Mordecai Brown (1876)
Fred Snodgrass (1887)
Bob O'Farrell (1896)
Al Brazle (1913)
Walt Bond (1937)
Sandy Alomar (1943)
Al Gallagher (1945)
David Palmer (1957)
Mark Davis (1960)
Tim Belcher (1961)
Dave Veres (1966)
Keith Foulke (1972)
Horacio Estrada (1975)
Michael Young (1976)
Randy Ruiz (1977)
The Twins chose Tim Belcher with the first pick of the 1983 draft, but he did not sign.
We started this season following Aragua, which is the team we've followed the last few years. Upon further review, however, it appears that there are several Twins players on other teams in the Venezuelan league as well. We'll continue to follow the Tigres, simply because it's fun to have a team to follow, but we'll try to make the reports a little more comprehensive in the days to come.
Where they stand: Aragua is 3-2, tied for third with Caracas in the VWL, a game behind Magallanes and La Guaira.
Who's hot: Jairo Perez is 4-for-6 with a double and a walk for Lara, giving him numbers of .667/.714/.833. Many observers do not expect him to keep up this pace for a full season. Rene Tosoni, also playing for Lara, is 4-for-13, giving him numbers of .308/.438/.308. Andrew Baldwin, playing for Anzoategui, is 1-0, 3.18, 0.53 WHIP in 5.2 innings (1 start). Cesar Ciurcina is 0-0, 0.00, 0.43 in 2.1 innings (1 appearance).
Who's cold: Joe Benson is 2-for-16, giving him numbers of .125/.300/.188. Junior Subero, playing for Caracas, is 0-0, 9.00, 3.00 WHIP in 1 inning (1 appearance).
Who's in the middle: Deolis Guerra is 0-0, 4.50, 1.00 WHIP in 2 innings (1 appearance) for Magallanes. Pedro Guerra, also playing for Magallanes, is 0-0, 4.50, 1.25 WHIP in 4 innings (1 start).
Mesa scored four in the third and five in the fifth, building a 12-1 lead on the way to a 13-7 victory.
Jarek Cunningham (Pittsburgh) led the Solar Sox with two home runs and a triple, scoring three times and driving in five. Joe Mahoney (Baltimore) had two doubles and a home run, driving in three. Robbie Grossman (Pittsburgh) singled and homered, and Brian Dozier had two hits. Terry Doyle (White Sox) got the win, going five innings and giving up a run on a hit and a walk. Brett Jacobson worked 1.1 scoreless innings, walking two and striking out two.
The Rafters were led by Nolan Aranado (Colorado), who had two singles and a homer and drove in three. Dixon Machado (Detroit) singled and tripled. Stephen Fife (Dodgers) surrendered seven runs on seven hits and two walks in only three innings to take the loss.
Mesa travels to Salt River this afternoon.
Candy Cummings (1848)
Cliff Carroll (1859)
Walt Wilmot (1863)
Boileryard Clarke (1868)
Hans Lobert (1881)
Burt Shotton (1884)
Charlie Berry (1902)
Skeeter Newsome (1910)
Roy Cullenbine (1913)
Andy Carey (1931)
Bobby Knoop (1938)
Willie Horton (1942)
Ed Farmer (1949)
George Hendrick (1949)
Andy Hassler (1951)
Jerry Royster (1952)
Mike Walters (1957)
Alan Mills (1966)
Doug Mirabelli (1970)
Alex Cora (1975)
Alex Cora was drafted by Minnesota in the twelfth round in 1993, but he did not sign.
We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to AMR.
Where they stand: Mesa is 3-8, third in the AFL East, 6 games behind Salt River. They are on a one-game winning streak.
Who's hot: Brian Dozier is hitting .353/.395/.500 in 34 at-bats. Chris Herrmann is hitting .417/.533/.667 in 12 at-bats.
Who's cold: Aaron Hicks is hitting .097/.263/.161 in 31 at-bats. Brett Jacobson is 0-1, 7.36, 1.91 WHIP in 3.2 innings (3 appearances). Bruce Pugh is 0-1, 13.50, 3.64 WHIP in 4.2 innings (4 appearances). He has walked 7 and struck out 2. Dakota Watts is 0-1, 9.53, 1.76 WHIP in 5.2 innings (4 appearances). He has walked 4 and struck out 7.
Who's in the middle: Cole DeVries is 1-0, 4.50, 1.00 WHIP in 10 innings (3 starts). He has walked 1 and struck out 8.
In a see-saw game, Magallanes scored in the bottom of the eighth to take a 7-6 win over Aragua.
Jesus Flores (Washington) had three hits to lead the Navegantes. Richard Hidalgo (yes, he's still around) and Adonis Garcia each singled and homered, with Garcia driving in three. Kole Calhoun (Angels) and Bryan LaHair (Cubs) each homered. Rafael Cova walked one in a scoreless eighth to get the win. Jean Machi (San Francisco) struck out two in a perfect ninth for the save.
Aragua was led by Edgardo Alfonzo, who had two singles and a double. Lastings Milledge doubled and homered, and Ramon Castro had two hits. Joe Benson was 0-for-4. The loss went to Victor Moreno, who allowed the winning run on two hits and a walk in just one-third of an inning.
Aragua is off today. The Tigres travel to Margarita Tuesday.
Buck Ewing (1859)
Paul Derringer (1906)
Red Rolfe (1908)
Howie Moss (1918)
Johnny Klippstein (1927)
Jim Gilliam (1928)
Pete Cimino (1942)
Dan Pasqua (1961)
John Mabry (1970)
John Rocker (1974)
Gil Velazquez (1979)
The Tigres closed a 5-0 gap to 5-4, but La Guaira scored three in the eighth to put away an 8-5 win in La Guaira.
The Tiburones were led by Miguel Rojas (Cincinnati), who had two singles, a double, and a triple. Hector Sanchez (San Francisco) singled and hit a three-run homer. Jeff Baisley (Oakland) had two doubles, Cesar Suarez singled and doubled, and Terry Tiffee had two hits. The winning pitcher was Jeff Bennett, who gave up just one run on four hits and a walk in five innings.
For Aragua, Guillermo Rodriguez singled and homered and Edgardo Alfonzo had two hits. Joe Benson was 1-for-3 with a walk and scored once. Starter Jesus Delgado took the loss, surrendering five runs on five hits and two walks in just 2.2 innings.
The Tigres travel to Magallanes this evening.
Mesa broke open a close game with a five-run sixth on their way to a 14-3 victory over Surprise.
Junior Lake (Cubs) singled, doubled, and homered, scoring three times and driving in four to lead the Solar Sox. Joe Mahoney (Baltimore) had three hits including a double and also drove in four. Brian Dozier was 3-for-5 with a double, driving in two and scoring four times. D. J. LeMahieu (Cubs) had three hits. Robbie Grossman (Pittsburgh) singled and homered. Aaron Hicks was 0-for-3, but drew two walks, drove in a run, and scored twice.
Cole DeVries started and got the win, giving up just one hit in four shutout innings while striking out five. Bruce Pugh worked a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk. Chris Carpenter (Cubs) struck out five in 1.2 innings, allowing just one hit.
The Saguaros had only five hits in the game. Starter Shane Dyer (Tampa Bay) took the loss, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk in four innings.
Mesa has Sunday off, then hosts Salt River on Monday afternoon.
Art Devlin (1879)
Goose Goslin (1900)
Boom-Boom Beck (1904)
Matt Batts (1921)
Dave DeBusschere (1940)
Tim McCarver (1941)
Don Hood (1949)
Brian Harper (1959)
Kevin McReynolds (1959)
Billy Taylor (1961)
Darren Reed (1965)
Josias Manzanillo (1967)
Goose Goslin was a star for the franchise in the 1920s, when it played in Washington.
Better known as a basketball player, Dave DeBusschere pitched for the White Sox from 1962-1963.
We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to spookymilk’s daughter.