Tag Archives: deceased Twins

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–October 10

Due to personal time constraints, this is a reprint from last year which has not been updated.

Otto Hess (1878)
Bill Killefer (1887)
Wally Berger (1905)
John Stone (1905)
Floyd Baker (1916)
Bobby Tiefenauer (1929)
Don Schaly (1937)
Gene Tenace (1946)
Roger Metzger (1947)
Terry Enyart (1950)
Les Straker (1959)
Jim Weaver (1959)
Ramon Martinez (1972)
Placido Polanco (1975)
Pat Burrell (1976)
Brad Ziegler (1979)
Troy Tulowitzki (1984)
Andrew McCutchen (1986)
Jeurys Familia (1989)
Shelby Miller (1990)
Kolten Wong (1990)

Don Schaly was the head baseball coach at Marietta College for forty years.  His teams reached the finals of the Division III College World Series ten times, winning three times.

Kolten Wong was drafted by Minnesota in the sixteenth round in 2008, but did not sign.

We would like to wish a happy birthday to Can of Corn's Niblet.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–October 8

Ping Bodie (1887)
Donie Bush (1887)
Doc Crandall (1887)
Wally Moses (1910)
Danny Murtaugh (1917)
Catfish Metkovich (1920)
Ed Kirkpatrick (1924)
Don Pepper (1943)
Paul Splittorff (1946)
Rick Stelmaszek (1948)
Enos Cabell (1949)
Jerry Reed (1955)
Mike Morgan (1959)
J. T. Bruett (1967)
Olmedo Saenz (1970)
Antoan Richardson (1983)
Cody Eppley (1985)
Taylor Featherston (1989)

Right-hander Jerry Reed was drafted by the Twins in the eleventh round in 1973, but did not sign.

We would also like to wish E-6 a very happy birthday.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–October 1

Ray Kolp (1894)
Carmen Hill (1895)
Jimmie Reese (1901)
Jim Russell (1918)
Hal Naragon (1928)
Chuck Hiller (1934)
Rod Carew (1945)
Bill Bonham (1948)
Pete Falcone (1953)
Jeff Reardon (1955)
Vance Law (1956)
Mark McGwire (1963)
Roberto Kelly (1964)
Chuck McElroy (1967)
John Thomson (1973)
Brandon Knight (1975)
Matt Cain (1984)
Erik Komatsu (1987)
Xander Bogaerts (1992)
Charlie Barnes (1995)

Jimmie Reese played in the majors only briefly, but was a coach in the majors or minors for most of his life.  He was Babe Ruth's roommate for a short period and uttered the famous line that in reality, he roomed with Babe Ruth's suitcase.  He is also remembered for his skill with a fungo bat, to the extent that he would sometimes pitch batting practice with it.

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

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–September 30

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Gabby Street (1882)
Nap Rucker (1884)
Johnny Allen (1904)
Robin Roberts (1926)
Johnny Podres (1932)
Craig Kusick (1948)
Dave Magadan (1962)
Yorkis Perez (1967)
Jose Lima (1972)
Carlos Guillen (1975)
Seth Smith (1982)
Kenley Jansen (1987)

Gabby Street was a light-hitting catcher who played in parts of eight major leagues seasons, mostly for the Washington Senators. He was Walter Johnson's primary catcher. He later did some managing and broadcasting. He is best remembered as the first man to catch a baseball dropped from the top of the Washington Monument.

Five players born on this day made their major league debut in 2019:  Jesus Luzardo, Travis Demeritte, Trent Thornton, Jack Mayfield, and Brian Moran.  I don't know that that's a record, but I don't know that it isn't, either.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–September 29

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Dave Orr (1859)
Gus Weyhing (1866)
Harry Steinfeldt (1877)
Paul Giel (1932)
Mike McCormick (1938)
Rich Reese (1941)
Steve Busby (1949)
John McLaren (1951)
Warren Cromartie (1953)
Byron McLaughlin (1955)
Tim Flannery (1957)
Craig Lefferts (1957)
Rob Deer (1960)
Derek Parks (1968)
Jake Westbrook (1977)
Heath Bell (1977)
Joe Thurston (1979)
Jake Reed (1992)
Tyler Mahle (1994)

Dave Orr is considered the greatest nineteenth century slugger of all.  His career was cut short when he suffered a stroke in 1890 at the age of 31.

Outfielder Warren Cromartie was drafted by the Twins in the third round of the January Secondary draft in 1972, but did not sign.

We would also like to wish a very happy anniversary to freealonzo's parents.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–September 27

Whit Wyatt (1907)
Dick Hall (1930)
Dave Wickersham (1935)
Gary Sutherland (1944)
Mike Schmidt (1949)
Bob Veselic (1955)
Don Schulze (1962)
Todd Blyleven (1972)
Vicente Padilla (1977)
Jon Rauch (1978)
Jon Garland (1979)
Matt Shoemaker (1986)

Todd Blyleven is, as you probably know, the son of Bert Blyleven. He pitched in the minor leagues for seven years, getting as high as AA, then was a scout for eight years.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–September 25

Pat Malone (1902)
Phil Rizzuto (1917)
Johnny Sain (1917)
Sal Butera (1952)
Glenn Hubbard (1957)
Geno Petralli (1959)
Tony Womack (1969)
David Weathers (1969)
Oscar Munoz (1969)
Wil Nieves (1977)
Joel Pineiro (1978)
Rocco Baldelli (1981)
Vance Worley (1987)
Ben Rortvedt (1997)

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–September 24

Mike Gonzalez (1890)
Dixie Walker (1910)
Clyde Vollmer (1921)
George Banks (1938)
Chuck Nieson (1942)
Norm Angelini (1947)
Eric Soderholm (1948)
Hubie Brooks (1956)
Jim Acker (1958)
Rafael Palmeiro (1964)
Scott Leius (1965)
Bernard Gilkey (1966)
Kevin Millar (1971)
John McDonald (1974)
Levale Speigner (1980)

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–September 21

Tom Brown (1860)
Elmer Smith (1892)
Eldon Auker (1910)
Max Butcher (1910)
Joe Haynes (1917)
John McHale (1921)
Jerry Zimmerman (1934)
Jerry Fosnow (1940)
Sudden Sam McDowell (1942)
Aurelio Lopez (1948)
Danny Cox (1959)
Cecil Fielder (1963)
D. J. Dozier (1965)
Jason Christianson (1969)
Scott Spiezio (1972)
Doug Davis (1975)
Jeremy Jeffress (1987)

Joe Haynes played for the Twins franchise while it was in Washington for four years, then coached for three, then was with the team as executive vice-president through 1967, when he passed away from a heart attack.

John McHale was the general manager of the Tigers, the Braves, and the Expos.

 Better known for his football career, William Henry “D. J.” Dozier played in 25 games for the New York Mets in 1992.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–September 18

Heinie Groh (1889)
George Uhle (1898)
Harvey Haddix (1925)
Lorn Brown (1938)
Dick Dietz (1941)
Ken Brett (1948)
Tony Scott (1951)
Ray Smith (1955)
Ryne Sandberg (1959)
Jeff Bronkey (1965)
Kevin Thompson (1979)
Joe Bisenius (1982)
Taylor Motter (1989)
Juan Minaya (1990)
Beau Burrows (1996)
Marcos Diplan (1996)

Lorn Brown was a baseball broadcaster from 1966-1988, calling games for the Chicago White Sox, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the New York Mets.

Kevin Thompson was drafted by Minnesota in the eighteenth round in 1998, but did not sign.

Joe Bisenius pitched briefly for Philadelphia and Washington.  He is from Sioux City and was somewhat of a local hero when I lived in that area.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to nibbish and a very happy anniversary to Mr. and Mrs. Corn.

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