Also posted at wgom.org Billy Martin (1928) Jack Morris (1955) Tack Wilson (1956) Mark Funderburk (1957) Second baseman Alfred Manuel “Billy” Martin played for the Twins for about four months in 1961 and later became a coach and manager for them. He was born and raised in Berkeley, California and began playing professional baseball in 1946. He played for unaffiliated teams for four years, the last two of them for Oakland in the Pacific Coast League. The Oaks traded him to the Yankees afte
Also posted in wgom.org Scott Watkins (1970) Justin Morneau (1981) Brian Dozier (1987) Left-hander Scott Allen Watkins pitched for the Twins for about two months in 1995. He was born in Tulsa, went to high school in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, and was drafted by Minnesota in the 23rd round in 1992. A reliever throughout his minor-league career, his numbers were not particularly impressive until 1995, when he posted a 2.80 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, 20 saves, and 57 strikeouts in 54.2 innings (45 games)
Also posted at wgom.org Bob Thurman (1917) Dave LaRoche (1948) Hosken Powell (1955) Pat Borders (1963) Larry Sutton (1970) Outfielder Robert Burns Thurman did not play for the Twins, but was briefly in their farm system at the end of his career. Born in Kellyville, Oklahoma, he played semipro ball until 1941, when he went in to the Army for World War II. Upon leaving the Army, he became a victim of baseball’s color barrier, playing in the Negro Leagues from 1946-1949 and playing winter ball
Also posted at wgom.org Johnny Roseboro (1943) Lenny Faedo (1960) Jack Cressend (1975) Catcher John Junior Roseboro was with the Twins from 1968-1969, near the end of his career. Born and raised in Ashland, Ohio, Roseboro signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers as a free agent in 1952. He hit very well for two years in the low minors, then missed a year due to military service. It took Roseboro a while to get going upon his return, but he hit .273 with 25 homers at AAA Montreal in 1956. He star
Also posted at wgom.org Vic Albury (1947) Evan Meek (1983) Left-hander Victor Albury pitched for the Twins from 1973-1976. Born and raised in Key West, Albury was drafted by Cleveland in the ninth round in 1965. He was a first baseman then, and spent a year at Class A Dubuque hitting .233. He then went into the military for three years, and when he came back he was a pitcher. Somewhere along the line, Cleveland transferred his rights to the Cubs. He pitched for them in Class A in 1969
Also posted at wgom.org Frank Quilici (1939) Infielder/manager/broadcaster Francis Ralph Quilici has been associated with the Twins for a long time. He was born and raised in Chicago, attended Loras College of Dubuque, Iowa, one of two major league players that school has produced (Red Faber), then transferred to Western Michigan. Quilici signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1961. He was not a great batter in the minors, but had a decent season at AA Charlotte in 1964 and was hittin
Also posted in wgom.org John Cumberland (1947) Joey Meyer (1962) This is also the birthday of Hall of Fame broadcaster Herb Carneal (1923). Left-hander John Sheldon Cumberland did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 1973. He was born in Westbrook, Maine, attended the University of Maine, and signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1966. He had a mediocre season in Class A, but the Yankees thought they saw something in him and selected him in the minor lea
Also posted at wgom.org Ron Jackson (1953) Tom Chism (1954) Oswaldo Arcia (1991) First baseman Ronnie Damien Jackson played for the Twins from 1979-1981. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, he was drafted by California in the second round in 1971. He was primarily a third baseman in the minors. He had good but unspectacular minor league seasons with the exception of 1974, when he hit .328 with 11 home runs at AA El Paso. He made his major league debut as a September callup in 1975 a
Also posted at wgom.org Steve Braun (1948) Left-handed hitter Stephen Russell Braun played for the Twins from 1971-1976. He was born in Trenton, New Jersey, went to high school in Pennington, New Jersey, and was drafted by the Twins in the tenth round in 1966. He was in rookie ball for two years, doing nothing special, and then missed two years to military service. He came back to hit .279 at Class A Lynchberg in 1970 and started 1971 with the Twins. He was used mostly as a pinch hitter at
Also posted at wgom.org Manny Hernandez (1961) Right-hander Manuel Antonio (Montas) Hernandez did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for most of 1989. He was born in La Romana, Dominican Republic, and signed with Houston as a free agent in 1978. He was very young, of course, and as a result he was in rookie ball for two years and Class A for three more. He pitched well in every year except 1982. He jumped to AAA Tucson in 1984 and stayed there most of the next f
Also posted at wgom.org. Bill Hands (1940) Al Williams (1954) Right-hander William Alfred Hands pitched for the Twins for most of two seasons in 1973 and 1974. He was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, went to high school in Rutherford, New Jersey, and signed with San Francisco as a free agent in 1959. Hands struggled early in his minor league career, and as a result he spent a full year in Class D, Class C, Class B, and Class A. After a fine season in 1962 at Class A, however, he was jumped t
Also posted at wgom.org John Donaldson (1943) Larry Hisle (1947) Mike Redmond (1971) Infielder John David Donaldson did not play for the Twins, but began his professional career in their minor league system. Born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, he signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1963. He played for Class A Orlando that year, hitting .251, and was chosen by the Kansas City Athletics in the first year player draft. He hit .315 at Class A in 1964, and was promoted to AAA th
Also posted at wgom.org Ryan Jorgensen (1979) Matt Tolbert (1982) Kevin Slowey (1984) Catcher Ryan Wayne Jorgensen played a total of three innings for the Twins in 2008. He was born in Jacksonville, Florida, went to high school in Kingwood, Texas, and attended LSU. He was then drafted by the Cubs in the seventh round in 2000. He really never had a productive offensive season in the minors above Class A; his best was 2004, when he hit .259 with eight homers for AAA Albuquerque. The Cubs t
Also posted at wgom.org Ben Revere (1988) Outfielder Ben Daniel Revere played for the Twins from 2010-2012. He was born in Atlanta, went to high school in Lexington, Kentucky, and was drafted by Minnesota in the first round in 2007. He mostly rose one level at a time, playing in rookie ball in 2007, Class A in 2008, advanced A in 2009, AA in 2010, and AAA in 2011 before being called up to the big club because of injuries. He hit over .300 each minor league season, with a high of .379 in Be
Also posted at wgom.org Rudy Meoli (1951) Roy Lee Jackson (1954) Infielder Rudolph Bartholomew Meoli did not play for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for a couple of months in 1979. He was born in Troy, New York, went to high school in Covina, California, and was drafted by California in the fourth round in 1969. He hit .351 in rookie ball, but after that his averages, while solid enough, are not that impressive, especially when combined with the fact that he had little power. He
Also posted at wgom.org Ken Retzer (1934) Jeff Reboulet (1964) Catcher Kenneth Leo Retzer did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 1965. He was born in Wood River, Illinois and signed with Cleveland as a free agent in 1954. He began in Class D and rose very slowly. He hit for good averages most years, but with very little power. He reached Class A in 1956, but then missed 1957 due to military service. When he came back in 1958, he was once again in Class A. He got to
Also posted at wgom.org Ron Washington (1952) Infielder Ronald Washington was with the Twins from 1981-1986. Born and raised in New Orleans, Washington signed with Kansas City as a free agent in 1970. He was in the Royals’ system for six years, only one of them higher than Class A, and did nothing of any particular note apart from play several positions; he was used as a catcher, outfielder, shortstop, and second baseman. Washington was traded to the Dodgers after the 1976 season. He thr
Also posted in wgom.org Pedro Ramos (1935) Luis Quinones (1962) Sean Douglass (1979) Yoslan Herrera (1981) Right-hander Pedro (Guerra) Ramos played for the Twins in 1961 and was the starting pitcher in the first game the Minnesota Twins ever played. He was born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, and signed with Washington as a free agent in 1953. He had a fine year in 1954, split between Class C and Class B ball, and started 1955 in the major leagues, pitching mostly out of the Washington bullpen. H
Also posted at wgom.org. Patrick Lennon (1968) Benj Sampson (1975) Luis Perdomo (1984) Outfielder Patrick Orlando Lennon was in the Twins’ minor league system for a couple of months in 1995. Born and raised in Whiteville, North Carolina, he was named North Carolina High School Athlete of the Year in 1986 and was drafted by Seattle with the eighth pick of the 1986 draft. His early minor league numbers were fairly pedestrian, but in 1991 he hit .329 with 15 homers at AAA Calgary, earning him a
Also posted at wgom.org. Tom Norton (1950) Steve Lombardozzi (1960) Joe Crede (1978) Alejandro Machado (1982) Right-handed reliever Thomas John Norton made 21 appearances for the Twins in 1972. Born in Elyria, Ohio, he attended St. Clair County Community College of Port Huron, Michigan. Norton signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1969. He was somewhat up and down in his minor league career. After a decent but unspectacular season in AA Charlotte in 1971, Norton played the full 1972 sea
Also posted at wgom.org Greg Wells (1954) Larry Pashnick (1956) Jacque Jones (1975) The original Boomer Wells, first baseman Gregory De Wayne Wells had 54 at-bats with the Twins in 1982. Born in McIntosh, Alabama, he went to Albany State University (where he also played football and was drafted by the Jets in the sixteenth round) and signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent in 1976. He signed with the Pirates on March 26 and was released on April 7, making one wonder why Pittsburgh bothered
Also posted at wgom.org Bill Singer (1944) Bill Krueger (1958) Todd Jones (1968) John Barnes (1976) Right-hander William Robert Singer was with the Twins for four months in 1976. He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in Pomona, California, and signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1961. He advanced rapidly through the minors, reaching AAA in 1964 at age 20. He averaged over 200 innings per season in three years at AAA Spokane. His numbers weren’t that great, but it was the
Also posted at wgom.org Jason Tyner (1977) Carlos Silva (1979) Sean Henn (1981) Outfielder Jason Reynt Tyner was with the Twins from 2005-2007. He was born in Bedford, Texas, went to high school in Beaumont, Texas, and was drafted by the Mets in the first round in 1998. He hit over .300 almost every year in the minors and stole a good number of bases, although even in the minors he did not hit a home run until 2004. He made his debut with the Mets in June of 2000, staying for about a mont
Also posted at wgom.org Steve Jones (1941) Jack Savage (1964) George Williams (1969) Left-hander Steven Howell Jones did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system from 1962-1963. He was born in Huntington Park, California, attended high school in Bell, California, went to Whittier College, and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1962. He was in the Twins’ organization for two years, one at Class D Erie and the other at Class A Wilson, and was nothing special. The W
I really hold back what I would like to say about then payroll arguments here. The fact that people don't accept the amount taken in dictates the amount going out requires one of two things. Extreme financial ignorance or fanatical bias that prevents the acceptance of something some basic. I did not change the argument. It's the same idiocy over and over. Do you really want to be on the side that suggests revenues does not determine spending capacity?
At this point in the pre-season, I’m just so happy to be seeing games again, I don’t care about the Twins record in 2023. I think they’ll win it all, unrealistically speaking 🙂
I really hold back what I would like to say about then payroll arguments here. The fact that people don't accept the amount taken in dictates the amount going out requires one of two things. Extreme financial ignorance or fanatical bias that prevents the acceptance of something some basic. I did not change the argument. It's the same idiocy over and over. Do you really want to be on the side that suggests revenues does not determine spending capacity?· 0 replies
