Happy Birthday–June 14

Charlie Buffinton (1861)
Harvey Watkins (1869)
Charles Barrett (1871)
Don Newcombe (1926)
Bill Fahey (1950)
Greg Brock (1957)
Mike Laga (1960)
George Tsamis (1967)

Left-hander George Tsamis was with the Twins for most of 1993.  He was born in Campbell, California, attended Stetson University, and was drafted by Minnesota in the fifteenth round in 1989.  He was a starter in the minors and had a tremendous year at Class A Visalia in 1990, going 17-4, 2.21.  As he climbed up the ladder, his ERA and his WHIP rose, but his won-lost record remained very good.  For example, in 1992 he was 13-4 for AAA Portland, but with an ERA of 3.90 and a WHIP of 1.50.  He made three poor starts for Portland in 1993, but came up to the Twins in late April and stayed the rest of the season.  Why he stayed is another question:  Tsamis was 1-2, 6.19 with a WHIP of 1.65 in 68.1 innings spread over 41 appearances.  The Twins led him go after the season, and he moved on to Seattle, pitching in the minors for the Mariners for a little over a year.  He pitched briefly in the Pirates' system in 1995, then spent over three seasons in independent ball, pitching for Mohawk Valley, Newburgh, Meridian, Bangor, and Waterbury through 1998.  Since then, he has been managing in independent ball.  George Tsamis has been the manager of Waterbury (1999-2000), New Jersey (2001-2002) and St. Paul (2003-present).  He is also director of player personnel for the St. Paul Saints.  He was a coach for Team USA in the 2003 Baseball World Cup.  In the off-season, George Tsamis lives in Colchester, Connecticut.