Germany Schaefer (1876)
Possum Whitted (1890)
Eddie Ainsmith (1890)
Joe Sparma (1942)
Steve Brye (1949)
Rob Picciolo (1953)
Rusty Kuntz (1955)
Chris Bando (1956)
Dan Plesac (1962)
Chris Coste (1973)
Ben Hendrickson (1981)
Tag Archives: ex-Twins
Happy Birthday–February 3
Lou Criger (1872)
Slim Sallee (1885)
Larry MacPhail (1890)
Joe Stripp (1903)
Buck Ross (1915)
Dick Tracewski (1935)
Joe Coleman (1947)
Bake McBride (1949)
Fred Lynn (1952)
Ronald Williamson (1953)
Fred Toliver (1961)
Joe Klink (1962)
Scott Klingenbeck (1971)
B. J. Garbe (1981)
Larry MacPhail was the general manager of Cincinnati (1933-36) and Brooklyn (1938-42) and was president and part-owner of the Yankees (1946-47). His son Lee MacPhail was president of the American League and his grandson Andy MacPhail was the general manager of the Twins (1985-94) and the president of the Cubs (2000-02) and the Orioles (2007-present).
Ronald Williamson was a catcher in the Oakland organization from 1971-1973. In 1988, he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. He was cleared in 1999 through DNA testing and became the subject of John Grisham’s first non-fiction book, “The Innocent Man.” Williamson passed away from cirrhosis in 2004.
Outfielder B. J. Garbe was chosen by the Twins with the fifth pick of the 1999 draft. He was with the Twins through 2004, ended his career in 2006, and never got higher than AA.
Happy Birthday–February 2
Orval Overall (1881)
George Halas (1895)
Willie Kamm (1900)
Wes Ferrell (1908)
Red Schoendienst (1923)
George Toma (1929)
Don Buford (1937)
Max Alvis (1938)
Dale Murray (1950)
John Tudor (1954)
Pat Tabler (1958)
Buddy Biancalana (1960)
Scott Erickson (1968)
Melvin Mora (1972)
Adam Everett (1977)
Better known as a professional football coach, George Halas was an outfielder and played in 12 games for the Yankees in 1919.
Groundskeeper George Toma is a charter member of the Groundskeepers' Hall of Fame. It is to be hoped that he will eventually be a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame as well.
We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to meat.
This Week in Ex-Twins
Updated every week, except the weeks it isn't.
Happy Birthday–February 1
Billy Sullivan (1875)
Rosey Rowswell (1884)
Candy Jim Taylor (1884)
Frank Lane (1896)
Carl Reynolds (1903)
Paul Blair (1944)
Danny Thompson (1947)
Mark Souza (1954)
Ernie Camacho (1955)
Cecilio Guante (1960)
Tim Naehring (1967)
Kent Mercker (1968)
Rich Becker (1972)
Rosey Rowswell was a broadcaster for Pittsburgh from 1936-1954. Bob Prince considered Rowswell his mentor.
Candy Jim Taylor was a star player and manager in the Negro Leagues for many years.
Frank Lane was the general manager of the White Sox (1948-55), St. Louis (1956-57), Cleveland (1958-60), Kansas City (1961), and Milwaukee (1971-72).
Happy Birthday–January 31
Bob "Death to Flying Things" Ferguson (1845)
Zane Grey (1872)
George Burns (1893)
Pinky Hargrave (1896)
Pedro Cepeda (1906)
Don Hutson (1913)
Jackie Robinson (1919)
Ernie Banks (1931)
Hank Aguirre (1931)
Nolan Ryan (1947)
Fred Kendall (1949)
Ted Power (1955)
Ed Wade (1956)
Francisco Oliveras (1963)
Yuniesky Betancourt (1982)
Caleb Thielbar (1987)
Better known as an author of western novels, Zane Grey played outfield for two years in the low minors, batting .323 in 86 games. He also wrote several books about baseball.
Pedro Cepeda is the father of Orlando Cepeda and is considered by some to have been a better player; he was known as the Babe Ruth of Puerto Rico.
Don Hutson, a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, played in the low minors from 1936-1937, hitting .301 in 194 games.
Ed Wade was the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1998-2005 and the Houston Astros from 2007-2011.
Happy Birthday–January 30
Tony Mullane (1859)
General Stafford (1868)
Walt Dropo (1923)
Sandy Amoros (1930)
Charlie Neal (1931)
Davey Johnson (1943)
Matt Alexander (1947)
Roger Cador (1952)
Joe Kerrigan (1954)
Dave Stegman (1954)
Jorge Cantu (1982)
Jeremy Hermida (1984)
Roger Cador was an outfielder in the Braves organization, reaching AAA. He has been the head baseball coach at Southern University since 1984. He was the first coach of a historically black university to win a game in the NCAA Division I baseball tournament, beating #2-ranked Cal State Fullerton 1-0 in 1987.
Dave Stegman was drafted by Minnesota in the tenth round in 1972, but did not sign.
We would like to wish a very happy birthday to Rowsdower's father.
There do not appear to be any other players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.
Happy Birthday–January 29
Ray Hayworth (1904)
Pancho Coimbre (1909)
Bill Rigney (1918)
Hank Edwards (1919)
Frank Gravino (1923)
Bobby Bolin (1939)
Sergio Ferrer (1951)
Steve Sax (1960)
Mike Aldrete (1961)
John Habyan (1964)
Jason Schmidt (1973)
Pancho Coimbre was a star in the Caribbean Leagues and the Negro leagues in the 1940s. Roberto Clemente said that Coimbre was a better player than Clemente was. Coimbre played two full seasons in the Puerto Rican League in which he did not strike out.
Frank Gravino played in the minors from 1940-1942 and 1946-1954. He has been called the greatest slugger in Northern League history, hitting 108 home runs in two seasons there.
Happy Birthday–January 28
George Wright (1847)
Ducky Holmes (1869)
Bill Doak (1891)
Lyn Lary (1906)
Bob Muncrief (1916)
Pete Runnels (1928)
Harry Dunlop (1933)
Bill White (1934)
Fredi Gonzalez (1964)
Kevin Tolar (1971)
Jermaine Dye (1974)
Magglio Ordonez (1974)
Lyle Overbay (1977)
Harry Dunlop caught in the minors for fourteen years and was a coach for seventeen years. He caught the minor league no-hitter in which Ron Necciai struck out twenty-seven batters and the back-to-back minor league no-hitters of Bill Bell.
Fredi Gonzalez managed the Florida Marlins from 2007-2010 and has managed the Atlanta Braves since 2011.
Happy Birthday–January 26
Francis Richter (1854)
Kaiser Wilhelm (1874)
Tubby Spencer (1884)
George Blaeholder (1904)
Charlie Gelbert (1906)
Bob Nieman (1927)
Ray Knoblauch (1928)
Bob Uecker (1935)
Mike Pazik (1950)
Rick Schu (1962)
Jeff Branson (1967)
Esteban German (1978)
Andres Torres (1978)
Ryan Rowland-Smith (1983)
Francis Richter was the editor of two influential early baseball publications, the Sporting Life and the Reach Guide.
The father of Chuck Knoblauch, Ray Knoblauch pitched in the minors from 1948-1957, going 54-51.
We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Daneeka's Ghost.