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Jeff A

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  1. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Graig Nettles (1944)
    Bobby Cuellar (1952)
    Tom Brunansky (1960)
     
     
    Third baseman Graig Nettles played for the Twins in parts of seasons from 1967-1969. Born and raised in San Diego, he was drafted by the Twins out of San Diego State in the fourth round in 1965. He showed instant power, hitting 69 home runs in three minor league seasons. He made his debut with Minnesota as a September callup in 1967 and reached the big leagues for good in 1969, his first full season, when he was a part-time player with the Twins. Nettles played more outfield than third base as a Twin, which seems surprising until one remembers that Harmon Killebrew was the Twins’ third baseman at the time. Nettles did not do a lot in 1969, and the Twins were trying to win now, so they traded him, along with Dean Chance, Bob Miller, and Ted Uhlaender, to Cleveland for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams. Tiant and Williams helped the Twins win the division in 1970, but after that the trade does not look so good for Minnesota. On the other hand, how does it look for Cleveland? After Nettles put up three solid seasons for the Indians, hitting a total of 71 homers and getting a tenth-place vote for MVP in 1971, Cleveland traded him to the Yankees with Jerry Moses for John Ellis, Jerry Kenney, Charlie Spikes, and Rusty Torres. New York, of course, is where Nettles became a star. He hit over 20 homers in each of his first seven seasons for the Yankees, twice hitting over 30; drove in over 90 runs four times, made the all-star team five times, and won a pair of Gold Gloves. At the end of 1984, the Yankees traded Nettles to San Diego, a trade many said was prompted by the release of a book Nettles wrote in which he was critical of George Steinbrenner. In San Diego, he became the starting third baseman for the Padres’ World Series team. He made the all-star team the next year, at age 40, but it was his last productive season. After the 1986 season, the Padres let Nettles go, and he spent 1987 with Atlanta and 1988 with Montreal, mostly as a pinch-hitter. As a Twin, Graig Nettles hit .224/.314/.401 with 12 homers and 34 RBIs in 304 at-bats. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007, but had surgery and at last report was cancer-free. Nettles is a spring training instructor for the Yankees. At last report, he was living in Lenoir City, Tennessee, just outside Knoxville, but also traveled frequently.
     
     
    Robert Cuellar never pitched for the Twins, but has been a minor league pitching coach and manager for them for several years. He was born in Alice, Texas, and was drafted out of the University of Texas by the Rangers in the 29th round in 1974. Cuellar pitched well in relief for eight years in the minors, five of them at AAA. He posted a minor-league ERA of 3.06 during this time, with a AAA ERA of 3.20, but never really got a chance in the majors. Cuellar’s only time in the big leagues was as a September call-up in 1977; he gave up only one run and four hits in 6.2 innings spread over four games, for an ERA of 1.35. He left the Rangers organization after the 1978 season, playing three years for the Cleveland organization and one year in the Mexican League. After his playing career ended in 1982, he turned to coaching. He has been a minor league coach, minor league manager, and major league coach, including serving as the pitching coach for Seattle and Montreal and as the bullpen coach for Pittsburgh. For the Twins, Cuellar was the pitching coach for the Rochester Red Wings from 2003-2005, managed the New Britain Rock Cats in 2008, and returned to the Red Wings as their pitching coach in 2009-2012. Among the minor leaguers Cuellar has coached are Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana, both of whom credit Cuellar for teaching them the changeup. Bobby Cuellar became the bullpen coach of the Minnesota Twins in 2013.
     
     
    The brother-in-law of Dave Engle, outfielder Thomas Andrew Brunansky played for the Twins from 1982 through the first part of 1988. He was born in Covina, California, went to high school in West Covina, California, attended Cal Poly–Pomona, and was drafted by the California Angels with the 14th pick of the 1978 draft. He hit well in his four minor league seasons, average more than 20 homers and hitting over .300. He made the Angels out of spring training in 1981, but hit .152 over 41 at-bats and was returned to the minors. He started 1982 in the minors, but in May was traded with Mike Walters to the Twins for Doug Corbett and Rob Wilfong. The Twins immediately installed him in their outfield, and Brunansky had what was arguably his best season, batting .272 with 20 homers. He never hit for as high an average again, but his power numbers increased, as he hit over 20 homers each year through 1989. After winning the World Series in 1987, the Twins got off to a slow start in 1988, and Brunansky was traded to St. Louis for Tom Herr in what even Andy McPhail would later admit was a panic move. Brunansky continued to be a solid player, but his low-average slugging did not really fit with the Cardinals running style, and after a poor start in 1990 he was traded to Boston for Lee Smith. He was a productive player for the Red Sox through 1992, went to Milwaukee as a free agent in 1993, and returned to the Red Sox in June of 1994 to finish his career. As a Twin, Tom Brunansky batted .250/.330/.452 with 163 homers and 469 RBIs in what works out to be about six full seasons, and holds the distinction of being the only Twin to hit an inside-the-park grand slam. Brunansky is coached high school baseball in Poway, California. He became the batting coach for the GCL Twins in late June of 2010, was the batting coach for the New Britain Rock Cats in 2011, was the batting coach for the Rochester Red Wings in 2012, and became the batting coach for the Minnesota Twins in 2013.
  2. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
     
    Fred Lasher (1941)
    Luis Gomez (1951)
    Gary Gaetti (1958)
    J. J. Hardy (1982)
     
     
    Right-handed reliever Frederick Walter Lasher appeared in eleven games for the Twins in 1963. He was born in Poughkeepsie, New York and was signed by Washington as a free agent in 1960. A submariner, he had problems with wildness in his first couple of years in the minors, but gradually improved, although he never had what you would call pinpoint control. Lasher made the Twins out of spring training in 1963, jumping all the way from Bismarck-Mandan in the Class C Northern League. He was used as a relief pitcher, which had been his primary role in the minors as well, but his wildness returned–Lasher walked 11 in 11.1 innings with the Twins. Sent back to the minors, he did well in 1965 and 1966, but as a 23-24-year-old in Class A. After the 1966 season, he was selected by Detroit in the minor-league draft. The Tigers must have helped Lasher figure something out, because his control improved and he became an effective reliever for the Tigers from 1967-69. His control vanished again in 1970, however, and this time it was gone for good. The Tigers traded him to Cleveland midway through the 1970 season, and California selected him in the Rule 5 draft, but by 1971 he was finished. As a Twin, he had no record and a 4.76 ERA, but for his career he was 11-13 with 22 saves and an ERA of 3.88. After leaving baseball, Lasher operated a drywall company and served as a recreation therapist for youth with drug and alcohol problems in Merillan, Wisconsin, where he still lived at last report.
     
     
    Shortstop Luis (Sanchez) Gomez played for the Twins periodically from 1974-1977. He was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and was drafted by the Twins in the seventh round in 1973 out of UCLA, where he had played freshman basketball on the same team as Bill Walton. He was the first Mexican native selected in the major league baseball amateur draft. He hit very little in the minors, but made his major league debut with Minnesota in April of 1974, where he continued to not hit. He spent part of 1974, all of 1975, and parts of 1976 and 1977 with the Twins, playing for AAA Tacoma the rest of the time. In 1975, he set a record with 89 games played without an extra-base hit, a record which still stands. Gomez’ best year was 1977, when he hit .285 for Tacoma and .246 for the Twins in 65 at-bats. The Twins let him go after that year, and he signed with Toronto and was their regular shortstop in 1978, his only year as a starter. Gomez continued not hitting, became a part-time player in 1979, and was traded that off-season along with Chris Chambliss to Atlanta, where he became a member of the LDS church due to the influence of Dale Murphy. He was a semi-regular for the Braves in 1980 and played sparingly in 1981. He was released at the end of spring training in 1982, and did not return to organized baseball. Gomez’ career OPS was .500, the lowest of any non-pitcher with as many plate appearances since Bill Bergen retired in 1911. As a Twin, Gomez had 362 at-bats, and hit .199/.246/.211 with no homers and 22 RBIs. He did not hit a home run in either the majors or the minors (1,781 at-bats). No information about Luis Gomez’ current life is readily available.
     
     
    Third baseman Gary Joseph Gaetti played for the Twins from 1981-1990. Born and raised in Centralia, Illinois, he was drafted by the Twins out of Northwest Missouri State University with the 11th pick in the 1979 June Secondary draft. He did not hit for a high average in the minors, but showed good power, which was basically true for much of his major league career as well. After a September callup in 1981, Gaetti became the Twins’ regular third baseman in 1982, a position he held through 1990. He averaged 27 homers a season from 1982-1988, a figure which would be higher if you threw out the 1984 season, when for some reason he only hit 5. Gaetti’s best season as a Twin was 1988, when he hit .301 with 28 homers and 88 RBIs. He started to decline after that, and became a free agent after the 1990 season. He signed with California, played two-plus years for the Angels, and was released in June of 1993. Signed by Kansas City, Gaetti resurrected his career in his mid-30s, hitting 35 home runs for the Royals in 1995. He became a free agent again after that season, and signed with the Cardinals, where he was a productive player for two and a half years. Released by the St. Louis in August of 1998, Gaetti signed with the Cubs and helped them with their playoff push, hitting .320 in 37 games. That was his last hurrah, however, as he batted only .204 for the Cubs in 1999, and went 0-for-10 for Boston in 2000, at which point he retired. Gaetti hit 360 home runs in a 20 year career. As a Twin, he batted .256 with 201 homers and 758 RBIs and won four Gold Gloves. Gaetti was placed in the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2007. After retiring, he served as the hitting coach for the Houston Astros and the Durham Bulls. He became the manager of the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League in 2012, a job he currently holds.
     
     
    Shortstop James Jerry “J. J.” Hardy played for the Twins in 2010. Born and raised in Tucson, he was drafted by Milwaukee in the second round in 2001. His early minor league numbers are not that strong, probably due to his age. He began to develop in 2003, hitting .279 with twelve homers in AA Huntsville. Hardy was apparently injured much of 2004, as he got only 101 at-bats in AAA. Healthy in 2005, he made the Brewers out of spring training and was their starting shortstop that season. He was again injured in 2006, he came back strong in 2007 and had back-to-back solid seasons, averaging .280 with 25 home runs in those two years. He slumped in 2009, hitting just .229 with 11 homers and spending some time in AAA. After that season, he was traded to Minnesota for Carlos Gomez. He battled injuries again in 2010, but was solid defensively and not bad offensively when healthy. Hardy’s numbers as a Twin were .269/.320/.394 in 340 at-bats. After the season, however, Hardy was traded with Brendan Harris and cash to Baltimore for Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey. Hardy responded with one of the best seasons of his career, batting .269 with a career high 30 home runs. He had a down year in 2012, hitting only .238 (although he did hit 22 homers and won a Gold Glove). He has done better in 2013, batting .252 with 21 homers at this writing and making his second all-star team. He’s thirty-one today, but shortstops who can hit twenty homers and play good defense don’t grow on trees. As long as he continues to do those things, he’ll be a starting shortstop in the major leagues.
  3. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
     
    Billy Consolo (1934)
    Bucky Guth (1947)
     
    Infielder William Angelo Consolo was one of the original Minnesota Twins, playing in eleven games for them in 1961. He was born in Cleveland, went to high school in Los Angeles, and was drafted by Boston as a bonus baby in 1953, meaning he was required by rule to be on the big league club for all of 1953 and 1954. The amount of cash he received was actually under the limit, but part of the deal was that the Red Sox purchased the barber shop at the Los Angeles Hilton for his father, a professional barber. Consolo was first used primarily as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement, but later saw more playing time, getting 242 at-bats (his career high) in 1954. He spent nearly all of 1955 at AAA, but was back with the Red Sox in 1956 and achieved one of the odder lines you’ll find: 48 games, 11 at-bats, 2 hits, 13 runs. Consolo worked his way up to part-time status in 1957, but was back to being a pinch-runner/defensive replacement in 1958 and the first part of 1959 before being traded in June to the then Washington Senators for Herb Plews. He saw part-time duty for the Senators the rest of 1959 and in 1960, but was back to pinch-runner/defensive replacement at the start of 1961 before being traded to Milwaukee on June 1 for Billy Martin. As a member of the Washington/Minnesota franchise, Consolo played in 190 games, batted 381 times, and hit .207/.318/.281 with 3 homers and 25 RBIs. Strictly as a Minnesota Twin, he played in 11 games and was 0-for-5. Consolo was in the minors the rest of that year, then was taken by Philadelphia in the Rule 5 draft. In May of 1962 he was purchased by the Angels, and then was selected off waivers by Kansas City in June. The Athletics released him at the end of the season, and his playing career ended. Given how seldom he played while on a major league roster, it’s odd that he was never given extended time in the minors to see if he could develop. Consolo left baseball for a while, becoming a barber in Los Angeles. He came back to baseball in 1979, serving as a coach for the Tigers from 1979-1992 and again in 1995. Billy Consolo passed away on March 27, 2008 in Westlake Village, California, at the age of 73.
     
     


    Infielder Charles Henry “Bucky” Guth had three at-bats for the Twins in 1972. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, attended the University of West Virginia, and was drafted by the Braves in the twentieth round in 1969. Baseball-reference.com says that in June of 1970 he was “sent from the Atlanta Braves to the Minnesota Twins in an unknown transaction.” Sadly, despite his awesome name, Bucky Guth was not particularly good. He was never much of a batter, either for average or power–his “best” year in the minors was 1971, when he batted .272/.336/.373 with 8 homers and 53 RBIs for AA Charlotte. The next year he batted .218 for AAA Tacoma, but was still given a September call-up, wearing number 27. Bucky Guth appeared in three games, twice being used as a pinch-runner and once starting at shortstop. He went 0-for-3, but reached on an error, scored a run, and fielded all four chances flawlessly. He spent 1973 in Tacoma, but was out of baseball after that. No information about Bucky Guth’s post-baseball life is readily available.

  4. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
     
    Rick Reed (1964)
    Quinton McCracken (1970)
     
     
    Right-hander Richard Allen Reed pitched for the Twins from 2001-2003. He was born in Huntington, West Virginia, attended Marshall University, and was drafted in the 26th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986. He made his major league debut with Pittsburgh in 1988. He spent the next eight years bouncing back and forth between AAA and the majors, first with the Pirates, then with Kansas City, Texas, and Cincinnati. He always pitched well in the minors, but never could stick in the majors. His major league ERAs tell the reason why, but he never got much of a chance and his WHIPs were pretty decent many of those years, suggesting bad luck may also have been a factor. He was a replacement player in 1995, knowing that he would pay a price for it but believing he had no choice due to the medical bills incurred by his ill mother. After playing at AAA for all of 1996 with the Mets, Reed finally made the big-leagues to stay in 1997 at the age of 32. He was a rotation starter for the Mets, and a good one, from 1997 through July of 2001, when he was traded at the deadline to Minnesota for Matt Lawton. He was apparently unhappy about leaving New York, but did not complain publicly about it at the time. Reed did not pitch well for the Twins that year, but had a solid year in 2002, helping the team to the playoffs. After a poor 2003, when he was 38, the Twins released him. He signed with Pittsburgh that off-season, but did not make the team and called it a career. As a Twin, he was 25-25, 4.47, 1.30 WHIP in 390.2 innings. He appeared in 72 games, 65 of them starts. He became the pitching coach at Marshall University in 2005, but decided to step away from baseball for good. He is currently living in retirement in Huntington, West Virginia.
     
     
    Outfielder Quinton Antoine McCracken played in 24 games for the Twins in 2001. He was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, went to high school in South Brunswick, North Carolina (where he started on the football and basketball teams and ran track in addition to playing baseball), and attended Duke. He was drafted by Colorado in the twenty-fifth round in 1992. He was a high average hitter, hitting .359 in a 1995 season split between AA and AAA. He was also fast, stealing 60 bases at Class A Central Valley in 1993. He came up to the Rockies at the end of 1995 and stayed through 1997 as a part-time centerfielder. He hit .291 over that time, but was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was chosen by Tampa Bay. He hit .292 in 1998, but he got off to a bad start in 1999 and then was injured in late May, missing the rest of the season. He split 2000 between AAA and the Devil Rays, then was released. He signed with St. Louis for 2001, but failed to make the team. The Twins signed McCracken on April 13 and sent him to AAA Edmonton, where he hit .338. They brought him to the majors for about six weeks; he got 64 at-bats, making six starts in the outfield and eight at designated hitter (a foreshadowing of Jason Tyner’s use in that role). His batting ability stayed in AAA, however; he hit .219/.275/.313. He became a free agent after the season, signing with Arizona. He made a surprising comeback there, hitting .309 as a half-time outfielder in 2002. He went back down in 2003, however, and was traded to Seattle after the season for Greg Colbrunn and cash. He played poorly with the Mariners, was released in June, and signed back with the Diamondbacks, where he again made a comeback, hitting .288 as a reserve the rest of the way. He again could not sustain it the following year, and became a free agent after the 2005 season. McCracken signed with Cincinnati for 2006, but played sparingly and was released in early July. The Twins re-signed him a couple of weeks later and sent him to Rochester; he hit .284 there, but was not promoted and again became a free agent after the season. He played for independent Bridgeport in 2007, then his playing career came to an end. For a twenty-fifth round draft choice, though, he had a pretty good career. Quinton McCracken was assistant director for player development for the Arizona Diamondbacks through 2012, then became director of player development for the Houston Astros in 2013.
  5. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
     
    Jim Snyder (1932)
    Joe Lis (1946)
    Tom Kelly (1950)
    Randy Johnson (1958)
     
     
    Second baseman James Robert Snyder played briefly for the Twins in 1961-1962 and 1964. He was born in Dearborn, Michigan, went to Eastern Michigan University, and was signed as an amateur free agent by the St. Louis Browns in 1952. He spent the next ten years in the minors, playing in the organizations of St. Louis/Baltimore (1952-56, 1957), the White Sox (1956, 1958-60), the Cubs (1957), Philadelphia (1958, 1960), and Cincinnati (1961). Snyder never hit much in the minors, leading one to suppose that he was a very good defensive player. It also leads one to believe that he was a good guy and that people liked him–if he was a jerk, they would have gotten rid of him. His best minor league season was 1960, when he hit .287 with two AAA teams at age 27. The Twins purchased Snyder from Indianapolis (AAA) in September of 1961, and he spent the rest of that season and portions of 1962 and 1964 with Minnesota. He did not hit any better in the Twins’ organization: in three seasons at AAA, he hit .261 with eight homers. He began 1962 in Minnesota, but was sent out in early May after appearing in twelve games, six of them as a pinch-runner. He did not come back until 1964, when he was with the Twins for about six weeks. Apparently, he was a good bunter; in 1964, Snyder had only 88 plate appearances with the Twins, but was fifth in the league in sacrifice bunts, with 11. As a Twin, Jim Snyder hit .140/.185/.198 in 86 at-bats. After playing in the Senators organization in 1965, Snyder retired as an active player and embarked on a fairly successful career as a minor-league manager, with a winning percentage of .514 in 16 seasons. He has also been a major league coach, and managed the Seattle Mariners for a portion of 1988, going 45-60. No current information about Jim Snyder was readily available.
     
     
    First baseman Joseph Anthony Lis played for the Twins in 1973-1974. Born and raised in Somerville, New Jersey, he was signed by Philadelphia as a free agent in 1964. After a slow start in the minors, he began to develop some power, hitting over 30 homers in class A in 1967 and 1968 and again in AAA in 1970. Lis was with the Phillies in 1971 and part of 1972, also spending part of 1972 in AAA. After that season, he was traded with Ken Reynolds and Ken Sanders to the Twins for Cesar Tovar. Lis played for the Twins for the next year and a half before being sold to Cleveland in June of 1974. He was a semi-regular in 1973, sharing first base with Harmon Killebrew, but got very little playing time in 1974 before he left the Twins. He got back on the treadmill between AAA and the majors through 1976, winning the International League MVP award in 1976, and then was chosen by Seattle in the expansion draft prior to the 1977 season. He played a handful of games for the Mariners in 1977, but then went back to AAA, playing in the Indians, White Sox, and Tigers organizations, as well as a year with the Kintetsu Buffaloes, through 1979, when he retired. As a Twin, Lis played in 127 games, batting 294 times and hitting .238/.321/.374 with 9 homers and 28 RBIs. After leaving baseball, he moved to Evansville, Indiana. After trying several occupations, he started the Joe Lis Hitting School in Evansville, which he operated until his death. Joe Lis passed away from prostate cancer on October 17, 2010 in Evansville, Indiana.
     
     
    First baseman Jay Thomas Kelly played for the Twins in 1975 and then managed them from 1986-2001. He was born in Graceville, Minnesota, went to high school in South Amboy, New Jersey, and was drafted by the Seattle Pilots in the 8th round of the 1968 amateur draft. He was in the Seattle/Milwaukee organization for three years, but averaged averaged .232 over the last two of them and was released at the end of spring training in 1971. The Twins signed him and sent him to AA Charlotte. He hit .294 there, and the next year he was promoted to AAA Tacoma, where he spent most of the next four seasons. Kelly put up solid but unspectacular numbers there, with his best year coming in 1974 when he hit .308 with 18 homers, numbers which sound better than they are in the context of the Pacific Coast League. Kelly came to the Twins in 1975, spending exactly two months with the big club. He played in 49 games during that time, batting .181/.262./.244 in 127 at-bats with 1 homer and 11 runs batted in. Kelly was sold to Baltimore at the start of the 1976 season and spent a year in AAA with them before returning to the Minnesota organization in 1977. He was a player-manager in the minors that year before turning to managing full-time in 1979. Kelly pitched in four minor-league games while he was a manager, starting two of them, and actually pitched pretty well, going 1-0 with a 1.88 ERA in 24 innings. As I assume everyone here knows, he became a coach with the Twins and then took over managing in the fall of 1986, winning two world championships before retiring after the 2001 season. He was named American League Manager of the Year in 1991. He has had chances to manage other teams, but appears to be done managing for good. Tom Kelly is currently a special assistant to the general manager for the Twins and an occasional analyst for FSN North.
     
     
    “Not the” Randy Johnson, outfielder/first baseman Randall Stuart Johnson played for the Twins in 1982. Born in Miami, he was chosen by the White Sox in the third round of the 1979 January draft. He had some strong years in the minors, hitting .282 with 25 homers at AA Glens Falls in 1980 at age 21. He got about five weeks in the majors that year, used mostly as a pinch-hitter by the White Sox. Back in Glens Falls in 1981, he hit only .255 but belted 32 home runs. After the season, he was the player named later in a trade which also sent Ivan Mesa and Ronnie Perry to the Twins for Jerry Koosman. He spent all of 1982 with the Twins, batting .248/.325/.419 as a part-time DH. It was not good enough, however, and he spent the next two years at AAA for the Twins. Johnson was traded back to the White Sox at the start of 1985 spring training along with Ron Scheer for Roy Smalley. He rounded out his career with the White Sox AAA Buffalo affiliate in 1985 as a part-time outfielder, hitting just .224, and then his playing career came to an end. ”Randy Johnson” is, or course, a rather common name, and when you search for a Randy Johnson connected with baseball you tend to get the other guy. There is a Randall Stuart Johnson who is living in the Miami area, but there is no way to know if it is the same one.
  6. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
    Bert Cueto (1937)
    Mike Cook (1963)
     
    Right-hander Dagoberto (Concepcion) Cueto pitched for the Twins in their inaugural season of 1961. He was born in San Luis Pinar, Cuba, and was signed by Washington as an amateur free agent in 1956. He worked his way up from Class D, pitching well at nearly every stop. There apparently was some indecision about whether Cueto should be a starter or a reliever, as he did some of both every year except 1959, when he was used exclusively in relief at Class A Charlotte. Cueto was called up to the Twins in June of 1961 and spent about six weeks with the club. He appeared in seven games, five of them starts, compiling a 1-3 record with a 7.17 ERA in 21.1 innings. Returned to the minors in late July, he was traded to the Dodgers in July of 1962 for Jay Ward. He pitched well for them the rest of the season, but did not get back to the major leagues. Cueto pitched briefly in the Angels organization in 1963 and the Pittsburgh organization in 1964, but spent most of those years in the Mexican League. He apparently then played for amateur teams in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. He also worked for a furniture store and for Embree-Reed, Inc. Bert Cueto passed away on October 25, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
     
     
    Right-hander Michael Horace Cook pitched for the Twins in 1989. Born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, he attended the University of South Carolina and was drafted by the California Angels in the first round of the 1985 amateur draft. He was rushed to the majors, making his big-league debut for the Angels in a two-week stint in 1986. He bounced between California and AAA Edmonton in 1987-88, never pitching all that well for either team. After the 1988 season, Cook was traded to the Twins with Rob Wassenaar and Paul Sorrento for Kevin Trudeau and Bert Blyleven. He started 1989 with the Twins, went down after a month, and came back as a September call-up. He pitched in fifteen games for the Twins in 1989, all in relief, going 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA and a 1.83 WHIP in 21.1 innings. He spent the rest of that year and all of 1990 with AAA Portland as a starter, and was released at the end of spring training in 1991. After that he was in the Seattle (1991), St. Louis (1992), Baltimore (1993-1994) and New York Mets (1994) organizations, making it back to the big leagues for two appearances with Baltimore in 1993. Cook was used exclusively in relief in his last three minor league seasons and posted good ERAs in the last two. It did him no good, however, as his playing career ended after the 1994 season. Mike Cook is a member of the Charleston Baseball Hall of Fame. At last report, it appeared that Mike Cook was living in Brockport, New York.
  7. Jeff A
    Also posted at wgom.org
     
     
    Mudcat Grant (1935)
    Tom Prince (1964)
     
     
    Right-hander James Timothy “Mudcat” Grant pitched for the Twins from 1964-1967. He was born in Lacoochee, Florida, went to high school in Dade City, Florida, and was signed as a free agent by Cleveland in 1954. He pitched quite well in the minors, going 70-28 with an ERA under 3.20 and averaging over 200 innings per season. He made the Indians out of spring training in 1958. Grant was a solid member of the Cleveland rotation for six years, making the all-star team in 1963. He also did some singing as part of a nightclub act. When he got off to a poor start in 1964, he was traded to Minnesota for George Banks and Lee Stange. Something clicked for him when he came to the Twins, as he had his best years in Minnesota: for the rest of 1964, he was 11-9 with a 2.82 ERA, in 1965 he went 21-7 with a 3.30 ERA and finished sixth in the MVP voting, and he went 13-13 in 1966 with a 3.25 ERA. Four consecutive years of pitching between 228 and 270 innings appeared to take its toll, however; 1966 was Grant’s last good year as a starter, and after the 1967 season, he was traded to the Dodgers with Zoilo Versalles for Bob Miller, Ron Perranoski, and Johnny Roseboro. He then had a relatively successful career as a relief pitcher, saving 24 games for Oakland in 1970 and leading major league baseball in appearances with 80. The last year of his 14-year major league career was split between Oakland and Pittsburgh; he also pitched for Iowa in the Oakland organization in 1972. Grant pitched in 129 games as a Twin, 111 of them starts, and went 50-35 with a 3.35 ERA. There are various stories about who gave him the nickname “Mudcat”, with the most popular being that he was given it by Cleveland teammate Larry Doby or a minor-league teammate named LeRoy Irby. He has served on the board of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the Baseball Assistance Team, and the Major League Baseball Alumni Association. In recent years, Grant has been promoting education about the history of blacks in baseball. His book, “The Black Aces”, profiles African-American pitchers who have won twenty games in the majors, along with Negro League pitchers who might have done so had they had they opportunity. At last report, Mudcat Grant was living in Los Agneles.
     
     
    Catcher Thomas Albert Prince played for the Twins from 2001-2003. He was born in Kankakee, Illinois, and was drafted by Pittsburgh in 1984 in the 4th round of the secondary phase of the January draft. Prince did not hit particularly well in the low minors, but showed moderate power and got a reputation as a good defensive player. He surprisingly hit .307 at AA Harrisburg in 1987, nearly fifty points higher than he had ever hit in the minors. That was good enough for him to make his debut in Pittsburgh as a September call-up that season. He spent parts of the next seven seasons with the Pirates, sticking for the whole year only in 1993, which was the only year he got more than 100 at-bats for Pittsburgh. He never hit for them, posting batting averages of over .200 only twice in those seven years. Let go by the Pirates after that season, Prince spent parts of the next four years with the Dodgers, again only getting 100 at-bats once, in 1997, although he did hit .200 or above every year. He spent 1999-2000 with the Phillies, and was signed as a free agent by the Twins after the 2000 campaign. With the Twins, Prince was who they thought he was: a reserve catcher who was good defensively and couldn’t hit. In 2 1/2 years in Minnesota, he got 361 at-bats and hit .219/.300/.374 with 13 homers and 44 RBIs. Released by the Twins in July of 2003, he signed with the Royals, spending most of the rest of the year in Omaha. He retired after that year at the age of 38. Tom Prince managed to play in parts of seventeen major league seasons and get 1,190 major league at-bats with a lifetime batting average of .208. Since his playing days ended, he has managed in the low minors for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He managed at Williamsport from 2005-2006, and has been the manager of the GCL Pirates from 2007-2012. He does not have that position in 2013, however, and no information about what Tom Prince is doing this season was readily available.
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