Category Archives: Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–June 15

Babe Dahlgren (1912)
Bernice Gera (1931)
Mario Cuomo (1932)
Billy Williams (1938)
Ty Cline (1939)
Bruce Dal Canton (1941)
Ken Henderson (1946)
Champ Summers (1946)
Dusty Baker (1949)
Lance Parrish (1956)
Brett Butler (1957)
Wade Boggs (1958)
Tony Clark (1972)
Ramiro Mendoza (1972)
Andy Pettitte (1972)
Zach Day (1978)
Jeremy Reed (1981)
Tim Lincecum (1984)
Trevor Plouffe (1986)
Eduardo Nunez (1987)
Jake Locker (1988)

Bernice Gera was the first female umpire in Organized Baseball, umpiring one game in the New York-Penn League in 1972.

Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo was an outfielder for the Brunswick Pirates of the Georgia-Florida League in 1952.

Quarterback Jake Locker was drafted by the Angels as an outfielder in the tenth round in 2009.  He signed a contract with them, but never played a game of professional baseball.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 15

Happy Birthday–June 14

Charlie Buffinton (1861)
Harvey Watkins (1869)
Charles Barrett (1871)
Don Newcombe (1926)
Jim Constable (1933)
Bill Fahey (1950)
Greg Brock (1957)
Mike Laga (1960)
George Tsamis (1967)
Peter Munro (1975)

Michael Hollimon (1982)

 Harvey Watkins managed the New York Giants for 35 games in 1895.  Most of his career was spent managing the Barnum & Bailey Circus and the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show.

Charles Barrett was a long-time scout, mostly working for whatever team was employing Branch Rickey.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 14

Happy Birthday–June 13

Jim Mutrie (1851)
Bill Bergen (1878)
Gene Desautels (1907)
Mel Parnell (1922)
Dave Rosenfield (1931)
Tom Cheek (1939)
Marcel Lachemann (1941)
Antonio Pulido (1951)
Ernie Whitt (1952)
Darrell May (1972)
Pedro Strop (1985)
Jonathan Lucroy (1986)

Jim Mutrie managed teams in New York for nine years.  He has been called the founding father of baseball in New York City.

Catcher Bill Bergen spent eleven seasons in the majors.  He appeared in 947 games and had 3,028 at-bats.  His lifetime stats are .170/.194/.201.  Everything you read about him says he was a tremendous defensive catcher, and one assumes he must have been.

Dave Rosenfield was the general manager of the Tidewater/Norfolk Tides for over forty-five years.

Tom Cheek was the voice of the Toronto Blue Jays from 1977-2004.

Antonio Pulido was a closer in the Mexican League for many years, getting 197 saves.  He also had 70 saves in the Mexican Pacific League.

We would like to wish a happy birthday to rpz.

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

Happy Birthday–June 12

Joe Hornung (1857)
Sol White (1868)
Red Dooin (1879)
Matty McIntyre (1880)
Otto Knabe (1884)
Bill Foster (1904)
Dutch Rennert (1930)
Gerry Arrigo (1941)
Jim Strickland (1946)
Scott Aldred (1968)
Damon Buford (1970)
Ryan Klesko (1971)
Damon Hollins (1974)
Hideki Matsui (1974)

Sol White was a Negro League player, manager, and executive.  He wrote the first history of African-American baseball, "Sol White's History of Colored Baseball", in 1907.

Bill Foster was a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues.  He was the stepbrother of Rube Foster.

Dutch Rennert was a National League umpire from 1974-1992.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Eric B. B.  Wherever he is.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 12

Happy Birthday–June 11

Roger Bresnahan (1879)
Ernie Nevers (1902)
Dan Topping (1912)
Frank Thomas (1929)
Jimmy Stewart (1939)
Danny Morris (1946)
Dave Cash (1948)
Tom Austin (1951)
Mike Fuentes (1958)
Brian Gorman (1959)
Mike Davis (1959)
Odalis Perez (1978)
Bobby Keppel (1982)
Jose Reyes (1983)

Football great Ernie Nevers, born in Willow River, Minnesota, pitched for the St. Louis Browns for parts of three seasons (1926-1928).

Dan Topping was part-owner of the New York Yankees from 1945-1966.

Tom Austin is a long-time college baseball coach.

Outfielder Mike Fuentes was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 1980, but did not sign.

Brian Gorman has been a major league umpire since 1993.

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

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 11