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Jeff A

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Blog Entries posted by Jeff A

  1. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Hank Izquierdo (1931)
     
    Catcher Enrique Roberto (Valdes) "Hank" Izquierdo was a reserve catcher for the Twins for two months in 1967. Born and raised in Matanzas, Cuba, he started playing in organized baseball in 1951. He spent three years playing for the Galveston White Caps, and independent team in the Class B Gulf Coast League. He went to independent Winston-Salem in 1954 before going to the Cleveland organization with Class B Keokuk in 1955. He hit .302 that year, his fifth in Class B, and also played at least one game at each position that season. When he moved higher, unfortunately, his hitting ability could not keep up. Minor league transaction records from the 1950s are not good, but Izquierdo moved to the Baltimore organization sometime in 1956 and to the Cincinnati organization in 1957. He spent five years in AAA for Cincinnati, playing in Havana and Jersey City. He hit .190 in 998 at-bats over that five-year period. He retired after the 1961 season to become the bullpen coach for Cleveland, but in 1963, he made a comeback with in the Twins' organization. He hit .297 playing in Class A at age 32. He spent the next two years at AA before once again reaching AAA at age 35 in 1966. He was hitting .300 in 1967 at AAA Denver when at age 36 Hank Izquierdo made his major league debut. Used as a reserve, he went 7-for-26 with two doubles and two RBIs in the major leagues. Izquierdo moved to the Houston organization, playing in AAA through 1969. After the 1968 season, he was driving a taxi in Miami during the off-season and was shot in the stomach during a robbery, nearly dying. His playing career ending in 1969 when he got into a fight with Ted Simmons in a AAA game and swung a bat at him, fortunately missing. He managed in the Mexican League for several years and was a scout for the Twins in the 1980s. At last report, Hank Izquierdo was living in West Palm Beach, Florida.
  2. Jeff A
    ​Also posted at wgom.org.
     
    Paul Powell (1948)
    Tim Corcoran (1953)
     
    Outfielder Paul Ray Powell was with the Twins for about six weeks in 1971. He was born in San Angelo, Texas and attended Arizona State. He played both baseball and football at ASU, playing as a defensive back and as a place kicker (in 1968, he led the NCAA in scoring by kick). He was chosen by Minnesota with the seventh pick of the 1969 draft. He hit .291 in AAA Evansville in 1970 and started 1971 as a reserve outfielder on the big club. He appeared in twenty games, making six starts, seven appearances as a pinch runner, two appearances as a pinch hitter, and was used as a defensive replacement five times. He went 5-for-31 with one home run and was sent to the minors. He had a poor year in AAA and after the season was traded to the Dodgers for Bobby Darwin. Powell bounced back to hit .301 in AAA Albuquerque in 1972, and started 1973 with the Dodgers. He didn't last long, however, playing in only two games and getting only one at-bat before being sent back to AAA. Powell was in Albuquerque through 1975, getting ten more big league at bats in his last season. His career came to an end after the 1975 season. After leaving baseball, Paul Ray Powell entered the real estate business, and appears to have been rather successful. At last report, he was a broker with Realty Executives, a real estate company with offices all over the country.
    First baseman/outfielder Timothy Michael Corcoran played for the Twins for a month in 1981. Born in Glendale, California, he attended Cal State--Los Angeles and signed with Detroit as a free agent in 1974. He hit for a high average throughout the minors, hitting over .300 three times in four years. He made his big-league debut in mid-May of 1977 as a reserve outfielder and continued to hit well, posting a .282 average in 103 at-bats. 1978 was Corcoran's first full year in the majors, as he platooned with John Wockenfuss in right field. He hit for a decent average, but for no power whatsoever, and after getting off to a slow start in 1979, he was back at AAA. He hit .338 there, which got him another shot at the majors in 1980. He got another full year in the big leagues as a reserve first baseman/corner outfielder and did pretty well, hitting .288 with an OPS of .784 in 153 at-bats. He was back in AAA in 1981 until he was traded to the Twins in September as the player to be named later in a deal that sent Ron Jackson to Detroit. Corcoran played for the Twins the rest of the 1981 season, platooning at first base with Mickey Hatcher. He hit .176/.259/.235 in 51 at-bats and was released prior to the 1982 campaign. He signed with Philadelphia and again hit very well in AAA, averaging .300 over the next two years. This got him two years in the majors with the Phillies as a reserve first baseman and outfielder. He hit .341 in 208 at-bats in 1984, but hit .214 in 182 at-bats in 1985. He was released after the season, signed with the Mets for 1986, got seven at-bats, and was released in June. He was back in the minors with the Phillies in both 1987 and 1988, and then his playing career came to an end. He was inducted into the Cal State--L. A. Hall of Fame in 1985. No information about Tim Corcoran's life after his playing career ended was readily available.
  3. Jeff A
    Paul Powell (1948)
    Tim Corcoran (1953)
     
    Outfielder Paul Ray Powell was with the Twins for about six weeks in 1971. He was born in San Angelo, Texas and attended Arizona State. He played both baseball and football at ASU, playing as a defensive back and as a place kicker (in 1968, he led the NCAA in scoring by kick). He was chosen by Minnesota with the seventh pick of the 1969 draft. He hit .291 in AAA Evansville in 1970 and started 1971 as a reserve outfielder on the big club. He appeared in twenty games, making six starts, seven appearances as a pinch runner, two appearances as a pinch hitter, and was used as a defensive replacement five times. He went 5-for-31 with one home run and was sent to the minors. He had a poor year in AAA and after the season was traded to the Dodgers for Bobby Darwin. Powell bounced back to hit .301 in AAA Albuquerque in 1972, and started 1973 with the Dodgers. He didn't last long, however, playing in only two games and getting only one at-bat before being sent back to AAA. Powell was in Albuquerque through 1975, getting ten more big league at bats in his last season. His career came to an end after the 1975 season. After leaving baseball, Paul Ray Powell entered the real estate business, and appears to have been rather successful. At last report, he was a broker with Realty Executives, a real estate company with offices all over the country.
    First baseman/outfielder Timothy Michael Corcoran played for the Twins for a month in 1981. Born in Glendale, California, he attended Cal State--Los Angeles and signed with Detroit as a free agent in 1974. He hit for a high average throughout the minors, hitting over .300 three times in four years. He made his big-league debut in mid-May of 1977 as a reserve outfielder and continued to hit well, posting a .282 average in 103 at-bats. 1978 was Corcoran's first full year in the majors, as he platooned with John Wockenfuss in right field. He hit for a decent average, but for no power whatsoever, and after getting off to a slow start in 1979, he was back at AAA. He hit .338 there, which got him another shot at the majors in 1980. He got another full year in the big leagues as a reserve first baseman/corner outfielder and did pretty well, hitting .288 with an OPS of .784 in 153 at-bats. He was back in AAA in 1981 until he was traded to the Twins in September as the player to be named later in a deal that sent Ron Jackson to Detroit. Corcoran played for the Twins the rest of the 1981 season, platooning at first base with Mickey Hatcher. He hit .176/.259/.235 in 51 at-bats and was released prior to the 1982 campaign. He signed with Philadelphia and again hit very well in AAA, averaging .300 over the next two years. This got him two years in the majors with the Phillies as a reserve first baseman and outfielder. He hit .341 in 208 at-bats in 1984, but hit .214 in 182 at-bats in 1985. He was released after the season, signed with the Mets for 1986, got seven at-bats, and was released in June. He was back in the minors with the Phillies in both 1987 and 1988, and then his playing career came to an end. He was inducted into the Cal State--L. A. Hall of Fame in 1985. No information about Tim Corcoran's life after his playing career ended was readily available.
  4. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org.
    Corky Miller (1976)
    One of the finest fourth-string catchers in the history of baseball, Abraham Philip "Corky" Miller played for the Twins at the beginning of 2005. Born and raised in Yucaipa, California, he attended the University of Nevada--Reno and was signed by Cincinnati as a free agent in 1998. He had an excellent year in 2001 split between AA and AAA, hitting .309 with 16 home runs in 314 at-bats. That got him a September call-up, and was the first of ten consecutive years in which Miller played at least part of the season in both the majors and the minors. The most playing time Miller has gotten in a major league season came in 2002, when he played in 39 games and had 114 at-bats for Cincinnati. He was placed on waivers after the 2004 season and was claimed by Minnesota. He started 2005 with the Twins and played in five games, getting twelve at-bats. As a Twin, Corky Miller hit .000/.000/.000. Sent to AAA at the end of April, he hit .229 there and became a free agent after the season. He started 2006 with Seattle, was released in mid-April, and finished the campaign with the Red Sox, for whom he went 0-for-4 (for a three-year period from 2004 through 2006, Miller's major league average was .018 (1-for-55)). He was with Atlanta for 2007 and 2008, signed with the White Sox for 2009, and was traded to Cincinnati in late June. He remained there for 2010, splitting the season between AAA and the majors, and actually had one of his better seasons, hitting .243/.282/.392 in 74 major league at-bats. He could not sustain his success in 2011, hitting .200 (although with an OBP of .348) in 145 at-bats for AAA Louisville. He bounced back in 2012 for Louisville, hitting .235 with an OBP of .386. In ten partial seasons in the majors, Miller hit under .200 six times and under .100 four times. His career major league numbers are .188/.270/.300 in 504 at-bats. Corky Miller is still in the Cincinnati organization, having signed with them for 2013. He turns 37 today. One has the feeling that Corky Miller will be in baseball in some capacity for at least the next thirty years.
  5. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org.
     
    John Smiley (1965)
    Dan Masteller (1968)
    Scott Downs (1976)
     
    Left-hander John Patrick Smiley pitched for the Twins in 1992. He was born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania and went to high school in Graterford, Pennsylvania. He was drafted by Pittsburgh in the twelfth round in 1983. He struggled early in his minor league career and was moved to the bullpen in 1986. He had a very good year in relief, posting an ERA of 3.10 and a WHIP of 1.16 in 90 innings in Class A. That got him a September call-up, and the next year he stayed in the majors, never going back to AA or AAA. Smiley was used in relief in 1987 and did not do a whole lot, but he joined the starting rotation in 1988 and stayed in a major league rotation for ten years. He was in the Pirates' rotation through 1991. His last year with Pittsburgh was his best, as Smiley went 20-8, 3.08 in 207.2 innings. He made his first all-star appearance that year, finished third in Cy Young voting, and was fourteenth in MVP balloting. In March of 1992, Smiley was traded to the Twins for Midre Cummings and Denny Neagle. He had an excellent year for the Twins, going 16-9, 3.21 with a 1.12 WHIP and setting a career high with 241 innings. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Cincinnati. Smiley struggled in 1993, dealing with both injuries and ineffectiveness. He bounced back in 1994 and had three consecutive years with ERAs under four and WHIPs under 1.30. He made the all-star team for the second time in 1995 He had a poor year in 1997, and an injury shortly after his mid-season trade to Cleveland led Smiley to retire after the 1997 season. John Smiley was never a superstar, but he was a solid rotation starter for several years. At last report, he was living in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.
    First baseman/outfielder Dan Patrick Masteller was with the Twins for a little over half of the 1995 season. He was born in Toledo, attended Michigan State, and was drafted by Minnesota in the eleventh round in 1989. He did not show much power in the minors, but hit over .300 for three consecutive years, most of which were in AAA Salt Lake. He was in the third of those years when he was brought up to Minnesota in late June of 1995. The left- handed hitter was used almost exclusively against right-handed pitching, sharing first base with Scott Stahoviak and also playing a little corner outfield. Masteller played in 71 games that season, getting 198 at-bats. He hit .237/.303/.343 with three homers and 21 RBIs. Released after the season, he was signed by Montreal and again hit for a high average in AA, but apparently no one was impressed; he was let go in mid-season and finished the year in the independent North Atlantic League. 1996 was to be Masteller's last season in organized baseball. At last report, Dan Masteller was living in Akron, Ohio and was a senior vice president with CB Richard Ellis, a real estate investment broker which proclaims itself "the global leader in real estate services."
    Left-hander Scott Jeremy Downs did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system briefly in 1999. Born and raised in Louisville, he attended the University of Kentucky and was drafted by the Cubs in the third round in 1997. He pitched pretty well in their system for two seasons, but in November of 1998 he was the player to be named later in the deal that sent Mike Morgan to the Cubs. He pitched 19.2 innings in New Britain and 9.2 innings in Ft. Myers, doing poorly for the former and well for the latter, when he was sent back to the Cubs on May 21 of 1999 along with Rick Aguilera for Kyle Lohse and Jason Ryan. He made the Cubs starting rotation at the start of the 2000 season, but did not do well and was traded to Montreal at the July trading deadline for Rondell White. He made one start for the Expos and then went down with an injury, missing the entire 2001 season. He spent most of the next three years in the minors, making one major league start in 2003 and 12 in 2004. After that season, he was released by the then Washington franchise and signed with Toronto. He started the season in the minors but made it back to the big leagues for good in mid-May of 2005 and began a transition to the bullpen. He began pitching better immediately, and started pitching really well as a LOOGY in 2007. He was a free agent after the 2010 season, signed with the Angels, and continued to pitch well. From 2007-2012, Downs has appeared in 379 games and pitched 334 innings. He is 17-17 with 25 saves, an ERA of 2.32, and a WHIP of 1.16. Last year was the worst of those years, but he still posted an ERA of 3.15 and a WHIP of 1.31. He's 37 today. It's possible last year signaled a decline that will have in out of baseball soon, but it's at least equally possible that Scott Downs can continue as a LOOGY for several more years.
  6. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org.
    Rick Renick (1944)
     
    Infielder/outfielder Warren Richard Renick played for the Twins from 1968-1972. Born and raised in London, Ohio, he attende Ohio State and was signed by Minnesota as a free agent in 1965. Renick did not show a whole lot of promise in the minors, although he did hit 20 homers at Class A Wilson in 1967. He was hitting .247 with ten homers at AAA Denver in 1968 when he was called up in mid-July to try to fill a void at shortstop. Renick held the starting shortstop job for about a month, but when he hit no better than the others the Twins had tried he went to the bench. Renick stuck in the majors, though, staying with Minnesota for the next four full seasons. He was used primarily at third base and left field the rest of his time in the big leagues. Renick never got 200 at-bats in a season, never batted higher than .245, and never hit more than seven home runs in a season. After the 1972 season, Renick played six years at AAA, four with the Twins and two in the Montreal organization. As a Twin, Rick Renick hit .221/.302/.373 in 553 at-bats over 276 games. For his last five seasons at AAA, Renick was a player-coach. His playing career ended after the 1978 season, and he became a coach for Kansas City from 1979-1981. He managed in AA for Montreal from 1982-1984, and then became a major league coach for the Expos from 1985-1986. Renick was a coach for the Twins from 1987-1990, then managed at AAA for the White Sox from 1991-1996. Renick coached in the majors for Pittsburgh from 1997-2000, for the Expos in 2001, and for Florida in 2002. Rick Renick appears to currently be living in retirement in Sarasota, Florida. His son, Josh, played in the minor leagues from 2001 through 2007, spending 2001-2003 in the Twins organization, before becoming an assistant coach for Tennessee Wesleyan College.
  7. Jeff A
    Wayne Granger (1944)
    Steve Stroughter (1952)
    Mickey Hatcher (1955)
    Mike Pagliarulo (1960)
    Dan Perkins (1975)
     
    Right-handed reliever Wayne Allan Granger was co-closer with Dave LaRoche in 1972. He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, went to high school in Huntington, Massachusetts, and then attended Springfield College, the same school attended by ex-Twin Glenn Adams. Granger signed with St. Louis as a free agent in 1965. He was a starter that year, but shifted to the bullpen in 1966. He pitched quite well in the minors, reaching AAA in 1967. In 1968, after posting a 2.16 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP in 25 AAA innings, Granger made his big league debut in early June. He pitched very well the rest of the season, going 4-2, 2.25 with four saves in 44 innings. He was traded to Cincinnati after the season and did very well there for three years. He led the league in saves with 35 in 1970 and led the league in appearances in 1969 and 1971. He twice received consideration for the MVP award and finished eighth in Cy Young voting in 1970. After the 1971 season, Granger was traded to Minnesota for Tom Hall. He continued to pitch very well, going 4-6, 3.01 with 19 saves and a 1.24 WHIP for the Twins in 1972. After the season, though, Granger was on the move again, traded to St. Louis for John Cumberland and Larry Hisle. After that, he seemed to kind of hit the wall, and while he had a couple more decent years, he was never a top reliever again. Granger did not pitch particularly well for the Cardinals and was traded to the Yankees in August of 1973. The Yankees released him in late March of 1974 and Granger signed with the White Sox. He spent much of 1974 at AAA, and did not do well in the majors when he did pitch there. Released after the season, Granger signed with Houston for 1975 and was decent, but no more. He was released after the season and signed with Montreal for 1976. He was with the Expos for the first half of the season and was okay, but not very good, and was sent to the minors. The Expos released him in February of 1977, he signed with Atlanta, and was released again in March. Granger pitched in Mexico in 1977, apparently did not play in 1978, and then tried to come back with Montreal in 1979 but was ineffective in AAA, ending his playing career. Wayne Granger was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Fame in 1982. After leaving baseball, he worked for a sporting goods company, then at a boat dealership, and then started a billiard business that lasted for fourteen years, until his retirement.
     

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


  8. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
     
    Scotti Madison (1959)
    Keith Hughes (1963)
    Luis Castillo (1975)
    Sean Burroughs (1980)
    Carmen Pignatiello (1982)
     
    Catcher Charles Scott “Scotti” Madison did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them. Born and raised in Pensacola, Florida, he was drafted by the Twins in the third round of the 1980 draft out of Vanderbilt. Madison was started at AA Orlando and did not do well, batting only .230. Dropped down to Class A Visalia in 1981, he hit much better, and was traded to the Dodgers that offseason with Paul Voight in a trade that brought Bobby Castillo and Bobby Mitchell to the Twins. Madison slumped again when promoted to AA and AAA in 1982, but did better after that, batting over .300 in a 1983 split between AA San Antonio and AAA Albuquerque. He was purchased by the Tigers organization during 1984 spring training, and after a solid season at AA Birmingham and a good 1985 split between Birmingham and AAA Nashville, Madison was given a brief callup by the Tigers. He got another brief chance with the Tigers in 1986, but then became a free agent and signed with the Royals. He was named the most popular player on the Omaha Royals in 1987, and got to Kansas City briefly in both 1987 and 1988, and became a free agent again, signing with Cincinnati. In 1989, he played in 40 games with the Reds, his longest stint in the big leagues, getting 108 at-bats. He played third base for Cincinnati, despite not having played there much in the minors. Madison’s career ended after that year: he had a career batting average of .163 in 166 at-bats. Now living in Georgia, Scotti Madison is the founder of RAPHA Products Group, an international sourcing company focused on locating and delivering innovative, quality products to the U.S. marketplace and selected foreign countries. The company’s flagship product is the Triggerlite flashlight.
     
     
    Outfielder Keith Wills Hughes did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA for them in 1992. He was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1981. He hit .329 with 15 homers in Class A in 1983, and in mid-1984 was traded to the Yankees in a deal that involved Shane Rawley. He hit .307 for the Yankees in AA in 1986. Hughes was with the Yankees briefly in 1987 but was traded back to Philadelphia in early June in a deal involving Mike Easler. He was with the Phillies for about two months that season, then was traded to Baltimore. He was with the Orioles the majority of the 1988 season, used mostly as a reserve right fielder. He was back in the minors in 1989, and after that season he was traded once again, this time to the Mets. He hit .309 in AAA and earned a September call-up, but was released after the season. He signed back with the Yankees for 1991, spent the season in AAA, and signed with Minnesota for 1992. He was in AAA Portland all year, hitting .271/.344/.416 in 221 at-bats. A free agent again after that season, he signed with Cincinnati, again spending most of the year in AAA but getting four at-bats in the majors. He was out of baseball in 1994, came back in 1995 to spend the season in AAA with the Royals, and then his playing career was over for good. As a major league player, he hit .204/.286/.284 in 201 at-bats. Keith Hughes now lives in Philadelphia and is a regional manager for EBC Carpet Services, a company which provides customized carpet maintenance programs for commercial businesses.
     
     
    Second baseman Luis Antonio (Donato) Castillo played for the Twins in 2006-2007. He was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, went to high school in Humacao, Dominican Republic, and was signed by the Florida Marlins as a free agent in 1992 at age 16. He had a high batting average, although with almost no power, throughout the minor leagues, posting a career minor-league average of .303. He came up to the Marlins in 1996 as a part-time player, and did not get a full-time major league job until 1999, He made the most of it, hitting .302 and stealing 50 bases. Castillo remained the starting second baseman for the Marlins through 2005, hitting over .300 five times, making three all-star appearances, winning three gold gloves, and playing on two world championship teams. In the 2005-06 off-season, he was traded to the Twins for Scott Tyler and Travis Bowyer. Castillo was the starting second baseman for the Twins in 2006 and the first four months of 2007, and continued to hit as he had, batting .299/.357/.363 as a Twin. At the end of July, 2007, he was traded to the Mets for Drew Butera and Dustin Martin. Castillo hit poorly during an injury-plagued 2008, bounced back to hit .302 in 2009, but again hit poorly in an injury-plagued 2010. The Mets released him in spring training; he signed with Philadelphia, but was released again nine days later, bringing his major league career to an end. At last report, Luis Castillo was living in Caldwell, New Jersey.
     
     
    The son of big leaguer Jeff Burroughs, third baseman Sean Patrick Burroughs appeared in ten games for the Twins in 2012. He was born in Atlanta and attended high school in Long Beach. Along the way, he became a hero for a Long Beach team that twice won the Little League World Series. He was drafted by San Diego in the first round in 1998 and played for the U. S. Olympic gold medal team in 2000. He did not hit for much power in the minors but posted high batting averages. He reached AAA in 2001 and was the starting third baseman for the Padres in 2002 at the age of only 21. He started well, but slumped badly in May and was sent back to AAA, returning as a September call-up. He was back as the starter in 2003-2004 and posted solid batting averages, but had no speed and no power. He lost the starting job again in 2005, this time for good, and was traded to Tampa Bay at the end of the season. He did little for the Devil Rays and was released in August. He moved on to Seattle for 2007 but was released again in mid-June. He was then out of baseball for four years, which he attributes to a drinking problem. In 2011, he attempted a comeback with Arizona. Still only thirty, he tore up the Pacific Coast League and was called up to the Diamondbacks in mid-May, where he did fairly well as a bench player. He signed with Minnesota for 2012 and started the season in the majors, but got only seventeen at-bats in April, going 2-for-17, and was sent to Rochester, where he was decent but nothing more. A free agent after the season, he signed with the Dodgers, but hit only .220 in 52 games of AA ball. Sean Burroughs turns thirty-three today. He played in winter ball last year. If he does so again, and if he does really well, it’s possible that someone will give him another shot, but it seems unlikely.
     
     
    Left-hander Carmen Peter Pignatiello did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA with them for about a month in 2009. He was born in Hammond, Indiana, went to high school in Lenox, Illinois, and was drafted by the Cubs in the twentieth round in 2000. He was a starter for much of his minor league career, but began switching to relief in 2005. He did pretty well in that role in 2006 and 2007, spending about three weeks in the majors with the Cubs in 2007, pitching two innings in four games. He began 2008 in the majors, appearing in two more games and pitching two-thirds of an inning before being sent back to AAA. He had a bad year in AAA that season and became a free agent after the season was over. The Twins signed him and sent him to AAA Rochester, where he pitched seven innings in four games, posted an ERA of 14.14, and was released on May 1. He finished the year with Schaumberg of the independent Northern League; then his playing career came to and end. In his major league career, he appeared in six games, pitched 2.2 innings, and posted an ERA of 6.75. Carmen Pignatiello was the pitching coach for the Joliet Slammers of the Frontier League from 2011-2012. He currently owns a Nationwide Insurance agency in the Chicago area.
  9. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Len Whitehouse (1957)
    Riccardo Ingram (1966)
    Anthony Swarzak (1985)
     
     
    Left-hander Leonard Joseph Whitehouse played for the Twins from 1983-1985. He was born in Burlington, Vermont and was signed by the Texas Rangers as a free agent in 1976. He did not pitch very well in the minors, having only one season (1981 in AA Wichita) in which his ERA was under 4.00. He was left-handed, however, and so he got a September call-up with the Rangers in 1981, and after spending 1982 in AAA Denver he was traded to the Twins for John Pacella. Whitehouse was with the Twins for a little over two seasons, appearing in 60 games in 1983, 30 in 1984, and five in 1985. He actually seemed to pitch better in the big-leagues than he did in the minors: in his two full seasons with the Twins he was 9-3 with 3 saves and a 3.86 ERA. Whitehouse pitched poorly in 1985, however, both in his short stint with the Twins and in AAA Toledo, and was released. He pitched for AA Glens Falls in the Tigers organization in 1986 before calling it a career. At last report, Len Whitehouse was coaching high school and American Legion baseball in his home town of Burlington, Vermont. He also does furniture upholstery for Saint Michael’s College. He is one of only two Vermont high school baseball players to reach the major leagues.
     
     
    Outfielder Riccardo Benay Ingram got eight at-bats with the Twins in 1985. He was born in Douglas, Georgia, went to Georgia Tech, and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the fourth round in 1987. Ingram spent two years in Class A and two more in AA. In this third year at AAA Toledo, 1994, he got a brief trial with the Tigers, going 5- for-23 (.217) with 2 RBIs. Ingram became a minor-league free agent and signed with the Twins organization for 1995. Ingram had his best season that year at AAA Salt Lake, batting .348 with 43 doubles and 12 home runs. He earned another short stint in the majors, going 1-for-8 in four games with the Twins. He again became a free agent after the season, and signed with the Padres organization, spending 1996 in AAA Las Vegas. Since retiring as a player, Riccardo Ingram has been a coach and manager in the Twins’ organization, and was a coach for the GCL Twins in 2013. Riccardo Ingram is a member of the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame, starring in both baseball and football while at the school.
     
     
    Right-hander Anthony Ray Swarzak pitched for the Twins in 2009 and from 2011 to the present. He was born in Ft. Lauderdale, went to high school in Davie, Florida, and was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 2004. He pitched pretty well at every minor league stop with the exception of his stint in New Britain in 2008, where he went 3-8 with a 5.67 ERA; however, he redeemed himself by going 5-0 with a 1.80 ERA in seven starts in Rochester. Swarzak was suspended for fifty games in 2007 for violating baseball’s drug policy–reportedly, he had used marijuana. Swarzak again pitched well in Rochester in 2009, and earned a trial in Minnesota. He did not do well there, going 3-7 with a 6.25 ERA in 59 innings. He had an awful season in Rochester in 2010, going 5-12, 6.21, 1.62 WHIP in 111.2 innings. He bounced back in 2011, doing reasonably well in Rochester and also reasonably well in Minnesota after being called up to the Twins in mid-May. 2012 was his first full season in the majors. He is having a fine year as a long reliever for the Twins in 2013. Overall in the majors, he is 11-22, 4.50, 1.38 WHIP at this writing. As a starter, he is 6-17, 5.79, 1.51 WHIP As a reliever, however, he is 5-5, 3.55, 1.28 WHIP. He turns twenty-eight today. There is talk of moving him back into the rotation, which appears to be more a result of the Twins starting pitcher options than of Swarzak’s abilities. If they keep him in the bullpen, however, he may well be a valuable pitcher for several years to come.
  10. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
    Jay Ward (1938)
    Alex Romero (1983)
     
     
    Utility player John Francis Ward played briefly for the Twins in 1963 and 1964. He was born in Brookfield, Missouri and was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 1956. He hit very well in the low minors, hitting exactly .300 in three years in Class D and C. He spent most of 1958 in the Washington organization, then was selected off waivers by the Kansas City Athletics. Ward was pretty average in AA and AAA, and was traded to the Dodgers after the 1961 season in a multi-player deal. He came to the Twins organization in July of 1962 in a trade for Bert Cueto. Ward was in the Twins’ organization through mid-1964, went to the Giants, came back to the Twins’ organization in 1965, went to Japan in 1966, went to Cleveland in 1967, came back to the Twins’ organization in 1968, went back to Cleveland for 1969, was with the Reds’ organization in 1970, and went to the Kansas City Royals’ organization in 1971. He got brief trials with the Twins in 1963 and 1964, batting .174/.283/.239 in 46 at-bats. Ward was also in the big leagues briefly in 1971 with Cincinnati, going 0-for-3. He showed some power in the minors, hitting 241 minor-league home runs, but never hit for a high average, and never got enough of a chance to see if he could have been a low-average slugger in the big leagues. After retiring as an active player, Jay Ward had a lengthy career as a minor league coach and manager. He then was the co-owner of a hitting school (with Wade Boggs) in Tampa, Florida, before retiring, first to Springfield, Missouri, then to Troy, Montana, where he enjoyed hunting and fishing. Jay Ward passed away in Troy on February 24, 2012.
     
     
    Outfielder Alexander Rafael (Galban) Romero did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for five seasons. He was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 2002. He worked his way up the ladder one level at a time, playing rookie ball in 2002, low Class A in 2003, high Class A in 2004, and Class AA in 2005, hitting at or very near .300 at every stop. He slumped a little in 2006, batting .263 in a year split between AA and AAA, and the Twins placed him on waivers after the season. Romero was selected by the Diamondbacks. He hit very well in AAA Tucson in 2007, and split 2008 and 2009 between AA and Arizona. Romero hit well over .300 each year in AA, but in the majors hit .239/.279/.339 in 280 major league at-bats, with 2 homers and 30 RBIs, in sporadic playing time. He was a free agent after the 2009 season and signed with Atlanta, but was released in late June and was not picked up by anyone. After the season, however, he signed with Florida, and hit very well in a season split between AA and AAA. He became a free agent and was not signed, so he went to the Mexican League for 2012 and hit extremely well. In 2013 he moved on to Italy and had an awesome year there. He’s thirty now. He’s done very well everywhere he’s been, so he might have been able to help somebody in the majors if he’d been given the chance. He wasn’t, though, and most likely it’s too late now.
  12. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Greg Olson (1960)
    Roy Smith (1961)
    Pat Meares (1968)
    Micheal Nakamura (1976)
     
     
    Catcher Gregory William Olson appeared in three games for the Twins in 1989. He was born in Marshall, Minnesota, went to high school in Edina, Minnesota, attended the University of Minnesota, and was drafted by the Mets in the 7th round in 1982. He should not be confused with pitcher Greggory William Olson, who also played for the Twins. The Olson we’re dealing with here had not caught in high school, but was converted to catcher in college. He spent six years in the Mets’ minor-league system, usually as a part-time player, putting up offensive numbers that were not awful but that would not catch anyone’s attention, either. Olson became a six-year minor league free agent, and the Twins signed him after the 1988 season. He was in Portland for 1989, and did not do much on offense there either, hitting .235 in 247 at-bats. He was with the Twins for about a week from the end of June through the fourth of July, appearing in three games and going 1-for-2. The Twins let Olson go after the season, and he was signed by the Braves. He was a semi-regular for the Braves for four years. His best year was 1990 when he hit .262 in 298 at-bats and somehow made the all-star team. Released after the 1993 campaign, Olson signed with the Mets, but did not make it out of spring training. After his playing career ended, he became a manager for some independent league teams. Later, he got a real estate license. At last report he was the general manager of Bearpath Golf & Country Club in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and was also a broker for Bearpath Realty.
     
     
    Right-hander LeRoy Purdy Smith pitched for the Twins from 1986-1990. Born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, he attended Fordham University and was drafted by Philadelphia in the 3rd round of the 1979 draft. He did well early, spending a year in rookie and A ball, but after repeating AA he was traded after the 1982 season with two other players to Cleveland for John Denny. Smith was in AAA Charleston in 1983, and then split the next two years between AAA Maine and the Indians. After the 1985 campaign, he was traded with Ramon Romero to Minnesota for Bryan Oelkers and Ken Schrom. Smith was in AAA for most of the next three seasons, getting a brief call-up with Minnesota each year, before getting two full years in the majors in 1989 and 1990. Smith was in the starting rotation most of the time in those years, doing fairly well in 1989 and not as well in 1990. He became a free agent and signed with Baltimore for 1991. Smith split that year between Baltimore and AAA Rochester, was apparently out of baseball in 1992, and pitched in the Pittsburgh organization in 1993 before calling it a career. As a Twin, Smith was 19-18 with a 4.28 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP in 85 games, 54 of them starts. Roy Smith has spent time in the Dodgers’ and Pirates’ front office, and at last report was a scout for the New York Mets.
     
     
    Shortstop Patrick James Meares played for the Twins from 1983-1988. He was born in Salina, Kansas, went to Wichita State, and was drafted in the 12th round by the Twins in 1990. He was rather up and down in his minor league career, but the Twins needed a shortstop after Greg Gagne became a free agent, and Meares got the job in 1993. His first three years, he somewhat shared the shortstop position with Jeff Reboulet, but he was the full-time regular for 1996-98. He did a solid job for the Twins, never making anyone’s all-star team but never being someone you looked to replace, either. He became a free agent after the 1998 season and signed with Pittsburgh, but had injury problems and never really panned out for them. His last game was in 2001; Meares was on the Pirates disabled list for two seasons after that. At one point, he filed a grievance, claiming that he was healthy enough to play, but the grievance was eventually dropped; by then, the Pirates apparently preferred to pay him to not play. As a Twin, Pat Meares batted .265/.301/.382 with 41 homers and 303 RBIs in 742 games. He is a member of the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame. At last report, it appeared that Pat Meares was living in Wichita, Kansas.
     
     
    Sidearming reliever Micheal Yoshihide Nakamura appeared in twelve games for the Twins in 2003. He was born in Nara, Japan, went to high school in Melbourne, Australia, and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1997. He apparently had some injury problems in the minors, as he had good numbers but not very many innings. He had a strong 2003 in Rochester and got a trial with the Twins that year, but did not do well in limited opportunities. He was with the Twins for nearly a month and went 0-0, 7.82, giving up 11 runs and 20 hits in 12.2 innings over 12 games. Nakamura was placed on waivers early in 2004 and was selected by Toronto with similar results: good numbers in AAA but no success in the majors. He left American baseball after the 2004 season for Japan, where he has pitched ever since. He spent three years with the Nippon Ham Fighters, moved on to the Yomiuri Giants in 2009, and is with the Seibu Lions this season. He has dual citizenship with Japan and Australia (his father is Japanese and his mother is Australian), and has played for the Australian Olympic and WBC teams. He seems to be doing well in Japan–he appears to have been injured in 2011, but pitched well for them in 2012. He did well enough in Japan that he might have been able to get another shot at the majors, but he appears to have not been interested, and retired from playing after the 2012 season. No information about what Mike Nakamura is doing now was readily available.
  13. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Randy Choate (1975)
    Jason Hart (1977)
     
    This is also the birthday of Karl Kuehl (1937), who was a coach for the Twins from 1977-1982.
     
     
    Left-handed reliever Randol Doyle Choate never actually played in a regular season game with the Twins, but he was in spring training with them in 2007. Born and raised in San Antonio, he attended Florida State and was drafted by the Yankees in the fifth round in 1977. He spent three years at Class A, but jumped to AAA in 2000 and rode the New York-Columbus shuttle from 2000-2003, appearing in 82 games for the Yankees over four seasons. The Yankees traded Choate to Montreal after the 2003 season, and the Expos traded him to Arizona at the end of 2004 spring training. He then started bouncing between Arizona and AAA Tucson, appearing in 114 games for the Diamondbacks from 2004-2007. After the 2006 season, Arizona released Choate and the Twins signed him, but Minnesota released him at the end of spring training and the Diamondbacks signed him again. Released by Arizona after 2007, he spent 2008 with AAA Nashville in the Milwaukee organization. Randy Choate signed with Tampa Bay for 2009. He was strictly a LOOGY for the Rays: over two seasons he appeared in 146 games but logged just 81 innings. He did well for them in that role, but was a free agent after the season and signed with Florida. He pitched very well for the Marlins for a year and a half, then was traded to the Dodgers in late July. After the season, he was a free agent again and signed with the Cardinals for 2013. He’s again having a fine year in his role. He has played in parts of thirteen major league seasons, but did not get a full season until 2010. He’s been a tremendous LOOGY, though, and while a LOOGY’s life is never stable, he may continue in the majors for several years to come.
     
     
    Outfielder Jason Wyatt Hart did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system for a couple of months. He was born in Walnut Creek, California, went to high school in Fair Grove, Missouri, attended Missouri State University, and was drafted by Oakland in the fifth round in 1998. He had a couple of tremendous years in the low minors, hitting .326 with 30 homers at AA Midland in 2000. He stumbled when he reached AAA, however, hitting about .250 with around twenty homers a year over three seasons. Only one of those seasons was spent in the Athletics organization, as he was traded to Texas after the 2001 season in a multi-player deal. He was a September call-up for the Rangers in 2002, going 4-for-15 with 3 doubles in ten games. He was injured all of 2004, but there was no significant difference in his numbers when he came back in 2005. A free agent after the season, the Twins signed him for 2006 and sent him to Rochester. He hit .225/.267/.425 there in 80 at-bats, hitting four home runs and four doubles. On June 1, the Twins sent Hart back to Texas. He finished the season in AAA for them and then his playing career was over. He was the batting coach for the Rangers’ Arizona League affiliate in 2009, for the Hickory Crawdads, the Rangers’ Class A affiliate in the South Atlantic League in 2010-2011, and for the Frisco RoughRiders, the Rangers’ AA affiliate in the Texas League, in 2012-2013.
  14. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Paul Jata (1949)
    Aaron Fultz (1973)
    Pat Neshek (1980)
     
    ​
    Outfielder/first baseman Paul Jata did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 1976. He was born in Astoria, New York, went to high school on Long Island, and was drafted by Detroit in the fifth round in 1967. His minor league numbers don’t stick out, but he was always very young for his league, reaching AA at age 20 and AAA at age 21. He made the Tigers out of spring training in 1972 at age 22 but was used mostly as a pinch-hitter/defensive replacement, getting only 71 at-bats through July 19. At that point he was sent to the minors, coming back for three games as a September call-up. Given his age and his role, he didn’t do so badly: .230/.296/.257 in 74 at-bats. Unfortunately, those would be his major league career numbers. He split 1973 between AA and AAA and had what may have been his best year in the minors. After the season, he was traded to Minnesota for Jim Nettles. He did not play in either 1974 or 1975 for reasons that we could not find. He played in AA Orlando in 1976 but appeared in only 22 games, batting .242/.351/.306. His playing career ended after that. It’s kind of an odd career, and one wishes to know more about it. However, no further information about Paul Jata was readily available.
     
     
    Left-handed reliever Richard Aaron Fultz played for the Twins in 2004. He was born in Memphis, went to high school in Munford, Tennessee, attended North Florida Community College, and was drafted by the Giants in 1992 in the sixth round. He pitched pretty well in rookie ball that year and in Class A in 1993, but was traded to the Twins in August of 1993 with Andres Duncan and Greg Brummett for Jim DeShaies. After just over two years (1994 and 1995) in the Twins system, Fultz was released, and he went back to the Giants. He generally had to repeat levels in the minors, with the result that he did not reach AAA until 1998. Fultz was not particularly impressive in AAA in either 1998 or 1999, but made the Giants with a strong spring training in 2000. Fultz spent three years with the Giants as a middle reliever, posting ERAs in the mid-fours, but was allowed to become a free agent after 2002 and signed with Texas. He did not pitch particularly well for the Rangers, and was again allowed to become a free agent, signing with the Twins for the 2004 campaign. Fultz appeared in 55 games for the Twins, going 3-3 with a 5.04 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in 50 innings. The Twins placed him on waivers after the season, and he was selected by Philadelphia, for whom he had his best year in 2005, going 4-0 with a 2.24 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP in 72.1 innings. He did not repeat his success in 2006, and again became a free agent, signing with Cleveland for 2007. He did a good job for the Indians, going 4-3 with a 2.92 ERA in 37 innings, but was again released after the season. He has since played in the Detroit, Colorado, and Cincinnati organizations, as well as playing in Taiwan. Fultz played a little independent ball in 2009 before retiring in June. At last report, Aaron Fultz was the pitching coach for the Lakewood BlueClaws in the South Atlantic League.
     
     
    Right-handed reliever Patrick J. Neshek was with the Twins from 2006-2010. He was born in Madison, Wisconsin, went to high school in Park Center, Minnesota, and was drafted in the 45th round out of high school by the Twins in 1999. He did not sign, choosing instead to go to Butler University. The Twins kept watching him, and drafted him again in 2002 in the sixth round. He spent roughly a year at each minor league level, and pitched well at all of them, posting a WHIP below 1.00 in each of his first two minor league seasons. He came up to the Twins in July of 2006, and continued to pitch very well, becoming the Twins’ top set-up man. In 2007, he was one of five players who was in the running for the final spot in the all-star game, losing to Hideki Okajima. Neshek then began to battle injuries, undergoing Tommy John surgery, and missed most of 2008 and all of 2009. He came back in 2010, beginning and ending the season in Minnesota but spending most of it in Rochester, where he was decent but no more than that. The Twins waived him in March of 2011 and he was claimed by San Diego. He was up and down a few times in 2011; he’s was again decent but no more in AAA and not very good in the majors. A free agent after the season, he signed with Baltimore for 2012 and pitched very well in AAA but did not get promoted. He was purchased by Oakland in early August and was awesome in 24 appearances, striking out sixteen in 19.2 innings while posting an ERA of 1.37 and a WHIP of 0.81. Unfortunately, he could not sustain it in 2013. He wasn’t awful, but he wasn’t particularly good, either, and was designated for assignment last week. As a Twin, Pat Neshek was 11-6, 3.05, 1.01 WHIP. He appeared in 132 games and pitched 129.2 innings. He turns 33 today. One suspects he will get another chance, but he may be approaching the time when the chances are running out.
  15. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Ced Landrum (1963)
    Matt Capps (1983)
     
    Outfielder Cedric Bernard Landrum did not play for the Twins, but was briefly in their minor league system. He was born in Butler, Alabama, went to high school in Sweet Water, Alabama, attended the University of North Alabama, and signed with the Cubs as a free agent in 1985. Standing a 5’9″ and weighing 165 pounds, he hit for a solid average in the minors, although with little to no power. He was hitting .336 at AAA Iowa in 1991 when he was brought up to the majors in late May. He was strictly a reserve, appearing in 56 games but getting only 86 at-bats. He was back in AAA in 1992 and hit .311, despite being traded to the Milwaukee in mid-season. A free agent after the 1992 season, the Twins signed him on February 23 and sent him to AAA Rochester. He played in four games, batted four times, and went 0-for-4 before being released on April 17. The Mets signed him about a month later, bringing him to the majors in mid-August. He was once again a reserve, getting 19 at-bats in 22 games. He was released after the season and was out of baseball in 1994. He made a comeback in 1995, playing in AAA Colorado Springs in the Rockies’ organization, but hit only .259 and his playing career came to an end. In 105 major league at-bats, he hit .238/.304/.286 with 27 stolen bases. After his playing days ended, he remained in baseball, coaching first with the Expos’ organization and then in the Orioles’ system. He was the batting coach for the Joliet Jackhammers in 2011. At last report, Ced Landrum was an instructor for Lone Star Baseball, an instructional baseball academy in Euless, Texas.
     
     
    Right-handed reliever Matthew Dicus Capps was with the Twins from 2010-2012. Born and raised in Douglasville, Georgia, he was drafted in the seventh round by Pittsburgh in 2002. He was a starter from 2003-2004, doing well in that role in rookie ball in 2003 but poorly at Class A in 2004. He became a full-time reliever in 2005 and advanced rapidly, starting the season in Class A and ending it in the major legaues. He never went back to the minors again, other than on a rehab assignment in 2008. He was a set-up man in 2006, took over as closer at mid-season in 2007, and has been a closer ever since. He has never put up big saves numbers, which seems to be at least partly a function of having played on bad teams most of his career. After one and a half successful years as the Pirates’ closer, he had a bad year in 2009, posting an ERA of 5.80 and a WHIP of 1.66. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Washington. He was having a fine season there when he was traded to Minnesota for Joe Testa and Wilson Ramos. He has set a personal record for saves in 2010 with forty-two, sixteen of them for Minnesota. He began 2011 as a set-up man for Joe Nathan, but became the closer when Nathan appeared not to be fully recovered from surgery. It did not go particularly well, and Capps lost the closer role to Nathan at mid-season. It was later reported that he was pitching with an injury much of 2011. He was injured again for much of 2012, but pitched well when he could pitch. He signed with Cleveland for 2013 but has again been injured nearly the entire season, appearing in only six games in AAA. As a Twin, Matt Capps was 7-11, 3.61, 1.17 WHIP. He appeared in 126 games and pitched 122 innings, saving 45 games. He’s 30 today and hasn’t had a healthy season since 2010. At this point, one has to think the chances of Matt Capps coming back to be a useful pitcher are no better than 50-50.
  16. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
     
    Don Williams (1935)
    Jerry Crider (1941)
    Danny Goodwin (1953)
    Terry Jorgensen (1966)
     
     
    ​Right-hander Donald Reid Williams made three appearances for the Twins in 1963. He was born in Los Angeles and was signed as a free agent by the Kansas City Athletics in 1956. He pitched fairly well in Class D, but did not do particularly well after that. He missed all of the 1959 season and was traded to the White Sox in 1960. The White Sox sent him on to the Twins minor-league system in June of 1960 in an unknown transaction. Williams pitched reasonably well in three AAA seasons for the Twins, and spent two weeks with the big-league club in August of 1963, pitching 4.1 innings in three games. He gave up five runs on eight hits and six walks in 4.1 innings, getting no decisions and posting an ERA of 10.38. He was back in the minors in 1964, and pitched two AAA seasons in the Washington organization before calling it a career after the 1966 season. Don Williams passed away on December 20, 1991 in La Jolla, California.
     
     
    Right-hander Jerry Stephen Crider appeared in 21 games for the Twins in 1969. Born and raised in Sioux Falls, SD, he pitched on three state champion American Legion teams, being named player of the year in 1959, and pitched Humboldt, SD to its only state amateur baseball championship in 1961 before being signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1962. He began to hit his stride in the minors in 1964, and after two good years at AAA Denver, he was called up to Minnesota in May of 1969. Crider pitched in 21 games for the Twins, working 28.2 innings with a record of 1-0 and an ERA of 4.71 but a WHIP of 1.61. The next year, he was traded in May to the White Sox for Cotton Nash. Crider spent most of 1970 in Chicago, and did not do that badly, but it was his last year in the big leagues. He pitched a year and a half at AAA for the Padres and another year and a half at AAA for the Giants, and did okay for both organizations, but did not get another chance in the majors. After leaving baseball, Crider moved to Mexico and owned and operated a hunting and fishing business, helping to film programs for Bill Dance, Rowland Martin, and the American Sportsman shows. A member of the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, Jerry Crider passed away on April 4, 2008, after a long battle with emphysema.
     
     
    First baseman Danny Kay Goodwin played for the Twins from 1979-1981. He was born in St. Louis, went to high school in Peoria, and was drafted out of Southern University and A & M College by the California Angels with the first pick of the 1975 draft. He got 10 at-bats with the big club that year, going 1-for-10. Goodwin was drafted as a catcher, but a shoulder injury suffered early in his minor league career left him unable to throw out all but the slowest runners, and resulted in a move to first base. He hit well throughout the Angels minor-league system, hitting 25 home runs for AA El Paso in 1978. After brief trials with California in 1977 and 1978, he was traded after the 1978 season to the Twins with Ron Jackson for Dan Ford. He was a part-time player who was used mostly at DH for the Twins, never compiling more than 160 at-bats in a season. He had a good year in 1979, but hit poorly in 1980 and 1981 and was released after the 1981 season. He spent the next four years playing for AAA Tacoma in the Oakland system, making a brief appearance with the A’s in 1982. Danny Goodwin appeared in 172 games as a Twin, batting .242/.312/.372 with 8 home runs and 55 RBIs in 475 at-bats. Goodwin is the only player to have been twice chosen with the first pick in the draft, having been chosen but not signed by the White Sox in 1971. He is one of three players, along with David Clyde and Joe Mauer, to be chosen with the first pick by their home town team. After he retired, Danny Goodwin was the director of the Atlanta Braves Foundation, developing programs for underprivileged children in Atlanta. At last report, he was the president of First Choice Management Services in the Atlanta area. He is a member of the Greater Peoria (IL) Sports Hall of Fame and the College Baseball Hall of Fame
     
     
    Corner infielder Terry Allen Jorgensen played for the Twins in 1989 and again from 1992-1993. He was born in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, and was drafted by the Twins in the second round out of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1987. He got a September call-up in 1989, getting twenty-three at-bats, but then did not make it back to the big leagues until 1992. Primarily a third baseman in the minors, Jorgensen was decent but unspectacular, batting around .300 in three seasons with AAA Portland with moderate power. After a second brief trial in 1992, he spent about half of 1993 with the Twins, but failed to impress. He became a free agent after that season and signed with the Marlins, playing in their minor-league system for two years. He played for Green Bay in the independent Prairie League in 1996 before his playing career came to an end. Terry Jorgensen played in 91 games as a Twin, batting .240/.292/.292 with 1 home run and 19 RBIs in 233 at-bats. He is a member of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Hall of Fame. His brother, Tim Jorgensen, was also primarily a third baseman and played for four years in the Cleveland and Pittsburgh organizations, getting as high as AA. At last report, Terry Jorgensen was a physical education instructor and high school baseball coach for Luxemburg-Casco, Wisconsin, which appears to be his alma mater.
  17. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
     
    Rob Wilfong (1953)
    David West (1964)
     
     
    Second baseman Robert Daniel Wilfong played for the Twins from 1977-1982. He was born in Pasadena, California, went to high school in Covina, California, and was drafted in the thirteenth round by the Twins in 1971. He had somewhat mixed results in the minors, but after hitting .305 with AAA Tacoma in 1976, he made his big-league debut with the Twins at the start of the 1977 season. He spent most of that season with the Twins, going back to AAA for a month or so, and then was in the big-leagues to stay. Wilfong was almost exclusively a second baseman. For much of his Twins career, he shared the position with Bobby Randall, but as a left-handed batter, Wilfong got the majority of the playing time. His best year was 1979, when he hit .313 and led the league in sacrifice bunts with twenty-five. He remained with the Twins until May of 1982, when he was traded to the Angels along with Doug Corbett for Tom Brunansky, Mike Walters, and $400,000. Wilfong remained with the Angels as a part-time player through 1986. He was released just before the start of the 1987 season, and signed with the Giants. but played only two games for them before retiring. As a Twin, Wilfong played in 554 games, batting .262/.322/.360 with 22 home runs and 152 RBIs. At last report, Rob Wilfong was a scout for the Angels based in San Dimas, California.
     
     
     
    Left-hander David Lee West played for the Twins from 1989-1992. Born and raised in Memphis, he was drafted by the Mets in the fourth round in 1983. It took him three years to get higher than Class A, but then he took off, having two excellent years in AAA Tidewater in 1987-88, during which he posted a combined ERA of 2.00 in 247 innings. He made his debut with the Mets in 1988, pitching six innings in a September callup. In July of 1989, West was traded to the Twins with Rick Aguilera, Kevin Tapani, Tim Drummond, and Jack Savage for Frank Viola. A highly touted prospect, West was immediately placed in the Twins’ rotation, but he never really panned out for them, and after spending part of 1992 in AAA he was traded to Philadelphia in the off-season for Mike Hartley. He pitched much better in Philadelphia when he was available, but battled injury problems much of his time there, and became a free agent after the 1996 season. He spent 1997 in Japan, playing for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, but was back in 1998, splitting the year in AAA for Houston and Boston and making his major league swan song by pitching two innings for the Red Sox. He pitched in eight games in the minors in 1999, and then his career was over. As a Twin, David West was 15-18 with a 5.33 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP in 63 games, 47 of them starts. At last report, David West had returned to Memphis and was the director of pitching for the Memphis Baseball Academy.


  18. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
     
    Mike Hartley (1961)
    Pat Howell (1968)
    Tim Raines (1979)
    Armando Gabino (1983)
     
    Pitcher Michael Edward Hartley played for the Twins in 1993. He was born in Hawthorne, California, went to high school in El Cajon, California, attended East Carolina University, and was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals in 1981. He had a good year in rookie ball in 1982, but then spent the next four years at Class A before being drafted by the Dodgers in the minor league draft. They started him at Class A in 1987, but advanced him to AA and then pitched him in two games in AAA that year. Hartley split 1988 between AA and AAA. In 1989, after an excellent year at AAA Albuquerque, he earned a September call-up with the Dodgers, and had a fine year for them in 1990, pitching mostly in relief. The Dodgers traded Hartley to Philadelphia mid-way through the 1991 season, and after a year and a half there, he was traded to the Twins for David West. Hartley was not awful as a long reliever for the Twins in 1993, pitching in 53 games, all in relief, and going 1-2 with an ERA of 4.00 and a WHIP of 1.51 in 81 innings. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed with the Angels, but was sold to the Chiba Lotte Marines three days later. After pitching in Japan in 1994, Hartley returned to the United States and signed with the Red Sox organization, spending most of 1995 in the minors but making five appearances with Boston and three with Baltimore, who signed him after he was released by the Red Sox. He played independent ball in 1997, and later got into coaching. He was the pitching coach for the Reno Silver Sox from 2005-2007, making one appearance for them in 2005. From 2008-2009 Mike Hartley was a coach and part-time pitcher for a German professional team, the Heidenheim Heidekopfe, becoming the first former big-leaguer to play in Germany. He returned to Europe in 2012 as manager of Grosseto in the Italian Baseball League, and was still there at last report.
     
     
    Outfielder Patrick O’Neal Howell did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 1991 and in their minor league system in 1993. He was born in Mobile, Alabama, attended high school in Prichard, Alabama, and was drafted by the Mets in the ninth round in 1987. A speedy outfielder with no power, he advanced slowly up the Mets’ system, playing in rookie ball for two years and Class A for two more. His best season at that point had been in Class A in 1989, when he hit .290 (with a .346 slugging percentage). The Twins thought they saw something in him, though, and took him in the Rule 5 draft after the 1990 season. The Twins clearly wanted to keep him, but simply could not justify leaving him on the major league roster, and on April 5 returned him to the Mets. He reached AA that season and AAA in 1992, and while he neither hit nor walked much he stole a lot of bases, including 64 of them in 1991. The Mets even called him up for about two months in 1992 and used him as a reserve outfielder. He did about what you’d expect from his minor league record: .187/.218/.200 in 75 at-bats. The Twins still liked him, though, and after the 1992 season they traded Darren Reed for him. They sent him to AAA Portland, and while he stole 36 bases he hit .209 with an OPS of .505, which was enough to finally convince the Twins that there was nothing there. He went back to the Mets for 1994, played in Mexico from 1995-1997, to Taiwan in 1998, and then played in independent leagues for eight seasons before finally ending his playing career after the 2004 season. At last report, Pat Howell had returned to the Mobile area and was working with baseball clinics there.
     
     
    The son of the all-star, outfielder Timothy Raines Jr. was in spring training with the Twins for a couple of weeks in 2006. He was born in Memphis, went to high school in Sanford, Florida, and was drafted by Baltimore in the sixth round in 1998. His minor league record is rather unimpressive, but after hitting .274 for three minor league teams in 2001 he got a September call-up and appeared in seven games. In 2003, still only twenty-three years old, he hit .304 in a season split between AA and AAA and was called up to the Orioles in late August, playing in twenty more games. He had three stints in the majors in 2004, totalling roughly half the season, hitting .255 in 94 at-bats. He had a down year in 2005 in AAA Ottawa, hitting .254, and became a free agent after the season. He signed with the Twins as a free agent on January 31, 2006, but was released on March 2. He bounced around after that, going to the Washington organization in 2006, Houston in 2007, Arizona in 2008, and Kansas City in 2009, spending time both in AA and AAA but never making it back to the majors. He also played briefly in Taiwan. He played in the Atlantic League in 2010 and moved to Newark of the Can-Am League for 2011, where he was managed by his father. Tim Raines, Jr. was a coach for Newark in 2012, with his father becoming director of player development, but neither appears to be with the team in 2013. No further information about Tim Raines, Jr. was readily available.
     
     
    Right-hander Armando Leisdeker (Garcia) Gabino made two appearances for the Twins in 2009. He was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and signed with Cleveland as a free agent in 2001. He may have spent a couple of years in the Dominican Summer League or something, because his official minor league statistics do not begin until 2004, when he pitched five games in the Appalachian League. He came to the Twins organization the following year in the minor league draft. He had a poor 2005, but has pitched well in the minors since, posting a 2.94 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in AAA Rochester in 2009. He has been predominantly a relief pitcher in the minors, making only 13 starts in 176 minor-league appearances. He made one start and one relief appearance for the Twins, pitching 3.2 innings and allowing seven runs on nine hits and five walks. The Twins placed Gabino on waivers after the season and he was claimed by Baltimore. He has spent most of the 2010 season at AAA Norfolk but made five appearances for the Orioles, again allowing seven runs on nine hits, but this time in 4.2 innings. He has had a fine year for Norfolk, however, posting a 2.09 ERA in 77.1 innings. He continued to pitch well in the minors for the Orioles in 2011, but did not gotten a shot back in the majors. He was a free agent after the season, but no major league team signed him. He did not give up, though, pitching in the Mexican League in 2012 and in the Atlantic League in 2013. He turns 30 today and it seems unlikely that he will get another shot, but teams are always desperate for pitching, so as we always say, you never know.
  19. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
     
    Roger Erickson (1986)
    Luis Rivas (1979)
     
    Right-hander Roger Farrell Erickson played for Minnesota from 1978-1982. He was born in Springfield, Illinois, and was drafted by the Twins out of the University of New Orleans in the third round in 1977. He had an excellent year in AA Orlando, going 8-4 with a 1.98 ERA, and found himself in Minnesota at the start of the 1978 season. He went 14-13 that year with a 3.96 ERA in 256 innings, but could not replicate his success the following year, falling to 3-10 with a 5.63 ERA. The next two years he had good ERAs but poor won-loss records, and in May of 1982 he was traded to the Yankees with Butch Wynegar for Pete Filson, John Pacella, Larry Milbourne, and cash. Erickson was decent for the Yankees, posting ERAs in the mid-fours, but was sent to Columbus for part of the 1983 season and traded in the off-season with Steve Balboni to Kansas City for Duane Dewey and Mike Armstrong. He spent time in the Detroit and St. Louis organizations, but never did make it back to the big leagues, and retired following the 1989 season. Erickson is the nephew of former major league pitcher Don Erickson. As a Twin, Erickson appeared in 114 games, 106 of them starts. He was 31-47 with a 4.10 ERA in 712 innings. He was a pitching coach in the Cardinals organization for a couple of years in the early 1990s. At last report, Roger Erickson was working at a winery in Georgia. His nephew, Casey Erickson, is an assistant baseball coach at Benedictine University in Springfield.
     
     
    Infielder Luis Wilfredo Rivas played for the Twins from 2000-2005. Born and raised in LaGuaira. Venezuela, he signed with the Twins as a free agent at age 16. He came through the minors one level at a time, never hitting a lot until 2000, when he batted .318 at AAA Salt Lake in 41 games. That earned him a September call-up, and in 2001 Rivas became the Twins’ regular second baseman. He consistently posted batting averages in the .250s and .260s, not drawing a lot of walks and not hitting for much power. The Twins kept waiting for him to improve, but it did not happen, and in 2005 Rivas was sent to AAA Rochester for part of the season and was released after the season. He spent 2006 in the Tampa Bay organization, was with the Cleveland organization in 2007, appearing in four major-league games, was with Pittsburgh in 2008, and was with AAA Iowa in the Cubs organization in 2009. He became a free agent after the 2009 season, and does not appear to have signed with anyone, ending his major league career. Luis Rivas played 565 games as a Twin, batting .262/.307/.383 with 30 home runs and 177 RBIs in 1884 at-bats. He apparently was shot in the leg during a robbery while he was visiting his family in Venezuela. No information about what Luis Rivas is doing these days was readily available.
  20. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
     
    Bill Latham (1960)
    Henry Blanco (1971)
    Steve Lomasney (1977)
     
    Left-hander William Carol Latham played for the Twins in 1986. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, he was signed out of Auburn University as a free agent by the Mets in 1981. He did well in the minors, winning 13 games in both 1984 and 1985 with an ERA under 3.00 both years, mostly at AAA Tidewater. Latham started 1985 with the Mets and did not do badly, posting an ERA of 3.97 and a WHIP of 1.24 in 22.2 innings, starting three games and relieving four. In the off-season, the Mets traded him along with Billy Beane and Joe Klink to the Twins for Pat Crosby and Tim Teufel. Latham pitched well in AAA Toledo, and appeared in seven games for the Twins in 1986, two of them starts, going 0-1 with a 7.31 ERA in 16 innings. He started poorly in 1987 with AAA Portland and was traded back to the Mets in May for Jayson Felice. He spent the rest of 1987 and all of 1988 in the Mets’ minor-league organization, and then his playing career came to an end. At last report, Bill Latham was a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers after having done that job for several years for the Red Sox.
     
     
    Catcher Henry Ramon Blanco played for the Twins in 2004. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela, went to high school in Miranda, Venezuela, and was signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 1989. He did not hit much in the minors, but slowly moved up, making his AAA debut in 1995. A .313 average at AAA Albuquerque in 1997 earned him a cup of coffee with the Dodgers, but he was back in Albuquerque for all of 1998. Blanco became a minor-league free agent after that season, and was signed by the Rockies. His first full year in the majors came in 1999 for Colorado, but it was his only season there, as he was traded to the Brewers as part of a three-team deal that also included future Twin Jeff Cirillo. Blanco spent two seasons as a part-time player in Milwaukee, and then was traded to Atlanta in spring training of 2002. After two years in Atlanta, he became a free agent. Minnesota signed him during the 2003-04 off-season to back up Joe Mauer, but when Mauer was hurt, Blanco became the regular, playing 114 games, the most he has ever played in a season. He had never hit well in the majors and did not do so in Minnesota, batting .206/.260/.368 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs, but he gave the Twins good defense behind the plate. The Twins let him go after that season, and Blanco moved on to the Cubs, where he spent four years as a part-time catcher. Let go by the Cubs after 2008, he signed with the Padres for 2009, moved on to the Mets for 2010, was with Arizona in 2011-2012, signed with Toronto for 2013, was released in mid-June, and signed with Seattle three days later. Henry Blanco has thrown out 43 percent of opposing base stealers for his career, throwing out 58 percent in 2000 and twice leading the league in that category. Needless to say, the Twins still miss him.
     
     
    Catcher Steven James Lomasney did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for about four months in 2006. He was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, went to high school in Peabody, Massachusetts, and was drafted by Boston in the fifth round in 1995. He was not too bad in the low minors, hitting 20 homers or more in consecutive seasons in 1998-1999. In 1999, after hitting .259 with twenty home runs in a season split between Class A and AA, Lomasney got a September call-up. He made his major league debut in the last game of the season, replacing Jason Varitek in the fifth inning. He went 0-for-2, striking out against B. J. Ryan and Brian Falkenborg. Unfortunately, that was Lomasney’s major league swan song as well, as he never got back to the major leagues. He struggled when he got to AAA, posting a batting average of .220 and an OPS of .590 with seven home runs in 631 career AAA at-bats. He suffered a serious eye injury near the end of 2001 when he was struck by a batted ball and his eyesight never fully recovered, which partly explains his struggles in the high minors. He became a free agent after the 2002 season and signed with Baltimore for 2003. After one year in their farm system, he moved on to the Cincinnati chain for 2004-2005. He signed with Minnesota for 2006, spending most of the season at New Britain with ten at-bats in Rochester. The Twins released him in August 3, bringing his playing career to an end. At last report, Steve Lomasney was running The Show, a baseball academy in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He is also the coach of an under-fifteen baseball team which won the New England championship in 2010 and finished second in the national AAU championship for under-sixteen (there was no under-fifteen division).
  21. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Brendan Harris (1980)
    Eric Fryer (1985)
    Darin Mastroianni (1987)
     
    Infielder Brendan Michael Harris was with the Twins from 2008-2010. Born and raised in Queensbury, New York, he was drafted out of the College of William and Mary by the Cubs in the fifth round of the 2001 draft. He hit well throughout the minors, usually averaging over .300 with double-digit home runs, and played mostly second base and third base. He made his major-league debut with the Cubs in 2004, playing in three games for them before being sent to Montreal in the four-team trade that involved Doug Mientkiewicz going to Boston. Harris spent most of 2005 and 2006 in the minors, making brief appearances in both years with Washington before being traded to Cincinnati in August of 2006 in a multi-player deal that involved Austin Kearns and Ryan Wagner. The following off-season, Harris was traded to Tampa Bay in what baseball-reference.com describes as “a conditional deal”. The conditions must have been met, because Harris was with the Devil Rays all year, his first full season in the majors. After one season with Tampa Bay, he was traded to the Twins in the deal that sent Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Eduardo Morlan to Tampa Bay for Harris, Delmon Young, and Jason Pridie. Harris was a semi-regular utility infielder for the Twins from 2008-2009, seeing time at second, short, and third. He seemed likely to see most of his time at third base in 2010 but got off to a horrible start, batting just .157 in 108 at-bats before being sent to Rochester in mid-June. Things did not go well in Rochester, either, as he hit just .233. After the season, he was traded to Baltimore with J. J. Hardy and cash for Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey. He did no better in AAA for the Orioles, hitting .225. A free agent after the season, he signed with Colorado and has had a good year for AAA Colorado Springs, hitting .317. A free agent again after the season, he signed with the Angels and somewhat surprisingly made the team out of spring training. He didn’t do much for them, though, and was released in late July. He signed with the Yankees three days later and was sent to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Harris turns thirty-three today. One suspects that he is just about out of chances, but as we often say, you never know.
     
     
    Catcher Eric Joseph Fryer, has not played with the Twins, but has been in their minor league system in 2013. He was born in Columbus, Ohio, went to high school in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, attended an Ohio State University, and was drafted by Milwaukee in the tenth round in 2007. He didn’t do much in rookie ball that season, but hit .335 in the Sally League in 2008. He was traded to the Yankees that off-season, and in the middle of 2009 was traded to Pittsburgh in a deal involving Eric Hinske. He had a solid year in the Florida State League in 2010, although he was twenty-four by then. He did really well in the Eastern League in 2011 and got called up to the majors for about six weeks in the middle of the season. He had a poor year in AAA in 2012, but still got a couple more weeks in the majors as a backup catcher. A free agent after the season, he signed with Minnesota and has spent 2013 in Rochester, where he hasn’t done much. He draws a lot of walks, but that’s really been his only offensive contribution since his 2011 season. At this writing, he has an OBP of .344 for the Red Wings, but is batting only .217. His major league numbers are .267/.353/.267 in 30 at-bats. He turns 28 today, so he probably is what he is. One assumes he’ll never hit, but it’s possible that he’ll get some more chances somewhere as a backup.
     
     
    Outfielder Darin Paul Mastroianni has been in the Twins organization in 2012. He was born in Mount Kisco, New York, went to high school in Bedford, New York, attended the University of Southern Indiana, and was drafted by Toronto in the sixteenth round in 2007. His numbers in the low minors were decent, but not outstanding. He stole a lot of bases, though–seventy of them in 2009 in a season split between A and AA. He had a very good year in AA in 2010, hitting .301 with an OBP of .390 and 46 steals, and it looked like he was poised to make a move. He was disappointing in a 2011 split between AA and AAA (plus one game for the Blue Jays, going 0-for-2), however, and the Blue Jays gave up on him, putting him on waivers. The Twins claimed him in February of 2012. He started the season in the minors, but after hitting .346 twenty games in Rochester he came up to the big leagues. He’s been a reserve outfielder for the Twins, and has done about as well as he could reasonably be expected to do. Following the trades of Denard Span and Ben Revere he was in the mix for the Twins’ center field job in 2013, but was injured in spring training and missed half the season. When he came back, he was optioned to Rochester, He turns twenty-eight today and will never be a regular player for very long. What we said last year still applies. He will probably always be one slump away from being sent out, but he’s fast, plays good defense, and isn’t an automatic out at the plate. He just may be able to carve out a decent major league career as a reserve outfielder.
  22. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
     
    Kevin Correia (1980)
     
     
    Right-hander Kevin John Correia came to the Twins prior to the 2013 season. He was born in San Diego, went to high school in La Mesa, California, attended Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, and was drafted by San Francisco in the fourth round in 2002. He had an indifferent time in low class A that season, but started 2003 in AA, was promoted to AAA, and reached the majors by mid-August. He did well there, too, going 3-1, 3.66 in 39.1 innings. He split 2004 between AAA and the majors, not doing particularly well in either place. 2005 was similar. In 2006, however, he was shifted to the bullpen and spent the whole year in San Francisco, going 2-0, 3.49, 1.23 WHIP in 69.2 innings. He continued to do well as a reliever in 2007. 2008, however, was pretty much a disaster for him, and he became a free agent after the season. He signed with San Diego and spent two years with them, doing all right in 2009 but not so well in 2010. A free agent again, he signed with Pittsburgh and spent two years there as well. He made the all-star team in 2011, but was not particularly good (although not awful, either) in both years. His career numbers at that point were 60-65, 4.54, 1.41 WHIP. Once again a free agent, he signed with Minnesota for 2013. He got off to a hot start, but for the season has pitched pretty much as he had his whole career–at this writing he has an ERA of 4.61 and a WHIP of 1.44. He turns 33 today. At this point, one has to think he is what he is, and the only question about him is whether he’ll age quickly or slowly.
  23. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
     
    Marty Martinez (1941)
    Jerry White (1952)
    Randy St. Claire (1960)
    Casey Blake (1972)
     
    This is also the birthday of the late Carl Pohlad (1915).
     
     
    Infielder Orlando (Oliva) “Marty” Martinez played in 37 games for the Twins in 1962. He was born in Havana, Cuba and was signed by Washington as a free agent in 1960. An infielder, he made his major league debut in 1962 with the Twins as a bench player, appearing in 37 games but getting only 24 plate appearances, batting .167/.286/.278. Sent back to the minors, Martinez did not start to hit until 1966, when he hit .313 as a 24-year-0ld at AAA Denver. That was good enough to get him noticed, and the Atlanta Braves selected him at the end of the season in the Rule 5 draft. Martinez spent the next six years in the big leagues, mostly as a reserve. His only year as a semi-regular was in 1968, when he got 356 at-bats with the Braves and hit .230. Traded to Houston that off-season for Bob Aspromonte, Martinez had his best year in 1969, batting .308 in 198 at-bats. It did not translate into any more playing time, however, and after two less-productive seasons he was traded to St. Louis. Martinez played for three teams in 1972, St. Louis, Oakland, and Texas, totalling only 88 at-bats. Martinez then turned to coaching and managing, first as a player-coach, then taking a full-time job on the bench. He managed in the Texas and Seattle organizations in the minor leagues, coached for Seattle at the major-league level, and was interim manager for Seattle for one game in 1986. Marty Martinez passed away on March 8, 2007.
     
     
    Outfielder Jerome Cardell White did not play for the Twins, but coached for them for several years. He was born in Shirley, Massachusetts, went to high school in San Francisco, and was drafted by Montreal in the fourteenth round in 1970. He quietly progressed about a level a season, never particularly standing out but never having a really bad year, either. He got a September call-up in 1974 and started 1975 in Montreal as a rarely-used reserve; through May 20 he had played in fifteen games and gotten six at-bats. The Expos finally decided that wasn’t particularly useful so they sent him back to AAA Memphis, where he hit .297 with ten homers at AAA Memphis. He was again called up in September, was given a chance to play, and went on to hit over .300 the rest of the year. He got his first full major league season in 1976, but could not take advantage of it, hitting only .245 as a part-time player. White was back in AAA in 1977, getting just a September call-up. He started 1978 in Montreal, but it was a rerun of 1975; through May 20, he played in eighteen games and had ten at-bats. He was sent down and then traded to the Cubs in late June. He stayed in the majors the rest of that season, but then the Cubs sent him back to the Expos. He finally stuck with Montreal in 1979, staying through 1983. Used as a reserve outfielder and pinch-hitter, he only once got as many as 200 at-bats and his averages varied quite a bit. He became a free agent after the 1983 season and went to Japan for a couple of years, coming back to the United States with St. Louis in 1986. That was his swan song; he batted twenty-four times, getting three hits, and was released in mid-June, ending his playing career. He joined the Twins’ organization in 1987 as a roving outfield and baserunning coach. He was with the Twins from 1987-2012 other than 1997, when he was the first base and baserunning coach for Detroit. He was the Twins’ first base coach in 2012, but was let go after the season. No information about what Jerry White is doing this season was readily available.
     
     
    Pitcher Randy Anthony St. Claire was with the Twins in 1989. He was born in Glens Falls, New York, and was signed by the Montreal Expos as a free agent in 1978. He stuggled in his first few years in the minors, but got things going in 1983, and earned a September callup to Montreal in 1994. St. Claire bounced back and forth between AAA and Montreal until 1988, when he was traded to Cincinnati in a deal that also included ex-Twin Jeff Reed. Released by the Reds at the end of spring training 1989, the Twins quickly signed him. He again split the season between AAA and the majors, pitching well in Portland, but not so well in Minnesota. St. Claire spent all of 1990 at AAA with Texas and Houston, 1991-92 bouncing between AAA and Atlanta, 1993 in AAA with Atlanta, Seattle, and Toronto, most of 1994 at AAA with a two-game cup of coffee with Toronto, and 1995 at AAA with Pittsburgh. In all that bouncing around, he always pitched well in AAA (3.38 ERA), and not all that badly in the majors, really (4.14 ERA, 1.37 WHIP). St. Claire never spent a full season in the big leagues, but he was there in parts of nine seasons. As a Twin, he was 1-0 with a 5.24 ERA in 22.1 innings. Randy St. Claire also got into coaching at the end of his playing days, and was the pitching coach for the Montreal/Washington franchise for 6 1/2 years until he was fired in June of 2009. He was the pitching coach for the Miami Marlins from 2010-2012. Randy St. Claire is currently the pitching coach for the Las Vegas 51s in the Mets organization.
     
     
    Third baseman William Casey Blake played for the Twins from 2000-2002. He was born in Des Moines, went to high school in Indianola, Iowa, went to Wichita State, and was drafted in the seventh round by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1996. He struggled his first two years in the minors, then had a big year in 1998 hitting a combined .357 with 18 homers and 103 RBI, although as a 24-year-old at advanced A and AA. Promoted to AAA in 1999, Blake hit only .245, although with 22 home runs. He played 14 games with Toronto that year, but was back in AAA at the start of 2000, and batting only .217 there, when he was taken off waivers by the Twins in June. The move seemed to help him, as he hit .317 with AAA Salt Lake and made a brief appearance in Minnesota. 2001 was similar, with Blake hitting well in Edmonton and appearing briefly with the Twins. Blake was put on waivers in September of that year, and selected by Baltimore, He played for the Orioles the rest of the season, but was again waived in October and the Twins took him back. Blake again played mostly for Edmonton, with a brief appearance in Minnesota, in 2002. As a Twin, he hit .241/.338/.310 in 58 at-bats. Released by the Twins after that season, he signed with Cleveland, where he became the regular third baseman at the age of 29 and stayed there for all but one of the next 5 1/2 seasons (he played right field one year). In July of 2008, Blake was traded to the Dodgers. He played well for them through 2009, but struggled in 2010 and became a part-time player in 2011. He signed with the Rockies for 2012 but was released in late March, could not find another playing job, and announced his retirement in early May. Casey Blake was never a star, but he was a solid major league regular for several years. Blake lives in both Indianola and Los Angeles. He owns Casey Blake Baseball Camps of Indianola.
  24. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
     
    Paul Molitor (1956)
    Darrin Jackson (1962)
    Gary Scott (1968)
     
    Hall of Famer Paul Leo Molitor played for the Twins from 1996-1998. Born and raised in St. Paul, he attended the University of Minnesota and was chosen by Milwaukee with the third pick of the 1977 draft. He spent only one year in the minors, hitting .346 with Class A Burlington, before jumping to the big leagues. He was a fixture in the Brewers lineup for the next fifteen years, playing regularly at second base, center field, third base, and designated hitter, as well as playing a little shortstop. He made the all-star team five times in Milwaukee, received MVP consideration five times, finishing as high as fifth in 1987, and twice won the Silver Slugger award. After the 1992 season, Molitor became a free agent and went to Toronto, where he helped the Blue Jays win a world championship in 1993 and finished second in the MVP balloting to Frank Thomas. He made the all-star team in 1993 and 1994, but his average dropped to .270 in 1995, so the Blue Jays allowed him to again go the free-agent route. This time he came to Minnesota, and showed that his bat had plenty of life left. In his first year with the Twins, a year in which he turned forty, Molitor batted .341, led the league in hits, had 113 RBIs, won his fourth Silver Slugger award, and finished thirteenth in the MVP balloting. He played with the Twins for two more seasons before retiring at age 42. As a Twin, Paul Molitor hit .312/.362/.432 in exactly 1700 at-bats, driving in 271 runs. For his career, he batted .306 and had 3,319 hits. He was elected to the major league baseball Hall of Fame in 2004. He is currently the Twins’ baserunning coordinator
     
     
    Outfielder Darrin Jay Jackson played in 49 games for the Twins in 1997. He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in Culver City, California, and was drafted by the Cubs in the second round in 1981. He was fairly nondescript in the minors, with his best year prior to his major league debut coming in 1984, when he hit .270 with 15 homers at AA Midland. He got a brief cup of coffee with the Cubs in 1985, but then started to pick up the pace a little, and after a solid season with AAA Iowa in 1987 (.274, 23 homers), he spent all of 1988 with Chicago, getting 188 at-bats as a bench player. In August of 1989, he was sent to the Padres in a multi-player deal, and saw his playing time gradually increase, becoming a semi-regular in 1991 and a full-time regular in 1992, the only season in which he got more than 403 at-bats. He was decent that year, but that’s all, .249 with 17 homers and 70 RBIs. Jackson was traded to Toronto at the end of 1993 spring training, and in June the Blue Jays sent him to the Mets for Tony Fernandez. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed with the White Sox, where he had easily his best season in 1994, batting .312 as a semi-regular. Jackson played for the Seibu Lions in 1995-96, but returned to the United States in 1997, when the Twins signed him as a free agent. He played in 49 games for the Twins, batting .254/.272/.354 with 3 homers and 21 RBIs, before the Twins traded him to Milwaukee in August for the immortal Mick Fieldbinder. He stayed with the Brewers in 1998 before rounding out his career back with the White Sox, batting decently (.275) in a reserve role in 1999. His numbers are not particularly impressive, but he spent parts of 12 years in a big-league uniform, and a guy could do a lot worse. Darrin Jackson is currently a broadcaster for the White Sox radio network.
     
     
    Third baseman Gary Thomas Scott did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for a short time. He was born in New Rochelle, New York, went to high school in Pelham, New York, and then attended Villanova. Scott was drafted by the Cubs in the second round in 1989. He had a couple of solid years in A and AA, and after a tremendous spring training in 1991, he was installed with much fanfare as the regular third baseman with the big club. Unfortunately, he was not up to the task, and was sent back to the minors after hitting only .165 in 31 games. He did poorly in the minors that year, too, hitting only .208 at AAA Iowa. He came back some in 1992, but when promoted to the Cubs late in the season he was awful again, batting .156 in 36 games. The Cubs gave up on Scott and traded him to Florida at the end of the season. He never played for Florida, however, as the Marlins traded him to Cincinnati for Hector Carrasco just prior to the 1994 season. The Reds sent him to AAA Indianapolis, and at the end of June traded him to the Twins for Tom Houk and Alan Newman. He hit .291 at AAA Portland, but it did not convince the Twins of anything, and they let him go after the season. Scott then played at AAA for the Giants, Braves, and Padres with mixed results, but never got another chance in the majors. Overall, he played in 67 big league games and had a batting line of .160/.250/.240, with 3 home runs and 16 RBIs. At last report, Gary Scott was an oil broker for Brueggemann & Co. in Rowayton, Connecticut.
  25. Jeff A

    August 21

    By Jeff A,

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