Category Archives: Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–April 16

Dutch Leonard (1892)
Paul Waner (1903)
Babe Phelps (1908)
Pete Hughes (1915)
Pete Suder (1916)
Joe Bauman (1922)
Rich Rollins (1938)
Bernie Allen (1939)
Garry Roggenburk (1940)
Jim Lonborg (1942)
Bob Montgomery (1944)
Bruce Bochy (1955)
Curt Young (1960)
Fernando Vina (1969)
Antonio Alfonseca (1972)
Kelly Dransfeldt (1975)
Nolan Arenado (1991)

Pete Hughes was a star in the low minors from 1937-1952. His incomplete career numbers are a .350 average and a .637 slugging percentage, but for some reason he never played above Class B.

Joe Bauman hit 72 home runs for Roswell in the Longhorn League in 1954.

Kelly Dransfeldt was drafted by Minnesota in the seventh round in 1993, but did not sign.

Rich Rollins, Bernie Allen, and Garry Roggenburk all played for the Twins at the same time. I wonder how unusual it is for a team to have three players who share the same birthday. They also all were born or raised in the state of Ohio. Rollins and Allen were also business partners for a while.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 16

Happy Birthday–April 15

Jim Creighton (1841)
Ed Abbaticchio (1877)
Chaney White (1894)
Ed Bailey (1931)
Willie Davis (1940)
Ted Sizemore (1945)
Jeromy Burnitz (1969)
Milton Bradley (1978)
John Danks (1985)
Chris Tillman (1988)

Jim Creighton was a star pitcher from 1857-1862, before the National League was created.  He passed away from a ruptured hernia in 1862 at the age of twenty-one.

Until Henry Aaron came along, Ed Abbaticchio held the “first in the alphabet” record.  Now, of course, David Aardsma has them both beat.  Abbaticchio is now eighth in alphabetical order, behind, among others, ex-Twin Fernando Abad.

There do not appear to be any major league players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

Minor Details: Games of April 13

OMAHA STORM CHASERS 5, ST. PAUL SAINTS 3 IN ST. PAUL

Omaha scored one in the second, but Emmanuel Rodriguez hit a two-run double to put St. Paul ahead 2-1 in the third.  The lead held up until the eighth, when Omaha plated four on two walks, an error, a double, and a single.  St. Paul got one back in the ninth but did not get the tying run on base.

Batters:  Emmanuel Rodriguez was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

Pitchers:  Darren McCaughan pitched four innings, giving up an unearned run on six hits and two walks and striking out three.  Anthony Misiewicz pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and striking out one.  Richard Lovelady pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  Ryan Jensen pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, walking one and striking out one.

Opponents:  Cam Devanney was 3-for-4 with a double, a run, and an RBI.  Nelson Velazquez was 2-for-4.  Harold Castro was 2-for-5.  Noah Cameron struck out seven in 5.1 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks.

Record:  St. Paul is 5-7, tied for eighth with Indianapolis, 5.5 games behind Columbus.

WICHITA WIND SURGE 5, MIDLAND ROCKHOUNDS 2 IN WICHITA

Brennan Milone homered in the top of the third, but Allan Cerda tripled and scored in the bottom of the third to tie it 1-1. Again a four-run inning decided things, as Wichita then scored four in the fifth to take control of the game.  Cerda doubled to lead off the inning, but he was still on second with two out.  Then came an infield single, a walk, and a wild pitch to give Wichita the lead.  Jake Rucker followed with a two-run single and Andrew Cossetti delivered an RBI double.  Midland scored one in the eighth but did not threaten to get back into the game.

Batters:  Jake Rucker was 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs.  Allan Cerda was 2-for-4 with a triple, a double, and two runs.  Kyler Fedco was 2-for-4.

Pitchers:   Darren Bowen struck out four in four innings, giving up one run on four hits and a walk.  Mike Paredes struck out three and walked two in three shutout innings, giving up no hits.

Opponents:  Colby Halter was 2-for-4.  Brennan Milone was 1-for-5 with a home run.  Junior Perez was 1-for-3 with a homer and a walk.  Wander Guante pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Record:  Wichita is 6-3, tied for second with Northwest Arkansas, one game behind Springfield.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 10, BELOIT SKY CARP 7 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Cedar Rapids scored seven runs in the first inning.  Two singles and a walk loaded the bases, Gabriel Gonzalez hit a two-run single, a balk moved the runners up, Khadim Diaw singled home a run, an error brought another run home, Danny De Andrade had an RBI double and scored on a Misael Urbina single, a hit batsman and a Kyle DeBarge RBI single rounded out the inning.  It was 9-3 after four and stayed there through seven.  Beloit closed to 9-6 in the eighth, and each team scored one more run after that.  Beloit stranded fifteen runners and went 2-for-15 with men in scoring position.  Cedar Rapids stranded fourteen and went 5-for-19 with men in scoring position.

Batters:  Brandon Winokur was 2-for-4 with two walks, a run, and an RBI.  Danny De Andrade was 2-for-5 with two doubles, a run, and an RBI.  Kyle DeBarge was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.

Pitchers:  Starter Tanner Hall pitched three innings, allowing three runs on five hits and five walks and striking out one.  Samuel Perez pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks.

Opponents:  Colby Shade was 3-for-5 with a double, a run, and two RBIs.  Fenwick Trimble was 2-for-4 with two walks, a run, and an RBI.  Michael Snyder was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a run.  Jesse Bergin struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 6-3, tied for first place with Quad Cities.

TAMPA TARPONS 4, FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 2 IN FORT MYERS

Again a big first inning decided things, but this time it went the wrong way.  Tampa scored all four of their runs in the first and made them hold up.  Parks Harber parked one, hitting a three-run homer, and Dillon Lewis followed with a solo shot.  Fort Myers scored one in the sixth and one in the ninth.  They brought the tying run up to bat with one out in the ninth, but a pair of strikeouts ended the game.

Batters:  Peyton Carr was 1-for-4 with a home run.

Pitchers:  Starter Xavier Kolhasser struck out six in three innings, but allowed four runs on three hits and three walks.  Devin Kirby struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks.  Zander Sechrist struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk.  Hunter Hoopes struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opponents:  Parks Harber was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer (his second) and a triple.  Dillon Lewis was 2-for-4 with a home run.  Brian Sanchez was 2-for-5 with a double.  Gage Ziehl pitched 4.1 scoreless innings, giving up three hits and no walks and striking out two.

Record:  Fort Myers is 4-5, tied for third with Dunedin and Lakeland, two games behind Clearwater.

TUESDAY'S TILTS

6:00  Wichita (Ricky Castro, 0-1, 20.25) at Tulsa (TBD)
6:05  Bradenton (TBD) at Fort Myers (TBD)
6:35  Cedar Rapids (TBD) at Peoria (TBD)
6:38  St. Paul (Zebby Matthews, 1-1, 1.80) at Iowa (TBD)

Old TBD is going to get quite a workout Tuesday.

Happy Birthday–April 14

Cannonball Redding (1890)
Marvin Miller (1917)
Gordon Gillespie (1926)
Don Mueller (1927)
Marty Keough (1934)
Pete Rose (1941)
Joe Lahoud (1947)
Ron Schueler (1948)
David Justice (1966)
Greg Maddux (1966)
Greg Myers (1966)
Mike Trombley (1967)
Brad Ausmus (1969)
Steve Avery (1970)
Gregg Zaun (1971)
Kyle Farnsworth (1976)
Cory Gearrin (1986)
Jacob Barnes (1990)

Cannonball Redding was a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues.

Marvin Miller was the head of the Major League Baseball Players association from 1966-1983.

Gordon Gillespie holds the record for most wins by a college baseball coach.

It must be kind of a bummer for a big league ballplayer to not only not be the best player born on the day and year he was born, but to not even be the best player with his first name born on the day and year he was born.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 14

Minor Details: Games of April 12

OMAHA STORM CHASERS 7, ST. PAUL SAINTS 5 IN ST. PAUL

Diego Cartaya homered in the second to give St. Paul a 3-0 lead.  The Storm Chasers stormed back with four in the third, with two scoring on a Joey Wiemer single.  It went to 5-3 in the top of the fourth, but Ryan Fitzgerald hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth to tie it 5-5.  It stayed there until the sixth, when Harold Castro hit a two-run homer that turned out to be the margin of victory.

Batters:  Mike Ford was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Ryan Fitzgerald was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer.  Diego Cartaya was 1-for-4 with a home run.

Pitchers:  Starter Randy Dobnak pitched five innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out two.  Jacob Bosiokovic pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opponents:  Harold Castro was 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs, and four RBIs.  John Rave was 3-for-5 with a triple and two runs.  Joey Wiemer was 1-for-4 with two RBIs.

Record:  St. Paul is 5-6, in eighth place, 4.5 games behind Columbus.

WICHITA WIND SURGE 8, MIDLAND ROCKHOUNDS 4 IN WICHITA

Tanner Schobel homered in the first to give the Wind Surge a 1-0 lead, but Midland came back with three in the third.  Wichita came back in the fifth with four runs, getting doubles from Dalton ShuffieldRubel Cespedes, and Jorel Ortega.  Shane McGuire homered in the sixth to cut the lead to 5-4, but Cespedes hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to put the game out of reach.

Batters:  Rubel Cespedes was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer (his second) and two runs.  Tanner Schobel was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second), a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.  Dalton Shuffield was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Jorel Ortega was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.  Tyler Dearden was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitchers:  Starter Connor Prielipp struck out five in 2.2 innings, but allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits.  He did not walk anyone.  Aaron Rozek pitched 5.1 innings, giving up one run on four hits and no walks and striking out five.  John Stankiewicz struck out two in a scoreless inning.

Opponents:  Colby Halter was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  Erubiel Angeles was 2-for-4.  Shane McGuire was 1-for-4 with a home run.

Record:  Wichita is 5-3, tied for second with Arkansas, 1.5 games behind Springfield.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 7, BELOIT SKY CARP 4 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Cedar Rapids scored single runs in the first four innings.  Beloit countered with a three-run homer by Eric Rataczak in the second, leaving the score 4-3 Kernels.  Cedar Rapids then scored three in the sixth, highlighted by an RBI triple by Kyle DeBarge, to put the game out of reach.

Batters:  Kyle DeBarge was 3-for-5 with a triple and three runs.  Caden Kendle was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a run, and an RBI.

Pitchers:  Starter Alejandro Hidalgo struck out eight in four innings, but allowed three runs on two hits and three walks.  Spencer Bengard struck out five in four innings, giving up one run on two hits and no walks.  Paulshawn Pasqualotto pitched a perfect inning.

Opponents:  Jay Beshears was 2-for-3 with an RBI.  Eric Rataczak was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 5-3, tied for second with Beloit, one game behind Quad Cities.

FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 2, TAMPA TARPONS 1 IN FORT MYERS

Fort Myers scored on a wild pitch in the first and Tampa scored on a double steak of second and home in the second.  In the fourth, Angel Del Rosario delivered an RBI single.  The pitching took it from there, as four Mighty Mussels pitchers limited Tampa to one run despite allowing seven hits and five walks.  It helped that they struck out eleven.  Tampa stranded twelve runners and went 1-for-12 with men in scoring position.

Batters:  Angel Del Rosario was 1-for-4 with an RBI, the only RBI for either team.

Pitchers:  Dasan Hill struck out six in 3.1 innings, giving up one run on three hits and two walks.  Jason Doktorcyzk struck out four in 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.  Kade Bragg pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out one.  Tyler Stasiowski pitched a scoreless inning, walking one.

Opponents:  Tyler Wilson and Dillon Lewis were each 2-for-4.  Jack Sokol struck out two and walked one in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Record:  Fort Myers is 4-4, tied for second with Tampa, one game behind Clearwater.

TODAY'S TILTS

11:05  Tampa (Gage Ziehl, no record) at Fort Myers (Michael Ross, 0-0, 1.80)
1:05  Beloit (Jake Brooks, 0-0, 2.25) at Cedar Rapids (Tanner Hall, 0-0, 9.00)
1:05  Midland (Will Johnston, 0-1, 8.10) at Wichita (Darren Bowen, 1-0, 1.80)
2:07  Omaha (Noah Cameron, 2-0, 0.82) at St. Paul (Darren McCaughan, no record)

Happy Birthday–April 13

Herman Long (1866)
Kid Elberfeld (1875)
Jake Stahl (1879)
Claude Hendrix (1889)
Dewey Creasy (1900)
Ben Cantwell (1902)
Pete Quesada (1904)
Roxie Lawson (1906)
Bill Deegan (1935)
John Stephenson (1941)
Jeff Bittiger (1962)
Mark Leiter (1963)
Doug Strange (1964)
Ricardo Rincon (1970)
Kevin Ohme (1971)
Steve Pearce (1983)
Hunter Pence (1983)
Lorenzo Cain (1986)

Air Force General Pete Quesada was one of the original owners of the expansion Washington Senators.  He also was the first head of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Bill Deegan was an American League umpire from 1971-1980.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 13

Minor Details: Games of April 11

Another short version.

ST. PAUL SAINTS 6, OMAHA STORM CHASERS 4 IN ST. PAUL

Omaha scored four in the fourth to take a 4-2 lead, but St. Paul tied it with two in the bottom of the fourth and Carson McCusker hit a two-run homer in the sixth to win it for the Saints.  Luke Keaschall was 2-for-2 with a home run, a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.  Jair Camargo and Anthony Prato were each 2-for-4.  Alex Speas struck out five in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.  Kyle Bischoff struck out five and walked two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

WICHITA WIND SURGE 4, MIDLAND ROCKHOUNDS 1 IN WICHITA

Tyler Dearden singled home a run in the fourth to break a 1-1 tie.  Wichita added single runs in the fifth and sixth.  Tanner Schobel was 3-for-4 with a walk.  Andrew Cossetti was 2-for-3.  Jake Rucker was 2-for-4.  Kyler Fedco hit a home run.  Trent Baker pitched 4.1 innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks and striking out three.  Angel Macuare struck out four in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hits and two walks.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 6, BELOIT SKY CARP 4 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Beloit scored four in the sixth to tie 4-4, but Cedar Rapids came back with two in the eighth on RBI doubles by Misael Urbina and Brandon Winokur.  Billy Amick was 2-for-3 with two walks.  Caden Kendle and Winokur were each 2-for-4 with a double.  Kendle also hit a home run.  Charlee Soto struck out six in five shutout innings, giving up one hit and no walks.  Jacob Wosinski pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.

FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 6, TAMPA TARPONS 3 IN FORT MYERS

Fort Myers led 3-0 after two.  Tampa cut it to 3-2, but Fort Myers got one in the third and two in the fifth.  Dameury PenaYasser Mercedes, and Jefferson Valladeres were each 2-for-4, with Mercedes and Valladeres each hitting a double and driving in two.  Eli Jones struck out six in five innings, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks.  Cole Peschi struck out four in four innings, giving up an unearned run on five hits and a walk.

Happy Birthday–April 12

Vic Willis (1876)
Addie Joss (1880)
Bill Bailey (1888)
Eric McNair (1909)
Bill Wight (1922)
Bob Zuk (1927)
Johnny Antonelli (1930)
Terry Cooney (1933)
Charlie Lau (1933)
Woodie Fryman (1940)
Vicente Romo (1943)
Terry Harmon (1944)
Mike Macfarlane (1964)
Paul LoDuca (1972)
Antonio Osuna (1973)
Brad Brach (1986)
Pedro Hernandez (1989)
Dennis Santana (1996)

Bob Zuk was a long-time scout who was responsible for signing, among others, Reggie Jackson, Willie Stargell, and Gary Carter.

Terry Cooney was an American League umpire from 1975-1992.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 12

Minor Details: Games of April 10

The quick version.

ST. PAUL SAINTS 13, OMAHA STORM CHASERS 4 IN ST. PAUL

St. Paul scored six in the second to take a 7-1 lead.  They were aided by three walks, a hit batsman, and an error.  Yunior Severino was 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs.  Austin Martin was 3-for-4 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs.

WICHITA WIND SURGE 3, MIDLAND ROCKHOUNDS 2 IN WICHITA

Midland scored two in the first, but Wichita came back with two in the fifth and Kyler Fedco doubled home the go-ahead run in the sixth.  Fedco was 3-for-4 with a double, a run, and an RBI.  John Klein struck out five and walked one, giving up no hits in three shutout innings of relief.

BELOIT SKY CARP 8, CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 7 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Beloit led 8-2 after four and a half innings.  Cedar Rapids came back and had men on first and second with two out, but a force out ended the game.  Billy Amick was 3-for-4 with two walks, a run, and two RBIs.  Gabriel Gonzalez was 3-for-5 with two doubles, a run, and an RBIs.  Nate Baez was 1-for-2 with a home run, three walks, three runs, and two RBIs.

TAMPA TARPONS 4, FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 1 IN FORT MYERS

Parks Harber hit a two-run homer in the eighth to break a 1-1 tie.  Miguel Briceno was 2-for-4.  Christian MacLeod struck out four and walked one, allowing no hits in two shutout innings.  Pierson Ohl struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Hunter Hoopes allowed only a hit batsman in 2.1 scoreless innings, striking out two.

Happy Birthday–April 11

Pop Corkhill (1858)
Ossee Schrecongost (1875)
Matsutaro Shoriki (1885)
Sam Chapman (1916)
Barney McCosky (1917)
Jim Hearn (1921)
Bob Casey (1925)
Sid Monge (1951)
Bret Saberhagen (1964)
Turner Ward (1965)
Sean Bergman (1970)
Robin Jennings (1972)
Jason Varitek (1972)
Trot Nixon (1974)
Todd Dunwoody (1975)
Kelvim Escobar (1976)
Mark Teixeira (1980)
Andres Blanco (1984)
Alejandro De Aza (1984)
Kenta Maeda (1988)

Matustaro Shoriki is known as the father of Japanese baseball.

Bob Casey was the Twins' public address announcer from 1961 until his death in March of 2005.

Jason Varitek was drafted by the Twins in the first round in 1993, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 11