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Jeff A

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  1. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Billy Martin (1928)
    Jack Morris (1955)
    Tack Wilson (1956)
    Mark Funderburk (1957)
     
    Second baseman Alfred Manuel “Billy” Martin played for the Twins for about four months in 1961 and later became a coach and manager for them. He was born and raised in Berkeley, California and began playing professional baseball in 1946. He played for unaffiliated teams for four years, the last two of them for Oakland in the Pacific Coast League. The Oaks traded him to the Yankees after the 1949 season. He opened 1950 with AAA Kansas City, but was in New York by season’s end. Martin was a Yankee through June of 1957, although he missed nearly two years due to military service. His batting record was decent but unspectacular, despite which he finished 25th in MVP voting in 1953 and made the all-star team in 1956. He moved quite a bit after that, perhaps in foreshadowing of his managerial career. Martin played for New York and Kansas City in 1957, for Detroit in 1958, for Cleveland in 1959, and for Cincinnati in 1960. He was a regular through 1958, going to part-time status in 1959 and 1960. He signed with the Milwaukee Braves for 1961, but was traded to Minnesota for Billy Consolo on June 1. Martin was the Twins’ regular second baseman the rest of the season, hitting .246/.275/.361, numbers which are only slightly lower than his career numbers. He became a scout for the Twins from 1962-1964, a coach from 1965-May of 1968, manager in Denver the rest of 1968, and the Twins manager in 1969. His Twins won the division that year, but he did not get along with management and was fired after the season. He managed in Detroit from 1971-1973, in Texas from 1973-1975, in New York from 1975-1978 and again in 1979, in Oakland from 1980-1982, and in New York in 1983, 1985, and 1988. The teams he managed won six divisional titles, two league championships, and one World Series. He won the Manager of the Year Award in 1981. Billy Martin passed away as the result of an automobile accident on December 25, 1989 in Johnson City, New York.
     
     
    Right-hander John Scott Morris pitched for the Twins in 1991. Born and raised in St. Paul, he attended BYU and was drafted by Detroit in the fifth round in 1976. His minor league statistics are not overly impressive, but Morris was rushed through the system, spending only one year at AA and less than a full year at AAA before making his major league debut in August of 1977. He was with the Tigers all of 1978 but was seldom used, making only 28 appearances, seven of them starts. He started 1979 in the Tigers’ rotation and stayed there for twelve seasons. In those years, he might not have ever been the best pitcher in the league but he was usually among them, finishing in the top ten in Cy Young voting five times. He logged over 190 innings in eleven of those twelve seasons and over 235 in nine of them. He won twenty games twice, made the all-star team four times, and received MVP support three times. He was a free agent after the 1990 season and signed with Minnesota in February of 1991. He had a fine season for the Twins, going 18-12, 3.43. He finished fourth in Cy Young voting and thirteenth in MVP balloting. He also pitched a legendary ten-inning shutout in game seven of the World Series. Morris became a free agent again after the season and signed with Toronto. He again pitched very well, winning 21 games. He finished fifth in Cy Young voting and again thirteenth in MVP balloting, and again played for a World Series champion. The next year, however, he was injured, and was never the same pitcher again. He struggled through a bad season in Toronto in 1993 and another bad season for Cleveland in 1994. He signed with Cincinnati for 1995, but opted to retire instead. He was one of the Twins’ radio broadcasters from 2006-2011, worked for MLB Network in 2012, and is currently a broadcaster for the Toronto Blue Jays.
     
     
    Outfielder Michael “Tack” Wilson appeared in five games for the Twins in 1983. He was born in Shreveport and signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1975. Throughout his minor-league career, he hit for a high average with a high number of walks and no power. His best year was 1982, when he hit .378 in his third year at AAA Albuquerque. In late March of 1983 the Dodgers traded him to Minnesota for Ivan Mesa. He started the season with the Twins as a reserve outfielder but appeared in only five games, four of them as a pinch-runner, before being sent back to AAA Toledo. He went 1-for-4, with his lone hit being a double. He had another fine season at AAA, hitting .325, but fell to .287 in 1984. He was allowed to become a free agent after that season, signing with San Francisco. He was at AAA for the Giants for two years, again doing well in the first one and not as well in the second. A free agent again after the 1986 season, he signed with California in March of 1987. He hit .314 in AAA that year and got a September call-up. He again was used primarily as a pinch-runner, going 1-for-2 with five runs scored. Wilson moved to the Texas organization for 1988, split 1989 between the AAA teams of Texas and Milwaukee, and played in AAA for Oakland in 1990. He does not show up in the playing records again until 1997, when he played in the independent Texas-Louisiana League. He has been a minor-league coach in the organizations of Atlanta, the Cubs, Toronto, and the White Sox. No information about what Tack Wilson is doing now was readily available.
     
     
    Outfielder Mark Clifford Funderburk played for the Twins in parts of two season in the 1980s. He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and drafted by Minnesota in the sixteenth round in 1976. He was a power hitter in the minors with generally low to middling averages, although he hit .310 with 31 homers in 1979 in Visalia. In 1981, he hit .223 with 18 home runs with Toledo, which somehow earned him a September call-up. He went 3-for-15 in eight games. He dropped down to AA Orlando in 1982 and did better, but the Twins released Funderburk after the season. Kansas City signed him, but he played in only 17 games in AAA Omaha before being released in late May of 1983. Funderburk was out of baseball until November of 1984, when Minnesota gave him another chance. He hit .283 with 34 homers in Orlando, earning another September call-up. This time he was given some playing time, mostly at DH, and hit .314 with seven doubles and two homers in 70 at-bats. He split 1986 between AA and AAA and was in AA all of 1987, playing well but not getting another shot at the big leagues. His playing career ended after the 1987 season: as a Twin, he hit .294/.337/.482 in 85 at-bats. He hit 214 home runs in 11 seasons in the minors. He was a coach for a while, coaching for the Twins’ AA team in Nashville in 1993-1994. At last report, Mark Funderburk was working in the construction industry in his home town of Charlotte.
  2. Jeff A
    Also posted in wgom.org
     
    Scott Watkins (1970)
    Justin Morneau (1981)
    Brian Dozier (1987)
     
    Left-hander Scott Allen Watkins pitched for the Twins for about two months in 1995. He was born in Tulsa, went to high school in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, and was drafted by Minnesota in the 23rd round in 1992. A reliever throughout his minor-league career, his numbers were not particularly impressive until 1995, when he posted a 2.80 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, 20 saves, and 57 strikeouts in 54.2 innings (45 games) for AAA Salt Lake. He was often used as a LOOGY; in nearly half of his 27 appearances, he faced only one or two batters. He was not particularly successful in that role, as in a small sample size left-handers hit him nearly as well as right-handers. For the last two months of 1995, Watkins had no decisions with an ERA of 5.40 and a WHIP of 1.52. He pitched 21.2 innings spread over 27 games. Watkins was back in AAA in 1996, but could not duplicate his success of the prior season. From there, he started moving around. He was in the minor league systems of Colorado and Kansas City in 1997, in the Texas organization in 1998, in the Cubs chain in 1999, and at AAA with Colorado again from 2000-2001. He had varying degrees of success, but did not make it back to the majors. His playing career ended after the 2001 season. It appears that Scott Watkins has gone back to his home town of Sand Springs, and is a high school teacher and assistant baseball coach there.
    First baseman Justin Morneau has been with the Twins since 2003. He was born and raised in New Westminster, British Columbia and was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1999. He hit well throughout the minors, hitting over .300 in his first three professional seasons, but the Twins took their time with him: Morneau was in rookie ball for two years, was in Class A for all but ten games in 2001, and was in AA all of 2002. He began 2003 in AA, but was advanced to AAA after 20 games. He got his first chance at the majors in 2003 spelling Doug Mientkiewicz, which is not an easy thing to do. He was in the majors about half the season. He started 2004 in Rochester, but after he hit .306 with 22 home runs in half a season, Mientkiewicz was traded and Morneau became the Twins’ regular first baseman, a job he retains to this day. He struggled in 2005, but played well from 2006-2010. He was playing extremely well in 2010, hitting .345 with an OPS of 1.055, when he suffered a concussion in mid-July and missed the rest of the season. He struggled in 2011 due to a combination of a wrist injury and lingering concussion problems. He did better in 2012, but was still not the Justin Morneau of old. He not off to a particularly good start in 2013, either. His best season to date is 2006, when he hit .321 with 34 homers and 130 RBIs, winning the Most Valuable Player award. He received MVP consideration the next two years as well, finishing second to Dustin Pedroia in 2008. He made the all-star team every year from 2007-2010 and has won two Silver Slugger awards. Justin Morneau turns 32 today. He may well have some productive seasons left in him, but it also may well be that his best years are behind him.
    Infielder James Brian Dozier has been an infielder for the Twins since 2012. He was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, attended the University of Southern Mississippi, and was drafted by Minnesota in the eighth round in 2009. He spent most of 2009 in Elizabethton, most of 2010 in Fort Myers, and most of 2011 in New Britain. He started to develop a little power in 2011, hitting 33 doubles, 12 triples, and 9 home runs. He split 2012 between Rochester and Minnesota, not batting particularly well in either place. He drew a decent number of walks in the lower minors, leading to solid on-base percentages. In 1,405 minor league at-bats, he hit .298/.370/.409, but in 200 plate appearances in AAA he hit .232/.286/.337. He had primarily been a shortstop until 2013, when the Twins moved him to second base. He’s twenty-six today, so while he still may improve he’s not exactly a kid. He may become a big league hitter, or he may have topped out at AA; time will tell. The Twins don’t have a lot of middle infield options, so it appears that Brian Dozier is going to get a good, long chance to show he can play in the major leagues.
  3. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Bob Thurman (1917)
    Dave LaRoche (1948)
    Hosken Powell (1955)
    Pat Borders (1963)
    Larry Sutton (1970)
    Outfielder Robert Burns Thurman did not play for the Twins, but was briefly in their farm system at the end of his career. Born in Kellyville, Oklahoma, he played semipro ball until 1941, when he went in to the Army for World War II. Upon leaving the Army, he became a victim of baseball’s color barrier, playing in the Negro Leagues from 1946-1949 and playing winter ball in Puerto Rico, where he became a star. The Yankees purchased his contract in July of 1949, and he hit .317 the rest of the year in the International League. He played in AAA for the Cubs in 1950, then spent two seasons playing for San Francisco in the Pacific Coast League. He continued to play winter ball in Puerto Rico in those years. Then, in 1954, the Dominican Summer League attempted to compete with the major leagues. Thurman signed with the DSL, and was again on the wrong side of a major league blacklist. He spent two years there before the DSL became a part of organized baseball. He continued to play winter ball in Puerto Rico in those years, becoming the all-time leader in home runs and RBIs in the Puerto Rican Winter League. In 1955 he signed with Cincinnati, and on April 15, at the age of 38 (he had given his age as four years younger), Bob Thurman made his major league debut. He was with the Reds for four seasons as a pinch-hitter and reserve outfielder, getting 139-190 at-bats per season. His best year was 1956, when he hit .295/.340/.532. He started 1959 with the Reds, but was sent to the minors in April and never returned. He was in AAA with Cincinnati and St. Louis in 1959 and St. Louis and Washington in 1960. When the Washington franchise moved to Minnesota he was still in the organization, playing 21 games for Class A Charlotte and hitting .267/.276/.453. For his major league career, he hit .246/.314/.465 in 663 at-bats. He remained in the Twins’ organization as a scout for some time, and also scouted in the Kansas City and Cincinnati organizations. He is said to have been instrumental in signing several players who became part of the Big Red Machine, including Johnny Bench and Hal McRae. After leaving baseball, he became a partner in Marketing Associates of Wichita. Bob Thurman passed away of Alzheimer’s Disease in Wichita, Kansas on October 31, 1998 at the age of 81.
     
     
    Left-hander David Eugene LaRoche pitched for the Twins in 1972. He was born in Colorado Springs, went to high school in Torrence, California, and attended UNLV. He was born David Garcia, but changed his name to LaRoche after his stepfather. He was drafted by California in the fifth round of the January secondary draft in 1967. He was a reliever all of his career, making only twelve minor-league starts. He pitched very well in the minors and was off to a tremendous start in AAA Hawaii in 1970, going 6-0, 1.24 with five saves and a WHIP of 0.86 in 58 innings, when he was called up to the Angels in mid-May. He had two strong years in the California bullpen, and came to Minnesota after the 1971 season in exchange for Leo Cardenas. He was the left-handed part of a closer platoon with Wayne Granger in 1972. LaRoche again pitched well, going 5-7, 2.83 with ten saves and a WHIP of 1.16. He appeared in 62 games, pitching 95.1 innings. After the season, a year to the day after which they had acquired LaRoche, the Twins traded him to the Cubs for Bob Maneely, Joe Decker, and Bill Hands. He had two poor years for the Cubs and was traded to Cleveland in February of 1975. He rebounded with the Indians, posting an ERA around 2.20 and recording 38 saves over the next two seasons. He got off to a bad start in 1977 and was traded back to California in mid-May. LaRoche pitched very well for the Angels through 1978, going 16-14 with 38 saves. He followed that up with a couple of down years, and was released on April 1, 1981. The Yankees signed him and he had a couple of good years for them. LaRoche was out of baseball at the start of 1983, but tried to come back with the Yankees, signing in late July. It did not go well, however, and after the season his playing career ended for good. Today, he is probably best remembered for “LaLob”, an eephus-like pitch he developed later in his career. LaRoche then became a pitching coach, working in both the majors and minors. Dave LaRoche was currently the pitching coach for the Las Vegas 51s in the Toronto organization from 2009-2010. He is currently retired and was living in the Joplin, Missouri area at last report. His son Adam is a first baseman for the Washington Nationals and his son Andy is an infielder in the Toronto organization.
     
     
    Outfielder Hosken Powell played for the Twins from 1978-1981. Born in Selma, Alabama, he attended Chipola Junior College in Marianna, Florida and was chosen by Minnesota with the third pick of the June Secondary draft in 1975. Powell advanced rapidly through the Twins’ system. He had little power, but hit for a high average and drew quite a few walks in the minors. In 1977, he hit .326/.427/.429 at AAA Tacoma, and in 1978 he was the starting right fielder in Minnesota. He hit only .247 (although with an OBP of .323), however, and in 1979 fell into a platoon role, sharing time with Willie Norwood and Dave Edwards. He had his best season, hitting .293 with an OBP of .360, and in 1980 was back as the starting right fielder. He dropped back to .262 and went back to a part-time role in 1981. This time, however, he did not respond, and Powell was traded after the season to Toronto for a player to be named later (Greg Wells). Powell did okay as a reserve in 1982, but hit only .169 in the first half of 1983 and was released. Milwaukee signed him, and he played in AAA for the Brewers for a year and a half before his career came to an end after the 1984 campaign. He was the head baseball coach at Pensacola High School in Pensacola, Florida, although it appears that he no longer holds that position. Hosken Powell is still living in Pensacola and appears to be active in the Boys and Girls Clubs there.
     
     
    Catcher Patrick Lance Borders was with the Twins for the last month of 2004. He was born in Columbus, Ohio, went to high school in Lake Wales, Florida, and was drafted by Toronto in the sixth round in 1982. It took him a long time to advance, as he did not reach AA until 1986 and then only for twelve games. He never hit much above AA, but still made the majors in 1988. He stayed with the Blue Jays through 1994 and was their regular catcher from 1990-1993. He was the MVP of the World Series in 1992, but the only really good season he had as a regular was in 1990, when he hit .286 with 15 homers and an OPS of .816. His OPS never topped .700 in any other season as a regular, and Borders was allowed to become a free agent after the 1994 season. He was a much-traveled reserve catcher for the next couple of years, playing for Kansas City and Houston in 1995 and for St. Louis, California, and the White Sox in 1996. He found a home in Cleveland for a couple of years, serving as their backup backstop in 1997-1998. He spent much of 1999 at AAA for the Indians and was released in August, signing with Toronto. He signed with Tampa Bay for 2000 and played in AAA for them, also playing for the gold-medal Olympic team that season. The Devil Rays sold Borders to Seattle in August of 2001. He went to spring training with Texas in 2002, but was released and went back to Seattle, where he stayed through August of 2004. Most of that time was spent in AAA, but he got a few at-bats with the Mariners each season. He was traded to Minnesota on August 31, 2004 for B. J. Garbe. Borders appeared in 19 games as a Twin, going 12-for-42 for a line of .286/.302/.381. He was a free agent after the season and started moving around again. He signed with Milwaukee for 2005, was sold to Seattle in May, and was released in July. He signed with the Dodgers for 2006, played in AAA, and retired in late May. He had a seventeen-year career and played 1,099 games. He apparently was a coach in the Braves organization for a while. At last report, Pat Borders was a high school baseball coach in Winter Haven, Florida. His son, Levi, was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 2012 but opted to play baseball for the University of South Florida.
     
     
    Outfielder/first baseman Larry James Sutton did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for a couple of months in 2001. He was born in West Covina, California, went to high school in Santa Ana, California, and attended the University of Illinois. He was drafted by Kansas City in the twenty-first round in 1992. He was almost exclusively a first baseman as he was coming up. He posted solid numbers in the low minors but progressed very slowly, spending a full year at low A and a full year at high A (hitting .306 with 26 homers) before finally getting to AA in 1995. He missed a lot of 1995 with injuries and repeated AA in 1996, hitting .296 with 22 homers there. He had another good year in AAA in 1997, posting an OPS of .921 before finally being called up in mid-August. By this time he had a lifetime minor league average of .293 and had hit 94 homers in basically four seasons. Unfortunately, he was also 27 years old. He did well in his late-season call-up in 1997. The Royals decided Jeff King was their answer at first base, though, and tried to convert him to outfield. The Royals already had Jeff Conine, Jermaine Dye, and Johnny Damon in the outfield, as well as Shane Mack on the bench and Carlos Beltran almost ready to come up, so the decision did not make a lot of sense. The combination of learning a new position in the majors and getting inconsistent playing time was more than Sutton could overcome, as he hit only .245 with five homers in 310 at-bats. He started 1999 in the majors, but when he did no better he was sent back to AAA, coming back for a September call-up. He signed with St. Louis as a free agent for 2000 but spent most of the season with AAA Memphis, again coming back for a September call-up. He did quite well in that call-up and started 2001 in St. Louis, but was sent back to AAA in late May and about a month and a half later was sent to the Twins for Hanley Frias. He finished the season in Edmonton, hitting .251/.352/.402 in 147 at-bats. A free agent after the season, he again spent most of the season in AAA and was released after the season. He signed with Boston for 2003 but was released late in spring training and did not play in 2003. He came back with Florida and again was mostly in the minors, getting only five at-bats with the big club. He then spent three seasons in Korea playing for clubs sponsored by auto makers (two for Hyundai, one for Kia) before ending his playing career. Maybe he wouldn’t have done much anyway, but one has to wonder what might have happened if the Royals had just put him at first base when he was younger and let him play. Since ending his playing career, he was been the batting coach for the Royals entry in the Dominican Summer League and managed the Pirates entry in that league in 2012.
  4. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
    Johnny Roseboro (1943)
    Lenny Faedo (1960)
    Jack Cressend (1975)
     
     
    Catcher John Junior Roseboro was with the Twins from 1968-1969, near the end of his career. Born and raised in Ashland, Ohio, Roseboro signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers as a free agent in 1952. He hit very well for two years in the low minors, then missed a year due to military service. It took Roseboro a while to get going upon his return, but he hit .273 with 25 homers at AAA Montreal in 1956. He started 1957 in Montreal, but was brought up to Brooklyn in mid-June as a seldom-used backup to Roy Campanella. That off-season, however, Campanella’s career ended suddenly in an automobile accident, and Roseboro became the regular catcher of the then Los Angeles Dodgers in 1958. He hit .271 with 14 home runs that season and made the all-star team for the first time. He was rather up-and-down at the plate in his Dodger career, hitting as high as .287 in 1964 and as low as .213 in 1960. His best offensive year may have been 1961, when he hit 18 home runs with a .251 batting average and walked a career-high 56 times. He made his second all-star team that year, won his first Gold Glove, and finished 19th in MVP voting. Roseboro made three all-star teams for the Dodgers, won two Gold Gloves, and received MVP consideration three times, with his highest finish being thirteenth in 1966. He had decent speed for a catcher, hitting 44 triples in his career. Roseboro remained the regular catcher for the Dodgers through the 1967 season, at which time he was traded to Minnesota with Bob Miller and Ron Perranoski for Mudcat Grant and Zoilo Versalles. He did not hit much in 1968, but he bounced back in 1969 to make his fourth all-star team as the Twins won the Western Division title. That was to be Roseboro’s last hurrah, however, as the Twins released him after the season. As a Twin, Johnny Roseboro hit .239/.316/.316 in 741 at-bats. He signed with Washington, but struggled to adapt to a reserve role and was released in mid-August, ending his playing career. Roseboro went on to coach for the Senators and the Angels, and later served as both a batting instructor and a catching instructor for the Dodgers. Johnny Roseboro passed away on August 16, 2002 in Los Angeles from complications resulting from a stroke.
     
     
    Shortstop Leonardo Lago Faedo was with the Twins for the first half of the 1980s. Born and raised in Tampa, Faedo was drafted by Minnesota in the first round of the 1978 draft. He was not a great batter in the minors; his best year was 1979, when he hit .271 with AA Orlando. He hit .240 there in 1980, the year he made his big-league debut as a September call-up. He was apparently loaned to the Cleveland organization for part of 1981, as he split that season between AAA Charleston and AAA Toledo before being promoted to the Twins after the strike ended in August. 1982 was Faedo’s only first season in the majors, as he was the semi-regular at shortstop, sharing the job with Ron Washington. He won the starting job in 1983 and played well, hitting .305 on May 6 before injuries started to bother him. Faedo played sporadically for a month, then was shut down in early June, missing half the season before coming back in September. When he came back, he could not duplicate his earlier success, hitting only .231 the rest of the way. He started the 1984 season as the Twins shortstop and was not playing that badly, at least not compared to the alternatives the Twins had, but they soured on him and not only sent him to the minors in late April but again loaned him to other organizations, as he finished the season in AAA for Detroit and Texas. The Twins finally released Faedo just before the 1985 season and he signed with Kansas City. He played two more seasons in the minors, one in the Royals’ organization and one in the Dodgers’ chain, before his playing career ended after the 1986 campaign. In parts of five seasons in the majors, all with the Twins, Lenny Faedo hit .251/.284/.316 in 529 at-bats. Lenny Faedo is currently the baseball coach at Alonso High School in Tampa.
     
     
    Right-hander John Baptiste Cressend pitched for the Twins from 2000-2002. He was born in New Orleans and went to high school in Mandeville, Louisiana. He then attended Tulane, and signed with Boston as a free agent in 1996. He pitched well in the low minors, but struggled in the Red Sox’ organization when promoted to AA. Boston waived him in late April of 1999, and Cressend was selected by Minnesota. He had always been a starter to this point, but the Twins moved him to the bullpen in 2000 and he had a decent season in AAA, coming up to the majors at the end of August of that year. He began the 2001 season in AAA, but came up to Minnesota in mid-May and stayed the rest of the season. He was a pretty valuable reliever that season, going 3-2, 3.67 with a WHIP of 1.17. He started 2002 with the Twins, but could not duplicate his success of the previous year, became injured, and was placed on waivers after the season. As a Twin, Jack Cressend was 3-3, 4.59 in 102 innings spread over 78 games. The Indians selected him off waivers, and Cressend spent the next two years bouncing back and forth between Cleveland and the minors. He pitched well in half a season for them in 2003, but again could not sustain his success the next season, and was released after the 2004 campaign. He signed with Boston and pitched in Pawtucket in 2005, but it did not go well and his playing career came to an end. After that, Jack Cressend became a scout for Tampa Bay from 2006-2008. He was the pitching coach for Tulane University from 2009-2010, and was the pitching coach for the University of Houston from 2011-2012. He is currently an amateur pitching consultant for the Tampa Bay Rays.
  5. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Vic Albury (1947)
    Evan Meek (1983)
     

    Left-hander Victor Albury pitched for the Twins from 1973-1976. Born and raised in Key West, Albury was drafted by Cleveland in the ninth round in 1965. He was a first baseman then, and spent a year at Class A Dubuque hitting .233. He then went into the military for three years, and when he came back he was a pitcher. Somewhere along the line, Cleveland transferred his rights to the Cubs. He pitched for them in Class A in 1969 and did well, posting an ERA of 2.32. Despite that, the Cubs transferred him to San Diego, for whom he had a bad year split between Class A and AAA. Minnesota selected him in November of 1970 in the minor league draft. He had a tremendous year at AA Charlotte in 1971, going 12-7, 1.72 with a WHIP of 1.20. The next year, he was mostly injured, pitching only 18 innings at AAA Tacoma. He came back in 1973, put up an ERA of 3.99 at Tacoma, and was promoted to the Twins in August, pitching out of the bullpen the rest of the season. He was with Minnesota for the next three seasons. He started the 1974 season in the bullpen, went into the starting rotation for about three months, then went back to the bullpen again. He was much better as a starter, going 7-9, 3.77, so he started 1975 in the rotation again. He didn’t do all that badly, but the Twins had no patience with him, and switched him back to the bullpen in late May. This time, he did quite a bit better as a reliever, going 3-0, 3.00 in that role. In 1976 he was a full-time reliever, going 3-1, 3.58 in 50.1 innings, although with a WHIP of 1.49. The Twins decided that was not good enough and he spent 1977 pitching in AAA for the Yankees. He did poorly there, was out of baseball in 1978, then tried to come back with AAA Tacoma, by then in the Cleveland organization, in 1979. He did poorly there, too, and his playing career came to an end. In his major league career, all of which came with Minnesota, he was 18-17, 4.11 in 372.2 innings. He appeared in 101 games, 37 of them starts. Albury stayed in baseball for a while, coaching in the Indians organization at Waterloo in 1983. There’s a Vic Albury who was born in Key West and is now living in Tampa; while you wouldn’t think there’d be a ton of them, it could not be verified that he is the same one.
     
     
    Right-hander Evan David Meek did not pitch for the Twins, but was drafted by them. He was born in Bellevue, Washington, went to high school in Kenmore, Washington, and was drafted by Minnesota in the 11th round in 2002. He had an outstanding season at Elizabethton in 2003, going 7-1, 2.47 with a 1.12 WHIP. He followed that with two outstandingly bad seasons at Elizabethton, Quad Cities, and Beloit, and the Twins released him in June of 2005. He signed with San Diego in September and was in Class A for them for most of 2006 before being traded to Tampa Bay in late August. Meek did somewhat better in AA in 2007 and was chosen by Pittsburgh that winter in the Rule 5 draft. He began the year in Pittsburgh, but the Pirates then purchased him from Tampa Bay and sent him to AA Altoona. He pitched very well both there and in AAA Indianapolis. What seems to have changed the most is that Meek learned how to throw strikes, which he had not done most of his time in the Twins’ organization. He was in the Pirates’ bullpen for most of 2009 and pitched quite well, posting a 3.45 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP although in only 47 innings over 41 appearances. He did even better in 2010, his first full season in the majors, going 5-4, 2.14, 1.05 WHIP in 80 innings over 70 appearances and making the all-star team. He was injured much of 2011, making only 20 appearances, and his control problems returned when he was able to pitch. He spent most of 2012 in AAA when healthy, and while he did not give up a lot of hits he continued to struggle to throw strikes. A free agent after the 2012 season, he signed with Texas and is currently pitching for AAA Round Rock. He turns 30 today. Unless he can regain his control, it seems unlikely he’ll ever do much more in the major leagues.


  6. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Frank Quilici (1939)
     
     
    Infielder/manager/broadcaster Francis Ralph Quilici has been associated with the Twins for a long time. He was born and raised in Chicago, attended Loras College of Dubuque, Iowa, one of two major league players that school has produced (Red Faber), then transferred to Western Michigan. Quilici signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1961. He was not a great batter in the minors, but had a decent season at AA Charlotte in 1964 and was hitting .277 in AAA Denver when he was called up to the majors in mid-July of 1965. He only hit .208 in Minnesota that year but started in the World Series in place of the injured Jerry Kindall. Quilici was back in Denver for all of 1966 and was a seldom-used reserve in 1967. In 1968 he got the most playing time of his career, starting 34 games at second and 24 at third and getting 229 at-bats. He didn’t do much with the playing time, and by 1969 he was essentially Harmon Killebrew’s late-inning defensive replacement at third. In 1970, he was given another chance at second when Rod Carew was out, but he didn’t do much with it and was released in April of 1971. That ended Quilici’s playing career; he hit .214/.281/.287 in 682 at-bats. He became a coach with the Twins in 1971, and when Bill Rigney was fired in July of the following year Quilici became the youngest manager in the major leagues. He remained the manager through the 1975 season, when he was replaced by Gene Mauch. Quilici then joined the Twins’ broadcasting crew, calling games for the team on radio from 1976-1977 1980-1982 and on television in 1987. Quilici was nominated as a candidate for the College World Series Legends Team. At last report, he was living in Burnsville, Minnesota, was a member of the board of directors of the Twins Community Fund, and participates in Twins’ fantasy camps. In August of 2011, a baseball field in North Minneapolis was renovated and re-named “Frank Quilici Field” in his honor. It serves as home to the North Minneapolis RBI program.
  7. Jeff A
    Also posted in wgom.org
     
    John Cumberland (1947)
    Joey Meyer (1962)
     
    This is also the birthday of Hall of Fame broadcaster Herb Carneal (1923).
     
    Left-hander John Sheldon Cumberland did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 1973. He was born in Westbrook, Maine, attended the University of Maine, and signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1966. He had a mediocre season in Class A, but the Yankees thought they saw something in him and selected him in the minor league draft. He had a decent in 1967 in AAA and a solid 1968 there, making his major league debut in the latter season as a September call-up. He was not as good in 1969 but was not terrible, either, and made two more major league appearances. He started 1970 with the Yankees and was doing okay, but was traded to San Francisco in mid-July. 1971 was his first full season in the majors and it was his best one: he went 9-6, 2.92, 1.12 WHIP in 185 innings. He made 45 appearances, 21 of them starts. That was as good as it would get for him. He struggled at the start of 1972, was traded to St. Louis in mid-June, continued to struggle, and after the season was traded to Minnesota with Larry Hisle for Wayne Granger. That turned out to be a good trade for the Twins, but not because of Cumberland—he was released at the end of spring training. He signed with the Giants again a couple of weeks later, was released at the end of June, and signed with California. He made it back to the majors at the end of May and pitched fairly well for the Angels for two months, but was sent back to the minors at the end of July. His playing career came to an end after the season. For his major league career, he was 15-16, 3.82, 1.24 WHIP in 334.1 innings. He appeared in 110 games, 36 of them starts. He stayed in baseball for a while as a coach, most recently working for the Kansas City Royals from 2002-2004. His son Chris was in the minors for 12 seasons, two of them in the Twins’ organization, but did not make the major leagues. No information about what John Cumberland has been doing recently was readily available.
     
     
    First baseman Tanner Joe Meyer did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 1991. He was born in Honolulu, went to high school in Kailua, Hawaii, attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and was drafted by Milwaukee in the fifth round in 1983. A big man (listed at 6′ 3″, 260), he crushed the ball in the minors, averaging thirty home runs a season over his first four seasons and hitting over .300 in three of those seasons. He was in the majors all of the 1988 season, but was used as a part-time player, mostly at DH, as the Brewers preferred giving playing time to Greg Brock and Billy Joe Robideaux to seeing what their young slugger could do playing every day. He wasn’t terrible in part-time duty, hitting .263 with 11 homers in 327 at-bats. In 1989 he got even less playing time, as he continued to lose time to such stalwarts as Brock and George Canale. He managed to hit seven homers in 147 at-bats, but his average declined. The Brewers released him after the season, he went to Japan for 1990, then came back to the Twins for 1991. They got rid of him at the end of spring training, but they at least had a better excuse, as they had Kent Hrbek to play first and Paul Sorrento at AAA. Also, they did not just release him, but traded him to Pittsburgh for Greg Sims. He played part-time at AAA in the Pirates’ organization in 1991, then his playing career came to an end. He was a big guy who struck out a lot, but given his minor league record, one has to wonder what he might have done if someone had just given him regular playing time in the big leagues. At last report, Joey Meyer was a municipal maintenance supervisor in Honolulu, with his primary responsibility being the overseeing of painting, construction, and landscaping work for the local hospital system.
  8. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Ron Jackson (1953)
    Tom Chism (1954)
    Oswaldo Arcia (1991)
     
    ​First baseman Ronnie Damien Jackson played for the Twins from 1979-1981. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, he was drafted by California in the second round in 1971. He was primarily a third baseman in the minors. He had good but unspectacular minor league seasons with the exception of 1974, when he hit .328 with 11 home runs at AA El Paso. He made his major league debut as a September callup in 1975 and started 1976 with the Angels. He began as a bench player, but by mid-May Jackson was the regular third baseman. He did not hit, however, and was down to part-time status in 1977. He played more first base than third in 1978 and had a pretty good year, batting .297 in 387 at-bats. After the season, Jackson was traded with Danny Goodwin to Minnesota for Dan Ford. He was the Twins’ regular first baseman in 1979 and was fairly decent, hitting .271 with 14 home runs. He was the mostly regular in 1980 as well, but slipped a little and fell to part-time status in 1981 before being traded to Detroit in August for a player to be named later (Tim Corcoran). Jackson became a free agent after the season and did not sign until mid-April of 1982, going back to the Angels. He hit .331 in only 142 at-bats for California in 1982, but slid back after that. California released him in August of 1984 and he finished the season with Baltimore. Jackson played in AAA for St. Louis in 1985 and briefly in AAA for the White Sox in 1988. He played for a couple of years in the Seniors League, but then his playing career ended. He was consistently employed until 2009 as a batting coach, either in the majors or in the minors. He has made a series of instructional videos under the general title “Ron Jackson’s Hitting Factory.” At last report, he was the owner of Gap to Gap, a website which offers various batting instructional videos and aids.
     
    First baseman Thomas Raymond Chism did not play for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for a brief time in 1980. He was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, attended Brandywine Junior College, went to Widener University (the only major league player to have gone to that school), and was drafted by Baltimore in the fourth round in 1974. He did quite well in the minors, hitting .300 more often than not and posting an OPS over .800 every year. He got a September call-up in 1979, appearing in six games and going 0-for-3. Unfortunately for Chism, the Orioles had a first baseman named Eddie Murray, so there was no room for Chism. After the season, the Orioles traded him to Minnesota for Dan Graham. That seemed to be a turning point in his career; he never made the majors again, and his averages in the minors fell into the .250s. He moved on to the Detroit organization after 34 AAA games for the Twins, and finished the year back in the Orioles’ chain. He stayed there for 1981, but then his playing career was over. One wonders if an injury was involved; it seems odd that such a promising career fell apart so quickly. He apparently remained with the Orioles’ organization in some capacity for a while, because he received a World Championship ring from them in 1983, a ring that was later stolen. The thief was caught, but the ring was never recovered. At last report, Tom Chism was living in Brookhaven, Pennsylvania and was working as a security guard for the Crozer-Chester Medical Center. His son, T. J. Chism, is a pitcher in the Mets’ organization.
     
     
    Outfielder Oswaldo Celestino Arcia made his debut for the Twins in 2013. He was born in Anaco, Anzoategui, Venezuela and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 2007. He did okay his first couple of years, but really broke through with Elizabethton in 2010, hitting .375/.424/.672. He was jumped to Fort Myers for 2011 and did not really stand out, but he did not do badly, either. He took another substantial step forward in 2012, hitting .320/.388/.539 in a season divided between Fort Myers and New Britain. He began 2013 in Rochester, but was brought to Minnesota early in the season. He has hit for high averages and for power in the minors, although he has not walked much and has struck out a lot. It is too early to tell whether he will stay in the majors this season, but if he does not, he seems quite likely to get another chance. This is one of our shorter biographies because, at age twenty-two, much of the Oswaldo Arcia story has yet to take place.
  9. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
    Steve Braun (1948)
     
    Left-handed hitter Stephen Russell Braun played for the Twins from 1971-1976. He was born in Trenton, New Jersey, went to high school in Pennington, New Jersey, and was drafted by the Twins in the tenth round in 1966. He was in rookie ball for two years, doing nothing special, and then missed two years to military service. He came back to hit .279 at Class A Lynchberg in 1970 and started 1971 with the Twins. He was used mostly as a pinch hitter at first, but gradually worked his way into a more-or-less regular role. Braun is not the type of player normally thought of as a “utility player”, but he played mutliple positions with the Twins, spending time in both the infield and the outfield. He was primarily used as an infielder in 1971-1973, used mostly at third but also starting games at second and short as well as a few in the outfield. He was primarily a left fielder in 1974-1975, but played some third and first. In 1976 he was mostly used at DH, but again saw time in the outfield and at third base. At all of these positions, he was a solid batter, regularly posting batting averages in the .280s and OBPs of .360 or higher. His best year as a Twin was probably 1975, when Braun hit .302 with 11 home runs and 66 walks. He was still a productive player in 1976, but the Twins left him unprotected in the expansion draft and he was chosen by Seattle. Perhaps the Twins knew something, because even though he was not yet thirty, 1977 was Braun’s last year as a regular. Used at left field and DH, he was a disappointment to the Mariners, and was traded to Kansas City in June of 1978. He then embarked on a relatively long career in which he was used primarily as a pinch-hitter. Braun was with the Royals until he was released in June of 1980. He finished that season with Toronto, then signed with St. Louis, where he played the final five years of his career. He never got as many as 100 at-bats in any of his last six seasons, but he remained relatively consistent, batting in the .270s in each season from 1982-1984. As a Twin, Steve Braun hit .284/.376/.381 in nearly 2500 at-bats. He remained in baseball after his playing career ended, including some time as the hitting coach for the Cardinals. More recently, he was hitting coach for the Trenton Thunder from 1999-2004. He owned Steve Braun Baseball, a baseball instructional school located in West Windsor, New Jersey. At last report, Steve Braun was an associate for Ignite Energy Associates in Trenton.
  10. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Manny Hernandez (1961)
     
    Right-hander Manuel Antonio (Montas) Hernandez did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for most of 1989. He was born in La Romana, Dominican Republic, and signed with Houston as a free agent in 1978. He was very young, of course, and as a result he was in rookie ball for two years and Class A for three more. He pitched well in every year except 1982. He jumped to AAA Tucson in 1984 and stayed there most of the next five seasons, getting some cups of coffee in Houston in 1986 and 1987. His numbers in AAA were neither good nor terrible, but he never really seemed to improve while he was there. He made fifteen appearances with the Astros, seven of them starts, and went 2-7, 4.56 in 49.1 innings. He became a free agent after the 1988 season and signed with Minnesota for 1989. He did all right in Portland, going 9-8, 3.91 with a 1.15 WHIP. He was sold to the Mets on August 1 and got back to the majors for one inning, retiring all three batters he faced. That was his swan song in the majors. He remained in the Mets’ organization in 1990, split 1991 between the Mets and Brewers organization, and then his playing career was over. No information about what Manny Hernandez has done since that time was readily available.
  11. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org.
    Bill Hands (1940)
    Al Williams (1954)

    Right-hander William Alfred Hands pitched for the Twins for most of two seasons in 1973 and 1974. He was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, went to high school in Rutherford, New Jersey, and signed with San Francisco as a free agent in 1959. Hands struggled early in his minor league career, and as a result he spent a full year in Class D, Class C, Class B, and Class A. After a fine season in 1962 at Class A, however, he was jumped to AAA Tacoma. He struggled his first year there, but did well in 1964 and even better in 1965. Hands made four apperances with the Giants in 1965, then was traded to the Cubs with another future Twin, Randy Hundley, for Don Landrum and Lindy McDaniel. He did not do well in his first season with the Cubs, and in 1967 he was used primarily out of the bullpen. He had a good year there, and was placed in the Cubs rotation in 1968, where he stayed for five seasons. His best year as a Cub was probably 1969, when he went 20-14, 2.49 with a 1.14 WHIP in 300 innings. He continued to be a solid member of the rotation through 1972. After that season, Hands was traded to Minnesota with Bob Maneely and Joe Decker for Dave LaRoche. Hands pitched fairly well for the Twins in 1973, but his won-lost record did not reflect it, and when he got off to a slow start in 1974 he was pulled from the rotation and sent to the bullpen. He pitched very well there, posting an ERA of 2.93 and a WHIP of 1.09 in 61.1 innings as a reliever. The Twins gave him four starts in August and he still did well, going 2-1, 3.44, but after a bad start on September 1 they surprisingly placed him on waivers. The Rangers snapped him up and put him in their rotation, where he pitched well through 1975. He was traded to the Mets early in spring training of 1976, but opted to retire instead. After retiring from baseball, he moved to Orient, Long Island where he purchased a service station and started a retail oil business, both of which proved successful. At last report, Bill Hands was still living in retirement in Orient.
    Right-hander Albert Hamilton (DeSouza) Williams pitched for the Twins from 1980-1984. He was born in Pearl Lagoon, Nicaragua and signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent in 1975. He pitched in the Pirates’ organization for a year and a half without particular distinction and was released in July of 1976. He then returned to Nicaragua, where he fought in the Nicaraguan Revolution. He did not play in organized baseball for three years. He snuck out of the country, as the Nicaraguan government would not grant him a visa, and in January of 1980, Williams signed with Minnesota. He made fifteen starts in Toledo, going 9-3, 2.10 with a WHIP of 0.95, and was called up to the majors. He was used both as a reliever and a starter and did well, going 6-2, 3.51. He was in the starting rotation beginning in 1981 and stayed there through 1983, not doing great but not doing terribly, either. He started 1984 in the rotation as well, but got off to a bad start and was sent back to AAA Toledo in early May. He came back a month later and did somewhat better, but got injured in early July and missed the next two months, coming back in September. The Twins released Williams after the season. He signed with the Yankees, had a mediocre season in AAA Columbus, and then his playing career came to an end. No information about Al Williams since that time was readily available.
  12. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    John Donaldson (1943)
    Larry Hisle (1947)
    Mike Redmond (1971)
     
    Infielder John David Donaldson did not play for the Twins, but began his professional career in their minor league system. Born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, he signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1963. He played for Class A Orlando that year, hitting .251, and was chosen by the Kansas City Athletics in the first year player draft. He hit .315 at Class A in 1964, and was promoted to AAA the next year. He struggled at first, but he hit .298 in Vancouver in 1966, earning his first promotion to the majors in late August. He started out 1967 batting .339 in Vancouver and was promoted to Kansas City in early June. He was the regular second baseman the rest of the way and hit fairly well, but when the team moved to Oakland the next year he apparently left his bat behind. Donaldson slumped to .220, lost his starting job, and was traded in June of 1969 to the Seattle Pilots. He did not do much better there, started 1970 in the minors, and was traded to Oakland in May. He was seldom used and spent all of 1971 at AAA, being traded to Detroit in May. He was traded to Baltimore in February of 1972 and sold to San Diego of April that year. Donaldson did not get back to the majors until 1974. He was sent back to Oakland before the 1974 season and started the year with the Athletics, but was sent back down in early May and did not play in the majors again until the last game of the season, when he was allowed to make a farewell appearance before ending his playing career. There are a lot of people named “John Donaldson” in this world; wikipedia lists entries for eleven of them. What you do find about John Donaldson in regard to baseball is about the great Negro League pitcher John Wesley Donaldson. There is, however, a John D. Donaldson, age more than sixty-five, living in Sunset Beach, North Carolina. It does not seem far-fetched to think it is the same one.
     

    Outfielder Larry Eugene Hisle played for the Twins from 1973-1977. Born and raised in Portsmouth, Ohio, Hisle was drafted by Philadelphia in the second round in 1965. He began his career with Huron, South Dakota, in the Northern League, where he hit .433 in 60 at-bat sin 1966. Moved up to Class A Clearwater in 1967, he hit .302 with 23 homers. He was jumped to the majors in 1968 and stayed for two weeks, going 4-for-11, but the Phillies wanted him to play every day and sent him to AAA San Diego, where he continued to hit. Hisle was the regular center fielder for the Phillies in 1969 at age 22 and hit .266 with 20 homers, finishing fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting. In 1970, however, he slumped to .205, and when he did no better at the beginning of 1971 he was sent to the minors in late May. He again bashed the ball in the minors, and was only 24, but was traded to the Dodgers after the 1971 season. Hisle hit .325 with 23 homers for AAA Albuquerque in 1972, but not only did the Dodgers not promote him, they traded him to St. Louis after the season. He never played with the Cardinals, however, as they sent him to Minnesota with John Cumberland for Wayne Granger in November. Hisle won a starting outfield job for the Twins in 1973 and held it for five years. He played primarily left field for the Twins, but saw a fair amount of action in center and also played right on occasion. He had some fine years for the Twins, playing regularly except for 1975, when he missed a couple of months with injuries. His best year as a Twin was his last one, 1977, when he hit .302 with 28 homers and a league-leading 119 RBIs. He made his first all-star team that year and finished 12th in MVP voting. Hisle became a free agent after the season and signed with Milwaukee. He had an equally strong season with the Brewers in 1978, hitting .290 with 34 homers and 115 RBIs. He made his second all-star team that year and was third in MVP balloting. In April of 1979, however, he suffered a torn rotator cuff and was able to play only sporadically after that. Hisle kept trying to come back, but finally ended his career after the 1982 season, having had only 274 at-bats in the last four seasons. As a Twin, Larry Hisle hit .286/.354/.457 in 662 games. Hisle stayed in baseball, and was the hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1992-1995. He is currently employed by the Milwaukee Brewers, for whom he is the Manager of Youth Outreach. He is also the president of Major League Mentoring, a youth mentoring program in Milwaukee. He appears to be working very hard in both positions.
     
     
    Catcher Michael Patrick Redmond was with the Twins from 2005-2009. He was born in Seattle, went to high school in Spokane, Washington, and attended Gonzaga University. He signed with Florida as a free agent in 1992. He showed no power in the minors, never hitting more than four home runs in a season. His averages were decent but not outstanding, ranging from the .250s to the .280s. He reached AA in 1995, AAA in 1997, and made his debut in the majors at the end of May, 1998. He was always a part-time player, never getting more than 256 at-bats with the Marlins. Redmond did well in that role, however, hitting over .300 four times. He stayed with Florida for seven seasons before becoming a free agent after the 2005 campaign. Redmond signed with the Twins and remained a part-time player, although he set a career high in at-bats in 2007 with 272. He again did a good job in a part-time role, hitting over .300 twice more. As a Twin, Mike Redmond hit .297/.339/.359 in 863 at-bats. He dropped to .237 in 2009, however, and was allowed to become a free agent again. Redmond signed with Cleveland, again as a part-time catcher, but was released in mid-July, ending his playing career. He has stayed in baseball, however, and is currently the manager of the Miami Marlins.


  13. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
    Ryan Jorgensen (1979)
    Matt Tolbert (1982)
    Kevin Slowey (1984)
     
     
    Catcher Ryan Wayne Jorgensen played a total of three innings for the Twins in 2008. He was born in Jacksonville, Florida, went to high school in Kingwood, Texas, and attended LSU. He was then drafted by the Cubs in the seventh round in 2000. He really never had a productive offensive season in the minors above Class A; his best was 2004, when he hit .259 with eight homers for AAA Albuquerque. The Cubs traded him to Florida in March or 2002 in a trade that involved Dontrelle Willis, Antonio Alfonseca, and Matt Clement. Jorgensen does not seem to have been a regular catcher even in the minors; once he got above Class A, he never got as many as 250 at-bats in a minor league season. He was with the Marlins for about two weeks, presumably when one of their catchers was injured. He got four at-bats in four games and was 0-for-4. Jorgensen was traded to Cincinnati in March of 2006 and got another two weeks or so in the majors with the Reds in 2007, going 3-for-15. He became a free agent after the 2007 campaign and signed with Minnesota. He hit .247 in Rochester and got a September call-up, going 0-for-1 in two games. He signed with Cincinnati for 2009, but decided to retire instead. At last report, Ryan Jorgensen had moved back to Kingwood, Texas.
     
     
    Infielder Christopher Matthew Tolbert was with the Twins from 2008-2011. He was born in McComb, Mississippi, went to high school in Centreville, Mississippi, and attended the University of Mississippi. He was drafted by Minnesota in the sixteenth round in 2004. He has generally hit for a decent average in the minors, but with little power and only an average number of walks. He has hit over .300 in the minors twice: in rookie ball in 2004, when he hit .308, and in a half-season at Ft. Myers in 2006, when he hit .303 in 155 at-bats. After hitting .293 at Rochester in 2007, Tolbert spent most of 2008 with Minnesota, although he was injured part of the time. He hit .283 that season in 113 at-bats. He was with the Twins for a little over half of 2009, but hit only .232 in 198 at-bats. He began 2010 with AAA Rochester, but was called up in mid-May and spent most of the rest of the season in Minnesota. He was with the big club almost all of 2011 as a futility infielder, batting .198 with an OPS of .518. A free agent after 2011, he signed with the Cubs and did not have a particularly good year playing for AAA Iowa in 2012. He signed with the Phillies, has been injured most of the season, and is currently on a rehab assignment. As a Twin, he hit .230/.288/.319 in 605 at-bats. He turns 31 today. His future does not look particularly bright, but he hustles and he plays a lot of positions. It’s possible that his major league career is already over, but it would not be all that surprising if he got another call-up at some point.
     
     
    Right-hander Kevin Michael Slowey pitched for the Twins from 2007-2011. He was born in Conroe, Texas, attended high school in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania, and attended Winthrop University. He was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 2005. He was tremendous in the minors: his highest season-long ERA was 2.12 and his highest WHIP was 0.96. Slowey pitched only 7.2 innings of rookie ball in 2005 before being moved up to Beloit, where he posted an ERA of 2.24 and a WHIP of 0.78 in 64.1 innings. He made 14 starts at Ft. Myers in 2006 and was almost unhittable, going 4-2, 1.01 with a 0.68 WHIP before being promoted to New Britain. He was 10-5, 1.89 in 20 starts in Rochester in 2007. Slowey made his major league debut that year, going 4-1, 4.73 in 13 games, eleven of them starts. He was fairly good in 2008, but missed half of 2009 with a wrist injury. He was in the starting rotation in 2010, and did okay, going 13-6, 4.45, 1.29 WHIP in 28 starts. He was injured much of 2011 and was ineffective when he did pitch. After the season, he was traded to Colorado for a player to be named later (Daniel Turpen). He did not play for the Rockies, however, as he was traded to Cleveland about six weeks later. He was injured much of the season and did not pitch particularly well in eight AAA starts. A free agent after the season, he signed with Miami, made their rotation, and has pitched very well so far in 2013. As a Twin, he was 39-29, 4.66 with a WHIP of 1.30. He appeared in 100 games, 90 of them starts, and pitched 532.2 innings. He’s 29 today, has yet to establish himself, and has had injury problems. Kevin Slowey still could have a solid major league career, but if he doesn’t make it this time, it seems likely that time is going to run out on him.
  14. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Ben Revere (1988)
     
    Outfielder Ben Daniel Revere played for the Twins from 2010-2012. He was born in Atlanta, went to high school in Lexington, Kentucky, and was drafted by Minnesota in the first round in 2007. He mostly rose one level at a time, playing in rookie ball in 2007, Class A in 2008, advanced A in 2009, AA in 2010, and AAA in 2011 before being called up to the big club because of injuries. He hit over .300 each minor league season, with a high of .379 in Beloit in 2008. He hit ten triples in each of his first two seasons in the minors, but only hit four in each of the next two seasons. He has little power and does not draw a lot of walks (his high is 40 in 2009). He does have speed, stealing around forty bases a year. He wasn’t terrible with Minnesota in 2011, but he wasn’t great, either, hitting .267/.310/.309. He started 2012 in Minnesota as a fourth outfielder, but was sent back to Rochester for about a month, then came back and was a regular most of the season. After the 2012 season, he was traded to Philadelphia for Trevor May and Vance Worley. As a Twin, he hit .278/.319/.323 with 74 stolen bases in 254 games. Installed as the regular center fielder for the Phillies, he is off to a poor start in 2013. A fine defensive player, most of his offensive value lies in his ability to hit for a high average and steal bases. How successful he is at those two things in the major leagues will go a long way to determining whether he has much of a major league career.
  16. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Rudy Meoli (1951)
    Roy Lee Jackson (1954)
    Infielder Rudolph Bartholomew Meoli did not play for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for a couple of months in 1979. He was born in Troy, New York, went to high school in Covina, California, and was drafted by California in the fourth round in 1969. He hit .351 in rookie ball, but after that his averages, while solid enough, are not that impressive, especially when combined with the fact that he had little power. He did, however, draw quite a few walks, giving him very good OBPs. He moved steadily up the ladder, reaching AA in 1971 (a year when he got a September call-up) and AAA in 1972. He was in the majors for all of 1973, a year in which he was they Angels’ “most regular” shortstop, starting 87 games. He did not hit, batting only .223, and spent much of 1974 in the minors, coming back to California at the end of July. He got another full year in the majors in 1975 as a utility player, batting .214 in 126 at-bats. The Angels gave up on him at that point, and he started moving around. California traded him to San Diego after the 1975 season, but he was traded again, this time to Cincinnati, before the 1976 season started. He was in AAA Indianapolis for two seasons, then was sold to the Cubs before the 1978 campaign. He started the season as a utility infielder for the Cubs, but hit even worse than previously and was sent back to AAA in early July. The Cubs released him after the season and he signed with Philadelphia for 1979. He got back to the big leagues for about six weeks, but again did nothing offensively and was sold to Minnesota in late June. He was in AAA the rest of the season, batting .265/.360/.365 in 189 at-bats. He was released by the Twins prior to the 1980 season, signed with San Francisco, but was released at the end of spring training and his playing career ended. There was obviously something teams liked about him, because he kept getting chances, but he hit .212/.289/.267 in 626 major league at-bats spread over six seasons. He seems to be fondly remembered in his original home town of Troy. At last report, Rudy Meoli was the owner of Global Marketing Technologies of Placentia, California, and was a consultant for E-Z Sales & Marketing, Inc. of Gardena, California.
    Right-hander Roy Lee Jackson made 28 appearances for the Twins in 1986. Born and raised in Opelika, Alabama, he attended Tuskegee University and signed with the Mets as a free agent in 1975. He was a starter early in his minor league career and pitched well, reaching AAA in 1977. He pitched well in AAA for four consecutive years, consistently posting ERAs in the mid-threes, but got only brief chances in the majors until 1980, when he began shifting to the bullpen. He was with the Mets for the second half of the season that year and was pretty average. After the season, Jackson was traded to Toronto. He was a pretty valuable man in the Blue Jays’ bullpen for four seasons. His best year was probably 1982, when he was 8-8, 3.06 with a 1.11 WHIP in 97 innings. Jackson was still pitching well for Toronto in 1984, but was released late in spring training in 1985. He did not sign for a month and then went to AAA with Baltimore. The Orioles traded him to San Diego in late June. He pitched well for the Padres, but was released again late in spring training of 1986. The Twins signed him the same day. He made 28 appearances as a Twin and actually pitched fairly well, posting a 3.86 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP in 58.1 innings. Still, the Twins let him become a free agent, and he signed with Milwaukee for 1987. Jackson made four appearances at AAA for the Brewers, did poorly, and his playing career came to a sudden end. He believes that the sudden end to his career was because he was vocal about his Christian religious beliefs. The charge is hard to prove, of course, but he sure seemed to get released a lot for a pitcher who wasn’t that bad. The Museum of East Alabama, located in “historic downtown Opelika”, has “a large selection of memorabilia from Roy Lee’s Career”, so if you’re ever in historic downtown Opelika, be sure to stop by. Roy Lee Jackson is currently living in his home town of Opelika, where he is the pastor of the New Creation Service Center, a non-denominational church.
  17. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Ken Retzer (1934)
    Jeff Reboulet (1964)
     
    Catcher Kenneth Leo Retzer did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 1965. He was born in Wood River, Illinois and signed with Cleveland as a free agent in 1954. He began in Class D and rose very slowly. He hit for good averages most years, but with very little power. He reached Class A in 1956, but then missed 1957 due to military service. When he came back in 1958, he was once again in Class A. He got to AAA in 1959, went to the Philadelphia organization in mid-season of 1960, and was in the White Sox’ chain in 1961. He appears, however, to have remained the property of the Indians all that time, as he was traded in early September of 1961 by Cleveland to Washington. He was in the majors the rest of the season, batting .340 in 57 at-bats. He stayed with the Senators through 1963 and was their main catcher for those years, although he only caught 80-100 games each season. His average dropped each season, and when he got off to a poor start in 1964 he was sent to the minors in early May. After the 1964 season Washington traded Retzer to Minnesota for Joe McCabe. He spent 1965 at AAA Denver, hitting .270/.361/.357. He went to spring training with the Twins in 1966, but was traded to Houston shortly before the season started for Walt Bond. He remained in AAA for the rest of his career, playing in the Houston organization in 1966 and in the Baltimore and Cleveland systems in 1967. For his career, Ken Retzer hit .264/.316/.367 in 690 at-bats. He apparently is active in the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association and is reputed to be a very nice man.
     
     
    Infielder Jeffrey Allen Reboulet played for the Twins from 1992-1996, taking over the utility infielder role from Al Newman. He was born in Dayton, Ohio, went to LSU, and was drafted by Minnesota in the tenth round in 1986. He was a shortstop for most of his minor league career. His highest minor league average was .287 in Class A in 1986; he never topped .260 in a full minor league season after that. He also had no power: his highest home run total in the minors was four. Still, he came up to the majors in May of 1992 and stayed for ten years. He was always a reserve: the Twins used him primarily at shortstop, but he also played quite a bit of second and third as well as outfield. In his years with the Twins, he played every position except pitcher. His best year as a Twin was 1995, when he hit .292 in 216 at-bats. As a Twin, Jeff Reboulet hit .248/.335/.342 in 450 games with just over a thousand at-bats. He became a free agent after the 1996 season and signed with Baltimore, where he stayed for three years. After his worst year in the majors, when he hit .162 in 154 at-bats in 1999, he was sent to Kansas City. He had one year as a Royal, then moved to the Dodgers for two years. He was sent back to the minors for a month in 2002 and was released late in spring training of 2003, signing with Pittsburgh in April. Reboulet began 2003 in AAA, but came up to the majors in mid-May and got the most at-bats he’d ever had in a season, 261. He was pretty much the same hitter he’d always been, however, and after that season his playing career came to an end. After his retirement, Jeff Reboulet went back to Dayton and is a co-founder of Horizon Wealth Management, LLC, a full service financial planning and investment advisory firm. He is also the president of REB Sports Academy of Kettering, Ohio, an indoor sports training facility.
  18. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Ron Washington (1952)
     
    Infielder Ronald Washington was with the Twins from 1981-1986. Born and raised in New Orleans, Washington signed with Kansas City as a free agent in 1970. He was in the Royals’ system for six years, only one of them higher than Class A, and did nothing of any particular note apart from play several positions; he was used as a catcher, outfielder, shortstop, and second baseman. Washington was traded to the Dodgers after the 1976 season. He thrived in AAA Albuquerque, hitting .348 in about a year there. He got a September callup in 1977, but was apparently injured much of 1978. He was in the Mets’ organization in 1979, and was traded to Minnesota in late March of 1980 for Wayne Caughey. In 1981, Washington hit .289 with 15 homers in AAA Toledo and got a September call-up. He was the semi-regular shorstop for the Twins in 1982-1984, sharing the position with Lenny Faedo and Houston Jimenez, among others. He hit for a decent average, but rarely walked and had little power. He also was not considered a particularly good defensive shortstop. Washington was put into more of a utility role in 1985, spent time in the minors in 1986, and was released in late March of 1987. As a Twin, Ron Washington hit .265/.294/.373 in 1,258 at-bats. Baltimore picked him up and sent him to AAA Rochester, bringing him back to the majors for the second half of the season. He moved on to Cleveland for 1988, getting one more full season in the majors as a reserve shortstop. He moved on to AAA for Houston for 1989, getting about three weeks in the majors, then to Texas’ AAA team for 1990 before ending his playing career. Ron Washington remained in baseball after that, serving as a minor league coach and manager for the Mets from 1991-1995, and coaching at the major league level for Oakland from 1996-2006. He has been the manager of the Texas Rangers from 2007 to the present, reaching the World Series in 2010 and 2011.
  19. Jeff A
    Also posted in wgom.org
     
    Pedro Ramos (1935)
    Luis Quinones (1962)
    Sean Douglass (1979)
    Yoslan Herrera (1981)
     
    Right-hander Pedro (Guerra) Ramos played for the Twins in 1961 and was the starting pitcher in the first game the Minnesota Twins ever played. He was born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, and signed with Washington as a free agent in 1953. He had a fine year in 1954, split between Class C and Class B ball, and started 1955 in the major leagues, pitching mostly out of the Washington bullpen. He split 1956 between starting and relieving, and joined the starting rotation permanently in 1957. He led the league in losses the last three years the team was in Washington, but did not pitch that badly. His ERA for those three years was 3.93 and his WHIP was around 1.30. In two of those years he led the league in starts and batters faced, in one of them he led the league in innings, and he made the all-star team in 1959. When he came to Minnesota, he continued along that same path: Ramos was 11-20, 3.95 with a WHIP of 1.30. Just before the 1962 season, the Twins traded him to Cleveland for Vic Power and Dick Stigman. He had another sub-.500 year with a sub-four ERA, going 10-12, 3.71 in 201 innings, the sixth consecutive season he had thrown more than 200 innings. A fast runner, he was sometimes used to pinch-run on days he wasn’t pitching. He pitched well for the Indians again in 1963 but had a bad year in 1964 and was traded to the Yankees in September. The Yankees put him in the bullpen and he took over as their closer, saving eight games in 13 appearances to help the Yankees get to the World Series. He had two more fine years in the Yankees bullpen as well. He was traded to Philadelphia during Spring training of 1967, but after pitching eight poor innings he was surprisingly released. The Phillies turned out to be right, however. Ramos signed with Pittsburgh in 1968, but pitched poorly in AAA. He pitched briefly with the Pirates in 1969, but was released again in early June. Cincinnati picked him up and kept him in their bullpen the rest of the season, but things did not go well there, either. Ramos signed with Washington late in spring training of 1970, but could do no better and was released at the end of April, ending his playing career. He did a variety of things after that. He scouted in Latin America, opened a cigar business in Miami, and spent some time in prison on drug and weapons charges. He was a part-time pitching coach for Miami Dade Community College in the 1990s. At last report, Pedro Ramos was the owner of a cigar manufacturing business in Nicaragua.
     
     
    Infielder Luis Raul (Torruellas) Quinones played in three games for the Twins in 1992. Born and raised in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Quinones was signed by San Diego as a free agent in 1980. He was somewhat up and down in his minor league career, but was mostly pretty average at bat; his best year prior to making the majors was 1982, when he hit .288 with 16 homers in a season spent mostly at AA Amarillo. Oakland took him in the Rule 5 draft after that season and obviously worked something out to keep him, because he spent most of the season in the minors before getting his first taste of big league life with 45 plate appearances. Oakland moved him on to Cleveland after the 1983 campaign. He was in the minors for the Indians for a little over a year, getting traded to San Francisco in May of 1985. He was in the big leagues with the Giants for most of 1986, getting called up in early May. He was used almost exclusively as a reserve, playing in 71 games but making only 22 starts. The Giants released him after the season. He signed with Oakland, but eight days later was traded to the Cubs for Ron Cey. He was with the Cubs the second half of 1987, but was on the move again before the next season, traded to Cincinnati. He was in AAA most of 1988 but came up to the Reds in May of 1989 and stayed there through 1991. He never hit; his best year was 1989, when he hit .244 with 12 home runs. The Reds released him after 1991 and he signed with Minnesota. Quinones started the 1992 campaign with the Twins but played in only three games, going 1-for-4 with an RBI, before being sent to AAA. He did not have a particularly good year at AAA Portland, and was allowed to become a free agent after the season. He signed with Houston and started the 1993 season in AAA with the Astros, was released, signed with the Mariners, and stayed in AAA with the through the 1994 campaign. He was apparently out of baseball for a few years, although he may have been playing in Mexico or something, and then played for independent Atlantic City in 1998-1999 before ending his playing career. Luis Quinones was a manager and coach in the low minors for a while. Most recently, he was the hitting coach of the West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers organization) in 2010. However, no information about what Luis Quinones has done since then was readily available.
     
     
    Right-hander Sean Reed Douglass did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 2004. Born and raised in Lancaster, California, he was drafted by Baltimore in the second round in 1997. His minor league record is not particularly exceptional but is fairly solid; he would generally post an ERA in the low-to-mid-threes and a WHIP in the 1.30-1.40 range. He was up with the Orioles for parts of three seasons, bouncing back and forth between Baltimore and AAA from 2001-2003. His time in the majors was not successful, and the Orioles put him on waivers after the 2003 season. Minnesota signed him and took him to spring training in 2004, but they placed him on waivers near the end of the exhibition season. Toronto signed him and he started the season in the majors, but after three scoreless innings he was sent back to AAA. He came back to the Blue Jays in late July, but was not particularly successful. A free agent after the season, he moved on to Detroit and got the most playing time of his career, making sixteen starts for the Tigers. He did not do much with them, though, and was waived after the season. Cleveland selected him, but apparently thought better of it and released him less than two months later. He played for a few years in Japan, but then his playing career came to an end. For his major league career, Sean Douglass was 7-13, 6.11, 1.61 WHIP in 207.2 innings. He appeared in 54 games, 31 of them starts. His last season in Japan appears to have been 2008; no information about Sean Douglass since that time was readily available.
     
     
    Right-hander Yoslan (Betancourt) Herrera did not pitch for the Twins, but he made six starts for AAA Rochester in 2010. He was born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba. He was a member of the Cuban National Youth team from 1999-2000 and pitched for Pinar del Rio in the Cuban National League. He was left off the Cuban Olympic team in 2004 due to injury. In 2005, he defected and settled in the Dominican Republic. Herrera signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent in 2007. He was in the Pirates’ system for three seasons, spent mostly in AA. He struggled in his first year but pitched pretty well there in 2008-2009. The Pirates seemed reluctant to give him a chance at a higher level, however; despite going 17-10, 3.35 in his last 212 innings of AA, he got only five appearances at AAA. He did make five major league starts in 2008, going 1-1, 9.82 in 18.1 innings. The Pirates let him go after the 2009 season and he signed with Minnesota for 2010. His first three starts there were pretty good, but his last three were awful and he was released with a record of 0-3, 6.08 in 26.2 innings. What he did for the next couple of years is unclear, but this year he is playing for Lancaster in the Atlantic League. He’s 32 today and has nothing to recommend him as a prospect. On the other hand, teams are always looking for pitching. As the great philosopher Joaquin Andujar told us, you can sum up baseball in one word: youneverknow.


  20. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Jason Tyner (1977)
    Carlos Silva (1979)
    Sean Henn (1981)
     
    Outfielder Jason Reynt Tyner was with the Twins from 2005-2007. He was born in Bedford, Texas, went to high school in Beaumont, Texas, and was drafted by the Mets in the first round in 1998. He hit over .300 almost every year in the minors and stole a good number of bases, although even in the minors he did not hit a home run until 2004. He made his debut with the Mets in June of 2000, staying for about a month. Tyner was traded to Tampa Bay at the end of July that season. He started 2001 in the minors but was called up in mid-May and was a mostly-regular outfielder for the Devil Rays, hitting .280 with 31 stolen bases. That would be his only season with double digit steals. He split the next two years between AAA and the majors, slumping to .214 in 2002 but bouncing back to .278 in 2003 in 90 at-bats. He became a free agent in 2004 and signed with Texas, but was released a week into the season. He went to AAA with Atlanta, was released in late July, and signed with Cleveland, finishing the season with their AAA team. A free agent again after the 2004 campaign, Tyner signed with Minnesota. He hit .286 at AAA in 2005 and got a September call-up. Tyner was hitting .329 at AAA in 2006 when he was called up to the Twins in mid-July. 2007 was Tyner’s only full season in the majors: he hit .286 with his only major league home run that year. Tyner once again became a free agent after the 2007 season and signed with Cleveland. He was released in July and finished out the year in AAA with the White Sox. He signed with Houston for 2009, was released in spring training, and split the season between the Detroit and Milwaukee systems, where he hit only .153 in AAA in 85 at-bats. That brought his playing career to an end. As a Twin, Jason Tyner hit .299/.340/.356 in 578 at-bats. At last report, he was an instructor with the Southeast Texas Baseball Academy in Beaumont, Texas, which runs baseball programs for 8-12 year olds.
    Right-hander Carlos Silva was with the Twins from 2004-2007. Born and raised in Bolivar, Venezuela, he signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1996. He started slowly, but things started to come together in 1999, when in his fourth year of pro ball he had a good season at Class A Piedmont. He continued to do well, reaching AA in 2001. He was jumped to the majors in 2002 and was placed in the Philadelphia bullpen. He pitched well for the Phillies in 2002, but not as well in 2003. After that season, Silva was traded to Minnesota with Nick Punto and a player to be named later (Bobby Korecky) for Eric Milton. The Twins put him in the starting rotation, where he remained for four seasons. He pitched between 180-203 innings every year. Other than that, he was rather up and down; he had a fine year in 2005, decent seasons in 2004 and 2007, and was dreadful in 2006. A control pitcher, Silva walked only nine batters in 188.1 innings in 2005. He became a free agent after the 2007 season; as a Twin, Carlos Silva was 47-45, 4.42 in 773.2 innings. He appeared in 129 games, 123 of them starts. He signed with Seattle for 2008 and was awful. He struggled with injuries in 2009 and remained awful. Silva was traded to the Cubs for 2010, and was not awful, going 10-6, 4.22, 1.27 WHIP in 113 innings. He got into squabbles with other players and with management, however, and was released late in spring training of 2011. The Yankees signed him to a minor league contract a couple of weeks later but released him in early July. Silva signed with Boston for 2012 but was released in mid-March and did not sign with anyone. It seems unlikely that we’ll see him again, but you never know. At last report, Carlos Silva was living in Medina, Minnesota.
    Left-hander Sean Michael Henn made 14 appearances for the Twins in 2009. He was born in Ft. Worth and went to high school in Aledo, Texas. Henn attended McClennan Community College in Texas and was drafted by the Yankees in the 26th round in 2000. He pitched well in nine appearances in 2001, but missed all of 2002 with injury. He came back to have a good season at Class A in 2003. Henn reached AAA in 2005. He made his major league debut that year as well, making three starts for the Yankees. He made four more appearances in the majors in 2006, but did not spend substantial time there until 2007, when he started the season in New York and spent all but about six weeks there. He was not used very often (29 appearances, 36.2 innings), and did not pitch very well when he was used. Henn started 2008 back in the minors, was placed on waivers in early May, and was selected by San Diego. He was in the big leagues for about two weeks in May, but appears to have been injured part of the season. Minnesota signed him for 2009 and he pitched very well in the Rochester bullpen. He came to the Twins for about six weeks in mid-May to the end of June and posted a 7.15 ERA in 14 appearances totaling 11.1 innings. The Twins sent him to Baltimore in September “as part of a conditional deal” and he finished the season with the Orioles. The Orioles placed Henn on waivers after the season, and he signed with Toronto. He spent the season in AAA and did not pitch all that well, but the Blue Jays saw enough to send him back there for 2011, when he pitched quite well. A free agent after the 2011 season, he signed with Seattle for 2012 and was sent to AAA Tacoma, but did not do particularly well and was released in early June. He’s kept at it, though. He signed with Boston for 2013, was released in late March, and signed with the Mets on April 10, although he does not appear to have pitched in a game yet. He’s 32 today, but he is left-handed. If he could pitch well at the right time and catch someone’s eye, it’s still possible that Sean Henn could make it back to the major leagues.
     


  21. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org.
    Patrick Lennon (1968)
    Benj Sampson (1975)
    Luis Perdomo (1984)
     
    Outfielder Patrick Orlando Lennon was in the Twins’ minor league system for a couple of months in 1995. Born and raised in Whiteville, North Carolina, he was named North Carolina High School Athlete of the Year in 1986 and was drafted by Seattle with the eighth pick of the 1986 draft. His early minor league numbers were fairly pedestrian, but in 1991 he hit .329 with 15 homers at AAA Calgary, earning him a September call-up. Lennon was apparently injured much of 1992, as he had only 48 at-bats in AAA and two in the majors. He became a free agent after 1992 and signed with Colorado. He was released in April, signed and was out of baseball until July, when he signed with Cleveland. A free agent again after the season, he went to Boston for 1994, was released in July of 1995, and signed with the Twins. He hit .400 in 115 at-bats, but the Twins still let him go after the season. He spent a month in the big leagues in with Kansas City in 1996 and was released at the end of April. Lennon signed with Oakland and finished the season in their minor league system. He started the 1997 in AAA with the Atheletics, but was called up in mid-May and spent most of the rest of the season in the majors, the most big-league playing time he ever got (116 at-bats in 56 games). Lennon signed with Anaheim for 1998, was released in spring training, and went to Toronto, where he got 33 major league at-bats over two seasons before being released in June of 1999. He finished the season for the Tigers’ AAA team, was in AAA for Montreal in 2000, split 2001 between the Yankees’ AAA team and the Mexican League, split 2002 and 2003 between AAA and independent Long Island, and was a Long Island Duck in 2004 and 2005 before his playing career finally came to an end. He played in the minors for twenty seasons, hitting .295 in nearly six thousand at-bats, but got only 189 at-bats in the big leagues. At last report, Patrick Lennon was an instructor for Play Like A Pro Baseball in Hauppauge, New York.
     
     
    Left-hander Benjamin Damon Sampson pitched for the Twins for parts of two season from 1998-1999. He was born in Des Moines and went to high school in Ankeny, Iowa. Minnesota drafted him in the sixth round in 1993. He pitched well in the low minors, but less well as he went up the ladder. In parts of four AAA seasons, totally nearly three hundred innings, he never had an ERA below five. Despite that, he got two shots with the Twins, which is probably more of a statement about the Twins’ pitching in the late 1990s than anything else. He got a September call-up in 1998 following his best AAA season, when he went 10-7, 5.14 with a WHIP of 1.55 for Salt Lake. He made the Twins out of spring training in 1999 and was their fifth starter. That lasted for three starts, by which time Sampson had an ERA of 15.00. He stayed in the majors most of the season, pitching out of the bullpen except for one start in early August. He did not pitch well in either role, and was sent to the minors on August 19. He was in the organization three more years, pitching well in Ft. Myers in 2001 and in New Britain in 2002, but flopped again when promoted to AAA Edmonton later in 2002. The Twins finally let him go after that season and he signed with Colorado, for whom he had a good year at AA Tulsa. He then went to Taiwan for 2004 and to Italy for 2005 before retiring as a professional player. Benj Sampson’s big-league numbers, all with Minnesota, are 4-2, 6.83 with a WHIP of 1.78 in 88.1 innings. He appeared in 35 games, six of them starts. After retirement, he went into the business world. From 2006 to 2008, he was an account manager for USA ScoreTables, working with high schools in Texas to install scrolling media into gymnasiums, arenas, and stadiums. At last report, Benj Sampson was the national accounts consultant for Learning Through Sports, Inc., which is a leading publisher of digital game-based learning programs for K-12, as well as being a key figure in the company’s STAR mentors program.
     
     
    Right-hander Luis M. Perdomo made his debut for the Twins in 2012. He was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, and was signed by Cleveland as a free agent in 2003. He apparently spent a couple of years in the Dominican Summer League, as b-r doesn’t give any stats for him until 2006. A reliever his entire career, his numbers in the low minors are pretty good. Still, he did not make AA until mid-way through the 2008 season and was traded to St. Louis in late July. He was left unprotected that off-season and was chosen by San Francisco in the Rule 5 draft. The Giants kept him, but put him on waivers in early April before he had played a game for them. San Diego claimed him and kept him in the majors almost the entire season. He did not pitch particularly well, however, going 1-0, 4.80, 1.52 WHIP in 35 appearances (60 innings). He did pitch well in AAA in 2010, but did not pitch well when sent there again in 2011 and was allowed to become a free agent. Minnesota signed him and sent him to New Britain. He pitched very well there, continued to pitch well when promoted to Rochester, and spent nearly two months in the majors, where he did okay in seventeen innings. He has had problems with his control, which bothered him in the majors and are plaguing him in AAA so far this season. He’s 29 today, so he’s obviously not a top prospect. Still, he’s had some success in the minors, did not do badly in his time with the Twins, and with relief pitchers it can be hard to tell. It’s not out of the question that Luis Perdomo might get another shot or two at the big leagues.
  22. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org.
    Tom Norton (1950)
    Steve Lombardozzi (1960)
    Joe Crede (1978)
    Alejandro Machado (1982)
     
    Right-handed reliever Thomas John Norton made 21 appearances for the Twins in 1972. Born in Elyria, Ohio, he attended St. Clair County Community College of Port Huron, Michigan. Norton signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1969. He was somewhat up and down in his minor league career. After a decent but unspectacular season in AA Charlotte in 1971, Norton played the full 1972 season for the Twins. He was apparently injured part of that time, as he went two months without appearing in a game. For an undrafted 22-year-old who had never pitched above AA, he was pretty good: 0-1, 2.78 with a WHIP of 1.39 in 32.1 innings. Those would be his career numbers, though, as he never pitched in the big leagues again. He pitched well for AA Orlando from 1973-1975, but flopped whenever he was promoted to AAA. Minnesota gave up on him after the 1975 season. He made three starts for AA Knoxville in the White Sox organization in 1976 (he was a starter most of his minor-league career), but then his playing career came to an end at age 26. It was a brief career, but he got to spend a full season as a major league player, and there is probably not a huge number of pitchers with over 20 appearances who have lower career ERAs. No information about Tom Norton’s life after playing baseball was readily available.
     
     
    Second baseman Stephen Paul Lombardozzi was with the Twins from 1985-1988. Born in Malden, Massachusetts, he attended the University of Florida and then was drafted by Minnesota in the ninth round in 1981. He hit quite well in the low minors, but less well as he went up the ladder. Still, he hit .264 with 14 homers in AAA Toledo in 1985, which was good enough to get him a September call-up in which he hit .370 in 54 at-bats. He became the starting second baseman the next year and would hold the job for two seasons. Lombo never hit anywhere near as well again, but he was an excellent defensive player. He helped the Twins win the championship in 1987, but early in 1988 the Twins decided they could no longer live with his lack of offense and traded for Tom Herr. Due to Herr’s injuries, Lombardozzi still started about half the games, but in spring training of 1989 he was traded to Houston for two players to be named later (Ramon Cedeno and Gordon Farmer). Lombo never got much of a chance in Houston, spending most of his time in the minors, and was released in May of 1990. Detroit picked him up and sent him to AAA the rest of the season, after which his career came to an end. As a Twin, Steve Lombardozzi hit .233/.307/.345. After his playing career ended he ran a small business for a while, but then decided he wanted to get back into baseball. He was a minor league infield instructor for the Pittsburgh Pirates for a while. At last report, he was the head baseball coach at Good Counsel High School in Olney, Maryland. His son, also named Steve Lombardozzi, is an infielder for the Washington Nationals.
     
     
    Third baseman Joseph Crede played for the Twins in 2009. A cousin of major league pitcher Dennis Higgins, Crede was born in Jefferson City, Missouri and attended high school in Westphalia, Missouri. The White Sox drafted him in the first round in 1996. Crede had some fine years in the minors; his best was probably 2002, when he hit .312 with 24 home runs for AAA Charlotte. Those numbers were for less than a full season, because after having been given cups of coffee in the majors in 2000 and 2001, Crede was brought up for good in late July of 2002. He immediately became the starting third baseman for the White Sox, a job he held through the 2008 season. He was a very durable player early in his career and had some fine seasons for the Southsiders. His best year was 2006, when he hit .283 with 30 home runs and won a Silver Slugger award. The next year, however, injuries started to bother him, and he was never the same player again. He inexplicably made his lone all-star team in 2008, when he hit only .248 with 17 homers. He became a free agent after that season and signed with Minnesota. Crede was the Twins’ regular third baseman when healthy, but unfortunately “when healthy” was only about half the team’s games. As a Twin, he hit .225/.289/.414, with 15 home runs in 333 at-bats. He was out of baseball in 2010, signed a contract with Colorado for 2011, but did not report to spring training, deciding instead to retire. At last report he was living on a farm near Westphalia, Missouri. He was recently inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
     
     
    Infielder Alejandro Jose Machado did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system from 2008-2009. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, he signed with Atlanta as a free agent in 1998. He had some fine years in Class A, but struggled for a while when placed above that, which is understandable given his age. He played for several different organizations in the minors. The Braves traded him to Kansas City in July of 2001, the Royals sent him to Milwaukee in July of 2003, Milwaukee essentially gave him to Montreal in March of 2004, and the now Nationals traded him to Boston in January of 2005. He was gradually getting better as he went along, and in 2005 Machado hit .300 at AAA Pawtucket. That got him a September call-up, in which he went 1-for-5 with a walk and scored four runs. At present, those are his career numbers, as he has not made it back to the majors since. He dropped to .260 at Pawtucket in 2006, became a free agent, signed with Washington, and was left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft, when he was selected by Minnesota. He has not been able to stay healthy since then. Machado missed the entire 2007 season with injuries, but was in the Twins’ system the next two years. He was still injured part of the 2008 season, but hit .338 in 195 at-bats. Injuries again plagued him in 2009, when he hit .253 in 150 at-bats spread over four minor league teams. He became a free agent again after the 2009 season and signed with Florida. He was sent to AAA, released in mid-May, and finished the season in AA with Atlanta. He became a free agent after the season but did not sign with anyone, ending his playing career No information about Alejandro Machado since that time was readily available.
  23. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Greg Wells (1954)
    Larry Pashnick (1956)
    Jacque Jones (1975)
     
    The original Boomer Wells, first baseman Gregory De Wayne Wells had 54 at-bats with the Twins in 1982. Born in McIntosh, Alabama, he went to Albany State University (where he also played football and was drafted by the Jets in the sixteenth round) and signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent in 1976. He signed with the Pirates on March 26 and was released on April 7, making one wonder why Pittsburgh bothered in the first place. He played for independent Beeville in the Gulf States League that year, and was signed by Cleveland on February 14, 1977. The Indians released him on March 27; apparently teams liked the idea of signing Wells a lot more than they liked actually having him around. In mid-June, he signed with Toronto and finally got a chance to play for a major league organization. He was dominant in the low minors, but was simply fairly good when he was jumped from Class A to AAA. In 1981, though, he hit .292 with 20 homers at Syracuse and was called up to the majors once the strike ended. He spent the rest of the season in Toronto. After the season ended, he was traded to Minnesota as the player to be named later in a deal that sent Hosken Powell to the Blue Jays. The Twins sent him to AAA Toledo, where he had his best minor league season, hitting .336 with 28 home runs. He got a September call-up and was used in fifteen games as a first baseman and DH, but hit only .204 with no home runs. The Twins released him after the season and he went to Japan, where he played for ten years. He became a star in Japan, making the all-star team five times and becoming the first American to win the triple crown. He was inducted into the Albany State University Hall of Fame in 2003. At last report, Greg “Boomer” Wells was living in Cartersville, Georgia and helping care for his elderly mother.
     
     
    Right-hander Larry John Pashnick appeared in 13 games for the Twins in 1984. He was born in Lincoln Park, Michigan, attended Michigan State, and was signed by Detroit as a free agent in 1979. He did fairly well at every stop in the minors and reached the majors in 1982, beginning that season with the Tigers. He was in the big leagues for most of the season, was used both as a starter and in relief, and did reasonably well in both roles, going 4-4, 4.01 in 94.1 innings. He began 1983 in AAA, but had two stints in the majors totalling about two months. He did not do as well this time and was traded to Minnesota after the season for Rusty Kuntz. He started 1984 with the Twins and actually did pretty well, going 2-1, 3.52 with a 1.28 WHIP in 38.1 innings. Still, the Twins sent him out in late June, and he never made it back to the major leagues. In fact, 1984 was his last year, as his playing career ended after that. Not that he would have been a superstar, but it seems odd, given his record, that he did not get more of a chance. At last report, Larry Pashnick was living in Livonia, Michigan was the owner of Pashnick Sales LLC. He was active in Detroit Tigers’ alumni events and also in various charitable events.
     
     
    Outfielder Jacque Dewayne Jones played for the Twins from 1999-2005. Born and raised in San Diego, he attended Kennesaw State University of Kennesaw, Georgia, one of five major league players the school has produced. He was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 1996. Jones played for the U. S. Olympic team that year, so his professional career did not really get going until 1997. He hit well, showing double-digit home run power and narrowly missing .300 in both 1997 and 1998. He started 1999 in AAA, but was in the majors by early June and didn’t look back. He played center field in 1999, played both center and left in 2000, was in left field from 2001-2003, and moved to right for 2004-2005. Jones was a solid big-league outfielder throughout his tenure with the Twins. His best season was 2002, when he hit .300 with 27 home runs and 37 doubles. His numbers dropped in his last two years in Minnesota, and Jones became a free agent after the 2005 season. He had a fine season for the Cubs in 2006, but in 2007 his power disappeared: he still hit .285, but had only five home runs. The Cubs traded Jones to Detroit after the season, and he collapsed. He hit only .165 in 79 at-bats for the Tigers in 2008 and was released in mid-May. He signed with Florida and was with the Marlins for a month, but continued not hitting and was released again. Jones spent 2009 with the independent Newark Bears, and was signed by Minnesota for 2010. He had a fine spring training, but was sent to AAA Rochester, where at this writing he was hitting .280 with little power. He became a free agent after the season and was not signed, ending his playing career. It was a pretty good career, though. As a Twin, he hit .279/.327/.455, numbers which are pretty much the same as his career numbers. Jacque Jones is currently the batting coach for the AA San Antonio Missions in the San Diego organization.
  24. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Bill Singer (1944)
    Bill Krueger (1958)
    Todd Jones (1968)
    John Barnes (1976)
     
    Right-hander William Robert Singer was with the Twins for four months in 1976. He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in Pomona, California, and signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1961. He advanced rapidly through the minors, reaching AAA in 1964 at age 20. He averaged over 200 innings per season in three years at AAA Spokane. His numbers weren’t that great, but it was the Pacific Coast League, and the Dodgers thought enough of him to give him a cup of coffee each of those three seasons. Singer made the team in 1967 and was in the majors for good. He was part of some fine pitching staffs with the Dodgers, and while he was never the ace he certainly contributed well. His best year as a Dodger was 1969, when he was 20-12 with a 2.34 ERA and pitched 315.2 innings. He was injured part of 1970, but remained in the Dodgers’ rotation through 1972. That off-season, the Dodgers traded Singer to the Angels, where he played for three years. His first season was there was his best; he went 20-14, 3.22 and again pitched 315.2 innings. He was again injured the following season, but remained in the Angels’ rotation through 1975. The Angels traded him to Texas after that season, and in June of 1976 he was traded to Minnesota along with Mike Cubbage, Jim Gideon, Roy Smalley, and $250,000 for Bert Blyleven and Danny Thompson. He finished the season with the Twins and pitched fairly well, going 9-9, 3.77 in 172 innings. He was left unprotected in the expansion draft, however, and Singer was selected by Toronto. He was the starting pitcher in the Blue Jays’ inaugural game, but he did not pitch well, was injured a couple of times, and was done by mid-July. He remained in baseball after his playing career ended, working in the front office for Florida, Arizona, and Pittsburgh. Bill Singer is currently the director of pro scouting for the Washington Nationals.
    Left-hander William Culp Krueger was with the Twins for five months in 1992. He was born in Waukegan, Illinois, but attended high school in McMinnville, Oregon. He attended the University of Portland and signed with Oakland as a free agent in 1980. He rose rapidly through the Oakland system and made his debut with the Athletics in 1983, jumping from AA to start the season in the majors. He pitched pretty well but was injured in early August, missing the rest of the season. He was a mediocre starter for Oakland in 1984 and 1985 and was injured much of 1986. He continued to pitch poorly 1987 and was traded to the Dodgers in June. Krueger spent much of 1987 and 1988 in AAA, but after a strong 1988 in Albuquerque he was traded to Pittsburgh. The Pirates released him in spring training and he signed with Milwaukee. He pitched well in the Brewers’ bullpen in 1989, having his first good season in six years, and by mid-June of 1990 he was placed in the starting rotation, where he continued to pitch well. After the 1990 season, Krueger became a free agent and signed with Seattle, where he had another good year. He was a free agent again after 1991 and signed with Minnesota. He made 27 starts as a Twin, going 10-6, 4.30 with a 1.31 WHIP. In late August, the Twins traded Krueger to Montreal for Darren Reed. Once more a free agent after the 1992 season, he signed with Detroit. He made four starts at the beginning of the season and three at the end, pitching out of the bullpen the rest of the time, and did pretty well. It was to be his last good season, however. He got off to a poor start in 1994, was released in June, signing with San Diego ten days later. He remained with the Padres until May of 1995, was released again, and signed with Seattle in mid-June. He spent most of his time with the Mariners in AAA, coming up to make five starts. His playing career came to an end after that. Bill Krueger is employed by Morgan Stanley & Co., and is a baseball analyst for Fox Sports Northwest. He is also active in the charitable organization Autism Speaks and is an instructor with Sammamish Baseball Academy in Redmond, Washington.
    Right-handed reliever Todd Barton Givin Jones made 24 appearances for the Twins in 2001. Born and raised in Marietta, Georgia, he went to Jacksonville State and was drafted in the first round by Houston in 1989. He was a starter for his first three years in the minors, then shifted to the bullpen in 1992. His minor league numbers are pretty underwhelming, but he was called up to the majors in July of 1993 and had immediate success. His role in the bullpen gradually increased in importance, as did his save total: in his four years with Houston, his save numbers are 2, 5, 15, 17. Despite the saves, 1996 was his worst year as an Astro: an ERA of 4.40 and a WHIP of 1.62. After that season, he was traded to Detroit as part of a nine-player swap. His first year as a Tiger was a good one, but after that had a fairly high ERA and a fairly high WHIP. By this time, however, he was an established closer, and he remained in that role through 2000, when he led the league with 42 saves. In 2001, however, he lost the closer role and then was traded to Minnesota at the end of July for Mark Redman. Jones appeared in 24 games for the Twins, going 1-0, 3.26 with a WHIP of 1.76 in 19.1 innings. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Colorado. He stayed with the Rockies for a year and a half, but did not pitch well and was released at the end of June of 2003. He made one start as a Rockie in 2003, giving him the record for most appearances prior to his first start (632). He finished the year with Boston, continuing to not pitch well. He moved on to Tampa Bay for 2004, was released in spring training, signed with Cincinnati, and was traded to Philadelphia in July. He signed with Florida for 2005 and had his first good season in many years, posting a 2.10 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in 73 innings. He had 40 saves that year. He was once again a free agent after that season and went back to Detroit. He was the Tigers closer for three years and did about what he had done in his previous stint, posting high ERAs and high WHIPs but getting a good number of saves. He finally lost the closer role in 2008 and retired after the season. He is probably the worst closer to compile 300 saves, but he still has the saves, and they put him in some pretty good company. At last report, Todd Jones was living in Pell City, Alabama. He coaches local youth baseball teams and is very active in a number of charities.
    Outfielder John Delbert Barnes played in 20 games for the Twins from 2000-2001. He was born in San Diego and went to high school in El Cajon, California. He then attended Grossmont College in El Cajon and was drafted by Boston in the fourth round in 1996. He put up decent but unspectacular numbers in the minors for two and a half years for the Red Sox, rising as high as AA, and then was traded to Minnesota along with Joe Thomas and Matt Kinney for Orlando Merced and Greg Swindell. He was okay, but no more, for New Britain. Then, in 2000, Barnes hit .365 with 13 homers at AAA Salt Lake. He got a September call-up and hit .351 in 37 at-bats. He fell to .293 in 2001 at AAA Edmonton, but got another two weeks with the Twins. The Twins put him on waivers in September, however, and he was chosen by Colorado. As a Twin, John Barnes hit .241/.313/.310 in 58 at-bats. He played in AAA for the Rockies in 2002, then was let go. He moved on to Pittsburgh for 2003 and hit .323 with 13 homers in AAA, but was not brought up to the majors. In 2004, he hit .348 in AAA with the Dodgers, but it again did him no good. He moved on to the Braves’ AAA team in 2005. He then signed with Boston and tried, at age 30, to become a knuckleball pitcher. He had some success, rising as high as AAA, but not enough to convince the Red Sox to bring him to the majors, and he called it quits after the 2007 season. John Barnes is currently an instructor with The Hitting Zone, which provides private baseball instruction in Modesto, California.
  25. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Steve Jones (1941)
    Jack Savage (1964)
    George Williams (1969)
     
    Left-hander Steven Howell Jones did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system from 1962-1963. He was born in Huntington Park, California, attended high school in Bell, California, went to Whittier College, and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1962. He was in the Twins’ organization for two years, one at Class D Erie and the other at Class A Wilson, and was nothing special. The White Sox apparently saw something in him, though, as they chose him in the minor league draft following the 1963 season. They promoted him to AA, where he was nothing special for two more years. In 1966, however, Jones had a pretty good year in AA. He had another good year in 1967 at AAA Indianapolis, and was in the majors by mid-August. He did okay in 25.2 innings, but was sent to Washington before the 1968 campaign as part of a multi-player deal. He had a fine season at AAA Buffalo and sent about two weeks in the majors with the Senators. Jones was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was chosen by Kansas City. He began the season with the Royals, lasting two and a half months and not pitching all that badly before he was sent down. He got a September call-up that same year, but then his major league career was over. He was in the minors for two more years, playing in AAA for the Kansas City, Baltimore, and Cleveland organizations before his playing career came to an end after the 1971 season. His brother, Gary, also played in the major leagues, pitching for the Yankees in 1970-1971. There are, of course, about eleventy billion people named Steve Jones; no information about this Steve Jones’ life since his playing days was readily available.
     
     
    Right-hander John Joseph Savage made 17 appearances with the Twins in 1990. He was born in Louisville and attended the University of Kentucky before being drafted by the Dodgers in the eighth round in 1985. A reliever for nearly all of his career, Savage had an excellent year in rookie-level Great Falls in 1985. He stumbled at Class A in 1986, but had another good year in AA in 1987. Savage got a September call-up that season, making three appearances for the Dodgers. After the season, however, he was sent to the Mets in a three-team trade that also included Kevin Tapani and Jesse Orosco. He had two solid years for AAA Tidewater, but did not get a chance in the majors. After the 1989 campaign, Savage was sent to Minnesota as the player to be named later in the trade that sent Rick Aguilera, Tim Drummond, Kevin Tapani, and David West to the Twins for Frank Viola. He threw twenty solid innings out of the Portland bullpen and was promoted to Minnesota in late June. Savage was seldom used and did not pitch well when he was used–he gave up at least one run in 13 of his 17 appearances. As a Twin, Jack Savage went 0-2, 8.31 in 26 innings. He spent one more season in the Twins’ minor league system and then his playing career ended. At last report, Jack Savage had returned to his home town of Louisville and was apparently working for the Louisville Slugger company.
     
     
    Catcher George Erik Williams did not play for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for most of 1999. He was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, attended the University of Texas—Pan American, and was drafted by Oakland in the twenty-fourth round in 1991. He had some solid years in the minors, averaging around .300 with double-digit homers from 1992-1995. He was called up to the majors in mid-July of 1995 and spent the next year and a half backing up Terry Steinbach. He shared the catching position with Brent Mayne in 1997 and hit .289, but that was as good as it got for him. He missed nearly all of 1998 with an injury, was allowed to become a free agent, and signed with Minnesota for 1999. He was sent to AAA Salt Lake and did well there, hitting .303/.424/.467, but was traded to Houston in early August for Josh Dimmick. He finished out the season in AAA for the Astros, became a free agent again, and signed with San Diego for 2000. He got back to the majors in mid-August, but that would be his swan song. He played briefly in AAA for Boston in 2001 and then his career was over. In the majors, he hit .243/.362/.367 in 428 at-bats over four seasons. There are almost as many people names George Williams as there are Steve Jones. No information about George Williams after his playing career ended was readily available.
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