Jesse Burkett (1868)
Shano Collins (1885)
Bob Shawkey (1890)
Harvey Kuenn (1930)
Mike Couchee (1957)
Lee Smith (1957)
Stan Jefferson (1962)
Bernardo Brito (1963)
Jerome Williams (1981)
Matt Fox (1982)
Carlos Gomez (1985)
Mike Couchee was drafted by Minnesota in the second round of the January Secondary draft in 1978, but did not sign. He played only briefly in the majors, but has been a minor league pitching coach for about thirty years.
Billy McLean (1835)
Bennie Tate (1901)
Joe Collins (1922)
Ray Bellino (1932)
Clay Dalrymple (1936)
Chico Salmon (1940)
Jerry Johnson (1943)
Wayne Garrett (1947)
Pat Putnam (1953)
Gene Nelson (1960)
Damon Berryhill (1963)
Darryl Hamilton (1964)
Paul Byrd (1970)
Gary Glover (1976)
Chad Durbin (1977)
Andrew Oliver (1987)
Billy McLean was the umpire in the first National League game ever, April 22, 1876. He umpired in the National League through 1890.
Shortstop Ray Bellino played and managed in the Twins minor league system and also was a scout for them.
Andrew Oliver was drafted by Minnesota in the seventeenth round in 2006, but did not sign.
We would also like to wish a happy birthday to DK.
Andre Rodgers (1934)
Pedro Borbon (1946)
Wayne Simpson (1948)
Julio Cruz (1954)
Chip Hale (1964)
Darryl Kile (1968)
Mark Kotsay (1975)
Peter Moylan (1978)
Ed Reulbach (1882)
Willie Mitchell (1889)
Walter Alston (1911)
Calvin Griffith (1911)
Cookie Lavagetto (1912)
Marty Marion (1917)
Cal McLish (1925)
George Foster (1948)
Dan Schatzeder (1954)
Greg Harris (1963)
Larry Walker (1966)
Reggie Sanders (1967)
Kirk Rueter (1970)
As everyone reading this knows, Calvin Griffith was the long-time owner of the Minnesota Twins. He had served in a variety of positions for the Washington Senators, including batboy, minor league player-manager, and working in the front office. His managing career lasted from 1937-1941. He also played for Class B Charlotte from 1939-1941. No records of his playing career are available from 1939-1940, but in 1941 he got a hit in his only at-bat.
We would also like to wish a happy birthday to SBG’s father, Butch.
Mordecai Davidson (1845)
Frank Killen (1870)
Josh Billings (1891)
Firpo Marberry (1898)
Clyde Sukeforth (1901)
Steve Hamilton (1935)
Craig Swan (1950)
Juan Berenguer (1954)
Dave Engle (1956)
Steve Shields (1958)
Bob Tewksbury (1960)
Gary Wayne (1962)
Bo Jackson (1962)
Mark Lewis (1969)
Matt Lawton (1971)
Ray Durham (1971)
Shane Victorino (1980)
Rich Harden (1981)
Mordecai Davidson was the owner of the Louisville Colonels in the late 1880s. Under financial pressure, he tried to save money in a variety of ways, including fining players each time the team lost. As a result, he is credited with inspiring the first baseball players' strike.
Tom Hughes (1878)
Irv Noren (1924)
Minnie Minoso (1925)
Vin Scully (1927)
George Thomas (1937)
Dick McAuliffe (1939)
Bill Freehan (1941)
Otto Velez (1950)
Mike Easler (1950)
Rick Anderson (1956)
Joe Price (1956)
Dennis Burtt (1957)
Howard Johnson (1960)
Bob Hamelin (1967)
Mariano Rivera (1969)
Brian Wolfe (1980)
Guillermo Quiroz (1981)
Heinie Pietz (1870)
Frank O'Rourke (1894)
Jerry Gardner (1920)
Wes Westrum (1922)
Sixto Lezcano (1953)
Dave Righetti (1958)
Walt Weiss (1963)
John Burkett (1964)
Matt Williams (1965)
Pedro Astacio (1969)
Robb Nen (1969)
Jose Parra (1972)
Jerry Gardner spent most of his life in baseball as a minor-league player and manager and as a scout.
We would like to wish a very happy birthday to Mom Runner.
We would also like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.
Hugh Duffy (1866)
Fred Tenney (1871)
Bob Johnson (1905)
Lefty Gomez (1908)
Howard Easterling (1911)
Eddie Miller (1916)
Bob Elliott (1916)
Jeff Torborg (1941)
Larry Gura (1947)
Richie Hebner (1947)
Jorge Orta (1950)
Jay Howell (1955)
Bob Walk (1956)
Mike Moore (1959)
Harold Reynolds (1960)
Chuck Finley (1962)
Brian Schneider (1976)
Matt Garza (1983)
Infielder Howard Easterling was a star in the Negro Leagues in the 1930s and 1940s.
Bert Cunningham (1865)
Jakie May (1895)
Charles Baron (1913)
Joe DiMaggio (1914)
Mike Ryan (1941)
Bucky Dent (1951)
Dave Baker (1956)
Chico Walker (1958)
Mark Whiten (1966)
Octavio Dotel (1973)
Nick Swisher (1980)
First baseman Charles Baron played in the minors from 1931-1951, batting .306 with 2,319 hits. He was a player-manager for the last five of those seasons.
Actually, two weeks. Mostly minor-league deals.