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Dana Kiecker, the 1983 eighth-round draft pick by the Boston Red Sox out of St. Cloud State University, has never stepped away from baseball. After playing two seasons in the big leagues with the Red Sox in 1990 and 1991, Kiecker returned home to Minnesota to continue his playing career in amateur baseball. He continued playing into his age 55 season in 2016, then decided it was time for a new role in baseball; coaching. "I was always a big fan of giving back to the game," said Kiecker. "I'm 61 right now. So at 55, I was still playing with a college teammate of mine in Over-35 baseball. Shortly after that, I retired from UPS full time, and at that time, I was driving past what I thought was a beautiful ballpark down off of County Road 42 in Rosemount, which was Dakota County Technical College. I did some research, went up, and approached the head coach, and I said, 'Hey, are you looking for any coaches?' I think any head baseball coach at any level will always take more coaches, and that's where it started." Kiecker had spent four seasons at DCTC as their pitching coach, working alongside head coach Matthew Erzar. This year both coaches are in their first seasons coaching at Century College in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, with Erzar still in the head coach role while Kiecker has transitioned over to bench coach. "This will be my fifth-year coaching with Dana," said Erzar. "Dana has made a huge difference in my program on and off the field. Off the field, he has helped with tutoring/study tables, strength and conditioning, community service (Open Door), and director of operations when we travel." Even though Kiecker had been a full-time pitcher during his professional baseball career, he still had spent time as an infielder in high school and Over-35 amateur baseball, which has helped him with the larger in-game perspective that comes with being a bench coach. "I was an infielder and a hitter, believe it or not, before I was a pitcher. When I went to St. Cloud State at that time, Bob Hegman was our shortstop, and Bob Hegman got drafted by the Royals. So they never had enough pitching, and I pitched a little bit. Coach Denny Lorsung said let's see what you have on the mound. It's pretty much been all I have done since that time. But that's the fun thing about coming back, playing amateur, and playing Over-35 baseball. You get to play different positions that you haven't played in a long time. It was a lot of fun," said Kiecker. The two infield positions Kiecker often played throughout his career were shortstop and first base. Kiecker saw more time at first base at the latter part of his playing career as he said in his own words, "Because it's a shorter walk from first base into the dugout." Year Age Tm Lg W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W Awards 1990 29 BOS AL 8 9 .471 3.97 32 25 3 0 0 0 152.0 145 74 67 7 54 2 93 9 1 9 641 103 3.43 1.309 8.6 0.4 3.2 5.5 1.72 1991 30 BOS AL 2 3 .400 7.36 18 5 3 0 0 0 40.1 56 34 33 6 23 4 21 2 2 3 194 59 5.61 1.959 12.5 1.3 5.1 4.7 0.91 Although Kiecker's time in the majors only lasted for two seasons, he still had the opportunity to do something the likes of hall of farmers Ernie Banks and Luke Appling never did. Play in the postseason. Kiecker's only postseason team was his rookie year with the 1990 AL East Champion Red Sox. It was a squad led by future Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, flame-thrower Roger Clemens, and Minnesota Twin 1987 World Series Champs Jeff Reardon and Tom Brunansky. With his time as a coach, Kiecker has always kept in mind three of his teammates from that 1990 squad that he believes any of his players should look into and model some of their game after. Clemens and Reardon and Mike Boddicker, who had already won a World Series in his career with the 1983 Baltimore Orioles. "Roger Clemens? He worked, at that point, I think harder than anybody else that I'd ever seen. His goal was to be the best pitcher in baseball, and he was not only that season but for a number of years. Mike Boddicker, on the flip side, had a different work ethic. He worked as hard, but he didn't have the velocity. He threw a good forkball, he just didn't have Roger's skills, but he went about it differently. And then Jeff Reardon, who's still a close friend of mine. Just watching him as a closer and how he approached the game. There are other players, but those three all had a different approach, and I take bits and pieces from them to teach with," said Kiecker. Kiecker himself is still a big believer in teaching the human elements of the game over the analytical. Kiecker recognizes that analytics have a place in baseball but values what goes on in baseball's mental and physical parts more than what cameras and algorithms can capture. "I'll be the first to admit that analytics aren't going to go away. But I'm still trying to figure out if it's helped the game or not because I don't think it's easy. Sometimes you just gotta figure it out. And we say that a lot. Just figure it out, you know, the human element. They're just always waiting for somebody to tell them what to do or where to throw one good pitch? No, you gotta learn that. And we certainly try to apply that here at Century." There are two friends and former teammates from the early days of playing baseball for Kiecker who stand out to him as those who understood the human elements of baseball. Jim Eisenreich and Terry Steinbach. Kiecker's time playing with Eisenreich dates back to his first season at St. Cloud State University, while his friendship with Steinbach dates back even further to their time as high schoolers. "Jim Eisenreich just always seemed to have it. I just remembered he hit over .500 against me even though I only pitched two seasons. I think about that from college, then he came back and worked out with us at St. Cloud when he was already in the major leagues. Every time I would pitch to him, I made sure I always had a screen up inside because he hit the ball back up the middle better than anybody else that I had ever seen hit, and I tried to explain that to these kids," said Kiecker on Eisenreich. "Terry Steinbach, another 13 year Major Leaguer who was one of my battery mates. We grew up in the same area and worked out together on everything. What he taught me about pitching, and it's not like it's that much different than what we do here, but I think more from a confidence standpoint. The plate's the same width. The mound is the same distance. Yeah, the hitters might be a little bit better, but you just have to go with what your best stuff is. Those are two that really stick out to me that have been a big influence for me." The Century College Wood Ducks have found themselves slow out the gates in their first 16 games. The Wood Ducks, as many college and junior college teams, do in March, traveled down to Florida for an extensive two-week schedule playing teams from across the nation. Century's record currently sits at 5-11 on the season. Still, with 30 games remaining on the schedule, Kiecker is confident the team will turn themselves around to be postseason contenders. "We need to do a better job of being more aggressive at the plate, and we need to do a better job of taking the pitch where it's happening and hitting it with authority. I think too many times; we're looking for that perfect pitch and high school level, you're probably not going to see them too often because they don't have that command. You see it at this level. So we just need to be more aggressive, and our pitchers can cut down on their walks. We've got quality pitching. I want to say that about two-thirds of the runs we've given up have been put on base with a walk. It's two things that we can easily work on." said Kiecker on the team's room for improvement for the games to come. Kiecker's playing days may be over, but he still has gas in the tank when it counts to teaching a new generation of college baseball players what it takes to be a part of a winning team, just as he was in 1990 with the Boston Red Sox. The Century College Wood Ducks are off for a week and a half and will resume their games on April 1 for a four-game series against Bay College out of Escanaba, Michigan, at home.

February 25 Happy 57th Birthday, Dana Kiecker It’s the birthday of 1979 Fairfax High School and 1983 St. Cloud State graduate Dana Kiecker, born in Sleepy Eye in 1961. Kiecker was chosen by the Red Sox in the eighth round of the 1983 Draft. He made his major league debut on April 12, 1990 at age 29, pitching four innings of relief in a Red Sox loss at Tiger Stadium. Kiecker pitched in 50 major league games for Boston between 1990 and ‘91, making 30 starts, compiling a 10-12 record with a 4.68 ERA. He made two starts at the Metrodome in 1990. He gave up a home run to Dan Gladden on his second pitch of the game on May 27. He recovered to pitch seven strong innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk before being relieved by Jeff Reardon. Twins rookie Kevin Tapani, however, was better. After putting runners on second and third to start the game, Tapani struck out the next three batters, including cleanup hitter Tom Brunansky, to get out of one heckuva jam. He went on to hold the Red Sox to just one run over seven innings. Rick Aguilera earned the six-out save. He made his second Metrodome start on July 5, opposing Scott Erickson in his third big league game. Kiecker allowed two runs on five hits and four walks over 5.2 innings, taking a no-decision in a 7-4 Red Sox loss. He gave up a three-run home run to fellow southwest Minnesotan Terry Steinbach in the top of the first on September 3, 1990. That blow knocked Kiecker out of the game, having given up five runs to Oakland while only recording two outs. Jim Eisenreich and Kiecker are the only pair of St. Cloud State alumni to play against each other in the major leagues. Eisenreich went 4-for-8 with a walk and two doubles versus Kiecker between 1990 and 1991. They were teammates at St. Cloud in 1980, along with Bob Hegman, who played half an inning in the field for the Kansas City Royals on August 8, 1985. "Dana Kiecker Street" is home to the Fairfax townball field. I've never been there, but it is allegedly a particularly beautiful ballpark. You can hear Kiecker on St. Paul Saints broadcasts this summer. February 26, 1933 Birthdate of Johnny Blanchard It’s the birthdate of probably the most famous backup catcher in baseball history, Johnny Blanchard, born 85 years ago in Minneapolis. Blanchard attended Minneapolis’s De LaSalle and Central High Schools, playing football, basketball, and baseball. He got a thimble of coffee with the Yankees in 1955, playing in the second game of a doubleheader on the final day of the season. He made it back to the majors in 1959, where he would remain for the next seven seasons, making a nice little career of backing up Yogi Berra and Elston Howard. He would appear in five World Series as a Yankee. The highlight of his career came in the 1961 World Series when he hit .400 with two home runs as the Yankees defeated the Cincinnati Reds in five games. Blanchard would earn a second ring in 1962. He tied a major league record by homering in four consecutive at-bats in 1961. Of course in true “Suber Sub” fashion, those four consecutive at-bats came over a six-day span. Blanchard hit a game-winning two-out pinch-hit grand slam at Fenway Park on July 21, 1961. He hit another pinch-hit homer the next day, and then sat out the next three games. He made a rare start on July 26 vs. the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium, homering in his first two at-bats and flying out to the wall in his third. Blanchard played 18 games at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington between 1961 and '65, going 13-for-51 (.255) with seven walks, and three home runs. He hit .222 with seven home runs in 38 games against the Twins overall. Blanchard was a featured guest at Halsey Hall SABR meetings on October 24, 1992 and October 18, 2008. He died of a heart attack at North Memorial in Robbinsdale on March 25, 2009. He was 76 years old. 2018 will be John's son Paul Blanchard's 22nd season as head baseball coach at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. He has been known to make guest lecturer appearances on campus, sometimes even passing around his father's World Series ring. George Rekela wrote about Johnny Blanchard for the book Minnesotans in Baseball (click here). February 26 Happy 60th Birthday, Bob Hegman It’s the birthday of 1976 Sauk Rapids-Rice graduate, St. Cloud State all-time great, former Royals second baseman, and current Twins scout Bob Hegman, born in Springfield, MN in 1958. Hegman improved steadily at the plate during his four years at St. Cloud State, hitting .203 in 1977, .288 in 1978, .372 in 1979, and .381 in 1980. He was 24-for-24 in stolen base attempts over his final three seasons at St. Cloud. He was also a four-year starting point guard on the Huskies basketball team. Hegman was selected by the Royals in the 15th round of the 1980 draft, and reported to their Gulf Coast League team in Florida. He returned to St. Cloud in the offseason and graduated with a degree in Business Management in 1981. Hegman got into his only major league game on August 8, 1985 at age 27, entering as a defensive replacement in the top of the ninth of 10-3 win over Chicago. He did not get the ball hit to him, and did not get an at-bat. Sound familiar? Longtime Chisolm doctor "Moonlight" Graham's major league career also consisted of half an inning in the field on June 29, 1905. I asked Mr. Hegman about the circumstances of his brief stint in the majors. He (specifically his glove) was called up when 1978 first-round draft pick Buddy Biancalana was hampered by an injury, and sent back to Omaha the moment Biancalana was healthy. The Royals went on to win the 1985 World Series. No, Hegman did not receive a ring. In total, Hegman played seven seasons of professional baseball. He joined the Royals front office as an assistant to the Scouting and Player Development Directors in September 1986. In 1992 he was named Director of Minor League Operations, a position he held for ten years. He became an Advance Scout for the Twins in 2003 before moving into his current position of Professional Scout (evaluating pro players) in 2008. Hegman has made his home in the Kansas City area since 1986. 1956 National League All-Star Rip Repulski also attended Sauk Rapids-Rice High School. February 27 Happy 34th Birthday, Denard Span It's the birthday of former Twins center fielder Denard Span, born in Tampa, FL in 1984. Even though it doesn't say so on the Twins' website (see for yourself), Span tied Ken Landreaux's team record and the major league record with three triples at Target Field on June 29, 2010. He went 4-for-4 with a walk, five RBI, and two runs scored in an 11-4 win over Detroit. Jim Thome hit his 572nd home run in the game. February 28, 1887 Birthdate of Joe Fautsch It's the birthdate of Joe Fautsch, born 131 years ago in Minneapolis. He got into one major league game with the Chicago White Sox on April 24, 1916 at age 29, going 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter. According to Baseball Reference, he played for the Red Wing Manufacturers in 1910, and the Winona Pirates in 1913 and '14. He passed away in New Hope on March 16, 1971 at age 84, and is buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in Minneapolis. If you have any knowledge about Joe Fautsch to share, please leave a comment, or email Matt@TwinsAlmanac.com. February 28, 1909 Birthdate of Lefty Bertrand It's the birthdate of Lefty Bertrand, born 109 years ago in Cobden, MN. Bertrand attended St. Mary's High School in Sleepy Eye. Baseball Reference lists him as having attended St. Mary's University of Minnesota in Winona, but I believe that is a mistake. Bertrand got into one major league game with the Phillies on April 15, 1936 at age 27, pitching the final two innings of a 12-4 loss to the Boston Bees. He gave up two runs on three hits (including a home run), and two walks while striking out one. That's still a better major league record that fellow St. Mary's alumnus Fred Bruckbauer, who gave up three runs without recording an out in his only outing with the Twins on April 25, 1961. If you're looking for a Twins connection in Bertrand's only big league outing, he gave up a single to Sam Mele's uncle Tony Cuccinello. Lefty Bertrand broke into pro ball with the Class D Northern League Brainerd Muskies in 1933. That team moved to Brandon, Manitoba on June 27 and became the Grays. In 1934 he was back with the reformed Brainerd-Little Falls Muskies. Winona native Julie Wera, who played some third base for the '27 Yankees, wrapped up his pro career with the Northern League Crookston Pirates in 1937. As with Joe Fautsch (or anyone/thing else on the Almanac, for that matter), if you have knowledge to share, please get in touch. March 2, 1916 Birthdate of Mickey Rocco It's the birthdate of St. Paul Central alumnus and former Cleveland first baseman Mickey Rocco, born 102 years ago in St. Paul. In addition to baseball, Rocco also played basketball, and was a violinist in the St. Paul Central school orchestra according to biographer Gregg Omoth. After spending time in the Pirates, Braves, White Sox, Dodgers, and Tigers organizations, Rocco made his major league debut with Cleveland at Philadelphia's Shibe Park on June 5, 1943 at age 27. He went 2-for-4 with a triple, double, RBI, and run scored in a 6-5 loss to the Athletics. He started 107 of Cleveland's remaining 114 games that season (they played 153 total). Rocco led the American League and tied for the major league lead with 653 at-bats in 1944. As a townball player, myself, I think this is a really cool stat. I'm always trying to find ways to get some swings in, including supervising 6 AM high school practices so that maybe I'll get a few pitches at the end. How cool would it be to be able to say you got more at-bats than anybody else in the American League? In total, Rocco played 440 games over four seasons with Cleveland, with his final major league game coming on June 24, 1946 at age 30. He hit .258 with 30 home runs. He stuck it out in the minors through 1952. He remained active in baseball, coaching various Twin Cities teams throughout the '50s and '60s. According to biographer Gregg Omoth "a Rosetown team he coached won the Minnesota Legion championship in 1965." Mickey Rocco passed away on June 1, 1997 at age 81. He was laid to rest at Roselawn Cemetary in Roseville. For a much more thorough picture of Rocco, read Gregg Omoth's biography, originally published in the SABR book Who's on First: Replacement Players in World War II (click here). March 2 Happy 67th Birthday, Mike Johnson It’s the birthday of 1969 Faribault High School graduate and former San Diego Padres pitcher Mike Johnson, born in Slayton, MN in 1951. Johnson was signed by Cincinnati Reds scout Bill Clark out of his annual tryout camp at Bell Field in Faribault. Johnson made his major league debut versus Atlanta on July 25, 1974 at age 23, entering with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the ninth of a scoreless game. He induced an inning-ending ground ball from Davey Johnson. He walked Darrell Evans leading off the bottom of the tenth, and Dusty Baker bunted Evans up to second. The Padres then intentionally walked Mike Lum to set up a potential inning-ending double play. It was not to be, however, as Rowland Office came through with a walk-off single. After pitching a 1-2-3 top of the tenth, Tom House—throwing guru to the stars, including Nolan Ryan and Tom Brady—earned the win for Atlanta. In total, Johnson pitched 21.1 innings over 18 relief appearances, giving up 13 runs (11 earned) on 29 hits and 15 walks while striking out 15. He went 0-2 with a 2.063 WHIP and 4.64 ERA. It was his final season of professional baseball. He returned to Faribault where he pitched for the Lakers townball team. March 2 Happy 56th Birthday, Terry Steinbach It’s the birthday of 1980 New Ulm High School graduate, Golden Gopher all-time great, and three-time American League All-Star Terry Steinbach, born in New Ulm in 1962. Here’s a fun story: the Gophers moved hotshot Edina third baseman Greg Olson to catcher to make room for up-and-coming New Ulm third baseman Terry Steinbach. Steinbach was later converted to catcher in the Oakland A’s organization to make room for third baseman Mark McGwire. McGwire, of course, ultimately wound up at first base while Olson and Steinbach each developed into All-Star major league catchers. Steinbach made his major league debut in Cleveland on September 12, 1986 at age 24. With Oakland trailing 8-2, Steinbach entered as a defensive replacement for Mickey Tettleton in the bottom of the sixth. He led off the top of the seventh with a home run off Greg Swindell in his first big league at-bat. Steinbach and Swindell would be teammates with the Twins in 1997 and '98. 1976 Park Center grad Tim Laudner also homered in his first major league game on August 28, 1981. After being maligned by the press as an unworthy starter in 1988, Steinbach homered in his first All-Star at-bat. He later hit a sacrifice fly to lead the American League to a 2–1 victory and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. The AL only carried two catchers in the game, the other being Tim Laudner. Steinbach was also an All-Star in 1989 and 1993. Steinbach hit an Opening Day grand slam when I was in fourth grade (1994). I know this because Mel Allen told me so on This Week in Baseball. I commemorated the event with a crayon drawing that stayed on the fridge for a few months. Steinbach played for the Twins his final three season, from 1997 to 1999. He caught Eric Milton's no-hitter at the Metrodome on September 11, 1999. He had previously caught Dave Stewart's no-hitter while playing for Oakland in Toronto on June 29, 1990. Altogether Steinbach played 14 major league seasons, hitting .271 with 1,453 hits and 162 home runs. Steinbach coached the Wayzata High School baseball team from 2008 to 2012. The Twins hired him as bench coach for the 2013 season, succeeding Steve Liddle. He was not retained when Paul Molitor took over as manager in 2015. March 2 Happy 35th Birthday, Glen Perkins It’s the birthday of 2001 Stillwater Area High School graduate, Golden Gophers all-time great, and former Twins closer Glen Perkins, born in St. Paul in 1983. After redshirting in 2002, Perkins played for the Gophers in 2003 and 2004, going 19-5 with a 2.87 ERA, 13 complete games, two shutouts and 230 strikeouts in 216.1 innings. Perkins set a new Gophers single-season strikeout record in 2003 with 117 in 105.1 innings. He gave his own record a run for it’s money in 2004 with 113 strikeouts in 111.1 innings. Those innings pitched, incidentally, were the second and fifth most in school history. Perkins was named the 2004 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year. The Twins drafted Perkins in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2004 draft. He made his major league debut in September 2006 at age 23, the same season as fellow Gopher Jack Hannahan. He made the American League All-Star team in 2013, ‘14 and ‘15, saving 30+ games each of those three seasons. Hampered by a labrum injury, Perkins only made 10 appearances between 2016 and 2017. He retired in January 2018. In total, he pitched in 409 major league games (44 starts) over parts of 12 seasons. His 120 saves rank third in Twins history behind Joe Nathan and Rick Aguilera, and four saves ahead of Eddie Guardado. March 3, 1895 Birthdate of Joe Jaeger It's the birthdate of former Cubs pitcher Joe Jaeger, born 123 years ago in St. Cloud. Jaeger made two relief appearances with the Cubs in September 1920 at age 25, giving up six runs (four earned) on six hits and four walks. Jaeger passed away on December 13, 1963 in Hampton, IA. He was 68 years old. Keep in touch with @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter and Facebook.