Tag Archives: ex-Twins

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–July 8

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)
Jaime Garcia (1986)
Josh Harrison (1987)
Stephen Gonsalves (1994)

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.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–July 7

George Moriarty (1885)
Double Duty Radcliffe (1902)
Satchel Paige (1906)
Billy Herman (1909)
Sammy White (1927)
John Gordon (1940)
Bill Melton (1945)
Tommy Moore (1948)
Len Barker (1955)
Dan Gladden (1957)
Glenn Hoffman (1958)
Tim Teufel (1958)
Dave Burba (1966)
Jeff Shaw (1966)
Chuck Knoblauch (1968)
Matt Mantei (1973)
Cory Provus (1978)
John Buck (1980)
Brandon McCarthy (1983)

Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe played in the Negro Leagues for many years.  He got his nickname because he would sometimes catch one game of a doubleheader and pitch the other.  He played professionally until 1954, when he retired at age 52.  He is the oldest player to ever appear in a professional baseball game, throwing one pitch for the Schaumberg Flyers of the Northern League in 1999 when he was 96.  I'm no expert on the Negro Leagues, but it seems to me that he should be in the Hall of Fame.

John Gordon was a radio broadcaster for the Twins from 1987 through 2011.

Tommy Moore was drafted by Minnesota in the twenty-eighth round in 1966, but did not sign.

Cory Provus was a radio broadcaster for the Twins from 2012-2023 and is a television broadcaster for them in 2024.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–July 5

Jack Farrell (1857)
Robert Brown (1876)
Charles Stoneham (1876)
Bump Hadley (1904)
Jack Krol (1936)
Curt Blefary (1943)
Gary Matthews (1950)
Rich Gossage (1951)
Dave Eiland (1966)
Tim Worrell (1967)
Bo Porter (1972)
Jesse Crain (1981)
Marco Estrada (1983)
Nick Anderson (1990)
Jorge Polanco (1993)
Shohei Ohtani (1994)

 Robert Brown owned various teams in Vancouver from 1910-45.  He was also president of the Western International League in 1953.  He is a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Charles Stoneham owned the New York Giants from 1919 until his death in 1936.

Jack Krol was a long-time minor league manager and major league coach. coaching for St. Louis from 1977-80 and San Diego from 1981-86.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–July 4

Mickey Welch (1859)
George Mullin (1880)
Abe Saperstein (1903)
Chuck Tanner (1928)
Bill Tuttle (1929)
Peter Angelos (1929)
George Steinbrenner (1930)
John Sterling (1938)
Hal Lanier (1942)
Ed Armbrister (1948)
Wayne Nordhagen (1948)
Jim Beattie (1954)
Jose Oquendo (1963)
Vinny Castilla (1967)
Brendan Donnelly (1971)
Jay Canizaro (1973)
Jeff Harris (1974)
Jared Hughes (1985)

Best remembered as the founder of the Harlem Globetrotters, Abe Saperstein was a long-time executive in what were then known as the Negro Leagues.

Peter Angelos has been the owner of the Baltimore Orioles since 1993.

George Steinbrenner was the owner of the New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010.

John Sterling broadcast New York Yankees games from 1989-2024.

The staff of Happy Birthday would like to wish everyone a happy and safe Independence Day.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–July 3

Nig Cuppy (1869)
Curt Walker (1896)
Buddy Rosar (1914)
Art Fowler (1922)
Ed Roebuck (1931)
Cesar Tovar (1940)
John Verhoeven (1952)
Frank Tanana (1953)
Matt Keough (1955)
Danny Heep (1957)
Warren Newson (1964)
Greg Vaughn (1965)
Moises Alou (1966)
Brian Cashman (1967)
Juan Rivera (1978)
Edinson Volquez (1983)
Tommy Hunter (1986)
Yangervis Solarte (1987)

Brian Cashman has been the general manager of the New York Yankees since 1998.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–July 2

Grover Hartley (1888)
Cliff Bell (1896)
Hal Wagner (1915)
Dick Greco (1925)
Red Rush (1927)
Chuck Stobbs (1929)
Mike Reilly (1949)
Tony Armas (1953)
Jose Canseco (1964)
Joe Magrane (1964)
Sean Casey (1974)
Greg Dobbs (1978)
Angel Pagan (1982)
Samuel Deduno (1983)
Brett Cecil (1986)
Rene Tosoni (1986)

Grover Hartley is one of ten players named "Grover" to play in the major leagues. There has been only three since the 1930s and none since the 1960s.  I guess nobody names their kid "Grover" anymore.

Dick Greco played twelve seasons in the minors, hitting 328 home runs, but never got a chance in the majors.

Red Rush was a radio broadcaster for the White Sox, the Athletics, and the Cardinals.

Mike Reilly was a major league umpire from 1977-2010.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–July 1

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

Roger Connor (1857)
John Clarkson (1861)
Jack Quinn (1883)
Ben Taylor (1888)
Bob Prince (1916)
Frank Baumann (1933)
Brian Sabean (1956)
Jamie Walker (1971)
Nelson Cruz (1980)
Matt Carson (1981)
Justin Huber (1982)
Charlie Blackmon (1986)
Michael Wacha (1991)
Aaron Sanchez (1992)
Jaylin Davis (1994)

First baseman Ben Taylor was a star in the Negro Leagues, batting over .300 in fifteen of his sixteen seasons.

Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Prince is best remembered for his years with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1948-1975.

Brian Sabean was the general manager of the San Francisco Giants from 1997-2014 and has been their executive vice president of baseball operations since that time.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–June 30

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

Davy Jones (1880)
Ed Rile (1900)
Ron Swoboda (1944)
Chuck Meriwether (1956)
Bud Black (1957)
Al Newman (1960)
Tony Fernandez (1962)
Mark Grudzielanek (1970)
Garret Anderson (1972)
Chan Ho Park (1973)
Pat Venditte (1985)
Jesus Aguilar (1990)
Trea Turner (1993)

Chuck Meriwether was a major league umpire from 1993-2010.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to spookymilk’s wife and to hungry joe’s son, Famished Pete.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–June 29

Wilbert Robinson (1863)
Harry Frazee (1880)
Bobby Veach (1888)
Ollie Carnegie (1899)
Ken Blackman (1911)
Dizzy Trout (1915)
Cal Drummond (1917)
Bob Shaw (1933)
Katsuya Nomura (1935)
Harmon Killebrew (1936)
John Boccabella (1941)
Larry Stahl (1941)
Bruce Kimm (1951)
Rick Honeycutt (1954)
Pedro Guerrero (1956)
John Wehner (1967)
Trey Hodges (1978)
Dusty Hughes (1982)
Brooks Raley (1988)
Jose Miranda (1998)

Harry Frazee was the owner of the Red Sox from 1916-1923 and is best remembered for selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees.

Ollie Carnegie is the all-time home run king of the International League with 258.  He started his minor league career at age 32.

Ken Blackman was a minor league player, college coach, minor league executive, and major league scout.

Cal Drummond was an American League umpire from 1960-1969.

Katsuya Nomura hit 657 home runs in Japan during his twenty-five-year career.

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