Hank O’Day (1862)
Ivey Wingo (1890)
Clint Brown (1903)
Salty Parker (1912)
Hector Lopez (1929)
Al Spangler (1933)
Darrell Brandon (1940)
Ken Sanders (1941)
Jim Ollom (1945)
Lerrin LaGrow (1948)
Alan Ashby (1951)
Terry Puhl (1956)
Bob Kipper (1964)
Jerome Walton (1965)
Bobby Ayala (1969)
Danny Ardoin (1974)

Hall of Fame umpire Hank O'Day was the home plate umpire in the first world series game in 1903.  He umpired in ten World Series.

Salty Parker was a long-time minor league manager and major league coach.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to AMR’s daughter, Moss’ son, and FTLT's daughter.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 8 →

Eddie Cicotte (1884)
Lou Gehrig (1903)
Bill Swift (1908)
Don Gutteridge (1912)
Archie Ware (1918)
Mom A (1925)
Chet Boak (1935)
Bob Aspromonte (1938)
Isao Harimoto (1940)
Jerry Reuss (1949)
Duane Kuiper (1950)
Jim Slaton (1950)
Johnnie LeMaster (1954)
Doug Mientkiewicz (1974)
Alex Prieto (1976)
Dustan Mohr (1976)
Bruce Chen (1977)

Archie Ware was a star first baseman in the Negro Leagues.

Infielder Chet Boak played for the Twins’ AAA affiliate, the Syracuse Chiefs, in 1961, but does not appear to have actually been a part of the Twins’ organization, as records show him belonging to the expansion Washington Senators. One assumes he was loaned to the Twins’ for part of that season.

Isao Harimoto is the only person to have 3,000 hits in Japanese baseball.

I would also like to wish a very happy birthday to my mother. She was not a big baseball fan (she felt I'd had a good game if she didn't have to wash my uniform, which unfortunately happened quite a bit because I sat on the bench a lot), but she came to every game and often worked in the cramped little concession stand even on the hottest days. Happy birthday, Mom.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 19 →

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.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 12 →

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 →