken off waivers by the Twins in June. The move seemed to help him, as he hit .317 with AAA Salt Lake and made a brief appearance in Minnesota. 2001 was similar, with Blake hitting well in Edmonton and appearing briefly with the Twins. Blake was put on waivers in September of that year, and selected by Baltimore, He played for the Orioles the rest of the season, but was again waived in October and the Twins took him back. Blake again played mostly for Edmonton, with a brief appearance in Minnesota, in 2002. As a Twin, he hit .241/.338/.310 in 58 at-bats. Released by the Twins after that season, he signed with Cleveland, where he became the regular third baseman at the age of 29 and stayed there for all but one of the next 5 1/2 seasons (he played right field one year). In July of 2008, Blake was traded to the Dodgers. He played well for them through 2009, but struggled in 2010 and became a part-time player in 2011. He signed with the Rockies for 2012 but was released in late March, could not find another playing job, and announced his retirement in early May. Casey Blake was never a star, but he was a solid major league regular for several years. Blake lives in both Indianola and Los Angeles. He owns Casey Blake Baseball Camps of Indianola.

Also posted at wgom.org Paul Molitor (1956) Darrin Jackson (1962) Gary Scott (1968) Hall of Famer Paul Leo Molitor played for the Twins from 1996-1998. Born and raised in St. Paul, he attended the University of Minnesota and was chosen by Milwaukee with the third pick of the 1977 draft. He spent only one year in the minors, hitting .346 with Class A Burlington, before jumping to the big leagues. He was a fixture in the Brewers lineup for the next fifteen years, playing regularly at second base, center field, third base, and designated hitter, as well as playing a little shortstop. He made the all-star team five times in Milwaukee, received MVP consideration five times, finishing as high as fifth in 1987, and twice won the Silver Slugger award. After the 1992 season, Molitor became a free agent and went to Toronto, where he helped the Blue Jays win a world championship in 1993 and finished second in the MVP balloting to Frank Thomas. He made the all-star team in 1993 and 1994, but his average dropped to .270 in 1995, so the Blue Jays allowed him to again go the free-agent route. This time he came to Minnesota, and showed that his bat had plenty of life left. In his first year with the Twins, a year in which he turned forty, Molitor batted .341, led the league in hits, had 113 RBIs, won his fourth Silver Slugger award, and finished thirteenth in the MVP balloting. He played with the Twins for two more seasons before retiring at age 42. As a Twin, Paul Molitor hit .312/.362/.432 in exactly 1700 at-bats, driving in 271 runs. For his career, he batted .306 and had 3,319 hits. He was elected to the major league baseball Hall of Fame in 2004. He is currently the Twins’ baserunning coordinator Outfielder Darrin Jay Jackson played in 49 games for the Twins in 1997. He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in Culver City, California, and was drafted by the Cubs in the second round in 1981. He was fairly nondescript in the minors, with his best year prior to his major league debut coming in 1984, when he hit .270 with 15 homers at AA Midland. He got a brief cup of coffee with the Cubs in 1985, but then started to pick up the pace a little, and after a solid season with AAA Iowa in 1987 (.274, 23 homers), he spent all of 1988 with Chicago, getting 188 at-bats as a bench player. In August of 1989, he was sent to the Padres in a multi-player deal, and saw his playing time gradually increase, becoming a semi-regular in 1991 and a full-time regular in 1992, the only season in which he got more than 403 at-bats. He was decent that year, but that’s all, .249 with 17 homers and 70 RBIs. Jackson was traded to Toronto at the end of 1993 spring training, and in June the Blue Jays sent him to the Mets for Tony Fernandez. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed with the White Sox, where he had easily his best season in 1994, batting .312 as a semi-regular. Jackson played for the Seibu Lions in 1995-96, but returned to the United States in 1997, when the Twins signed him as a free agent. He played in 49 games for the Twins, batting .254/.272/.354 with 3 homers and 21 RBIs, before the Twins traded him to Milwaukee in August for the immortal Mick Fieldbinder. He stayed with the Brewers in 1998 before rounding out his career back with the White Sox, batting decently (.275) in a reserve role in 1999. His numbers are not particularly impressive, but he spent parts of 12 years in a big-league uniform, and a guy could do a lot worse. Darrin Jackson is currently a broadcaster for the White Sox radio network. Third baseman Gary Thomas Scott did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for a short time. He was born in New Rochelle, New York, went to high school in Pelham, New York, and then attended Villanova. Scott was drafted by the Cubs in the second round in 1989. He had a couple of solid years in A and AA, and after a tremendous spring training in 1991, he was installed with much fanfare as the regular third baseman with the big club. Unfortunately, he was not up to the task, and was sent back to the minors after hitting only .165 in 31 games. He did poorly in the minors that year, too, hitting only .208 at AAA Iowa. He came back some in 1992, but when promoted to the Cubs late in the season he was awful again, batting .156 in 36 games. The Cubs gave up on Scott and traded him to Florida at the end of the season. He never played for Florida, however, as the Marlins traded him to Cincinnati for Hector Carrasco just prior to the 1994 season. The Reds sent him to AAA Indianapolis, and at the end of June traded him to the Twins for Tom Houk and Alan Newman. He hit .291 at AAA Portland, but it did not convince the Twins of anything, and they let him go after the season. Scott then played at AAA for the Giants, Braves, and Padres with mixed results, but never got another chance in the majors. Overall, he played in 67 big league games and had a batting line of .160/.250/.240, with 3 home runs and 16 RBIs. At last report, Gary Scott was an oil broker for Brueggemann & Co. in Rowayton, Connecticut.

Also posted at wgom.org Frank Pastore (1957) Mike Misuraca (1968) Jason Marquis (1978) Right-hander Frank Enrico Pastore pitched for the Twins in 1986. He was born in Alhambra, California, went to high school in La Verne, California, and was drafted in the second round by Cincinnati in 1975, Pastore pitched well at every stop along the way in the minors, and made the Reds at the beginning of 1979. He pitched mostly out of the bullpen that year, but became a solid member of the rotation in 1980. That was his best year: he went 13-7 with an ERA of 3.27 in 27 starts. He pitched well in 1981 and 1982, but started to slip after that, and also apparently started to have injury problems. He was primarily a reliever in 1985, became a free agent, and signed with the Twins in April of 1986. The Twins ran through a lot of relief pitchers that year, and Pastore was actually one of the better ones they had: in 33 games, he was 3-1 with a 4.01 ERA and 2 saves, but walked 24 in 49.1 innings and had a WHIP of 1.58. He again became a free agent after the season, and signed with the Texas Rangers, but pitched poorly for AAA Oklahoma City and his career was over. After baseball, Frank Pastore went back to school, and now holds degrees in business administration, philosophy of religion and ethics, political philosophy, and American government. He became the host of a radio program, The Frank Pastore Show, which was described by wikipedia as the largest Christian talk show in the United States. Sadly, Frank Pastore passed away December 17, 2012 as a result of injuries following a motorcycle accident. Right-hander Michael William Misuraca did not play for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for over seven years. He was born in Long Beach, California and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1988. A starter for most of his career, he pitched fairly well in the low minors, but never well enough to attract anyone’s attention. He reached Class A in 1989, but did not advance past there until 1993, when he finally got to AA Nashville. He reached AAA in 1994, but did not pitch well in Salt Lake, posting ERAs over five each season there. He was sent to Milwaukee in a conditional deal in June of 1996 and sent to AAA New Orleans. He did not pitch any better in AAA for the Brewers, but was brought up to the majors for about three weeks in 1997. It did not go well: in five appearances (10.1 innings), he put up an ERA of 11.32 and a WHIP of 2.13, allowing five home runs. His playing career came to an end after that season. He may not have been in the big leagues for long, but as an undrafted free agent, he beat the odds to get there at all. He has stayed in baseball, and at last report was the supervisor of scouting in the greater Los Angeles area for the Cincinnati Reds. Right-hander Jason Scott Marquis made seven starts for the Twins at the beginning of 2012. He was born in Manhasset, New York, went to high school in Staten Island, and was drafted by Atlanta in the first round in 1996. He advanced slowly, mostly because he really didn’t pitch all that well. he had a good year in AA in 2000, though, and ended up spending nearly half the season in the majors. 2001 was his first full year in the majors and was one of his best years there. He started in the bullpen, but made the rotation by mid-June and ended up posting a 3.48 ERA. He came nowhere near those numbers in 2002 and was back in the minors for about half of 2003. That off-season he was traded to St. Louis. He had a fine year for the Cardinals in 2004, going 15-7, 3.71, though with a WHIP of 1.42. He was still pretty good in 2005 but had a terrible 2006, leading the league in earned runs allowed and home runs allowed. He was a free agent after the season and signed with the Cubs. He was adequate for the Cubs for two seasons, then was traded to Colorado before the 2009 season. Given that he was pitching in Coors Field, he actually had a pretty good year for the Rockies, but became a free agent again and signed with Washington. He was on the disabled list much of 2010 and was pretty awful when he did pitch, but he bounced back in 2011 and was having a decent season when he was traded to Arizona at the deadline. He again was injured and was awful in the three starts he did make for the Diamondbacks. A free agent again, he signed with Minnesota for 2012. It was hoped he would bring a veteran presence to the rotation, but his time with the Twins was a disaster: 2-4, 8.47, 1.94 WHIP in 34 innings. He was released in late May and signed with San Diego the next day. He was actually fairly good with the Padres the rest of the season, and has been adequate in 2013 as well, although he’s issuing a lot of walks. He turns 35 today, and as you can see, his career has been rather up-and-down. At his age, it’s possible that the next “down” may finish his career, but as a veteran with some history of success, it’s also possible that some other team will take a chance on him.

Also posted at wgom.org Graig Nettles (1944) Bobby Cuellar (1952) Tom Brunansky (1960) Third baseman Graig Nettles played for the Twins in parts of seasons from 1967-1969. Born and raised in San Diego, he was drafted by the Twins out of San Diego State in the fourth round in 1965. He showed instant power, hitting 69 home runs in three minor league seasons. He made his debut with Minnesota as a September callup in 1967 and reached the big leagues for good in 1969, his first full season, when he was a part-time player with the Twins. Nettles played more outfield than third base as a Twin, which seems surprising until one remembers that Harmon Killebrew was the Twins’ third baseman at the time. Nettles did not do a lot in 1969, and the Twins were trying to win now, so they traded him, along with Dean Chance, Bob Miller, and Ted Uhlaender, to Cleveland for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams. Tiant and Williams helped the Twins win the division in 1970, but after that the trade does not look so good for Minnesota. On the other hand, how does it look for Cleveland? After Nettles put up three solid seasons for the Indians, hitting a total of 71 homers and getting a tenth-place vote for MVP in 1971, Cleveland traded him to the Yankees with Jerry Moses for John Ellis, Jerry Kenney, Charlie Spikes, and Rusty Torres. New York, of course, is where Nettles became a star. He hit over 20 homers in each of his first seven seasons for the Yankees, twice hitting over 30; drove in over 90 runs four times, made the all-star team five times, and won a pair of Gold Gloves. At the end of 1984, the Yankees traded Nettles to San Diego, a trade many said was prompted by the release of a book Nettles wrote in which he was critical of George Steinbrenner. In San Diego, he became the starting third baseman for the Padres’ World Series team. He made the all-star team the next year, at age 40, but it was his last productive season. After the 1986 season, the Padres let Nettles go, and he spent 1987 with Atlanta and 1988 with Montreal, mostly as a pinch-hitter. As a Twin, Graig Nettles hit .224/.314/.401 with 12 homers and 34 RBIs in 304 at-bats. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007, but had surgery and at last report was cancer-free. Nettles is a spring training instructor for the Yankees. At last report, he was living in Lenoir City, Tennessee, just outside Knoxville, but also traveled frequently. Robert Cuellar never pitched for the Twins, but has been a minor league pitching coach and manager for them for several years. He was born in Alice, Texas, and was drafted out of the University of Texas by the Rangers in the 29th round in 1974. Cuellar pitched well in relief for eight years in the minors, five of them at AAA. He posted a minor-league ERA of 3.06 during this time, with a AAA ERA of 3.20, but never really got a chance in the majors. Cuellar’s only time in the big leagues was as a September call-up in 1977; he gave up only one run and four hits in 6.2 innings spread over four games, for an ERA of 1.35. He left the Rangers organization after the 1978 season, playing three years for the Cleveland organization and one year in the Mexican League. After his playing career ended in 1982, he turned to coaching. He has been a minor league coach, minor league manager, and major league coach, including serving as the pitching coach for Seattle and Montreal and as the bullpen coach for Pittsburgh. For the Twins, Cuellar was the pitching coach for the Rochester Red Wings from 2003-2005, managed the New Britain Rock Cats in 2008, and returned to the Red Wings as their pitching coach in 2009-2012. Among the minor leaguers Cuellar has coached are Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana, both of whom credit Cuellar for teaching them the changeup. Bobby Cuellar became the bullpen coach of the Minnesota Twins in 2013. The brother-in-law of Dave Engle, outfielder Thomas Andrew Brunansky played for the Twins from 1982 through the first part of 1988. He was born in Covina, California, went to high school in West Covina, California, attended Cal Poly–Pomona, and was drafted by the California Angels with the 14th pick of the 1978 draft. He hit well in his four minor league seasons, average more than 20 homers and hitting over .300. He made the Angels out of spring training in 1981, but hit .152 over 41 at-bats and was returned to the minors. He started 1982 in the minors, but in May was traded with Mike Walters to the Twins for Doug Corbett and Rob Wilfong. The Twins immediately installed him in their outfield, and Brunansky had what was arguably his best season, batting .272 with 20 homers. He never hit for as high an average again, but his power numbers increased, as he hit over 20 homers each year through 1989. After winning the World Series in 1987, the Twins got off to a slow start in 1988, and Brunansky was traded to St. Louis for Tom Herr in what even Andy McPhail would later admit was a panic move. Brunansky continued to be a solid player, but his low-average slugging did not really fit with the Cardinals running style, and after a poor start in 1990 he was traded to Boston for Lee Smith. He was a productive player for the Red Sox through 1992, went to Milwaukee as a free agent in 1993, and returned to the Red Sox in June of 1994 to finish his career. As a Twin, Tom Brunansky batted .250/.330/.452 with 163 homers and 469 RBIs in what works out to be about six full seasons, and holds the distinction of being the only Twin to hit an inside-the-park grand slam. Brunansky is coached high school baseball in Poway, California. He became the batting coach for the GCL Twins in late June of 2010, was the batting coach for the New Britain Rock Cats in 2011, was the batting coach for the Rochester Red Wings in 2012, and became the batting coach for the Minnesota Twins in 2013.

Also posted at wgom.org Fred Lasher (1941) Luis Gomez (1951) Gary Gaetti (1958) J. J. Hardy (1982) Right-handed reliever Frederick Walter Lasher appeared in eleven games for the Twins in 1963. He was born in Poughkeepsie, New York and was signed by Washington as a free agent in 1960. A submariner, he had problems with wildness in his first couple of years in the minors, but gradually improved, although he never had what you would call pinpoint control. Lasher made the Twins out of spring training in 1963, jumping all the way from Bismarck-Mandan in the Class C Northern League. He was used as a relief pitcher, which had been his primary role in the minors as well, but his wildness returned–Lasher walked 11 in 11.1 innings with the Twins. Sent back to the minors, he did well in 1965 and 1966, but as a 23-24-year-old in Class A. After the 1966 season, he was selected by Detroit in the minor-league draft. The Tigers must have helped Lasher figure something out, because his control improved and he became an effective reliever for the Tigers from 1967-69. His control vanished again in 1970, however, and this time it was gone for good. The Tigers traded him to Cleveland midway through the 1970 season, and California selected him in the Rule 5 draft, but by 1971 he was finished. As a Twin, he had no record and a 4.76 ERA, but for his career he was 11-13 with 22 saves and an ERA of 3.88. After leaving baseball, Lasher operated a drywall company and served as a recreation therapist for youth with drug and alcohol problems in Merillan, Wisconsin, where he still lived at last report. Shortstop Luis (Sanchez) Gomez played for the Twins periodically from 1974-1977. He was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and was drafted by the Twins in the seventh round in 1973 out of UCLA, where he had played freshman basketball on the same team as Bill Walton. He was the first Mexican native selected in the major league baseball amateur draft. He hit very little in the minors, but made his major league debut with Minnesota in April of 1974, where he continued to not hit. He spent part of 1974, all of 1975, and parts of 1976 and 1977 with the Twins, playing for AAA Tacoma the rest of the time. In 1975, he set a record with 89 games played without an extra-base hit, a record which still stands. Gomez’ best year was 1977, when he hit .285 for Tacoma and .246 for the Twins in 65 at-bats. The Twins let him go after that year, and he signed with Toronto and was their regular shortstop in 1978, his only year as a starter. Gomez continued not hitting, became a part-time player in 1979, and was traded that off-season along with Chris Chambliss to Atlanta, where he became a member of the LDS church due to the influence of Dale Murphy. He was a semi-regular for the Braves in 1980 and played sparingly in 1981. He was released at the end of spring training in 1982, and did not return to organized baseball. Gomez’ career OPS was .500, the lowest of any non-pitcher with as many plate appearances since Bill Bergen retired in 1911. As a Twin, Gomez had 362 at-bats, and hit .199/.246/.211 with no homers and 22 RBIs. He did not hit a home run in either the majors or the minors (1,781 at-bats). No information about Luis Gomez’ current life is readily available. Third baseman Gary Joseph Gaetti played for the Twins from 1981-1990. Born and raised in Centralia, Illinois, he was drafted by the Twins out of Northwest Missouri State University with the 11th pick in the 1979 June Secondary draft. He did not hit for a high average in the minors, but showed good power, which was basically true for much of his major league career as well. After a September callup in 1981, Gaetti became the Twins’ regular third baseman in 1982, a position he held through 1990. He averaged 27 homers a season from 1982-1988, a figure which would be higher if you threw out the 1984 season, when for some reason he only hit 5. Gaetti’s best season as a Twin was 1988, when he hit .301 with 28 homers and 88 RBIs. He started to decline after that, and became a free agent after the 1990 season. He signed with California, played two-plus years for the Angels, and was released in June of 1993. Signed by Kansas City, Gaetti resurrected his career in his mid-30s, hitting 35 home runs for the Royals in 1995. He became a free agent again after that season, and signed with the Cardinals, where he was a productive player for two and a half years. Released by the St. Louis in August of 1998, Gaetti signed with the Cubs and helped them with their playoff push, hitting .320 in 37 games. That was his last hurrah, however, as he batted only .204 for the Cubs in 1999, and went 0-for-10 for Boston in 2000, at which point he retired. Gaetti hit 360 home runs in a 20 year career. As a Twin, he batted .256 with 201 homers and 758 RBIs and won four Gold Gloves. Gaetti was placed in the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2007. After retiring, he served as the hitting coach for the Houston Astros and the Durham Bulls. He became the manager of the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League in 2012, a job he currently holds. Shortstop James Jerry “J. J.” Hardy played for the Twins in 2010. Born and raised in Tucson, he was drafted by Milwaukee in the second round in 2001. His early minor league numbers are not that strong, probably due to his age. He began to develop in 2003, hitting .279 with twelve homers in AA Huntsville. Hardy was apparently injured much of 2004, as he got only 101 at-bats in AAA. Healthy in 2005, he made the Brewers out of spring training and was their starting shortstop that season. He was again injured in 2006, he came back strong in 2007 and had back-to-back solid seasons, averaging .280 with 25 home runs in those two years. He slumped in 2009, hitting just .229 with 11 homers and spending some time in AAA. After that season, he was traded to Minnesota for Carlos Gomez. He battled injuries again in 2010, but was solid defensively and not bad offensively when healthy. Hardy’s numbers as a Twin were .269/.320/.394 in 340 at-bats. After the season, however, Hardy was traded with Brendan Harris and cash to Baltimore for Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey. Hardy responded with one of the best seasons of his career, batting .269 with a career high 30 home runs. He had a down year in 2012, hitting only .238 (although he did hit 22 homers and won a Gold Glove). He has done better in 2013, batting .252 with 21 homers at this writing and making his second all-star team. He’s thirty-one today, but shortstops who can hit twenty homers and play good defense don’t grow on trees. As long as he continues to do those things, he’ll be a starting shortstop in the major leagues.

Also posted at wgom.org Billy Consolo (1934) Bucky Guth (1947) Infielder William Angelo Consolo was one of the original Minnesota Twins, playing in eleven games for them in 1961. He was born in Cleveland, went to high school in Los Angeles, and was drafted by Boston as a bonus baby in 1953, meaning he was required by rule to be on the big league club for all of 1953 and 1954. The amount of cash he received was actually under the limit, but part of the deal was that the Red Sox purchased the barber shop at the Los Angeles Hilton for his father, a professional barber. Consolo was first used primarily as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement, but later saw more playing time, getting 242 at-bats (his career high) in 1954. He spent nearly all of 1955 at AAA, but was back with the Red Sox in 1956 and achieved one of the odder lines you’ll find: 48 games, 11 at-bats, 2 hits, 13 runs. Consolo worked his way up to part-time status in 1957, but was back to being a pinch-runner/defensive replacement in 1958 and the first part of 1959 before being traded in June to the then Washington Senators for Herb Plews. He saw part-time duty for the Senators the rest of 1959 and in 1960, but was back to pinch-runner/defensive replacement at the start of 1961 before being traded to Milwaukee on June 1 for Billy Martin. As a member of the Washington/Minnesota franchise, Consolo played in 190 games, batted 381 times, and hit .207/.318/.281 with 3 homers and 25 RBIs. Strictly as a Minnesota Twin, he played in 11 games and was 0-for-5. Consolo was in the minors the rest of that year, then was taken by Philadelphia in the Rule 5 draft. In May of 1962 he was purchased by the Angels, and then was selected off waivers by Kansas City in June. The Athletics released him at the end of the season, and his playing career ended. Given how seldom he played while on a major league roster, it’s odd that he was never given extended time in the minors to see if he could develop. Consolo left baseball for a while, becoming a barber in Los Angeles. He came back to baseball in 1979, serving as a coach for the Tigers from 1979-1992 and again in 1995. Billy Consolo passed away on March 27, 2008 in Westlake Village, California, at the age of 73. Infielder Charles Henry “Bucky” Guth had three at-bats for the Twins in 1972. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, attended the University of West Virginia, and was drafted by the Braves in the twentieth round in 1969. Baseball-reference.com says that in June of 1970 he was “sent from the Atlanta Braves to the Minnesota Twins in an unknown transaction.” Sadly, despite his awesome name, Bucky Guth was not particularly good. He was never much of a batter, either for average or power–his “best” year in the minors was 1971, when he batted .272/.336/.373 with 8 homers and 53 RBIs for AA Charlotte. The next year he batted .218 for AAA Tacoma, but was still given a September call-up, wearing number 27. Bucky Guth appeared in three games, twice being used as a pinch-runner and once starting at shortstop. He went 0-for-3, but reached on an error, scored a run, and fielded all four chances flawlessly. He spent 1973 in Tacoma, but was out of baseball after that. No information about Bucky Guth’s post-baseball life is readily available.

Also posted at wgom.org Rick Reed (1964) Quinton McCracken (1970) Right-hander Richard Allen Reed pitched for the Twins from 2001-2003. He was born in Huntington, West Virginia, attended Marshall University, and was drafted in the 26th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986. He made his major league debut with Pittsburgh in 1988. He spent the next eight years bouncing back and forth between AAA and the majors, first with the Pirates, then with Kansas City, Texas, and Cincinnati. He always pitched well in the minors, but never could stick in the majors. His major league ERAs tell the reason why, but he never got much of a chance and his WHIPs were pretty decent many of those years, suggesting bad luck may also have been a factor. He was a replacement player in 1995, knowing that he would pay a price for it but believing he had no choice due to the medical bills incurred by his ill mother. After playing at AAA for all of 1996 with the Mets, Reed finally made the big-leagues to stay in 1997 at the age of 32. He was a rotation starter for the Mets, and a good one, from 1997 through July of 2001, when he was traded at the deadline to Minnesota for Matt Lawton. He was apparently unhappy about leaving New York, but did not complain publicly about it at the time. Reed did not pitch well for the Twins that year, but had a solid year in 2002, helping the team to the playoffs. After a poor 2003, when he was 38, the Twins released him. He signed with Pittsburgh that off-season, but did not make the team and called it a career. As a Twin, he was 25-25, 4.47, 1.30 WHIP in 390.2 innings. He appeared in 72 games, 65 of them starts. He became the pitching coach at Marshall University in 2005, but decided to step away from baseball for good. He is currently living in retirement in Huntington, West Virginia. Outfielder Quinton Antoine McCracken played in 24 games for the Twins in 2001. He was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, went to high school in South Brunswick, North Carolina (where he started on the football and basketball teams and ran track in addition to playing baseball), and attended Duke. He was drafted by Colorado in the twenty-fifth round in 1992. He was a high average hitter, hitting .359 in a 1995 season split between AA and AAA. He was also fast, stealing 60 bases at Class A Central Valley in 1993. He came up to the Rockies at the end of 1995 and stayed through 1997 as a part-time centerfielder. He hit .291 over that time, but was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was chosen by Tampa Bay. He hit .292 in 1998, but he got off to a bad start in 1999 and then was injured in late May, missing the rest of the season. He split 2000 between AAA and the Devil Rays, then was released. He signed with St. Louis for 2001, but failed to make the team. The Twins signed McCracken on April 13 and sent him to AAA Edmonton, where he hit .338. They brought him to the majors for about six weeks; he got 64 at-bats, making six starts in the outfield and eight at designated hitter (a foreshadowing of Jason Tyner’s use in that role). His batting ability stayed in AAA, however; he hit .219/.275/.313. He became a free agent after the season, signing with Arizona. He made a surprising comeback there, hitting .309 as a half-time outfielder in 2002. He went back down in 2003, however, and was traded to Seattle after the season for Greg Colbrunn and cash. He played poorly with the Mariners, was released in June, and signed back with the Diamondbacks, where he again made a comeback, hitting .288 as a reserve the rest of the way. He again could not sustain it the following year, and became a free agent after the 2005 season. McCracken signed with Cincinnati for 2006, but played sparingly and was released in early July. The Twins re-signed him a couple of weeks later and sent him to Rochester; he hit .284 there, but was not promoted and again became a free agent after the season. He played for independent Bridgeport in 2007, then his playing career came to an end. For a twenty-fifth round draft choice, though, he had a pretty good career. Quinton McCracken was assistant director for player development for the Arizona Diamondbacks through 2012, then became director of player development for the Houston Astros in 2013.

Also posted at wgom.org Jim Snyder (1932) Joe Lis (1946) Tom Kelly (1950) Randy Johnson (1958) Second baseman James Robert Snyder played briefly for the Twins in 1961-1962 and 1964. He was born in Dearborn, Michigan, went to Eastern Michigan University, and was signed as an amateur free agent by the St. Louis Browns in 1952. He spent the next ten years in the minors, playing in the organizations of St. Louis/Baltimore (1952-56, 1957), the White Sox (1956, 1958-60), the Cubs (1957), Philadelphia (1958, 1960), and Cincinnati (1961). Snyder never hit much in the minors, leading one to suppose that he was a very good defensive player. It also leads one to believe that he was a good guy and that people liked him–if he was a jerk, they would have gotten rid of him. His best minor league season was 1960, when he hit .287 with two AAA teams at age 27. The Twins purchased Snyder from Indianapolis (AAA) in September of 1961, and he spent the rest of that season and portions of 1962 and 1964 with Minnesota. He did not hit any better in the Twins’ organization: in three seasons at AAA, he hit .261 with eight homers. He began 1962 in Minnesota, but was sent out in early May after appearing in twelve games, six of them as a pinch-runner. He did not come back until 1964, when he was with the Twins for about six weeks. Apparently, he was a good bunter; in 1964, Snyder had only 88 plate appearances with the Twins, but was fifth in the league in sacrifice bunts, with 11. As a Twin, Jim Snyder hit .140/.185/.198 in 86 at-bats. After playing in the Senators organization in 1965, Snyder retired as an active player and embarked on a fairly successful career as a minor-league manager, with a winning percentage of .514 in 16 seasons. He has also been a major league coach, and managed the Seattle Mariners for a portion of 1988, going 45-60. No current information about Jim Snyder was readily available. First baseman Joseph Anthony Lis played for the Twins in 1973-1974. Born and raised in Somerville, New Jersey, he was signed by Philadelphia as a free agent in 1964. After a slow start in the minors, he began to develop some power, hitting over 30 homers in class A in 1967 and 1968 and again in AAA in 1970. Lis was with the Phillies in 1971 and part of 1972, also spending part of 1972 in AAA. After that season, he was traded with Ken Reynolds and Ken Sanders to the Twins for Cesar Tovar. Lis played for the Twins for the next year and a half before being sold to Cleveland in June of 1974. He was a semi-regular in 1973, sharing first base with Harmon Killebrew, but got very little playing time in 1974 before he left the Twins. He got back on the treadmill between AAA and the majors through 1976, winning the International League MVP award in 1976, and then was chosen by Seattle in the expansion draft prior to the 1977 season. He played a handful of games for the Mariners in 1977, but then went back to AAA, playing in the Indians, White Sox, and Tigers organizations, as well as a year with the Kintetsu Buffaloes, through 1979, when he retired. As a Twin, Lis played in 127 games, batting 294 times and hitting .238/.321/.374 with 9 homers and 28 RBIs. After leaving baseball, he moved to Evansville, Indiana. After trying several occupations, he started the Joe Lis Hitting School in Evansville, which he operated until his death. Joe Lis passed away from prostate cancer on October 17, 2010 in Evansville, Indiana. First baseman Jay Thomas Kelly played for the Twins in 1975 and then managed them from 1986-2001. He was born in Graceville, Minnesota, went to high school in South Amboy, New Jersey, and was drafted by the Seattle Pilots in the 8th round of the 1968 amateur draft. He was in the Seattle/Milwaukee organization for three years, but averaged averaged .232 over the last two of them and was released at the end of spring training in 1971. The Twins signed him and sent him to AA Charlotte. He hit .294 there, and the next year he was promoted to AAA Tacoma, where he spent most of the next four seasons. Kelly put up solid but unspectacular numbers there, with his best year coming in 1974 when he hit .308 with 18 homers, numbers which sound better than they are in the context of the Pacific Coast League. Kelly came to the Twins in 1975, spending exactly two months with the big club. He played in 49 games during that time, batting .181/.262./.244 in 127 at-bats with 1 homer and 11 runs batted in. Kelly was sold to Baltimore at the start of the 1976 season and spent a year in AAA with them before returning to the Minnesota organization in 1977. He was a player-manager in the minors that year before turning to managing full-time in 1979. Kelly pitched in four minor-league games while he was a manager, starting two of them, and actually pitched pretty well, going 1-0 with a 1.88 ERA in 24 innings. As I assume everyone here knows, he became a coach with the Twins and then took over managing in the fall of 1986, winning two world championships before retiring after the 2001 season. He was named American League Manager of the Year in 1991. He has had chances to manage other teams, but appears to be done managing for good. Tom Kelly is currently a special assistant to the general manager for the Twins and an occasional analyst for FSN North. “Not the” Randy Johnson, outfielder/first baseman Randall Stuart Johnson played for the Twins in 1982. Born in Miami, he was chosen by the White Sox in the third round of the 1979 January draft. He had some strong years in the minors, hitting .282 with 25 homers at AA Glens Falls in 1980 at age 21. He got about five weeks in the majors that year, used mostly as a pinch-hitter by the White Sox. Back in Glens Falls in 1981, he hit only .255 but belted 32 home runs. After the season, he was the player named later in a trade which also sent Ivan Mesa and Ronnie Perry to the Twins for Jerry Koosman. He spent all of 1982 with the Twins, batting .248/.325/.419 as a part-time DH. It was not good enough, however, and he spent the next two years at AAA for the Twins. Johnson was traded back to the White Sox at the start of 1985 spring training along with Ron Scheer for Roy Smalley. He rounded out his career with the White Sox AAA Buffalo affiliate in 1985 as a part-time outfielder, hitting just .224, and then his playing career came to an end. ”Randy Johnson” is, or course, a rather common name, and when you search for a Randy Johnson connected with baseball you tend to get the other guy. There is a Randall Stuart Johnson who is living in the Miami area, but there is no way to know if it is the same one.

Also posted at wgom.org Bert Cueto (1937) Mike Cook (1963) Right-hander Dagoberto (Concepcion) Cueto pitched for the Twins in their inaugural season of 1961. He was born in San Luis Pinar, Cuba, and was signed by Washington as an amateur free agent in 1956. He worked his way up from Class D, pitching well at nearly every stop. There apparently was some indecision about whether Cueto should be a starter or a reliever, as he did some of both every year except 1959, when he was used exclusively in relief at Class A Charlotte. Cueto was called up to the Twins in June of 1961 and spent about six weeks with the club. He appeared in seven games, five of them starts, compiling a 1-3 record with a 7.17 ERA in 21.1 innings. Returned to the minors in late July, he was traded to the Dodgers in July of 1962 for Jay Ward. He pitched well for them the rest of the season, but did not get back to the major leagues. Cueto pitched briefly in the Angels organization in 1963 and the Pittsburgh organization in 1964, but spent most of those years in the Mexican League. He apparently then played for amateur teams in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. He also worked for a furniture store and for Embree-Reed, Inc. Bert Cueto passed away on October 25, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Right-hander Michael Horace Cook pitched for the Twins in 1989. Born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, he attended the University of South Carolina and was drafted by the California Angels in the first round of the 1985 amateur draft. He was rushed to the majors, making his big-league debut for the Angels in a two-week stint in 1986. He bounced between California and AAA Edmonton in 1987-88, never pitching all that well for either team. After the 1988 season, Cook was traded to the Twins with Rob Wassenaar and Paul Sorrento for Kevin Trudeau and Bert Blyleven. He started 1989 with the Twins, went down after a month, and came back as a September call-up. He pitched in fifteen games for the Twins in 1989, all in relief, going 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA and a 1.83 WHIP in 21.1 innings. He spent the rest of that year and all of 1990 with AAA Portland as a starter, and was released at the end of spring training in 1991. After that he was in the Seattle (1991), St. Louis (1992), Baltimore (1993-1994) and New York Mets (1994) organizations, making it back to the big leagues for two appearances with Baltimore in 1993. Cook was used exclusively in relief in his last three minor league seasons and posted good ERAs in the last two. It did him no good, however, as his playing career ended after the 1994 season. Mike Cook is a member of the Charleston Baseball Hall of Fame. At last report, it appeared that Mike Cook was living in Brockport, New York.

Also posted at wgom.org Mudcat Grant (1935) Tom Prince (1964) Right-hander James Timothy “Mudcat” Grant pitched for the Twins from 1964-1967. He was born in Lacoochee, Florida, went to high school in Dade City, Florida, and was signed as a free agent by Cleveland in 1954. He pitched quite well in the minors, going 70-28 with an ERA under 3.20 and averaging over 200 innings per season. He made the Indians out of spring training in 1958. Grant was a solid member of the Cleveland rotation for six years, making the all-star team in 1963. He also did some singing as part of a nightclub act. When he got off to a poor start in 1964, he was traded to Minnesota for George Banks and Lee Stange. Something clicked for him when he came to the Twins, as he had his best years in Minnesota: for the rest of 1964, he was 11-9 with a 2.82 ERA, in 1965 he went 21-7 with a 3.30 ERA and finished sixth in the MVP voting, and he went 13-13 in 1966 with a 3.25 ERA. Four consecutive years of pitching between 228 and 270 innings appeared to take its toll, however; 1966 was Grant’s last good year as a starter, and after the 1967 season, he was traded to the Dodgers with Zoilo Versalles for Bob Miller, Ron Perranoski, and Johnny Roseboro. He then had a relatively successful career as a relief pitcher, saving 24 games for Oakland in 1970 and leading major league baseball in appearances with 80. The last year of his 14-year major league career was split between Oakland and Pittsburgh; he also pitched for Iowa in the Oakland organization in 1972. Grant pitched in 129 games as a Twin, 111 of them starts, and went 50-35 with a 3.35 ERA. There are various stories about who gave him the nickname “Mudcat”, with the most popular being that he was given it by Cleveland teammate Larry Doby or a minor-league teammate named LeRoy Irby. He has served on the board of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the Baseball Assistance Team, and the Major League Baseball Alumni Association. In recent years, Grant has been promoting education about the history of blacks in baseball. His book, “The Black Aces”, profiles African-American pitchers who have won twenty games in the majors, along with Negro League pitchers who might have done so had they had they opportunity. At last report, Mudcat Grant was living in Los Agneles. Catcher Thomas Albert Prince played for the Twins from 2001-2003. He was born in Kankakee, Illinois, and was drafted by Pittsburgh in 1984 in the 4th round of the secondary phase of the January draft. Prince did not hit particularly well in the low minors, but showed moderate power and got a reputation as a good defensive player. He surprisingly hit .307 at AA Harrisburg in 1987, nearly fifty points higher than he had ever hit in the minors. That was good enough for him to make his debut in Pittsburgh as a September call-up that season. He spent parts of the next seven seasons with the Pirates, sticking for the whole year only in 1993, which was the only year he got more than 100 at-bats for Pittsburgh. He never hit for them, posting batting averages of over .200 only twice in those seven years. Let go by the Pirates after that season, Prince spent parts of the next four years with the Dodgers, again only getting 100 at-bats once, in 1997, although he did hit .200 or above every year. He spent 1999-2000 with the Phillies, and was signed as a free agent by the Twins after the 2000 campaign. With the Twins, Prince was who they thought he was: a reserve catcher who was good defensively and couldn’t hit. In 2 1/2 years in Minnesota, he got 361 at-bats and hit .219/.300/.374 with 13 homers and 44 RBIs. Released by the Twins in July of 2003, he signed with the Royals, spending most of the rest of the year in Omaha. He retired after that year at the age of 38. Tom Prince managed to play in parts of seventeen major league seasons and get 1,190 major league at-bats with a lifetime batting average of .208. Since his playing days ended, he has managed in the low minors for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He managed at Williamsport from 2005-2006, and has been the manager of the GCL Pirates from 2007-2012. He does not have that position in 2013, however, and no information about what Tom Prince is doing this season was readily available.

Also posted at wgom.org Lew Ford (1976) Outfielder Jon Lewis “Lew” Ford played for the Twins from 2003-2007. He was born in Beaumont, Texas, went to high school in Port Neches, Texas, attended Dallas Baptist University, and was drafted by the Red Sox in the twelfth round in 1999. He hit well in their minor league system (although as a 22-year-old in the NY-P league and a 23-year-old in the Sally League). The Twins acquired him in September of 2000 for Hector Carrasco. Ford got to AA in 2001 and AAA in 2002. The latter was his best minor league season, as he hit .318 with 20 homers in a year split between New Britain and Rochester. Ford came up to the Twins in May of 2003, did well in limited playing time that year and became a regular the following season. 2004 was by far his best year: he hit .299 with 15 homers and 72 RBIs, and actually received a ninth-place vote for MVP that year. Ford declined after that, losing his starting spot in 2006 when he hit only .226. He split time in 2007 between AAA and Minnesota and was released after the season. As a Twin, he batted .272/.349/.402 with 32 homers and 172 RBIs. After leaving the Twins, Ford went to Japan to play for the Hanshin Tigers. He signed a minor-league contract with Colorado in March of 2009, but failed to make the Rockies. He spent most of 2009 playing for the Long Island Ducks, although he did play briefly for AAA Louisville in the Cincinnati organization. Ford began 2010 playing in Mexico, but was released in mid-May despite the fact that he was hitting .314 with 13 doubles and 5 homers in 140 at-bats. He went back to the Ducks for 2011 and played very well. He was doing even better for them in 2012 when he signed with the Baltimore organization in mid-May. He was sent to AAA Norfolk, continued to hit well, and in late July, after an absence of about four and a half years, Lew Ford was back in the big leagues. He was a free agent after the season, re-signed with Baltimore, and has missed much of the season with injury. Who knows what will happen from here, but whatever happens, Lew Ford has definitely beaten the odds.

Also posted at wgom.org Lew Ford (1976) Outfielder Jon Lewis “Lew” Ford played for the Twins from 2003-2007. He was born in Beaumont, Texas, went to high school in Port Neches, Texas, attended Dallas Baptist University, and was drafted by the Red Sox in the twelfth round in 1999. He hit well in their minor league system (although as a 22-year-old in the NY-P league and a 23-year-old in the Sally League). The Twins acquired him in September of 2000 for Hector Carrasco. Ford got to AA in 2001 and AAA in 2002. The latter was his best minor league season, as he hit .318 with 20 homers in a year split between New Britain and Rochester. Ford came up to the Twins in May of 2003, did well in limited playing time that year and became a regular the following season. 2004 was by far his best year: he hit .299 with 15 homers and 72 RBIs, and actually received a ninth-place vote for MVP that year. Ford declined after that, losing his starting spot in 2006 when he hit only .226. He split time in 2007 between AAA and Minnesota and was released after the season. As a Twin, he batted .272/.349/.402 with 32 homers and 172 RBIs. After leaving the Twins, Ford went to Japan to play for the Hanshin Tigers. He signed a minor-league contract with Colorado in March of 2009, but failed to make the Rockies. He spent most of 2009 playing for the Long Island Ducks, although he did play briefly for AAA Louisville in the Cincinnati organization. Ford began 2010 playing in Mexico, but was released in mid-May despite the fact that he was hitting .314 with 13 doubles and 5 homers in 140 at-bats. He went back to the Ducks for 2011 and played very well. He was doing even better for them in 2012 when he signed with the Baltimore organization in mid-May. He was sent to AAA Norfolk, continued to hit well, and in late July, after an absence of about four and a half years, Lew Ford was back in the big leagues. He was a free agent after the season, re-signed with Baltimore, and has missed much of the season with injury. Who knows what will happen from here, but whatever happens, Lew Ford has definitely beaten the odds.

Also posted at wgom.org Sal Campisi (1942) Jim Hughes (1951) Right-handed reliever Salvatore John Campisi appeared in six games for the Twins in 1971. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he attended Long Island University, where he had led the nation in ERA at 0.27, and was signed as a free agent by the St. Louis in 1964. He pitched well in the minors, regularly posting ERAs under three, but made a rather slow rise. He spent a year in rookie ball and two years in A ball before finally getting to AA in 1967 and AAA in 1968. Campisi was a starter in rookie ball but was primarily a reliever after that. He made his major-league debut with the Cardinals in 1969 and spent almost all of 1970 with them. Control trouble, which was never a problem in the minors, plagued him in the majors, as he walked over six per nine innings with St. Louis. In the off-season, the Cardinals traded Campisi to the Twins with Jim Kennedy for Charlie Wissler and Herman Hill. He made the team out of spring training, but he pitched only 4.1 innings in six games with Minnesota, with no win-loss record and a 4.15 ERA, before being sent down to AAA. He was let go after that season, and his playing career came to an end. He walked only 2.5 batters per nine innings in 718 minor league innings, but averaged 6.7 in 63.1 major league innings. Sal Campisi was inducted into the Long Island University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000. At last report, it appeared that Sal Campisi was living in Lakeland, Florida. Right-handed palm ball specialist James Michael Hughes pitched for the Twins from 1974-1977. He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in Playa del Rey, California, and was drafted by Minnesota in the thirty-third round in 1969. He had poor control early in his minor league career, a problem which got better as he went up the minor league ladder. Unfortunately, he became easier to hit at higher levels as well, so that he regularly posted WHIPs around 1.5 with the exception of 1972, when he had his best year as a minor leaguer, going 13-9, 2.58, 1.17 WHIP for Class A Lynchburg. In 1974, he went 10-12, 4.83, 1.43 WHIP, which was deemed good enough for a September call-up. He spent the next two years in the Twins’ rotation. By far the better year was 1975, when he went 16-14, 3.82 in 249.1 innings with 12 complete games, although also with a WHIP of 1.47. His WHIP was about the same in 1976, but he went 9-14, 4.98. He began 1977 in the Twins’ bullpen, but was sent to AAA after only two appearances, never to return. He had a poor year in Tacoma and was released after the season. Hughes signed with the White Sox for 1978 but was released in late March. He signed with Texas a few days later, but made only eight AAA appearances with them. He was in AAA for the Dodgers in 1979, posting an ERA of 3.00 but a WHIP of 1.61 in 36 innings. His playing career came to an end after that. There are lots and lots of people named “Jim Hughes”; wikipedia has entries for 23 of them. No information about what happened to “our” Jim Hughes left baseball was readily available.