Right-hander Danny Walker Morris pitched a total of six games for the Twins from 1968-1969. Born in Greenville, Kentucky, Morris signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1964. He had an excellent year in Class A Wisconsin Rapids in 1965, going 16-8, 2.16 with a WHIP of 1.00 in 225 innings. He struggled for a while as he went up the minor league ladder, but had a good year in 1968 at AAA Denver, going 16-15 with a 3.94 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He got a September call-up that year and did well in limited duty, posting a 1.69 ERA in 10.2 innings. That was as good as it would get for Morris, however. He was with the Twins for about three weeks in June of 1969, but did not pitch well there or at Denver that season. He continued to struggle at AAA in 1970 in Evansville and 1971 in Portland. He had a good year at AA in 1972, but again had trouble in eight AAA appearances. He never went to another organization, and his playing career came to an end after the 1972 season. As a Twin, Danny Morris was 0-2, 2.81 in 16 innings. He appeared in six games, three of them starts. As you might guess, this world contains lots of people named Danny Morris; however, no information about “our” Danny Morris was readily available.
Right-hander Robert Griffin Keppel pitched for the Twins for a little over half of 2009. Born in St. Louis, he was drafted by the Mets in the first round in 2000. He was a starting pitcher most of his minor league career. He appears to have battled injuries much of the time, as his games and innings pitched numbers make it appear that he may have missed at least a little time nearly every season. His effectiveness went up and down; Keppel’s best year was probably 2003, when he went 9-4, 2.97 with a WHIP of 1.20 in 109 innings. He was released by the Mets in May of 2005 despite the fact that he had made five pretty good starts at AAA Norfolk. He was out of baseball the rest of the season, signing with Kansas City the next February. Keppel made eight appearances (six starts) with the Royals in 2006, but did not pitch well either there or at AAA and became a free agent after the season. He signed with Colorado for 2007 and made four relief appearances for the Rockies in April, but again had a poor year both there and at AAA. He moved on to the Marlins organization for 2008, again pitched poorly, and signed with Minnesota for 2009. In Rochester, he had his first good season in some time, going 3-3, 2.49 with a 1.15 WHIP in 55.2 innings before being called up to the Twins in late June. He stayed the rest of the season, going 1-1, 4.83 with a 1.56 WHIP in 54 innings. He made 37 appearances, all in relief. The Twins released him in January of last year. He signed with the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan in 2010, had a couple of fine seasons there, missed most of 2012 due to injury, and appears to still be pitching for Nippon Ham in 2013. He also does some volunteer work with LifeTeen, a Catholic youth ministry program.
Also posted at wgom.org J. C. Romero (1976) Left-hander Juan Carlos ”J. C.” Romero from 1999-2005. He was born in San Piedras, Puerto Rico, went to high school in San Juan, and then attended the University of Mobile. He was drafted by Minnesota in the 21st round in 1997. He was a reliever throughout his early minor league career, did very well, and made the majors for the first time in September of 1999. He bounced back and forth between the majors and AAA for the next two seasons, mostly used as a starter in those seasons. He pitched well in AAA, but not very well at all in the majors. In 2002, Romero became a reliever again and had a tremendous year, going 9-2, 1.89 with a WHIP of 1.21 in 81 innings and 81 appearances. He then was up and down, having a poor year in 2003, a better year in 2004, and a worse year again in 2005. As a Twin, J. C. Romero was 25-20, 4.38 with a WHIP of 1.48. He appeared in 327 games, 22 of them starts, and pitched 407.2 innings. After the 2005 season, the Twins traded Romero to the Anaheim Angels for Alexi Casilla. He was pretty awful for the Angels in 2006, became a free agent, and signed with Boston. He was not very good there, either, and was released in June. Romero signed with Philadelphia a few days later and seemed reborn. He pitched very well the rest of 2007 and again in 2008, helping the Phillies win the World Series. He was suspended for fifty games in 2009, and has been bothered by injuries and wildness since his return. He earned the title “well-traveled reliever” in 2011, playing for Philadelphia, Washington, the Yankees, and Colorado. He signed with St. Louis for 2012, was released in mid-May, and was signed by Baltimore. He pitched well in AAA, but was released again in mid-July. He signed with Cleveland, pitched well in AAA, and was traded back to Baltimore in mid-August. The Orioles put him in their bullpen, but he was not very good and was made a free agent after two weeks. He didn't give up, though. He signed with Washington in late March and is currently pitching fairly well for them in AAA. He's 37, and one would think his time was about up, but (say it with me) "he is left-handed". It would not be a shock if somehow J. C. Romero found his way back to the big leagues again.
Ed Palmquist (1933) Scott Ullger (1955) Right-hander Edwin Lee Palmquist appeared in nine games for the Twins in 1961. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he signed as a free agent with Brooklyn in 1951. He was with Class C Santa Barbara through 1952, then served in the military for two years. He returned to organized baseball in 1955, but either still had a military obligation or was battling injuries, because he played very little until 1957. Converted to relief in 1959, he had an excellent year for AAA St. Paul, posting an ERA of 2.09 and a WHIP of 1.06 in 125 innings. He began 1960 with AAA Spokane, but was called up the now Los Angeles Dodgers in late June and stayed the rest of the year. He did not pitch often but did well when given a chance, posting a 2.54 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP in 39 innings. He began 1961 with the Dodgers, but after only five appearances was traded to Minnesota with Joe Altobelli for Ernie Oravetz and cash. He made nine appearances for the Twins, two of them starts, and did not do well, going 1-1, 9.43 with a 2.19 WHIP in 21 innings. He apparently got hurt in mid-June, or perhaps he was hurt when the Twins got him, but at any rate he missed the rest of the season. He made three appearances for AAA Vancouver in the Twins’ organization in 1962, but then his playing career in America was over, although he apparently did some pitching in Japan in 1963. He eventually moved to Grants Pass, Oregon, where he passed away on July 10, 2010.
First baseman Scott Matthew Ullger got 79 at-bats with the Twins in 1983. He was born in New York and attended St. John’s. He was drafted by Minnesota in the eighteenth round in 1977. The Twins never really settled on a position for him; he played shortstop and third base in 1977-1978, was a third baseman in 1979, and an outfielder from 1980-1982. He did not play first base at all until 1981, and then only 21 games’ worth. On offense, his best season was probably 1978, when he hit .320 with 20 homers at Class A Visalia. He also hit 20 home runs for AA Orlando in 1981, although he hit only .269; he also had a solid year for AAA Toledo in 1982. Ullger then got his only time in the big leagues as a player, spending the entire 1983 season as Kent Hrbek’s backup at first base. He got only 79 at-bats, hitting .190/.247/.241. He then went back to AAA Toledo for three years, doing a solid but unspectacular job for the Mud Hens. He moved to the Baltimore organization for 1987 and then his playing career ended. Ullger then became a minor league manager for the Twins, working in Visalia (1988-1990), Orlando (1991), Portland (1992-1993), and Salt Lake (1994). He has been a part of the Twins’ major league coaching staff since 1995, serving at times as first base coach, third base coach, batting coach, and bench coach. Scott Ullger is currently the first base coach for the Minnesota Twins.
Also posted at wgom.org Jake Jacobs (1937) Bruce Look (1943) Tom Edens (1961)
Outfielder Lamar Gary “Jake” Jacobs appeared in four games for the Twins in 1961. He was born in Youngstown, Ohio, went to college at Ohio University (playing on the same team as another future Twin, Joe Nossek), and signed with Washington as a free agent in 1959. He did not hit for power in the minors, but hit for around .300 for three seasons, the first at Class D Sanford, the second at Class A Charlotte, and the third at AAA Syracuse. He got a September call-up that second year, 1960, and appeared in six games for Washington, four as a pinch-runner and two as a pinch-hitter. He went 0-for-2. He got another September call-up the third year, 1961, and appeared in four games for what was now the Twins, starting two games in centerfield, pinch-hitting once, and being used as a defensive replacement once. He went 2-for-8. That was the extent of Jacobs’ major league career. He played in the Twins’ organization for two more seasons, one in AAA Vancouver and one in AA Charlotte, hitting in the .250s both seasons. Then, his playing career was over. He went into the insurance business after that, selling insurance back in his home town of Youngstown for twenty-five years. He also became involved in the YMCA and was a deacon in his local church. Jake Jacobs passed away in Palmetto, Florida on July 26, 2010.
Bruce Michael Look was the Twins’ backup catcher in 1968. Born and raised in Lansing, Michigan, he attended Michigan State and was signed by Milwaukee as a free agent in 1964. After one year in the Braves’ system, he was selected by the Dodgers in the first-year player draft. He was in the Dodgers’ system for three season, going as high as AAA in 1967. He did not have much power, but hit for decent averages, especially considering the era. His best was 1967, when he hit .270 for AAA Spokane. The Twins then chose him in the Rule 5 draft and kept him in the majors for 1968, his only big league season. Look hit .246/.353/.380 in 118 at-bats for the Twins, playing in 59 games. In 19 of those games he was used as a pinch-hitter, going 2-for-16 with two walks and a sacrifice fly. Take away his pinch-hitting duties and he hit .265, which was pretty good for 1968. After that season, Look went back to AAA for two seasons. Prior to the 1971 campaign, he was sent to the Yankees in “an unknown transaction.” The Yankees traded Look to Milwaukee (now the Brewers) in mid-season, and he went to the Orioles after the year ended, but never got back to the majors. He did not play for the Orioles either; his playing career ended after the 1971 season. His brother, Dean, played three games for the White Sox in 1961. Bruce Look is currently the national sales manager for Spinus, L. L. C., a seller of medical devices based in Saginaw, Michigan.
Right-hander Thomas Patrick Edens pitched briefly for the Twins in 1991 and then pitched for them for all of 1992. He was born in Ontario, Oregon, went to high school in Fruitland, Idaho, and attended Lewis-Clark State College. He was drafted by Kansas City in the fourteenth round in 1983. He was unimpressive in his first season, but the Mets apparently thought they saw something in him, as they traded for him in April of 1984. A starter in the minors, he pitched well in the Mets’ chain, reaching AAA in 1986 and getting a brief shot at the majors in 1987, making two starts in June. The Mets sent him back to the minors for the next two years, then traded him to Philadelphia in mid-July. The Phillies converted Edens to relief, and after the season he signed with Milwaukee for 1990. He did not pitch all that well in Denver, mainly due to wildness, but the Brewers brought him up in late May and he stayed the rest of the season. He became a free agent after that year and signed with Minnesota. The Twins converted him back to a starter for AAA Portland and he had a fine season, getting called up to the majors in late August and making six starts for the Twins down the stretch of the pennant race. He went back to relief in 1992, staying with the Twins all season. He was a solid member of the bullpen that year, going 6-3 with three saves, an ERA of 2.83, and a WHIP of 1.32 in 76.1 innings over 52 appearances. The Twins left him unprotected in the expansion draft after the season. He was selected by Florida and immediately traded to Houston in a deal involving Hector Carrasco. He had another good year for the Astros in 1993, but was not doing as well in 1994 and was traded to Philadelphia in late July. He did a good job for the Phillies down the stretch, but was released after the season and signed with the Cubs. He was in AAA most of the season and pitched well, but got only five appearances in the majors. Those were his last five big league appearances. He pitched poorly in AAA for Baltimore in 1996 and then his playing career was over. At last report, Tom Edens was living in Clarkston, Washington.
Also posted at wgom.org Joe Grzenda (1937) Pete Magrini (1942) Carmelo Castillo (1958)
Left-hander Joseph Charles Grzenda made 38 appearances for the Twins in 1969. He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, went to high school in Moosic, Pennsylvania, and signed with the Tigers as a free agent in 1955. He was mostly a starter in the minors, and after a poor first season did pretty well for the most part. He started 1961 in the majors but was sent back after only 5.2 innings over four games. After the 1961 season he struggled for a couple of years due to injuries. He was shifted to the bullpen in 1963 but continued to struggle and was released in late July. He signed with the Kansas City Athletics for 1964 and was with the A’s for two and a half months, but did not pitch well either there or at AAA. He went down to AA the next two years, and pitched extremely well, posting ERAs under two in 1966 and 1967. He was in the majors just over two months in 1966 and pitched well, but in mid-August of 1967 Grzenda was traded to the Mets. He finished the season with them and continued to pitch well, but after the season was sold to Minnesota. Grzenda had a good year in AAA Denver in 1968, and in 1969 got his first full season in the majors. He was not used a lot, but did not do too badly, going 4-1, 3.88 with a WHIP of 1.42 in 48.2 innings over 38 appearances. In late March of 1970, however, Grzenda was traded to Washington with Charley Walters for Brant Alyea. He was in the Senators’ bullpen for two years, pitching poorly in 1970 but having an outstanding year in 1971. He was traded to St. Louis that off-season, and apparently left the magic behind in Washington, as he had a poor year in 1972. He then spent two years in AAA, pitching in the Yankees’ organization in 1973 and in the Braves’ chain in 1974, but could not get back to the major leagues. After his playing career ended, he was offered a chance to be a pitching coach in the Yankees’ organization, but decided he could not support his family on the amount he was offered. He worked as a security guard, then worked for an auto battery manufacturer in Dunsmore, Pennsylvania for 25 years before retiring. Joe Grzenda was the pitcher at the end of the last game the Washington Senators ever played. He kept the ball, and he formally presented it to the new Washington franchise in April of 2005 for use in the ceremonial first pitch of the first home game for the Washington Nationals.
Right-hander Peter Alexander Magrini did not play for the Twins but was originally signed by them. He was born in San Francisco, went to high school in Santa Rosa, California, attended Santa Clara University, and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1964. He had a good year for Class A Wilson and was chosen by Boston in the first-year player draft that off-season. He pitched very well in the minors, consistently posting good ERAs and good WHIPs as both a starter and a reliever, but did not get much of a chance in the majors. In fact, his major league career consists of three games with the Red Sox in April and May of 1966. He made two relief appearances and one start, going 0-1, 9.82 in 7.1 innings. He moved on to the Yankees’ organization for 1968 and again pitched very well in the minors, but again it did him no good. He had a down year in AAA in 1969 and his playing career was over at age 27. In four seasons at AAA, Magrini had a 3.09 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP in 475 innings. One has to think he might have done something in the big leagues if he had been given the chance. At last report, Pete Magrini had returned to Santa Rosa and was the owner of an automobile dealership.
Outfielder Monte Carmelo Castillo, also known as Carmen Castillo, played for the Twins from 1989-1991. He was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Puerto Rico and signed with Phildelphia as a free agent in 1978. He was drafted by Cleveland in December of 1978 in the minor league draft. He posted decent averages with moderate power in the minors, nothing bad but nothing to attract a lot of attention, either. He came up to the majors in mid-July of 1982, and with the exception of a couple of brief demotions was a part-time player in the majors for the next nine years. He was generally a platoon player and pinch hitter, used primarily against left-handed pitching. He didn’t do badly in that role, hitting .250-.280 with moderate power. In late March of 1989, Castillo was traded to Minnesota for Keith Atherton. Already 31, he was decent his first season with the Twins, but then went into decline. The Twins released him in early May of 1991. Castillo signed with Milwaukee a couple of weeks later and hit well in AAA Denver, but did not make it back to the big leagues and his career came to an end after the season. As a Twin, Carmelo Castillo hit .240/.279/.373 in 367 at-bats. He managed the DSL Rangers in 1991, but no information about what Carmelo Castillo has done since then was readily available.
George Mitterwald (1945) Tim Laudner (1958) Donaldo Mendez (1978) Virgil Vasquez (1982)
Catcher George Eugene Mitterwald played for the Twins in 1966 and from 1968-1973. He was born in Berkeley, California, went to high school in Hayward, California, and attended Chabot College in Hayward. He signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1965. He had an excellent year at Class A St. Cloud in 1965, then settled in as a rather mediocre minor league hitter. He got a September call-up in 1966 and another in 1968 before coming to the majors to stay. He was the backup to Johnny Roseboro in 1969, then became the mostly regular catcher. He remained in that role from 1970-1971, but in 1972 Mitterwald had a poor year even by his standards, and shared the job with Glenn Borgmann, Phil Roof, and Rick Dempsey. He regained the starting job in 1973 and had his best year as a Twin, hitting .259 with 16 home runs. The Twins apparently decided that was as good as it was ever going to get and traded him that Mitterwald to the Cubs that off-season for Randy Hundley. As a Twin, George Mitterwald hit .239/.304/.373 in 1,578 at-bats. He was then a part-time catcher for the Cubs for the next four years. Mitterwald became a free agent after the 1977 campaign and signed with Seattle. He played poorly in AAA for the Mariners and his playing career came to an end. He then went into coaching and managing, serving as the bullpen coach for Oakland (1979-1982), as the manager of Modesto (1983-1985) and Orlando (1986-1987), and as bench coach for the Yankees (1988). He managed in the independent Northern League from 1996-1998. He was inducted into the Chabot College Hall of Fame in 2000. No information about what George Mitterwald has been doing since then was readily available.
Catcher Timothy Jon Laudner was a catcher for the Twins throughout the 1980s. He was born in Mason City, Iowa, went to high school in Minneapolis, and attended the University of Missouri. He was drafted by Minnesota in the third round of the 1979 draft. Laudner had indifferent minor league numbers for two season, then hit .284 with 42 homers with Orlando in 1981. That got him a call-up in late August, and when Butch Wynegar was traded in May of 1982 Laudner became the regular catcher. Unfortunately, the 42-home-run season turned out to be a fluke; he never hit more than 16 in any other season, majors or minors. Because he never showed power and his average never really developed, either, Laudner was never the full-time catcher after 1982, sharing the job with Dave Engle (1983-84), Mark Salas (1985-1986), Sal Butera (1987), Tom Nieto (1987-1988), and Brian Harper (1988-1989). Despite that, Laudner made the all-star team in 1988. He was hitting .290 at the end of June that year, but fell to .251 by year’s end. Laudner never played for another organization, retiring after the 1989 campaign. He hit .225/.292/.391 with 77 homers in 2,038 at-bats. After his playing career ended, he worked in the heating and air conditioning industry for a while, then got back into baseball. Tim Laudner currently is as an instructor and part-owner of Big League Baseball Camp in Minnetonka and also works as a part-time analyst for Fox Sports North.
Shortstop Donaldo Alfonso Mendez did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for a couple of months in 2006. Born and raised in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, he signed with Houston as a free agent in 1995. He stayed in the low minors and did not hit anything until 2000, when he batted .270 and stole 39 bases for Class A Michigan. His OPS was still only .683, but that was enough for San Diego to take him in the rule 5 draft and keep him in the majors all season. A reserve shortstop, he appeared in 46 games, got 118 at-bats, and hit .153. Not surprisingly, he was back in the minors in 2002. He never really did learn to hit; his lifetime average in the minors was .239, a figure that falls to .228 when you take out his years in independent leagues. He stayed with the Padres through 2003, getting another month in the majors in his final year with them. He moved on to Pittsburgh in 2004 and San Francisco in 2005. He was hitting .272 with Newark in the Atlantic League when the Twins signed him on July 6, 2006. He went to Rochester and actually put up very good numbers in limited playing time: in 19 games, he batted 29 times and hit .270/.300/.621 with three homers. The Twins were not fooled, and allowed him to become a free agent after the season. He played in independent leagues through 2008, then ended his playing career. At last report, Donaldo Mendez was working for the Gonzalez Sports Academy in San Diego.
Right-hander Virgil Matthew Vasquez has not played for the Twins, but is in their farm system. Born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, he was drafted by Detroit in the seventh round in 2003. He was somewhat up and down in his minor league career, but seemed to break through in 2007, going 12-5 in AAA with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He appeared in five big-league games for the Tigers that year, and while he did not do well in them, he still appeared to be on his way. Instead, he went backward. He had a poor year in AAA in 2008, was placed on waivers, and was selected by Boston. Before the 2009 season started, he was waived twice more, being selected by San Diego and then by Pittsburgh. The good news, of course, is that there was always someone who wanted him. He did fairly well in AAA for the Pirates and got back to the big leagues for nearly half the season. He spent over a month in the Pittsburgh rotation, but again did not do well. After the 2009 season he was traded to Tampa Bay for a player to be named later. He was okay, but nothing more, in AAA for the Rays and became a free agent after the season. He signed with the Angels for 2011, but was released in April and spent 2011 in the Atlantic League, with a couple of starts in Australia. He was back in the Atlantic League in 2012, then signed with Minnesota for 2013. He has been pitching for Rochester but has not been particularly good. He turns 31 today. He has put it together at times, so it’s possible that he’ll do it again, but it’s unlikely that we will see Virgil Vasquez in a major league uniform again.
Second baseman Robert Lee Randall played for the Twins in the late 1970s. He was born in Norton, Kansas, went to high school in Gove, Kansas, and attended Kansas State. He was drafted by the Dodgers in the second round of the June Secondary draft in 1969. He never showed power in the minors, and his average was up and down; his best year was 1974, when he hit .338 for AAA Albuquerque. After the 1975 season, Randall was traded to Minnesota for Danny Walton. He was instantly installed as the regular second baseman, but when he proved inadequate offensively he was platooned with Rob Wilfong for the next three years. He was a solid defensive player, but never hit well enough to justify his place in the lineup. His batting average sometimes made him look adequate–his highest was .270 in 1978–but he had no power and did not draw walks, so his highest OPS was .650, also in 1978. Randall was a fine bunter, achieving double-digit sacrifice bunts every season. The Twins released Randall at the end of spring training of 1980, signed him again on May 16, released him again on June 3, signed him again on June 18, and released him again on July 16, this time for good. He never played for another team. Bobby Randall’s career numbers are .257/.310/.311 in 1,325 at-bats. He then went into college coaching, serving as an assistant coach at Iowa State from 1981-1984, head coach at Iowa State from 1985-1995, and head coach at Kansas from 1996-2002. He also got a master’s degree in economics at Kansas State. At last report, Bobby Randall was living in Manhattan, Kansas and was a part-time professor of economics and statistics at Manhattan Christian College.
Infielder David Christian Lamb appeared in seven games for the Twins in 2002. He was born in West Hills, California, went to high school in Newbury Park, California, and was drafted by Baltimore in the second round in 1993. It took him a while to get started, but he hit right around .300 from 1997-1998 in the minor leagues. The Orioles did not put him on the 40-man roster, however, and he was selected by Tampa Bay in the Rule 5 draft after the 1998 season. He was with the Devil Rays in 1999 as a utility infielder, batting .226. Tampa Bay waived him in February of 2000 and the Mets picked him up. He was in the big leagues for about three weeks, again as a reserve, and had a poor year in AAA. He became a free agent after the season, signed with Anaheim, was released at the end of spring training of 2001, signed with Colorado, was unspectacular in AA, was released in August, and signed with Florida the same day, going to AAA for the rest of the year. Lamb signed with Minnesota for 2002. He had a solid season in AAA Edmonton, hitting .309 with ten homers, and got a September call-up. He went 1-for-10, but replaced Denny Hocking on the ALCS roster that year, appearing in two games but not getting a time at bat. Lamb was back with the Twins’ AAA team, now at Rochester, for 2003. He had a mediocre season and his playing career came to an end. At last report, David Lamb was a batting and fielding instructor for Hitting Zone, a baseball instructional facility located in Westlake Village, California.
Sorry, I was gone yesterday. We'll have today's birthdays later today.
Ron Keller (1943) Jim Dwyer (1950) Nelson Liriano (1964)
Right-hander Ronald Lee Keller made nine total appearances with the Twins in 1966 and 1968. He was born in Indianapolis and attended Indiana University. The Twins drafted him in the eighth round in 1965. After a strong year at Class A St. Cloud in 1965, he started 1966 in at Class A Wilson, was promoted after seven starts to AA Charlotte, was promoted after seven appearances (six starts) to AAA Denver, and made eight appearances (seven starts) there. He also made two appearances in Minnesota in July, allowing four runs (three earned) in 5.1 innings. Perhaps all the packing and unpacking got to him, because while he was excellent all along the way in 1966, he never had a good season again. He was in AAA Denver for all of 1967 and most of 1968, making six appearances in the majors in the latter year. He made seven appearances that year, posting an ERA of 2.81 in 16 innings. His totals as a Twin were 0-1, 3.38 with a WHIP of 1.41 in 21.1 innings. He appeared in nine games, making one start. 1968 was Keller’s last season as an active player. One wonders if injuries were his problem, but no information about that was readily available. Ron Keller’s son, Jason, is a successful playwright and screenwriter and his wife, Susan, is an actress and spokesperson, but no information about what Ron Keller himself is doing was readily available.
Outfielder/DH James Edward Dwyer played for the Twins for part of the 1988, 1989, and 1990 seasons. He was born in Evergreen Park, Illinois, went to high school in Oaklawn, Illinois, and attended Southern Illinois University. He was drafted by St. Louis in the eleventh round in 1971. He was always a high-average hitter in the minors, posting an average of over .300 in every year in which he played more than eight games. He first reached the majors in 1973, but bounced back and forth between St. Louis and AAA until he was traded to Montreal in July of 1975. He finished the season with the Expos and did fairly well, but when he started poorly in 1976 he was on the move again, traded to the Mets in July. Most of his time there was spent in the minors and then he was once again traded, this time to the Cubs. Dwyer hit .332 with 18 homers and 12 triples for AAA Wichita for an OPS of 1.041 in 1977. All it got him was a release as soon as the season was over. Now heading into his age 28 season, he signed with St. Louis. Dwyer finally got his first full season in the majors, but it wasn’t all with the Cardinals; he was traded to San Francisco in mid-June. He didn’t get much chance to play with either team, and did not do much with the chances he had. In March of 1979, the Giants sold him to Boston. He was a part-time player for the Red Sox for two years and did fairly well, posting his best major league season up to that time. He became a free agent after the 1980 season and moved to Baltimore, where he finally found a home. He was never a regular, but he was a part-time outfielder for the Orioles for the next seven years, helping the Orioles win a world championship in 1983. He started an eighth year, 1988, with Baltimore, but played little and was traded in late August to the Twins for a player to be named later (Doug Kline). He finished the season with Minnesota, hitting .293 with 2 homers in 41 at-bats. Dwyer was with the Twins most of 1989 and again hit well, posting an average of .316 as a left-handed DH, but was traded back to Montreal in late August for a player to be named later (Alonzo Powell). He was traded back to the Twins that off-season for Jim Davins. Now 40, he got off to a slow start in 1990 and elected to retire in late June. As a Twin, Jim Dwyer hit .289/.387/.380 in 329 at-bats (145 games). He was never a star, and in fact was never a regular; the highest number of at-bats he got in a season was 260. Still, he was a big league ball player for all or part of eighteen seasons, and there are not a lot of people who can say that. Since his playing days ended, Jim Dywer has been a coach and manager in the Twins organization, coaching at Portland (1991), managing at Ft. Wayne (1992) and Kenosha (1993-1994), coaching at New Britain (1995-1996), serving as minor league hitting coordinator (1997-2005), and coaching at Ft. Myers (2006-present).
Infielder Nelson Arturo (Bonilla) Liriano is the second-best Minnesota Twins player ever named “Liriano”. He played for the Twins for about two months of 1990. Liriano was born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic and signed with Toronto as a free agent in 1982. He had some decent years in the minors, hitting in the .280s a couple of times, but nothing to really make anyone sit up and take notice. Still, he made it to the majors in late August of 1987 and stayed for over three years. He hit in the .260s for the Blue Jays in 1988 and 1989, achieving more-or-less regular status as a second baseman in 1989. He had slipped back to part-time status in 1990, however, when he was traded to Minnesota with Pedro Munoz for John Candelaria in late July. He was the Twins’ regular second baseman the rest of the way, hitting .254/.332/.357 in 185 at-bats. The Twins released Liriano at the end of spring training in 1991 and he signed with Kansas City. He was in the minors almost the entire season, getting only about two weeks in the majors. Let go after that season, he was in AAA for Cleveland in 1992. He moved on to Colorado for 1993-1994, starting the former season in the minors but getting called up after hitting .358 in 293 at-bats in Colorado Springs. He then got four full seasons in the majors, serving as a part-time player for the Rockies, the Pirates, (1995-1996) and the Dodgers (1997). his highest at-bat total in those years was 259, but he was a solid player in his role. He started 1998 back with the Rockies, but was sent back to AAA after starting 0-for-17. That’s how his major league career ended; Liriano hit .315 with Colorado Springs, but never made it back to the big leagues. His playing career ended after that season. Since then, he has remained in baseball as a minor league coach and manager. He managed the DSL Rockies from 2000-2001, was a coach at Wichita from 2002-2005, was a coach for the ASL Royals in 2006, coached at Wilmington from 2007-2008, was the manager of the Burlington Royals in the Appalachian League from 2009-2011, and was a batting coach for the ASL Royals in 2012. In 2013, Nelson Liriano is the batting coach of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, the AA Royals affiliate.
Frank Verdi (1926) Jack O'Connor (1958) Kurt Abbott (1969) Jared Burton (1981)
Infielder Frank Michael Verdi did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system in 1961. He was born in Brooklyn and signed with the Yankees as a free agent in 1946. His minor league stats vary widely form one year to the next, with averages of over .300 mixed with averages in the .250s and .260s. There were a lot more levels in the minors back then, so Verdi did not reach AAA until 1953. He also made his big league debut that season, coming into a game on May 10 in the sixth inning as a defensive replacement. He played one inning at shortstop, handling zero chances, and was pinch-hit for in the seventh. That was the sum and substance of his major league career: he never played in another big league game. He was in the minors for several years after that, perhaps hoping for another chance at the majors or perhaps just enjoying making a living by playing baseball. He was known for his ability to pull off the hidden ball trick, executing it successfully seven times in 1949. He was in AAA most of that time. He stayed with the Yankees through 1954, went to Kansas City in 1955-56, was with the Cubs toward the end of 1956, was with the Cardinals from 1957-59, then was signed by the then Washington franchise for 1960, playing for AAA Charleston. He was still with the franchise when it moved to Minnesota in 1961, and spent the season with AAA Syracuse, not only playing but also managing the team. He hit .287/.362/.308 in 195 at-bats as a reserve infielder and as a manager went 44-44. That started him on a long career as a minor league manager. He was the manager again in Syracuse in 1962 (it was no longer a Twins farm team that year), then went into the Yankees organization from 1963-1970, winning three league championships (two with AAA Syracuse). He continued to manage (with a couple of years off) in the minors through 1985, winning another league championship with AAA Columbus in 1981. He retired after the 1985 season, but came out of retirement in 1993 to manage the Sioux Falls Canaries in the Northern League from 1993-1995. He was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame in 2008. His son, Mike, also managed for several years in the minors. Frank Verdi passed away from a heart attack on July 9, 2010 in New Port Richey, Florida.
There have been two major league players named “Jack O’Connor”; both of them were born on this day. Left-hander Jack William O’Connor pitched for the Twins from 1981-1984. He was born in Twenty-nine Palms, California, and went to high school in Yucca Valley, California. He was drafted by Montreal in the ninth round in 1976. He was in the Expos organization for five years. O’Connor pitched mostly in Class A and did fairly well there, but did not do so well in brief trials at higher levels. The Twins took a chance on him in the Rule 5 draft after the 1980 season and kept him in the majors all of 1981. He was kept in the bullpen all season and did not get a lot of work, appearing in 28 games and pitching only 35.1 innings. O’Connor started 1982 in the majors but was sent back to AAA after two scoreless innings. He returned in early June and was in the starting rotation by July, staying there the rest of the season. He wasn’t terrible, which is about as good as it got for the Twins’ rotation in 1982. He began 1983 in the rotation, but after a couple of decent outings things fell apart for him, and he was in the bullpen by mid-May. He was not much better there, went back to AAA for a couple of months, and did not do a lot better upon his return either. O’Connor had an excellent year in the Toledo bullpen in 1984 and pitched well in two appearances in his September call-up. By then, however, the Twins had given up on him, and after the season they traded him to Montreal for Mike Stenhouse. He got about two months in the majors in 1985 with the Expos, had mediocre numbers, and was released the following March. O’Connor signed with Seattle for 1986, pitched badly in AAA, and became a free agent after the season. He signed with Baltimore for 1987 and battled his way back to the majors, spending nearly half the year with the Orioles. His pitching in the majors was not significantly better, however, and O’Connor once again became a free agent after the season. He signed with Toronto and was with AAA Syracuse for two years, not pitching badly but not getting another chance at the big time, either. Jack O’Connor’s playing career came to an end after the 1989 season. As a Twin, he was 13-14, 4.99 with a WHIP of 1.62. He pitched 249 innings and made 80 appearances, 27 of them starts. No information about Jack O’Connor’s life after the close of his playing career was readily available.
Infielder Kurt Thomas Abbott did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 2002. He was born in Zanesville, Ohio, went to high school in St. Petersburg, Florida, and was drafted by Oakland in the fifteenth round in 1989. He did not hit much until 1993, when he hit .319 with 12 homers and 11 triples for AAA Tacoma, numbers which got him a September call-up. They also got him a trade, as he was sent to the Florida Marlins that off-season. He was their mostly-regular shortstop the next two seasons and had a pretty good year in 1995, batting .255 with 17 homers in 420 at-bats. It did not lead to any more playing time, however, as he became a frequently-used utility player over the next two seasons. Abbott was traded to Oakland before the 1998 season and was traded again in early June, this time to Colorado. He stayed with Colorado through the 1999 season and did pretty well as a part-time player, batting .273. That was as good as it would get for him, though. He became a free agent after the season and was a reserve infielder for the Mets in 2000, but batted only .217. A free agent again, he signed with Atlanta for 2001 but missed most of the season with injuries. The Twins signed Abbott for 2002, but he continued to be bothered by injuries and was released in spring training. He played a few games in AAA for the Yankees that season and was in AAA for St. Louis in 2003, but then his playing career was over. Kurt Abbott then became a deputy sheriff in Martin County, Florida. Unfortunately, he was arrested a year ago for DUI and was placed on administrative leave. What happened after that is unclear; there are lots of news reports of his arrest, but none can be found that followed up with the outcome of his case. Until hearing news to the contrary, one assumes he is still employed as a deputy by Martin County.
Right-hander Levi Jared Burton joined the Twins in 2012. Born and raised in Westminster, South Carolina, he attended Western Carolina University and was drafted by Oakland in the eighth round in 2002. A reliever most of his career, he struggled in the low minors, not reaching AA until 2006. He reached the majors in 2007, however, and has been there for at least part of every season since. It did not happen with the Athletics, though. Instead, he was taken by Cincinnati in the Rule 5 draft after the 2006 season. Pitching a limited number of innings, he was pretty good in 2007 and 2008, but not so good in 2009. He battled injuries in 2010 and 2011, and was mostly in AAA when he was healthy enough to pitch. He became a free agent after the 2011 season and signed with Minnesota. A year ago, we wrote, “He’s 31 today and will never be a star, but there’s a chance Jared Burton could be a useful relief pitcher for at least a few years yet.” Well, so far, so good. He was one of the few reliable pitchers the Twins had in 2012, going 3-2 with five saves, a 2.18 ERA, and a 0.92 WHIP. He made 64 appearances and struck out 55 batters in 62 innings. He’s 32 now, of course, and is off to a good start again for the Twins. A set-up man’s career is always somewhat tenuous, but it’s possible that Jared Burton might be a good relief pitcher for some time to come.
Ray Moore (1926) Jack Kralick (1935) Dean Chance (1941) Randy Hundley (1942)
Right-hander Raymond Leroy Moore pitched for the Twins from 1961-1963. He was born in Meadows, Maryland, went to high school in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers as a free agent in 1947. He had good ERAs in the minors and did not give up a lot of hits, but walked a lot of batters, slowing his rise to the majors. He was with the Dodgers for two months in 1952 and made one appearance there in 1953. 1953 was when he finally started to get things under control, and after he had another good year at AAA St. Paul in 1954 he finally got to the majors to stay at the start of the 1955 season. It was not with the Dodgers, however, as he was traded to Baltimore after the 1954 campaign. He started 1955 in the Oriole bullpen, but got into the rotation in late July and mostly stayed there the rest of his time with Baltimore. He was a solid rotation starter for them through 1957, when he was traded to the White Sox in a deal that involved Larry Doby. He remained in the rotation through 1958, but moved to the bullpen the following year, where he would stay the rest of his career. He got off to a poor start in 1960 and was sold to Washington in mid-June. He pitched well for them the rest of the year and came to Minnesota with the franchise in 1961. He was in the Twins’ bullpen for three years, pitching okay his first two before falling apart in 1963. His playing career came to an end after that season. As a Twin, he was 13-10, 5.03 with a WHIP of 1.50 in 159 innings over 126 games. Ray Moore passed away on March 2, 1995 in Clinton, Maryland.
Left-hander John Francis “Jack” Kralick also pitched for the Twins from 1961-1963. He was born in Youngstown, Ohio and went to Michigan State before signing with the White Sox as a free agent in 1955. He spent a little over three years in the low minors for them, pitching only thirteen games above Class B. He had a decent but unspectacular record, apparently did not impress anyone, and was released in June of 1958. He signed as a free agent with Washington in September. Surprisingly, he started 1959 in the majors, but was sent down after five appearances and had a solid season at AA in 1959. He started 1960 in the Washington bullpen, moved to the majors in late June, and stayed there through 1964. He came to Minnesota with the franchise in 1961 and was a solid rotation starter, posting ERAs in the mid-to-upper threes and throwing a no-hitter in 1962. In May of 1963, Kralick was traded to Cleveland for Jim Perry. He got off to a bad start in 1965 and was removed from the rotation in mid-June. He had a decent year as a reliever in 1966, but got off to a slow start in 1967 and was sold to the Mets on June 1. He did not pitch for the Mets, however, as he was involved in a car accident which left him not just with a cracked rib but also double vision, a problem which did not clear up for a year. By then, he had decided to move on with his life, and retired as a player. As a Twin, Jack Kralick was 26-26, 3.74 with a WHIP of 1.28 in 501.1 innings. It appears that after he finished playing, he moved to Watertown, South Dakota and worked for a school supply company, then lived in Alaska for a while, then moved to Mexico in 1998. Jack Kralick passed away in San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico on September 18, 2012.
Right-hander Wilmer Dean Chance pitched for the Twins from 1967-1969. He was born in Wooster, Ohio and went to high school in Wayne, Ohio. He signed with Baltimore as a free agent in 1959. He had two fine years in the low minors, but was left unprotected and was chosen by Washington in the expansion draft. The Senators traded him to the Angels that same day. He had another good year in AAA in 1961, got a September call-up, and never looked back. He was shifted from the rotation to the bullpen and back again a couple of times in 1962, pitching well enough in both roles to finish third in Rookie of the Year voting. Chance’s best year as an Angel was 1964, when he went 20-9, 1.65. He led the league in wins, ERA, complete games, shutouts, innings pitched, ERA+, and fewest home runs, won the Cy Young Award, and finished fifth in MVP voting. He remained a solid starter for the Angels through 1966, then was traded to the Twins with a player to be named later (Jackie Hernandez) for Pete Cimino, Jimmie Hall, and Don Mincher. He did an excellent job for the Twins for three years, although he missed two months of the third season with injuries. As a Twin, he was 41-34, 2.67 with a WHIP of 1.07 in 664 innings. His best year as a Twin was his first one, 1967, when he won 20 games, starts, innings, and complete games, and made the all-star team for the second time. After the 1969 campaign, the Twins traded Chance to Cleveland with Bob Miller, Graig Nettles, and Ted Uhlaender for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams. He had a mediocre year for the Indians, was sold to the Mets in mid-September, and was traded to Detroit after the season. He had another mediocre year for the Tigers and ended his playing career after the 1971 season. After leaving baseball he became a boxing manager and promoter, was one of the founders of the International Boxing Association, and became its president in 2006, a position he still held at last report. Dean Chance currently lives in his home town of Wooster, Ohio.
Catcher Cecil Randolph “Randy” Hundley played for the Twins in 1974. He was born in Martinsville, Virginia, went to high school in Bassett, Virginia, and signed with San Francisco as a free agent in 1960. He did not do a lot in the minors until 1963, when he hit .325 with 23 homers for AA El Paso. He did not sustain that when promoted to AAA in 1964, nor did he improve in 1965. Still, he got cups of coffee in the majors both of those seasons. He was traded to the Cubs that off-season, and was in the majors to stay. He was the Cubs’ regular catcher from 1966-1969. He finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 1966, despite hitting only .236 (he did hit 19 home runs). He won the Gold Glove the following year. Hundley missed half of 1970 and most of 1971 with injuries. He more-or-less regained the regular catching job in 1972, but what offense he had shown in the past was gone. After two more sub-par years with the Cubs, Hundley was traded to Minnesota before the 1974 season for George Mitterwald. Injuries cropped up again, and he played in only 32 games, hitting .193/.228/.216 in 88 at-bats. The Twins released him after the season and he signed with San Diego. He was the backup catcher there in 1975 and was sold back to the Cubs after the season. He remained with the Cubs for two years, but was injured much of the time and rarely played. His playing career came to an end after 1977. His son, Todd Hundley, had a substantial playing career of his own. Hundley is credited with originating the idea of fantasy camps and operated several of them at one time, though he now is involved only in the Cubs’ fantasy camp. At last report, Randy Hundley was still living in the Chicago area.
Left-handed reliever Felix Anthony “Tippy” Martinez appeared in three games for the Twins in 1988. Born and raised in La Junta, Colorado, he and Mike Oquist, whose birthday was yesterday, are the only two major league players born in that town. He went to Colorado State and signed with the Yankees as a free agent in 1972. He was primarily a reliever in the minors other than 1975, when he started 14 games for AAA Syracuse. He pitched very well in the minors, posting ERAs under three in both 1973 and 1975. He made his big-league debut in 1974 and came up to stay in mid-July of 1975. He was almost exclusively a reliever in the majors, making only two big league starts, both in 1975. He did a fine job for the Yankees, but was traded to Baltimore in mid-June of 1976 as part of a ten-player trade that included numerous good ballplayers. He did a fine job with the Orioles as well, pitching well every year from 1976-1983 with the exception of 1978. He was never “the closer” for Baltimore, but had double digit saves in five consecutive seasons from 1980-1984 with a high of 21 in 1983. That was probably his best season, as he pitched the most innings (103.1), his lowest ERA (2.35), and his lowest WHIP (1.09). He also made the all-star team that year. He started to slip in 1984; his ERA was still below four, but his WHIP soared to 1.53. He had a poor 1985, struggled in 1986, and was released in June of 1987. Martinez was out of baseball the rest of that year, but signed as a free agent with the Twins on April 4, 1988. It did not work–he pitched in three games, lasted four innings, and gave up eight runs on eight hits and four walks. After that, his playing career was over. Martinez is best remembered for a game in 1983 in which he picked off three baserunners in an inning with emergency catcher Lenn Sakata behind the plate, but he was an excellent relief pitcher for several years. Tippy Martinez was the pitching coach for York in the Atlantic League from 2006-2009, but was not retained in that position for 2010. At last report, Tippy Martinez was living in Towson, Maryland. There is a city park named after him in his home town of La Junta.
Infielder Rainer Gustavo Olmedo has not played for the Twins yet, but he is in their minor league system in 2013. Born and raised in Maracay, Aragua, Venezuela, he signed with Cincinnati as a free agent in 1999. He was never a great hitter in the minors, but after a decent start in AA in 2003, and after a quick stop in AAA that same year, Ray Olmedo was called up to the Reds in late May and stayed the rest of the season as a utility infielder. He was up and down with the Reds through 2006, never getting a full season in the majors but always getting some time there. He had some decent years in AAA, although certainly nothing to get excited about. In the majors, though, he was pretty much a zero offensively, hitting .230 with an OPS of .573. He was waived after the 2006 season and claimed by Toronto. He continued to be the same player in 2007; decent but nothing special in AAA, and basically nothing at all in the majors. After that, he started moving around a lot. He was waived by Toronto on Feb. 1, 2008 and claimed by Pittsburgh; waived again at the end of February and claimed by Philadelphia, then released a month later and signed by Washington for whom he played in AAA in 2008. He was in AAA with Tampa Bay in 2009, signed with Texas for 2010 but was traded to Milwaukee before the season started and was in AAA for them, was back in AAA for Tampa Bay in 2011, and signed with the White Sox for 2012. In all that time he remained pretty much the same player he had always been, but despite that he found himself back in the majors for the last two months of 2012. A free agent after the 2012 season, he signed with Minnesota and is, once again, playing in AAA, this time in Rochester. I don’t mean to sound too harsh about him. He has played in 218 major league games, and there are not many people who can say that. Who knows, he may even play in some more before he’s done, because for whatever reason, someone always seems willing to sign him and send him to AAA. But in those 218 major league games, he has hit .230, has an OPS of .566, and has an OPS+ of 50. He’s basically the Drew Butera of middle infielders, and there’s really no reason, other than a catastrophic run of injuries, that he should ever be on a major league roster again.
Mel Nelson (1936) Mike Sadek (1946) Mike Oquist (1968) John Courtright (1970)
Left-hander Melvin Frederick Nelson pitched for the Twins in 1965 and 1967. He was born in San Diego. He played as an outfielder for independent teams from 1954-1955, then signed as a pitcher with St. Louis as a free agent in 1956. His minor league record was not bad but not terribly impressive, either. He both started and relieved every year in the minors. Nelson was apparently loaned to the Dodgers’ organization in 1960, where he had a fine year, going 13-7, 3.69 for AAA Spokane. He was called up to the Cardinals at the end of the season, pitching eight innings over two appearances. He had a poor year at AAA in 1961, then apparently battled injuries in 1962. Nelson was sold to the Los Angeles Angels after the 1962 season and was in the majors much of the 1963 campaign. He did not pitch well, however, posting an ERA of 5.30 and a WHIP of 1.65 in 52.2 innings over 36 appearances. He began 1964 at AAA and then was sold to the Twins in late May. Minnesota made him a full-time starter in AAA Atlanta, and he had a fine season, going 9-12, 2.96 with a WHIP of 1.15. Nelson then went into the Minnesota bullpen in 1965, his only full season in the majors. He went 0-4, 4.12 with a WHIP of 1.46 in 54.2 innings over 28 appearances. He had a poor year in AAA in 1966, when he both started and relieved, but a good year in 1967, when he was made a full-time reliever. He made one appearance for the Twins that year, pitching one-third of an inning. After the season, the Twins sold Nelson to St. Louis. He got brief appearances in the majors the next two seasons, pitching well in 18 outings in 1968 and poorly in 8 outings in 1969. He pitched at AAA for Atlanta in 1970, then his playing career was over. He then was a long-time scout, last working for the Houston Astros in 2006. At last report, Mel Nelson was living in Highland, California and working for Stater Bros. Markets, working in the Construction, Building, and Development Department. A few years ago, he said that he hoped to keep working until he was 80.
Catcher Michael George Sadek did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for three years. He was born in Minneapolis, went to high school in Richfield, Minnesota, and attended the University of Minnesota. He was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round of the June Secondary draft in 1967. He was half-way decent on offense in Class A but hit only .192 when promoted to AA in 1969. Unsurprisingly left unprotected, Sadek was selected by San Francisco in the Rule 5 draft. Something was obviously worked out, because he spent the next three years at AAA Phoenix as a part-time catcher. He was apparently thought of as a good defensive catcher, because he did not hit in the minors with the exception of 1971, when he hit .309 in 220 at-bats, his only minor league season above .270. Sadek’s first full year in the majors was 1973, when he was a seldom-used third catcher for the Giants. He was back in AAA for 1974 and 1975 until early June, when he finally left the minors behind for good. Sadek was a reserve catcher for the Giants through 1981, never getting more than 151 at-bats. He generally hit in the .230s, with his best offensive year coming in 1980 when he hit .252. In total, he played in parts of eight seasons in the majors, batting 813 times for a .226 average. At last report, Mike Sadek was working for the Giants as assistant director for community affairs. He also served as a body double for Robert DeNiro in the movie “The Fan” for the scenes in which DiNiro is throwing a baseball.
Right-hander Michael Lee Oquist did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 2001. Born and raised in La Junta, Colorado, he attended the University of Arkansas and was drafted by Baltimore in the thirteenth round in 1989. He pitched well in the low minors, but struggled for a while when promoted to higher levels. He got things going in 1993 at AAA Rochester, going 9-8, 3.50, 1.24 WHIP, and made his major league debut with the Orioles at the end of that season. He went back-and-forth between Rochester and Baltimore in 1994 and 1995, starting in Rochester but mostly coming out of the bullpen in the majors. A free agent after the 1995 season, he signed with San Diego and had a fine year in AAA, going 9-4, 2.89 before coming up to the majors at the end of the season and continuing to do well in eight games. The Padres were not overly impressed, though, and allowed him to become a free agent. He signed with Oakland and spent most of the next three seasons in the Athletics’ starting rotation. He did that despite the fact that he did not pitch well there: he was 20-27, 5.63, 1.52 WHIP in 423.1 innings. He became a free agent after the 1999 season, spent 2000 in AAA with Detroit, became a free agent again, and signed with Minnesota for 2001. He was in AAA Edmonton all year, going 5-8, 4.15, 1.46 WHIP in 20 starts. He was out of baseball in 2002, went to the independent Atlantic League in 2003, and was in AA with Oakland in 2004 before his playing career came to an end. It appears that Mike Oquist has moved back to LaJunta and is employed by Valley Plumbing and Heating, which appears to be a family business.
Left-hander John Charles Courtright did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 1995 and 1996. He was born in Marion, Ohio, attended Duke University, and was drafted by Cincinnati in the eighth round in 1991. He rose at a pace of about a level a year, reaching AAA in 1994. He was called up to the majors in early May of 1995 and made his major league debut May 6, allowing one run on two hits in the eighth inning of a 13-11 victory for the Reds over the Mets. Unfortunately for Courtright, that was also his major league swan song; he was sent back to AAA and never made it back to the majors again. On June 8, 1995 he was traded to Minnesota for David McCarty. He made 17 starts for AAA Salt Lake, going 3-7, 6.80. He was no better in 1996, going 1-1, 6.61 in 14 appearances (three starts) for AA Hardware City. He moved on to the Baltimore organization at the end of 1996 and was back in the Cincinnati system in 1997, but whatever he had was gone, and he was out of baseball after that. At last report, John Courtright had become a sports agent and was employed by Relativity Sports, based in the Chicago area.
Outfielder/first baseman Michael Steven Stenhouse played for the Twins in 1985. He was born in Pueblo, Colorado, attended Harvard, and was drafted by Montreal in the first round of the January Secondary draft in 1980. His father, Dave Stenhouse, pitched for the Washington Senators in the 1960s. He hit very well in the minors, but never got much of a chance in the big leagues. In 1982, Stenhouse hit .289 with 25 homers, 101 walks and an OPS of .949 in AAA Wichita. His reward for that was to get one major league at-bat as a pinch-hitter in the last game of the season. In 1983, he did even better in Wichita, hitting .355 with 25 homers and 95 walks in 109 games, for an OPS of 1.172. He was called up to the majors in late July but rarely played, getting only 40 at-bats. Granted, the Expos had a pretty good team them, with an outfield of Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, and Warren Cromartie with Al Oliver at first base, but that’s still not much playing time for a guy with that kind of record. In 1984 Cromartie and Oliver were gone, but while the Expos kept Stanhouse on the roster for all but six weeks he still didn’t play much, with nearly half of his appearances coming as a pinch-hitter while the Expos played people like Jim Wohlford, Miguel Dilone, Tony Scott, and Max Venable in the outfield and Terry Francona and Dan Driessen at first. Stanhouse did not take advantage of his sporadic playing time, hitting only .183 in 175 at-bats, although he did draw 26 walks. That was as much as the Expos needed to see, though, as they traded him to Minnesota that off-season for Jack O’Connor. The Twins gave Stenhouse his only full season in the majors, but did not play him any more, preferring to use Mickey Hatcher in left and Roy Smalley at DH. He batted on 179 times, hitting .223/.330/.335. The Twins traded him to Boston for Charlie Mitchell after the season. He was with the Red Sox for about two months and batted 21 times, playing in AAA the rest of the year. Stenhouse played in 1987 in AAA for Detroit, then his playing career came to an end. His big league numbers don’t look like much, but given his minor league record, one has to wonder what he might have done if he’d ever been given a chance to play. He toured with Bill Lee’s Grey Sox club for a while and did some broadcasting for the Expos in 1996. At last report, Mike Stenhouse was the CEO of the Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity.
Infielder Matthew Michael Macri played 18 games for the Twins in 2008. Born and raised in Des Moines, Macri was drafted by Colorado in the fifth round in 2004. He hit .333 his first pro season at Class A Tri-City, but did not do as well again. He repeated AA, hitting .298 there in 2007, but was traded to Minnesota in mid-August of that year for Ramon Ortiz. The Twins started him in AAA, and he was there the rest of his time with the Twins with the exception of a couple of months in 2008. He was in Minnesota from late May to late June of that year and later got a September call-up. He hit well in that brief trial, going 11-for-34 for a line of .324/.361/.441. He did nothing close to that in AAA, however, hitting .251/.316/.433 there in about 1,200 at-bats. The Twins let him go after the 2010 season, he signed with Colorado, and spent 2011 playing for AAA Colorado Springs. He became a free agent after the season and his playing career came to an end. At last report, Matt Macri was an associate with Advocate Advisors, a commercial real estate company in the Chicago area.
Sorry, yesterday was a busy day. Mike Maksudian (1966) Lester Oliveros (1988)
Catcher/first baseman Michael Bryant Maksudian played in five games for the Twins in 1993. He was born in Belleville, Illinois, went to high school in Parsippany, New Jersey, and attended the University of South Alabama. He was signed by the White Sox as a free agent in 1987. He was a fairly solid hitter in the minors, but did not hit well enough for a first baseman and did not really play in the field well enough to play elsewhere. The White Sox traded Maksudian to the Mets in August of 1988. The Mets released him late in spring training of 1989, and he played that season with independent Miami in the Florida State League. Toronto signed him that off-season, and he stayed in the Blue Jays’ system for three years, getting three at-bats in the majors in 1992. Toronto waived him after the 1992 season, and the Twins claimed him. He had a solid year in AAA Portland, hitting .314, and was with Minnesota for about two weeks in June. He started four games at first base and played one inning at third. He went 2-for-12 with a double and four walks, giving him a line of .167/.353/.250. He became a free agent after the season and signed with the Cubs. He again hit over .300 in the minors, this time getting two months in the majors, his longest stint. Maksudian was used primarily as a pinch-hitter and did well in that role, batting .269 with 10 walks in 26 at-bats. The Cubs allowed him to become a free agent after the season, and he signed with Oakland. He was in AAA all of 1995 and then his playing career came to an end. His chief claim to fame as a player was an ability to eat various kinds of insects. At last report, Mike Maksudian was a hard money specialist for Homerun Financial of Phoenix, Arizona.
Right-hander Lester Jesus (Blanco) Oliveros has not played for the Twins yet, but is in their farm system. Born in Maracay, Aragua, Venezuela, he was signed by Detroit as a free agent in 2005. A reliever his entire career, he has struggled his first year at each new level, but has so far figured something out in his second year at each level. He strikes out a lot of batters (10.9 per nine innings in the minors, 9.8 per nine innings at AAA), but has also walked too many batters (3.8 per nine innings). He made his major league debut in 2011, spending most of July with the Tigers and appearing in nine games, two against the Twins. He must have impressed them, because in mid-August he was selected as the player to be named later in the deal that also sent Cole Nelson to the Twins for Delmon Young. He made ten appearances with the Twins, working 13.1 innings. He had no record and a 4.05 ERA, giving up 13 hits and 7 walks while striking out nine. He split 2012 between New Britain and Rochester and pitched well in each place. He even seemed to gain control, getting his walk rate down to 2.8. He was a free agent after the season but re-signed with Minnesota. He has been on the disabled list all season. Who knows what will happen, but he’s only twenty-five. If he can recover from his injury with his control intact, it’s not that hard to imagine Lester Oliveros having a decent major league career.
Also posted at wgom.org George O'Donnell (1929) Jerry Kindall (1935) Fred Bruckbauer (1938) Jim Holt (1944)
Right-hander George Dana O’Donnell did not pitch for the Twins, but he was in their farm system briefly in 1961. He was born in Winchester, Illinois and signed with the St. Louis Browns as a free agent in 1949. His career shows how the minors have changed over the years. He pitched well for two seasons in Class D for the Browns, throwing 241 innings there in Appleton in 1950. He moved to the Pittsburgh organization in 1951, winning 22 games and pitching 243 innings for Class B Waco. In 1953 he was pitching for Hollywood in the Pacific Coast League and worked 281.1 innings. He started 36 games that season and relieved in nine others. He began 1954 in the majors with the Pirates, starting the year in the rotation but moving to the bullpen in mid-June. He did much better as a reliever than as a starter, but he was sent out in late July with a record of 3-9, 4.53 and a WHIP of 1.44. Those would be his career numbers, as he never got back to the majors. He stayed in baseball for several years after that, though, being used mostly as a reliever while making occasional spot starts. He had some fine years at AAA for Pittsburgh, regularly posting ERAs around three through 1957, but could not get another chance. He moved on to the Dodgers’ organization in 1959 and came to the Twins in 1961. They sent him to AAA Syracuse, where he made eight appearances and went 1-1, 6.75 in 16 innings. That brought his playing career to an end. While his major league career doesn’t look like much, he went 127-93 in the minors with an ERA of 3.44 and a WHIP of 1.25. After leaving baseball, he went back to Winchester to work on the family grain farm. He later worked as a hearing officer in the Illinois Driver’s License Bureau, eventually becoming chief hearing officer. George O’Donnell was retired and lived in Springfield, Illinois, where he passed away on December 19, 2012 at the age of 83.
Infielder Gerald Donald Kindall was with the Twins for most of two seasons in the mid-1960s. Born and raised in St. Paul, he attended the University of Minnesota and was signed by the Cubs as a free agent in 1956. He was signed as a “bonus baby”, meaning under the rules of the time that he had to be kept in the major leagues for two years. He rarely played his first season, getting only 55 at-bats, but was used a little more as a utility infielder in 1957. He was clearly not ready for the big time, as he hit in the .160s both years. He was sent to the minors for the next two years (with the exception of six big-league at-bats in 1958), and did not hit there, either, averaging .229 in AA and .236 in AAA. He started 1960 in AAA, but came up to the majors in mid-May and stayed for six years. He was used as a reserve middle infielder for the Cubs in 1960-1961, hitting in the .240s. After the 1961 season, Kindall was traded to Cleveland. He was their regular second baseman in 1962, his first year as a regular, and appears to have been very good defensively. Unfortunately, he hit .232, and was back to a reserve role in 1963. He continued in that role until mid-June of 1964, when he was part of a three-team trade in which the Twins got Kindall and Frank Kostro, Cleveland got Billy Moran, and the Angels got Lenny Green and Vic Power. He stayed a reserve that season, but in 1965 he was the Twins’ mostly-regular second baseman. He again fielded well, but again did not hit, and after batting .196 in the regular season he was replaced by Frank Quilici for the World Series. His playing career came to an end after that season, and he then embarked on a long and successful college coaching career at the University of Arizona, where his teams won three College World Series championships during his tenure from 1973-1996. The university’s baseball field has been named in his honor. He has written numerous books and made numerous videos to teach kids how to play baseball. At last report Jerry Kindall was broadcasting baseball on the Big Ten Network. The rest of the year, he lives in retirement in Tucson, Arizona. He is a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Right-hander Frederick John Bruckbauer appeared in one game for the Twins in 1961. He was born in New Ulm, went to high school in Sleepy Eye, and attended the University of Minnesota. He signed with Washington as a free agent in 1959. He was in the low minors for two seasons, posting fair-to-middling results. At the start of the 1961 campaign he found himself back in his home state of Minnesota with the brand new Minnesota Twins. He made his debut on April 25, the first native Minnesotan to pitch for the Twins. He came into a game against Kansas City at the start of the fourth inning with the Twins trailing 7-2. He faced four batters, allowing three hits and a walk. He was charged with three runs in a game the Twins would lose 20-2. That was also Bruckbauer’s major league swan song–he never appeared in another big league game, giving him a lifetime ERA of infinity. He went to AAA the rest of the season, having a mediocre year. He pitched eight games of AA ball in 1962, and then his playing career was suddenly over at the age 0f 24. He is the last pitcher to retire with an ERA of infinity. His career was apparently cut short by injuries, primarily to his shoulder. After leaving baseball, Bruckbauer moved to Madison, Wisconsin and worked for John Deere for more than thirty years, then retired to Naples, Florida. Fred Bruckbauer passed away in Naples on October 14, 2007.
Outfielder James William Holt played for the Twins from 1968-1974. Born and raised in Graham, North Carolina, Holt signed with Kansas City as a free agent in 1965. He had a couple of good years at Class A, but was left unprotected, and the Twins chose him in the Rule 5 draft in November of 1967. He was in the majors all of 1968 but was used sparingly, batting .208 in 106 at-bats. Holt went back to AAA in 1969 and hit .336 with 11 homers and 12 triples in Denver. That got him a September call-up, and in 1970-1971 he was a semi-regular outfielder, starting almost half of the Twins’ games and appearing in many others either as a pinch-hitter or a defensive substitute. He hit around .260 in those years, but did not show much power or much patience at the plate. Holt went back to AAA in 1972 and again showed he was too good for that league, hitting .333 at Tacoma and again getting a September call-up. In 1973 Holt got the most playing time of his career, starting 90 games in the outfield and 24 at first base. He responded with the best year of his career, hitting .297 with 11 homers and an OPS of .783. That was as good as it would get for Holt, however; he became a part-time first baseman in 1974, and in mid-August was traded to Oakland for Pat Bourque. He did little for the Athletics (although he did have a key pinch-hit in the World Series), and by 1976 was back in AAA. He hit .379 there but failed to impress anyone, and his career ended. As a Twin, Jim Holt hit .272/.310/.352 in 1,444 at-bats. He appears to have moved back to North Carolina after his playing days ended, but there seem to be a lot more people named “Jim Holt” living in North Carolina than one might have supposed. No information about what “our” Jim Holt has been doing since his playing days was readily available.
Joe Altobelli (1932) Chris Latham (1973) Kevin Mulvey (1985)
Outfielder/first baseman Joseph Salvatore Altobelli played for the Twins for about two months in 1961. Born and raised in Detroit, Altobelli signed with Cleveland as a free agent in 1951. He had decent but unspectacular numbers in the minors, but he certainly was there a long time; Joe Altobelli played all or part of thirteen seasons at AAA. The best of those seasons were 1960, when he hit .255 with 31 homers with Montreal, and 1965, when he hit .295 with 20 homers with Rochester. He got a couple of shots at the majors with Cleveland, hitting .200 in 75 at-bats in 1955 and .207 in 87 at-bats in 1957. He also played in the Pittsburgh organization in 1957, in the White Sox’ chain in 1958, for independent Toronto in 1959, and in the Dodgers’ organization in 1960. His big season at Montreal that year got the attention of the Twins, and Altobelli was traded to Minnesota with Ed Palmquist for Ernie Oravetz and cash. Altobelli came up to the Twins on August 1 and stayed the rest of the season. He was a part-time left fielder for the Twins, hitting .221/.312/.358 in 95 at-bats over 41 games. The Twins released him after the season. He went back to the Dodgers’ organization in 1962, then moved to the Baltimore chain in 1963. This started a long association of Altobelli with the Orioles’ organization, and an even longer associations with the city of Rochester, where the Orioles’ AAA team was at the time. Altobelli played in Rochester for four seasons. He then began managing in the Baltimore chain (although he was briefly activated in 1967 and 1970), staying with them through 1976. For the last six of those seasons, he was the manager of the Rochester Red Wings. Altobelli then got his first shot at managing in the majors, running the San Francisco Giants from 1977-1979. He was back in AAA in 1980, managing Columbus, before spending two years as a Yankee coach. After that, he went back to the Orioles as major league manager (1983-1985), winning the World Series in 1983. He went back to the Yankees as a coach in 1986, then coached for the Cubs from 1988-1991. He then returned to Rochester, first as general manager (1991-1993), then as special assistant to the president (1994-1997), and then as a broadcaster for the Red Wings, a position he held from 1998 until he retired in 2009. Joe Altobelli is a member of the International League Hall of Fame. He continues to live in Rochester and to attend games at Frontier Field.
Outfielder Christopher Joseph Latham played for the Twins in parts of three seasons in the late 1990s. He was born in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, went to high school in Henderson, Nevada, and was drafted by the Dodgers in the eleventh round in 1991. He was in the Dodgers’ system for five years with mixed success, but spent less than one full season above Class A and had only 18 at-bats above AA. After the 1995 season, Latham was named as the player to be named later in a deal which also sent Ron Coomer, Greg Hansell, and Jose Parra to Minnesota for Mark Guthrie and Kevin Tapani. Latham was in the Twins’ system for four years, most of it in AAA Salt Lake. He hit well there, batting over .300 three times and over .320 twice, but could not translate that into major league success. Latham was with the Twins for the first and last month of 1997, May and December of 1998, and for the first month and a half of 1999. He did not get regular play, nor did he hit: his line as a Twin is .152/.222/.188 in 138 at-bats. After the 1999 season, Latham was traded to Colorado for Scott Randall. He had a bad year with AAA Colorado Springs in 2000, became a free agent, and signed with Toronto. Latham had a solid season in AAA in 2001 and was in Toronto for about half the season. He was again used sparingly but hit well (.274 in 73 at-bats). Late in 2002 spring training, however, he was placed on waivers and selected by the Mets. He had a poor year in AAA Norfolk and was released after the season. The Yankees signed him and he spent the first three weeks of 2003 with them, going 2-for-2, but was released in late April. Latham went to Japan for the rest of the season, was out of baseball in 2004, played in independent ball in 2005, went to Mexico for 2006, and went back to independent ball for 2007 before his playing career ended. He was an assistant baseball coach at the College of Southern Nevada in 2010, but resigned in the wake of allegations of wrongdoing against the head coach, Chris Sheff. At last report, Chris Latham was the owner of a Baskin-Robbins franchise in the Las Vegas area.
Right-hander Kevin John Mulvey appeared in two games for the Twins in 2009. He was born in Parlin, New Jersey, went to high school in Edison, New Jersey, and then attended Villanova before being drafted by the Mets in the second round in 2006. He pitched well in the minors for them for two seasons, reaching as high as AAA for one game in 2007. Mulvey came to the Twins with Deolis Guerra, Carlos Gomez, and Philip Humber for Johan Santana in the 2007-2008 off-season. He had a couple of decent years for the Rochester Red Wings, going 12-17, 3.85 with a WHIP of 1.37. He made two appearances for the Twins in July of 2009, allowing four runs on six hits in an inning and a third. On September 1 of that year, he was sent to Arizona to complete a trade for Jon Rauch. Mulvey made six appearances for the Diamondbacks in 2009, four of them starts. He made two appearances for Arizona in 2010 but spent most of the year at AAA Reno, where he did not do particularly well. He was back in Reno in 2011 and so did worse. He was released in February of 2012 by the Diamondbacks and signed with the Mets. who sent him to AA. He pitched in relief there, his first shot at a bullpen role, and it did not go well. In late May, Kevin Mulvey retired. At last report, Kevin Mulvey was an assistant baseball coach at Villanova University.
Glenn Borgmann (1950) Dave Hollins (1966) Todd Walker (1973) Jason Kubel (1982)
Catcher Glenn Dennis Borgmann played in part or all of eight seasons for the Twins, from 1972-1979. He was born in Paterson, New Jersey and attended the University of South Alabama. Minnesota drafted him in the first round of the June Secondary draft in 1971. He advanced rapidly through the minors, and after hitting .336 with 12 homers at AAA Tacoma in 1972, he got his first taste of the majors, spending the second half of the 1972 as the Twins’ regular catcher. He did not hit in the majors, though, and was back in Tacoma for most of 1973, getting only a September call-up. Borgmann was back as the regular catcher in 1974-1975, hitting .252 in the former year but only .207 in the latter. After that, a combination of injuries and the emergence of Butch Wynegar as the Twins’ catcher limited Borgmann’s playing time. He caught in only 118 games total over the next four seasons. Borgmann became a free agent after the 1979 season and signed with the White Sox. He was in AAA most of the year, coming up to Chicago for the last two months. In 1981, Borgmann signed with Cleveland, but he did not get back to the major leagues and his playing career ended after that season. After leaving baseball, he worked in the auto parts industry. At last report, Glenn Borgmann had returned to his native New Jersey and was working for the Meadowlands race track.
Infielder David Michael Hollins was with the Twins for most of the 1996 season. He was born in Buffalo and attended the University of South Carolina. Hollins was drafted by San Diego in the sixth round in 1987. He was in the Padres’ organization for three seasons, hitting for a good average with moderate power. He advanced a level at a time, but was left unprotected after the 1989 campaign and was taken by Philadelphia in the Rule 5 draft. He was with the Phillies all of the 1990 season but played sporadically and not very well, hitting .184. He started 1991 in Philadelphia, still playing sparingly, and was sent down in late April to get some playing time. He came back in mid-July and this time was ready to stay a while. He was the regular third baseman the rest of the way and hit .298. He never hit that high in a full season, but he stayed in the .270s as a Phillie, and developed power, hitting 27 home runs in 1992 before settling in consistently in the teens for homers. Hollins moved to first base in 1995 to make room for Charlie Hayes and was traded to Boston in late July. He played in only five games for the Red Sox before missing the rest of the season with an injury. A free agent after the season, Hollins signed with Minnesota and went back to third base. He was decent but unspectacular as a Twin, hitting .242/.364/.396 in 422 at-bats. Hollins was traded to Seattle in late August for a player to be named later (David Arias, n/k/a David Ortiz, a true player to be named later). He became a free agent after the season and moved to Anaheim, where he stayed for two seasons. The first was a good one, the second not so much, and he was traded to Toronto late in spring training of 1999. He got off to a slow start and was released by the Blue Jays in late June. The White Sox signed him, but kept him in AAA the rest of the season. In 2000, Hollins signed with Tampa Bay in January, was released in May, signed with Baltimore in July, was released in August, and signed the same day with Cleveland. All of that season was spent in the minors as was all but two games of 2001. He signed back with Philadelphia in 2002 and was in AAA with them most of the next two years, getting 17 at-bats in the majors. His playing career ended after the 2003 campaign. He has remained in baseball, serving as a coach at Binghamton in 2005 before becoming a scout for the Phillies. Dave Hollins is a member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.
Infielder Todd Arthur Walker played for the Twins in parts of five seasons from 1996-2000. He was born in Bakersfield, California, went to high school in Bossier City, Louisiana, and then attended LSU. He was drafted by the Twins with the 8th pick of the 1994 draft. He hit very well in the minors, with his best year coming in 1996 when he hit .339 with 28 homers for AAA Salt Lake, getting called up at the end of August. He started 1997 as the Twins’ starting third baseman, but was sent down in late May after hitting .194. He came back in late August, played well in September, and replaced Chuck Knoblauch as the Twins’ second baseman in 1998. He had a strong season, hitting .316 with 12 homers. He was decent, although not as good, in 1999. His defense was considered less than adequate, as was his attitude, and when he got off to a slow start in 2000 he was sent back to AAA and then traded to Colorado with Butch Huskey for Todd Sears and cash. As a Twin, he hit .285/.341/.413 in 1,374 at-bats. Walker resurrected his career in Colorado, batting over .300 in about a year, but was traded again in mid-season, this time to Cincinnati. He continued to hit, but again did not stay long, this time becoming a free agent and signing with the Cubs prior to the 2004 season. He was a Cub for two and a half years, continued to hit decently, and was traded to San Diego in late July. The Padres released him in late March of 2007. Walker signed with Oakland and didn’t hit badly for a bench player, but he was released in mid-May, ending his playing career. Todd Walker was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in July of 2009, was named to the College World Series legends team in 2010, and was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. He is currently the head baseball coach at Calvary Baptist Academy, a private high school in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Outfielder/DH Jason James Kubel has been with the Twins for at least part of seven seasons and counting. He was born in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, attended high school in Palmdale, California, and was drafted by Minnesota in the twelfth round in 2000. He hit very well throughout the minors. His best year was 2004, when he started by hitting .377 with 6 homers in 138 at-bats in New Britain and followed that by hitting .343 with 16 homers in 35o at-bats in Rochester. He made his major league debut on August 31 of that year and continued to hit, batting .300 with two home runs in 60 at-bats. Unfortunately, he then tore up his knee in the Arizona Fall League. Kubel missed all of 2005, started 2006 in the majors, was sent back to AAA for a month, and all-in-all had a poor year, leading some to believe he might not make it back. He proved those people wrong in 2007, and has been a good major league player every year since. 2009 was his best so far, as he hit .300 with 28 home runs and finished 24th in MVP voting. He had a down year in 2010, but still hit 21 homers and drove in 92 runs. He hoped to rebound in 2011, but battled injuries and played in only 99 games. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Arizona, for whom he had a solid season in 2012. He turns 31 today, and is down a little, although he’s still been decent. It seems likely Jason Kubel will be a solid major league player for a few more years to come.
Also posted at wgom.org Willy Miranda (1926) Todd Rizzo (1971)
Infielder Guillermo (Perez) “Willy” Miranda did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 1961 at the end of his career. He was born in Velasco, Cuba and signed with Washington as a free agent in 1948. He was in the Washington farm system through 1951, spending three of those four seasons at AA Chattanooga. He did not hit much, averaging around .240, but got about six weeks in the majors as a reserve in 1951, going 4-for-9 in sparing use. He made the big leagues for good in 1952, although he moved around for a while. Washington traded him to the White Sox after the 1951 season, the White Sox traded him to the Browns in mid-June, the Browns put him on waivers two weeks later and he was selected by the White Sox again, he was traded back to the Browns after the 1952 season, he was sold to the Yankees in mid-June of 1953, and he was traded to the former Browns, now the Baltimore Orioles, after the 1954 season (the latter trade involved seventeen players, the largest swap between two teams in baseball history). He was a reserve in those years, known as a slick fielder, as tremendous with the glove as he was awful with the bat (many contemporaries proclaimed him the best-fielding shortstop they’d ever seen, while at the plate one manager said that “his weakness is pitched balls.”) The Orioles made him their regular shortstop in 1955, and he responded with his best offensive season. He still only hit .255 with no power, but it was enough for him to retain the shortstop job in 1956. He dropped to .217 that year, however, and his days as a regular were over. He stayed with the Orioles as a reserve through the 1959 season, but was traded to the Dodgers in mid-March of 1960. He spent the season in AAA and then found his way to the Minnesota system, playing at AAA Syracuse in 1961. He hit pretty much as he always had, majors or minors: .230/.307/.295 in 278 at-bats. That brought his playing career to an end. For his major league career, Willy Miranda hit .221/.282/.271 in 1,914 at-bats over nine seasons. After his career ended, Miranda moved back to Baltimore. Willy Miranda passed away from lung cancer on September 7, 1966.
Left-hander Todd Michael Rizzo did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 2000. He was born in Media, Pennsylvania, went to high school in Concordville, Pennsylvania, and signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1992. He pitched in A ball for them that season, but did not do much and was released in June of 1993. He pitched in the Texas-Louisiana League in 1994 and caught the attention of the White Sox, who signed him for the 1995 season. Used exclusively in relief, he climbed the ladder at a pace of a level a season, posting good ERAs with high WHIPs. He was in AAA in 1997 and started 1998 in the majors. The Sox appear to have tried to use him as a LOOGY, but in a small sample size left-handers absolutely murdered him (11-for-19) while he did okay against righties (5-for-20). He went 0-0, 13.50 in 6.2 innings spread over nine appearances, which sounds worse than it was as all the runs scored on him came in three of the nine outings. Still, he was back in the minors by the end of April. He stayed there most of the rest of his career, getting one more brief shot at the majors for a week in July of 1999 with similar results. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota. Rizzo was with AAA Salt Lake all of the 2000 season, going 6-4, 3.39, 1.44 WHIP in 72.1 innings (62 appearances). He moved on after the season, pitching in the Dodgers’ and Giants’ organizations in 2001 and then playing for Camden in the independent Atlantic League from 2002-2006 with the exception of a stint in the Baltimore system in 2003. At last report, Todd Rizzo was an instructor for The Hit Doctor in the Philadelphia area. He’s also still pitching, as he led Wayne to the finals of the Delco Baseball League, an amateur baseball league in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
Right-hander Ramon Diogenes Ortiz was a member of the Minnesota Twins for about four and a half months in 2007. A native of Cotui in the Dominican Republic, Ortiz was signed by the Angels as a free agent in 1995. He generally pitched well in the minors, although he appears to have been slowed by an injury in 1998. He reached AAA in 1999 and after only nine starts there was promoted to the majors in August. He was immediately thrown into the rotation, but he wasn’t ready, going 2-3, 6.52. He split the next year between AAA and the majors, but by 2001 he was in the big leagues to stay. He was in the Angels starting rotation for three full years, from 2001-2003. His best year was clearly 2002, when he went 15-9, 3.77 with a WHIP of 1.18. His ERA soared to 5.2 the next year, and when he got off to a poor start in 2004 Ortiz was sent to the bullpen. The Angels traded him to the Reds for 2005, but while he stayed in the rotation he really did not pitch any better than he had the year before. A free agent after the season, he signed with Washington for 2006 and again spent the entire year in the rotation despite pitching poorly. He signed with Minnesota as a free agent for 2007. He was again in the rotation and pitched well in his first three starts, but slipped to average for his next two and bad for his next five. Ortiz went to the bullpen after that and was traded to Colorado in mid-August for Matt Macri. As a Twin, he was 4-4, 5.14 in 28 appearances, ten of the starts. He pitched 91 innings for Minnesota. Ortiz became a free agent after the 2007 season and played in Japan for the Orix Blue Wave in 2008, where he continued to not pitch very well. He came back to the United States for 2009, pitching at AAA Phoenix in the Giants’ organization. He signed with the Dodgers for 2010 and made sixteen appearances in the majors, most of them poor ones. The Dodgers released him in early June, he was in the Mets’ organization for about a month and a half, and he finished the season at AAA with Tampa Bay. He was released by the Rays in March of 2011, but signed with the Cubs a month later and battled his way back to the big leagues, spending half the season in Chicago. A free agent again after the season, he signed with San Francisco for 2012. He was released near the end of spring training, but signed with the Yankees and spent the season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he had a fine season in AAA but did not get another shot at the majors. Once again a free agent after the season, he signed with Toronto for 2013. He started this season in AAA but made it back to the majors and is currently in the Blue Jays’ rotation. He’s 40 years old today and hasn’t had a good major league season since 2004 (and even that season was really nothing to shout about), but somehow he keeps getting chances. One has to assume that the Ramon Ortiz story is not done quite yet.
Infielder Jose Lopez Valdivielso was one of the original Twins, playing for them in 1961. He was born in Matanzas, Cuba. He started in organized baseball in 1953, joining the Washington organization in 1954. He came up to the majors in late June of 1955 and was the regular Washington shortstop the rest of the season. He hit .221 with an OPS of .594, yet somehow got a tenth-place vote for MVP. He was again the regular shortstop for much of 1956, although he spent a month or so in the minors. He hit a little better, but not much. Valdivielso then spent some time playing in other organizations, although whether he actually belonged to those other organizations is unclear. He was at AAA with the White Sox in 1957 and with Boston and San Francisco in 1958. He was a reserve infielder for Washington for much of 1959, also playing at AAA with Baltimore. He then got his only two full seasons in the majors, 1960 with Washington and 1961 with Minnesota. He was a part-time starting shortstop in 1960 and a reserve infielder in 1961. In his one season as a Twin, he played in 76 games and got 149 at-bats. He hit .195/.234/.248. In his major league career, all of which was in the Washington/Minnesota organization, he hit .219/.282/.290 in 971 at-bats. He was at AAA Vancouver for the Twins in 1962, then moved on to Indianapolis in the White Sox’ organization for two years before ending his playing career after the 1964 season. After that, he worked in New York City as a youth recreation director before going into broadcasting. He has done Spanish-language broadcasts for the New York Yankees, and at last report, Jose Valdivielso was the morning sports reporter at WKDM in Newark, New Jersey.
Right-hander Ronald Jacques Piche did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for part of the 1965 season. He was born in Verdun, Quebec, Canada, and signed with Milwaukee as a free agent in 1955. He pitched well in the minors, posting an ERA below three each year from 1955-1961. He both started and relieved, making his record of success more remarkable. He reached AAA in 1959 and made his major league debut with the Braves in late May of 1960. He was used as a short reliever and pitched well, going 3-5, 3.56 with nine saves in 48 innings (37 appearances). He began 1961 in Milwaukee, but despite the fact that he was pitching well he was sent down in mid-May, not returning until he received a September call-up. He split 1962 between AAA and the majors, then stayed for the whole season in 1963, his only full year in the majors. He generally struck out quite a few batters, but also walked quite a few batters, which is probably why he did not get more of a chance in the big leagues. He was back in the minors in 1964, was traded to the Angels (with Phil Roof) before the 1965 season, and then was sent to Minnesota in June of 1965 “in an unknown transaction”. The Twins sent him to Denver, where he pitched badly, going 3-4, 5.77 in 53 innings. Before the 1966 season, Piche was traded to St. Louis in another “unknown transaction.” He made it back to the majors in late July, staying for the rest of the season. That would be the end of his major league career, however; his major league numbers are 10-16, 4.19 with 12 saves in 221.1 innings. He appeared in 134 games, 11 of them starts. He played for a few more years, however, staying in the Cardinals organization through 1967, going to the Cubs system in 1968-1969, playing in the Mets and Expos chains in 1970, and finishing in the Expos organization in 1972. After leaving baseball, he moved to Montreal, where among other things he became a volunteer firefighter. He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988. Ron Piche passed away on February 3, 2011 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
First baseman Kent Allen Hrbek played his entire 14-year major league career, 1981-1994, with the Twins. He was born in Minneapolis, raised in Bloomington, and drafted by Minnesota in the 17th round in 1978. He hit only .203 in 59 at-bats in Elizabethton that year, but improved to .267 with 19 homers in Wisconsin Rapids in 1980. In 1981, he hit .379 with 27 homers at Class A Visalia, and that was as much as the Twins need to see. He came to Minnesota in late August and opened 1982 as the Twins’ regular first baseman, a position he held until he retired after the 1994 season. He made the all-star team in his rookie year of 1982, and would have made a couple of others had he been willing to go. He also finished second to Cal Ripken for Rookie of the Year in 1982, hitting .301/.363/.485 with 23 homers and 92 RBIs that season. While Hrbek was a consistently good player for the Twins, his best year appears to be 1987, when he hit .285 with 34 homers and 90 RBIs and an OPS of .934. He finished 16th in MVP voting that year, which was not his highest finish–that came in 1984, when he hit .311 with 27 home runs and 107 RBIs, finishing second in MVP balloting to Willie Hernandez. Injuries slowed Hrbek toward the end of his career, and he retired after the players’ strike in 1994. Kent Hrbek hit .282/.367/.481 in 6,192 at-bats. He hit 312 doubles, 293 home runs, and drove in 1,086 runs. He was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2000. As you probably know, Kent Hrbek is currently the host of an outdoors program, “Kent Hrbek Outdoors” and is active in raising money for ALS research.
Outfielder Darnell Glenn “Disco Danny” Ford played for the Twins from 1975-1978. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ford was drafted by Oakland in the first round in 1970. He spent his first two seasons at Class A Burlington, hitting .354 with 18 homers the second year. That got him promoted to AAA Tucson, where he also spent two seasons. Ford hit around .280 with double digit home runs in each season, but the Athletics were apparently not impressed as they traded both Ford and Dennis Myers to Minnesota after the season for Pat Bourque. Many would argue the Twins got the better end of the deal; Bourque never played in the majors again, while Ford was a solid major league outfielder for Minnesota for four years. He started 1975 with Minnesota and never went back to the minors. His year-to-year numbers as a Twin are remarkably consistent. He batted between .267 and .280 every season with an OPS from .756 to .781. He hit from 11 to 20 homers each year. Ford was in center for the Twins in 1975, moved to right in 1976 and 1977, and went back to center in 1978. As a Twin, Dan Ford hit .272/.331/.435 in 1,999 at-bats. After the 1978 season, Minnesota traded Ford to California for Danny Goodwin and Ron Jackson. He spent three seasons as the Angels right fielder and was essentially the same player he had been in Minnesota, although 101 RBIs in 1979 got him a bit of MVP consideration. The Angels traded Ford to Baltimore after the 1981 season. He was there for four seasons. His first one was his first bad season in the majors, as he hit only .235. Ford bounced back in 1983 with a typical Dan Ford season: .280/.328/.440. It was his last good year in the majors, however. Ford battled injuries his last two seasons, playing sporadically, and retired after the 1985 campaign. He was never a star, but he was a solid, consistent major league outfielder for eight years, and that’s pretty good. After leaving baseball, he moved to Louisiana to help run a family ranch, then became a scout, first with Oakland, then with the Angels. At last report, Dan Ford was working with at-risk youth, apparently in the Los Angeles area.
Carroll Hardy (1933) Andre David (1958) Rich Garces (1971)
Outfielder Carroll William Hardy played in 11 games for the Twins in 1967. Born and raised in Sturgis, South Dakota, Hardy attended the University of Colorado and signed with Cleveland as a free agent in 1955. Hardy began his minor league career that season with Class A Reading; he also played running back for the San Francisco 49ers that season. He stuck with baseball after that, and was having a fine season at AAA in 1956 when he entered the military. That cost him the rest of that season and all of the 1957 campaign. He started 1958 in Cleveland and was doing fairly well in a reserve role when he was injured and missed a month. He did not do well upon his return and ended the season in AAA. He was in Cleveland at the start of 1959 as well, but was seldom used and again ended the season in AAA. Once again a seldom-used major leaguer at the start of 1960, Hardy was traded to Boston in mid-June and finally got to play a little. His best season was 1961, when he hit .263 as a part-time player. He got his most playing time in 1962, when he batted 362 times, but he only .215 (although with 54 walks). That off-season, the Red Sox traded him to Houston for Dick Williams. He started 1963 with the Astros, but was sent down after a month and did not come back until July of 1964. He again did not hit, and he was traded to Minnesota just before the start of the 1965 season for Joe Christian. He spent three years in AAA Denver; his best year was the first one, when he hit .300 with 14 homers. He got a September call-up and played in 11 games. His slash line as a Twin is pretty impressive–.375/.444/.750–unfortunately, it is in only 8 at-bats. He did hit a home run off the Yankees’ Fritz Peterson. Hardy played in one game in Denver in 1968 and then his playing career came to an end. He managed at Class A St. Cloud the rest of the 1968 season. Carroll Hardy is the answer to at least two trivia questions: he is the only player to pinch-hit for Ted Williams (he also pinch-hit for Roger Maris and Carl Yastrzemski), and he is the only player to break a scoreless tie with a walk-off grand slam in the twelfth inning or later. He then worked for twenty years in the front office of the Denver Broncos. He is a member of the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. At last report, Carroll Hardy was living in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Outfielder Andre Anter David played in parts of the 1984 and 1986 seasons. He was born in Hollywood, went to high school in Chatsworth, California, and then attended Cal State–Fullerton. He was drafted by Minnesota in the eighth round in 1980. He hit .324 that season in Class A, but struggled on his first try at AA. He eventually got things going again, hitting in the .290s in consecutive years at AAA Toledo before getting his first shot at the majors in 1984. He came up in late June and stayed the rest of the year. David was used mostly as a pinch-hitter, playing in 33 games but batting only 48 times. He didn’t do badly given his sporadic playing time, hitting .250 with 7 walks and a home run. The home run came in his first major league at-bat, and was his only home run in the majors. He was back in AAA in 1985, but after hitting ,328 there in 1986 he got a September call-up. He again did not get a chance to play, however, going 1-for-5. As a Twin, Andre David hit .245/.349/.340 in 53 at-bats. He was allowed to become a free agent after the 1986 season and signed with the Mets. He was in AAA for them for two seasons, then moved on to the Brewers’ organization for 1989 before his playing career ended. He remained in baseball, serving as a minor league coach and manager for the Mets and Royals organizations. He was a major league hitting coach for the Royals for parts of 2005 and 2006 and has also been their minor league hitting coordinator. He is currently the assistant batting coach for the Kansas City Royals.
Right-hander Richard Aron (Mendoz) Garces, Jr. appeared in eight games for the Twins, five in 1990 and three in 1993. He was born and raised in Maracay, Aragua, Venezuela and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1987. He was a reliever every year in the minors with the exception of 1989, when he made 24 starts for Class A Kenosha. He pitched very well in the low minors and got his first taste of major league ball as a September call-up in 1990, at the age of 19. He allowed one earned run on four hits in 5.2 innings, although he walked four. Garces struggled in the high minors, however. He next made the majors for about two weeks early in the 1993 season, pitching four scoreless innings. Sent back to AAA Portland, that year was a disaster for him, as he posted an ERA over eight. He pitched better in 1994 at AA Nashville, but the Twins gave up on Garces and released him after the season. He signed with the Cubs, pitched very well at AAA Iowa, and came up to the majors in late June. He pitched well in seven appearances, but was placed on waivers in August and selected by Florida. He was a Marlin through the end of the 1995 season and then became a free agent. He signed with the Red Sox, where he finally found a home. A big man (6′ 0″, 250 lbs.), he was a fan favorite in Boston, acquiring the nickname “El Guapo”. Garces was with the Red Sox for parts of seven seasons. Boston was patient with him, as he pitched very well at AAA but not so well in the majors his first couple of seasons with them. He never pitched a lot of innings–his highest season in the majors was 74.2–but he was a consistently good relief pitcher for the Red Sox from 1998-2001. In those years, he was 20-4, 3.16 with a WHIP of 1.20 in 228.1 innings. His best season was 1999, when he was 5-1, 1.55 with a WHIP of 1.06 in 74.2 innings. He pitched poorly in 2002, and his career was basically over at that point. He has tried some comebacks, however, pitching in the minors for the Red Sox in 2005 and in independent ball and the Mexican League in 2007-2008. As a Twin, Rich Garces had a 0.93 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP in 9.2 innings spread over eight appearances. No information about Rich Garces’ current life is readily available.
Daniel Francisco Monzon was an infielder for the Twins for parts of the 1972 and 1973 seasons. He was born and raised in the Bronx, attended Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, and was drafted by Minnesota in the second round of the June Secondary draft in 1967. He was in Class A for three seasons, hitting very well in his first one and poorly in his next two. He never did hit for power, but his average came up when he went to AA in 1970, and he hit .305 in AAA Portland in 1971. He had played some outfield as well as infield, and his versatility and improved batting got him a job as a utility player on the Twins. He played two full seasons in Minnesota, 1972-1973, and was very much a reserve, playing in 93 games but batting only 131 times. He hit .244/.342/.275. He began 1974 in AAA with the Twins and was traded to Montreal for Earl Stephenson in late May. Monzon toiled in the minors for four more seasons, but never made it back to the majors. He was in AAA for the Expos through 1975, then moved on to the Houston organization, playing in AAA for them through 1977. He did not hit much in any of those years, and after he hit .199 in 1977 his playing career came to an end. He stayed in baseball, managing in the minors through 1982 and then going into scouting. He was the Latin American scouting coordinator for the Boston Red Sox when he passed away from injuries resulting from an automobile accident on January 21, 1996 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
