Category Archives: Keeping Track

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–May 7

Mickey Doolin (1880)
Tom Zachary (1896)
Dick Williams (1929)
Claude Raymond (1937)
Steve Whitaker (1943)
Manny Hernandez (1961)
Brook Fordyce (1970)
Conor Jackson (1982)
James Loney (1984)

Right-hander Manuel Antonio (Montas) Hernandez did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for most of 1989.  He was born in La Romana, Dominican Republic, and signed with Houston as a free agent in 1978.  He was very young, of course, and as a result he was in rookie ball for two years and Class A for three more.  He pitched well in every year except 1982.  He jumped to AAA Tucson in 1984 and stayed there most of the next five seasons, getting some cups of coffee in Houston in 1986 and 1987.  His numbers in AAA were neither good nor terrible, but he never really seemed to improve while he was there.  He made fifteen appearances with the Astros, seven of them starts, and went 2-7, 4.56 in 49.1 innings.  He became a free agent after the 1988 season and signed with Minnesota for 1989.  He did all right in Portland, going 9-8, 3.91 with a 1.15 WHIP.  He was sold to the Mets on August 1 and got back to the majors for one inning, retiring all three batters he faced.  That was his swan song in the majors.  He remained in the Mets’ organization in 1990, split 1991 between the Mets and Brewers organization, and then his playing career was over.  No information about what Manny Hernandez has done since that time was readily available.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–May 6

Bonesetter Reese (1855)
Walton Cruise (1890)
Mike McCormick (1917)
Willie Mays (1931)
Russ Gibson (1939)
Bill Hands (1940)
Masanori Murakami (1944)
Steve Staggs (1951)
Larry Andersen (1953)
Al Williams (1954)
Jose Altuve (1990)

John “Bonesetter” Reese worked with many baseball players and other famous people in the first part of the twentieth century.  Today we might call him a physical therapist, although he did not have a formal degree.  “Bonesetting” is a Welsh term for the treatment of muscle and tendon strains.

Masanori Murakami was the first Japanese-born player in the major leagues.

Infielder Steve Staggs was drafted by Minnesota in the fourteenth round in 1970, but did not sign.

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Keeping Track

Minor Details: Games of May 4

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Byron Buxton is now over .300.  Excellent pitching by D. J. Baxendale and Tyler Jay.

ROCHESTER 8, SYRACUSE 2 IN SYRACUSE

Doubles by Byron Buxton and Jorge Polanco and a home run by Adam Brett Walker II helped the Twins take a 3-0 lead after two.  The Chiefs closed to 3-2 in the fourth, but Buxton and James Beresford each had an RBI double in the seventh and the Red Wings were not threatened again.  Pat Dean went six innings and gave up nine hits and a walk, but only two runs.  He struck out three.  Buxton was 2-for-4 with a walk in addition to the two doubles, raising his average to .302.  Polanco was 1-for-4 and is now hitting .310.  Walker II was 2-for-3 and the home run was his fourth of the season.

MOBILE 1, CHATTANOOGA 0 IN MOBILE

The BayBears scored in the first inning and six pitchers took it from there to shut out the Lookouts.  D. J. Baxendale took a complete game loss, giving up four hits and a walk with five strikeouts.  He's now 1-4 with a 2.92 ERA, so he clearly doesn't know how to win.  Chattanooga had eight hits, but they were all singles and two players had five of them, as Leonardo Reginatto was 3-for-3 and D. J. Hicks was 2-for-4.  Daniel Palka was 0-for-4 to drop his average to .311.

FORT MYERS 3, PALM BEACH 0 IN PALM BEACH

Tyler Jay struck out seven in 6.1 innings, allowing five hits and two walks.  The Miracle did not have a run-scoring hit, as two of the runs scored on sacrifice flies and the third by a hit batsman with the bases loaded.  Edgar Corcino stayed hot, going 3-for-4.  In his last three games, he is 7-for-12 with two home runs.  Nick Gordon was given the day off.

CEDAR RAPIDS 8, LANSING 2 IN LANSING (8 INNINGS--RAIN)

Luis Arraez had a two-run double in the second, the Kernels scored three in the third, and they kept control of the game from there on.  Arraez went 3-for-5 with two doubles, driving in four and raising his average to .323.  Nelson Molina was 2-for-4.  LaMonte Wade went 0-for-3 with a walk and is now batting .341.  Andro Cutura pitched six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

TODAY'S TILTS

6:05  Cedar Rapids (Sam Gibbons, 1-2, 6.53) at Great Lakes (Michael Boyle, 1-2, 3.65)
6:05  Rochester at Pawtucket (Roenis Elias, 0-2, 4.50)
6:05  St. Lucie at Fort Myers (Keaton Steele, 1-2, 2.28)
6:35  Chattanooga (David Hurlbut, 2-1, 6.04) at Mobile (Zack Godley, 1-3, 5.24)

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–May 5

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Chief Bender (1884)
Bob Cerv (1926)
Bing Russell (1926)
Red Robbins (1928)
Jose Pagan (1935)
Tommy Helms (1941)
John Donaldson (1943)
Larry Hisle (1947)
Ron Oester (1956)
Charles Nagy (1967)
Hideki Irabu (1969)
Mike Redmond (1971)

Better known for his role as Deputy Clem Foster on “Bonanza”, outfielder Bing Russell played minor league baseball from 1948-1949.  He is the father of actor (and minor league player) Kurt Russell and the grandfather of major league player Matt Franco.

Spencer “Red” Robbins was a minor league player for fourteen years.  He then spent many years in the Twins’ organization, most of them as a scout (1963-1986).

 We would also like to wish a happy birthday to Mrs. Rhubarb_Runner.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–May 3

George Gore (1857)
Garry Herrmann (1859)
Eppa Rixey (1891)
Red Ruffing (1905)
Goose Tatum (1921)
Chuck Hinton (1934)
Chris Cannizzaro (1938)
Davey Lopes (1945)
Dan Iassogna (1969)
Darren Dreifort (1972)
Ryan Dempster (1977)
Ben Revere (1988)

Garry Herrmann was the president of the Cincinnati Reds from 1903-1920 and was chair of the National Commission from its creation in 1903 until the commissioner's office was created in 1920.  It is puzzling that he is not in the Hall of Fame.

Better known as a member of the Harlem Globetrotters, Goose Tatum played in the Negro Leagues for several years in the 1940s.

Dan Iassogna has been a major league umpire since 1999.

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