Tag Archives: ex-Twins

Happy Birthday–September 25

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

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 25

Happy Birthday–September 24

Mike Gonzalez (1890)
Tommie Dukes (1906)
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)
Hunter Strickland (1988)

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 24

Happy Birthday–September 23

Heinie Wagner (1880)
Lefty Stewart (1900)
Jim Rooker (1942)
Woody Woodward (1942)
Dennis Lamp (1952)
Jim Morrison (1952)
Tony Fossas (1957)
Jim Winn (1959)
Pete Harnisch (1966)
Jeff Cirillo (1969)
Brent Abernathy (1977)
Mike Gosling (1980)
Matt Kemp (1984)
Joba Chamberlain (1985)
Trevor May (1989)

Left-hander Tony Fossas was drafted by the Twins in the ninth round in 1978, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 23

Happy Birthday–September 22

Doc Powers (1870)
Hooks Dauss (1889)
Urban Shocker (1890)
Ira Flagstead (1893)
Harry Walker (1918)
Bob Lemon (1920)
Tommy Lasorda (1927)
Ken Aspromonte (1931)
Jim Fairey (1944)
Larry Dierker (1946)
Jeffrey Leonard (1955)
Wally Backman (1959)
Vince Coleman (1961)
Bob Geren (1961)
Mark Guthrie (1965)
Mike Matheny (1970)
Carlos Correa (1994)
Calvin Faucher (1995)

Four players born on this date made their debuts in 2019.  That may not be a record, but it is unusual.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to Spookymilk’s oldest daughter.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 22

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 20

Chuck Dressen (1894)
Zeke Bonura (1908)
Tom Tresh (1938)
Rich Morales (1943)
Roric Harrison (1946)
Pete Hamm (1947)
Mickey Klutts (1954)
Pat Bangtson (1964)
Jason Bay (1978)
Ian Desmond (1985)
Steve Lombardozzi (1988)

I believe this is the only date on which there are only two players to have been in the big leagues for ten seasons.

Pat Bangtson was drafted by the Twins in 1987 and was in their system through 1991, reaching as high as AAA. He then worked as an assistant coach at Ohio State from 1992-2005, when he became the head coach at the University of Akron through 2011.

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

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 20

Happy Birthday–September 19

Yank Robinson (1859)
Stuffy McInnis (1890)
Roger Angell (1920)
Epitacio Torres (1921)
Bob Murphy (1924)
Duke Snider (1926)
Bob Turley (1930)
Bill Williams (1930)
Chris Short (1937)
Joe Morgan (1943)
Joe Ferguson (1946)
Masaji Hiramatsu (1947)
Joe Maddon (1954)
Charlie Reliford (1955)
Randy Myers (1962)
Jim Abbott (1967)
Pedro Munoz (1968)
Javier Valentin (1975)
Mike Smith (1977)
Nick Johnson (1978)
Scott Baker (1981)
Danny Valencia (1984)
Gio Gonzalez (1985)
George Springer (1989)
Luke Raley (1994)

Roger Angell wrote several books and essays on baseball.  He is the stepson of author and essayist E. B. White, who was the co-author of "The Elements of Style".

Outfielder Epitacio Torres was a star in the Negro Leagues and the Mexican League in the 1940s and 1950s.  He is a member of the Mexican League Hall of Fame.  Whitey Ford once described him as "the best player I've seen in my career."  He is also the father of major leaguer Hector Torres.

Bob Murphy was a baseball broadcaster from 1954-2003, spending most of that time broadcasting for the New York Mets.

Bill Williams was a National League umpire from 1963-1987.

Masaji Hiramatsu won over two hundred games in Japan, pitching for the Taiyo Whales.

Joe Maddon was interim manger of the Angels in 1996 and 1999, managed Tampa Bay from 2006-14, was the manager of the Chicago Cubs from 2015-2019, and managed the Angels from 2020-2022.

Charlie Reliford was a major league umpire from 1989-2009 and is currently a supervisor of umpires.

George Springer was drafted by Minnesota in the 48th round in 2008, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 19

Happy Birthday–September 18

Heinie Groh (1889)
George Uhle (1898)
Sam Bankhead (1910)
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.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 18

Happy Birthday–September 17

Ezra Sutton (1850)
Willie Sudhoff (1874)
Frank Schulte (1882)
Sheriff Blake (1899)
Hughie Critz (1900)
Sam Streeter (1900)
Paul Hardy (1910)
Chase Riddle (1925)
Orlando Cepeda (1937)
Bobby Wine (1938)
Thad Bosley (1956)
John Franco (1960)
Dan Haren (1980)
Casey Crosby (1988)
Marcus Semien (1990)
Zack Granite (1992)
Jose Ramirez (1992)
James Marvel (1993)
Jordan Balazovic (1998)

Chase Riddle played in the minors from 1943-1962, managed in the minors from 1951-1962, was a scout from 1963-1978, and was the baseball coach at Troy State University from 1979-1990.

James Marvel was drafted by Minnesota in the thirty-seventh round in 2012, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 17

Happy Birthday–September 16

Mack Eggleston (1896)
Heinie Mueller (1899)
Larry Brown (1901)
Hillbilly Bildilli (1912)
Gary Ross (1947)
Robin Yount (1955)
Orel Hershiser (1958)
Tim Raines (1959)
Mickey Tettleton (1960)
Mel Hall (1960)
Mark Parent (1961)
Chris Pittaro (1961)
Paul Shuey (1970)
Desi Relaford (1973)
Bobby Korecky (1979)
Brandon Moss (1983)
Gordon Beckham (1986)
Robbie Grossman (1989)

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 16