Frank Bancroft (1846)
Tommy Clarke (1888)
Billy Jurges (1908)
Tony Bartirome (1932)
Ron Jackson (1953)
Tom Chism (1954)
Tony Gwynn (1960)
Aaron Harang (1978)
Prince Fielder (1984)
Today is also the birthday of Twins' farmhand Oswaldo Arcia (1991).
In addition, we would like to wish a happy birthday to UncleWalt’s youngest child.
First baseman Ronnie Damien Jackson played for the Twins from 1979-1981. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, he was drafted by California in the second round in 1971. He was primarily a third baseman in the minors. He had good but unspectacular minor league seasons with the exception of 1974, when he hit .328 with 11 home runs at AA El Paso. He made his major league debut as a September callup in 1975 and started 1976 with the Angels. He began as a bench player, but by mid-May Jackson was the regular third baseman. He did not hit, however, and was down to part-time status in 1977. He played more first base than third in 1978 and had a pretty good year, batting .297 in 387 at-bats. After the season, Jackson was traded with Danny Goodwin to Minnesota for Dan Ford. He was the Twins' regular first baseman in 1979 and was fairly decent, hitting .271 with 14 home runs. He was the mostly regular in 1980 as well, but slipped a little and fell to part-time status in 1981 before being traded to Detroit in August for a player to be named later (Tim Corcoran). Jackson became a free agent after the season and did not sign until mid-April of 1982, going back to the Angels. He hit .331 in only 142 at-bats for California in 1982, but slid back after that. California released him in August of 1984 and he finished the season with Baltimore. Jackson played in AAA for St. Louis in 1985 and briefly in AAA for the White Sox in 1988. He played for a couple of years in the Seniors League, but then his playing career ended. Since then, he has consistently been employed as a batting coach, either in the majors or in the minors. From 2007-2009, he was the batting coach for the Round Rock Express. He has made a series of instructional videos under the general title "Ron Jackson's Hitting Factory."
First baseman Thomas Raymond Chism did not play for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for a brief time in 1980. He was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, attended Brandywine Junior College, went to Widener University (the only major league player to have gone to that school), and was drafted by Baltimore in the fourth round in 1974. He did quite well in the minors, hitting .300 more often than not and posting an OPS over .800 every year. He got a September call-up in 1979, appearing in six games and going 0-for-3. Unfortunately for Chism, the Orioles had a first baseman named Eddie Murray, so there was no room for Chism. After the season, the Orioles traded him to Minnesota for Dan Graham. That seemed to be a turning point in his career; he never made the majors again, and his averages in the minors fell into the .250s. He moved on to the Detroit organization after 34 AAA games for the Twins, and finished the year back in the Orioles’ chain. He stayed there for 1981, but then his playing career was over. One wonders if an injury was involved; it seems odd that such a promising career fell apart so quickly. He apparently remained with the Orioles’ organization in some capacity for a while, because he received a World Championship ring from them in 1983, a ring that was later stolen. The thief was caught, but the ring was never recovered. At last report, Tom Chism was living in Brookhaven, Pennsylvania. His son, T. J. Chism, is a pitcher in the Mets’ organization.