Tag Archives: deceased Twins

Happy Birthday–September 29

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)

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.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 29

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)

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.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 27

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)

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 24

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.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 21

Happy Birthday–September 13

Mike McNally (1893)
Dutch Reuther (1893)
Pat Collins (1896)
Eddie Rommel (1897)
Rabbit Warstler (1903)
Thornton Lee (1906)
Ed Sudol (1920)
Rick Wise (1945)
Rick Dempsey (1949)
Jim Obradovich (1949)
Mike Fischlin (1955)
Erik Bennett (1968)
Bernie Williams (1968)
Denny Neagle (1968)
Brent Brede (1971)
Armando Rios (1971)
Daisuke Matsuzaka (1980)
Rickie Weeks (1982)
Marcus Walden (1988)
Andy Wilkins (1988)

Ed Sudol was a minor league first baseman from 1940-1953, never getting higher than AA.  He then became an umpire and was National League ump from 1957-1977.

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

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 13

Happy Birthday–September 11

Con Daily (1864)
James Dunn (1866)
Steve Brodie (1868)
Frank Kitson (1869)
Ellis Clary (1916)
Eddie Miksis (1926)
Luis Garcia (1929)
Jackie Hernandez (1940)
Larry Bearnarth (1941)
Dave Roberts (1944)
Larry Cox (1947)
Jeff Newman (1948)
Brad Lesley (1958)
Scott Patterson (1958)
Don Slaught (1958)
Ellis Burks (1964)
Quinn Mack (1965)
Eduardo Perez (1969)
Frank Francisco (1979)
Toby Gardenhire (1982)
Jacoby Ellsbury (1983)
Andrew Cashner (1986)
Mike Moustakas (1988)
Nik Turley (1989)

James Dunn was the owner of the Cleveland Indians from 1916-1922.

Infielder Ellis Clary was a scout for the Twins for over two decades.

Luis Garcia is a member of both the Venezuelan Hall of Fame and the Caribbean Hall of Fame.

Actor Scott Patterson, best known for his role on The Gilmore Girls, was a minor league pitcher for seven seasons, pitching 373 AAA innings but not reaching the majors. He was in the Yankees and Braves systems.

Brad "the Animal" Lesley was drafted by the Twins in the seventh round of the 1977 January draft, but did not sign.

Quinn Mack is Shane Mack’s brother and got 21 at-bats with Seattle in 1994.

Toby Gardenhire, of course, is the son of the former Twins’ manager.  He was a player in the Twins’ minor league system, reaching AAA, and would have been the manager of AAA Rochester in 2020.

We also want to wish a very happy birthday to Rhubarb_Runner.

Additionally, it seems appropriate on this day to mention former minor league players Marty Boryczewski, Ralph Scorca, Mike Weinberg, and Brent Woodall, both of whom were killed in the terrorist attacks of 2001.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 11

Happy Birthday–September 10

Barney Pelty (1880)
High Pockets Kelly (1895)
Sammy Hale (1896)
Ted Kluszewski (1924)
Roger Maris (1934)
Len Whitehouse (1957)
Randy Johnson (1963)
Riccardo Ingram (1966)
Danys Baez (1977)
Joey Votto (1983)
Anthony Swarzak (1985)
Neil Walker (1985)
Paul Goldschmidt (1987)

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to the Philosofer's eldest child.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 10

Happy Birthday–September 2

Al Spalding (1850)
Joe Heving (1900)
Monte Pearson (1908)
Marv Throneberry (1933)
Don Williams (1935)
Jerry Crider (1941)
Danny Goodwin (1953)
Rick Manning (1954)
Rex Hudler (1960)
Jeff Russell (1961)
Terry Jorgensen (1966)
Rich Aurilia (1971)
Jason Hammel (1982)
Ronald Torreyes (1992)
Aaron Whitefield (1996)

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to bjhess.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 2

Happy Birthday–August 23

George Davis (1870)
Guy Bush (1901)
Lonny Frey (1910)
Nels Potter (1911)
Carl Pohlad (1915)
Dale Mitchell (1921)
George Kell (1922)
Sherm Lollar (1924)
Harry Dalton (1928)
John Romano (1934)
Marty Martinez (1941)
Ron Blomberg (1948)
Jerry White (1952)
Mike Boddicker (1957)
Julio Franco (1958)
Randy St. Claire (1960)
Casey Blake (1973)
Mark Bellhorn (1974)
Mike Yastrzemski (1990)

Carl Pohlad, of course, was the owner of the Twins from 1984 until his death in 2009.

Harry Dalton was the general manager of the Baltimore Orioles, the California Angels, and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–August 23