All posts by Jeff A

Happy Birthday–October 5

Henry Chadwick (1824)
John Reilly (1858)
Claude Ritchey (1873)
Jim Bagby (1889)
Sam West (1904)
Si Johnson (1906)
Andy Kosco (1941)
Dan Fife (1949)
Onix Concepcion (1957)
Randy Bush (1958)
Rey Sanchez (1965)
Brandon Puffer (1975)

Henry Chadwick is often considered the father of baseball.  He wrote the first rule book, created the box score, and was the first to keep track of singles, doubles, triples, and home runs.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 5

Happy Birthday–October 4

Ray Fisher (1887)
Frank Crosetti (1910)
Red Munger (1918)
Rip Repulski (1928)
Jimy Williams (1943)
Tony LaRussa (1944)
Glenn Adams (1947)
Dave Johnson (1948)
John Wathan (1949)
Lary Sorensen (1955)
Charlie Liebrandt (1956)
Billy Hatcher (1960)
Joe Boever (1960)
Dennis Cook (1962)
Chris James (1962)
Bruce Ruffin (1963)
Mark McLemore (1964)
Steve Olin (1965)
Kyle Lohse (1978)
Tony Gwynn (1982)
Kurt Suzuki (1983)

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 4

Happy Birthday–October 3

Fred Clarke (1872)
Bob Skinner (1931)
Jack Lamabe (1936)
Chuck Scrivener (1947)
Dave Winfield (1951)
Dennis Eckersley (1954)
Jim Joyce (1955)
Daryl Sconiers (1958)
Darrin Fletcher (1966)
Junior Felix (1967)
Wil Cordero (1971)
Eric Munson (1977)

Infielder Chuck Scrivener was drafted by the Twins in the seventeenth round in 1966, but did not sign.

Jim Joyce has been a major league umpire since 1989.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to spookymilk.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 3

Happy Birthday–October 1

Ray Kolp (1894)
Carmen Hill (1895)
Jimmie Reese (1901)
Jim Russell (1918)
Hal Naragon (1928)
Chuck Hiller (1934)
Rod Carew (1945)
Bill Bonham (1948)
Pete Falcone (1953)
Jeff Reardon (1955)
Vance Law (1956)
Mark McGwire (1963)
Roberto Kelly (1964)
Chuck McElroy (1967)
John Thomson (1973)
Brandon Knight (1975)
Matt Cain (1984)
Erik Komatsu (1987)

Jimmie Reese played in the majors only briefly, but was a coach in the majors or minors for most of his life.  He was Babe Ruth's roommate for a short period, and uttered the famous line that in reality, he roomed with Babe Ruth's suitcase.  He is also remembered for his skill with a fungo bat, to the extent that he would sometimes pitch batting practice with it.

We would also like to wish Beau a very happy birthday.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 1

Happy Birthday–September 30

Gabby Street (1882)
Nap Rucker (1884)
Johnny Allen (1904)
Robin Roberts (1926)
Johnny Podres (1932)
Craig Kusick (1948)
Dave Magadan (1962)
Yorkis Perez (1967)
Jose Lima (1972)
Carlos Guillen (1975)

Gabby Street was a light-hitting catcher who played in parts of eight major leagues seasons, mostly for the Washington Senators. He was Walter Johnson's primary catcher. He later did some managing and broadcasting. He is best remembered as the first man to catch a baseball dropped from the top of the Washington Monument.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 30

Happy Birthday–September 29

Dave Orr (1859)
Gus Weyhing (1866)
Harry Steinfeldt (1877)
Paul Giel (1932)
Mike McCormick (1938)
Rich Reese (1941)
Steve Busby (1949)
John McLaren (1951)
Warren Cromartie (1953)
Byron McLaughlin (1955)
Tim Flannery (1957)
Craig Lefferts (1957)
Rob Deer (1960)
Derek Parks (1968)
Jake Westbrook (1977)
Heath Bell (1977)

Dave Orr is considered the greatest nineteenth century slugger of all.  His career was cut short when he suffered a stroke in 1890 at the age of 31.

Outfielder Warren Cromartie was drafted by the Twins in the third round of the January Secondary draft in 1972, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 29

Happy Birthday–September 28

Lou Bierbauer (1865)
Wilbur Good (1885)
Jack Fournier (1889)
Whitey Witt (1895)
Al Evans (1916)
Dick Gernert (1928)
Grant Jackson (1942)
Pete Filson (1958)
Jerry Layne (1958)
Todd Worrell (1959)
Ed Vosberg (1961)
Charlie Kerfeld (1963)
Matt Vasgersian (1967)
Mike DeJean (1970)
Ryan Zimmerman (1984)

Jerry Layne has been a major league umpire since 1989.

Matt Vasgersian has been a major league baseball broadcaster since 1997.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 28

Happy Birthday–September 27

Whit Wyatt (1907)
Dick Hall (1930)
Dave Wickersham (1935)
Gary Sutherland (1944)
Mike Schmidt (1949)
Bob Veselic (1955)
Don Schulze (1962)
Todd Blyleven (1972)
Vicente Padilla (1977)
Jon Rauch (1978)
Jon Garland (1979)

Todd Blyleven is, as you probably know, the son of Bert Blyleven. He pitched in the minor leagues for seven years, getting as high as AA, then was a scout for eight years.  At last report, he was the general manager of diamond and court sports for Shock Doctor Sports in the Twin Cities area.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 27