Even though I don't have kids, I enjoy reading the "Father Knows Best" posts that people have written. Today, though, I'd like to address the other end of the age spectrum: dealing with elderly parents.
All posts by Jeff A
Happy Birthday–February 13
Bill Bradley (1878)
Hal Chase (1883)
Eddie Foster (1887)
Sal Bando (1944)
Donnie Moore (1954)
Jerry Browne (1966)
Matt Mieske (1968)
Kevin Stocker (1970)
Howie Clark (1974)
Nathan Eovaldi (1990)
Nathan Eovaldi is the only player in major league history whose last name begins with "Eo".
Happy Birthday–February 12
Chick Fulmer (1851)
Mike McGeary (1851)
Pants Rowland (1879)
Chick Hafey (1903)
Dom DiMaggio (1917)
Joe Garagiola (1926)
Pat Dobson (1942)
Mike Martin (1944)
Ray Corbin (1949)
Lenny Randle (1949)
Don "Full Pack" Stanhouse (1951)
Cam Bonifay (1952)
Chet Lemon (1955)
Greg Johnston (1955)
Joe Bitker (1964)
Ryan Lefebvre (1971)
Cole De Vries (1985)
Clarence "Pants' Rowland spent his life in baseball. A catcher, he went on to manage the Chicago White Sox to the World Championship in 1917. He was an American League umpire from 1923-1927. He was also a minor league manager and executive, and was president of the Pacific Coast League from 1944-1954. He is a member of the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.
Mike Martin has won over 1,400 games as the head coach of Florida State.
Cam Bonifay was the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1993-2001 and is currently working in the Cincinnati organization.
Ryan Lefebvre appeared in six minor league games for the Watertown Indians in 1993. He was a Twins broadcaster in the 1997 and 1998 before moving to Kansas City in 1999, where he has been a broadcaster for the Royals ever since.
Joe Bitker was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in the 1984 January draft, but he did not sign.
This is a great day for players with colorful nicknames. In addition to those listed above, we have Sweetbread Bailey (1895), Kiddo Davis (1902), Dutch Dietz (1912), and Monk Dubiel (1918).
Winterball Wrapup
A look at how Twins players fared in the various winter leagues.
Happy Birthday–February 11
Jimmy Ryan (1863)
Kenjiro Tamiya (1928)
George Alusik (1935)
Ollie Brown (1944)
Ben Oglivie (1949)
Tom Veryzer (1953)
Todd Benzinger (1963)
Scott Pose (1967)
Kenjiro Tamiya is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, playing from 1949-1963. He began as a pitcher, and came within one out of pitching the first perfect game in Nippon Pro Baseball history. A shoulder injury required him to switch to the outfield in 1952. He was a seven-time all-star.
We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Moss.
Happy Birthday–February 10
Horace Wilson (1845)
Jim Keenan (1858)
Curt Welch (1862)
Billy Evans (1884)
Herb Pennock (1894)
Bill Adair (1913)
Allie Reynolds (1917)
George Sobek (1920)
Randy Jackson (1926)
Billy O'Dell (1933)
Dick Bogard (1937)
Jim Barr (1948)
Larry McWilliams (1954)
Lenny Dykstra (1963)
Lenny Webster (1965)
Jayhawk Owens (1969)
Alberto Castillo (1970)
Bobby Jones (1970)
Kevin Sefcik (1971)
Lance Berkman (1976)
Cesar Izturis (1980)
Liam Hendriks (1989)
Horace Wilson was an American professor English at Tokyo University. He is credited with introducing baseball to Japan in either 1872 or 1873.
Billy Evans was the youngest umpire in major league history, starting his career at age 22. He was an American League umpire from 1906-1027. He would later become general manager of the Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers, and was president of the Southern Association from 1942-1946.
Bill Adair was a long-time minor league player (1935-1956) and manager (1949-1973). He also was the scout credited with signing Andre Dawson and Tim Raines.
George Sobek was a long-time scout for the White Sox, credited with signing Denny McLain, Steve Trout, and Mike Squires. He also played in the NBA and was a long-time college basketball referee.
Another long-time scout, Dick Bogard played in the minors for six years, managed for three, and was a scout for nearly thirty years, mostly for Houston and Oakland. He is credited with signing Walt Weiss, Jason Giambi, and Ben Grieve.
Jim Barr was drafted six different times before finally signing. Minnesota drafted him in the sixth round of the January Secondary draft in 1970, but he did not sign.
Today is also the birthday of Twins prospect Max Kepler (1993).
Australian Audit: The Finals: Day Two
A pitchers' duel decides the championship.
Caribbean Series: The Final
Once again, Valle leads Mexico to the mountaintop.
Happy Birthday–February 9
Harry Pulliam (1864)
Heinie Zimmerman (1887)
Specs Toporcer (1899)
Bill Veeck (1914)
Jodie Phipps (1918)
Vic Wertz (1925)
Erv Palica (1928)
Clete Boyer (1937)
Eddie Solomon (1951)
Mookie Wilson (1956)
Pete O'Brien (1958)
John Kruk (1961)
Doug Linton (1965)
Todd Pratt (1967)
Vladimir Guerrero (1975)
Dioner Navarro (1984)
Harry Pulliam was president of the National League from 1903-1909.
Bill Veeck was the owner of the Cleveland Indians (1946-49), St. Louis Browns (1951-53), and Chicago White Sox (1958-61, 1975-81).
Pitcher Jodie Phipps played in the minors from 1939-1957, winning 275 games. He also managed in the minors for seven seasons.
We would also like to wish a happy birthday to LBR.
This Week in Ex-Twins
There will be no "This Week in Twins Transactions" this week due to the fact that there were no Twins transactions.