Sam Breadon (1876)
Sad Sam Jones (1892)
Brick Eldred (1892)
Larry Woodall (1894)
Paul Gallico (1897)
Freddie Fitzsimmons (1901)
Alex Radcliffe (1905)
Sam Leslie (1905)
Ellis Kinder (1914)
Jimmy Bloodworth (1917)
Sibby Sisti (1920)
Hoyt Wilhelm (1922)
Norm Siebern (1933)
Pete Ward (1937)
Ken Kaiser (1945)
Jody Reed (1962)
Greg Colbrunn (1969)
Alex Burnett (1987)
First baseman Greg Colbrunn was with the Twins for about two-thirds of the 1997 season. Born and raised in Fontana, California, he was drafted by Montreal in the sixth round in 1987. He moved up to AA midway through 1989 and had an excellent season there in 1990, hitting .301 with 13 homers at age 20. He was injured all of 1991, but when he came back in 1992 he picked up where he left off, hitting .306 with 11 homers in a half season at AAA. He came up to Montreal in early July and stayed there, but could not win a full-time job, sharing time with such stalwarts as Archi Cianfrocco, Frank Bolick, and Oreste Marrero. The Expos continued to undervalue Colbrunn, placing him on waivers after the 1993 season. Florida picked him up, and at first they refused to give him much time either, as he shared first base with Dave Magadan, Orestes Destrade, and Russ Morman. The Marlins finally made him their regular first baseman in 1995 and he responded with two solid seasons, averaging .281 with 20 homers. He became a free agent after the 1996 season and signed with Minnesota. He again had to share the first base job, this time with Scott Stahoviak, until the middle of August, when he was traded to Atlanta for a player to be named later (Mark Lewis). A free agent after the season, he signed with Colorado for 1998 but was again traded to Atlanta at mid-season. He signed with Arizona for 1999 and finally found a home, spending most of the rest of his career there. He was always a part-time player there, but he was productive, hitting over .300 three times and producing double digit home runs twice. He became a free agent after the 2002 season and signed with Seattle, but was traded back to Arizona (for ex-Twin Quinton McCracken) for 2004. He played in AAA for Texas in 2005, but then his career came to an end. He lacked the power one wants iin a first baseman, which probably kept teams from considering him a regular, but he had a long career as a part-time player. As a Twin, Colbrunn hit .281/.307/.415 in 217 at-bats. Greg Colbrunn is currently the manager of the Class A Charleston River Dogs in the Yankees' organization.
Right-hander Alex Burnett made his debut with the Twins in 2010. He was born in Anaheim and was drafted by Minnesota in the twelfth round in 2005. Given his youth, he was brought along slowly, spending a full season at "low rookie" ball (the GCL), a year at Elizabethton, a year at low A, and a year at high A. He was a starter through 2008 and did all right, but it was when he was shifted to the bullpen in 2009 that he really started to attract attention. He went 2-1, 1.99 with 4 saves and a 0.93 WHIP in 22.2 innings at Ft. Myers, then went 1-2, 1.79 with 9 saves and a 0.99 WHIP in 55.1 innings at AA New Britain. He was a surprise addition to the big league staff in 2010 when Clay Condrey went down with an injury. He pitched pretty well early in the year, but struggled more as the season went on and was sent back to AAA Rochester in late July, coming back as a September call-up. He’s been with the Twins for nearly all of 2011 and has been given a more prominent role, but has fared no better. At this writing, his career major league stats are 4-7, 5.63 with a 1.54 WHIP in 76.2 innings (78 appearances). He has been somewhat effective against right-handed batters, but gets killed by lefties. He’s only 24, so there’s still time for him to figure it out, but he doesn’t seem to be very close to doing so yet.