Jack Rowe (1856)
Jimmy Austin (1879)
Sam Zoldak (1918)
Jim Pagliaroni (1937) Brant Alyea (1940) Ed Brinkman (1941)
Ken Roy (1941)
Masahiro Doi (1943)
Alan Foster (1946) Jeff Grotewold (1965) Mike Mussina (1968)
Reed Johnson (1976)
Vernon Wells (1978)
Ken Roy was a minor league umpire for two years before becoming a Catholic priest. He said that his umpiring career helped him in ministry because it gave him more patience with people and made him a better listener.
Masahiro Doi was a fifteen-time all-star in the Japanese Pacific League, playing from 1962-1981.
We would also like to wish a happy eighth birthday to AMR’s son, HPR.
Deacon White (1847)
Denny Galehouse (1911)
Dick Donovan (1927)
Hal Smith (1930)
Don Cardwell (1935)
Bo Belinsky (1936)
Alex Johnson (1942) Johnny Bench (1947) Ozzie Virgil (1956) Shane Mack (1963) Tino Martinez (1967) Saul Rivera (1977) Eric Chavez (1977)
Yasiel Puig (1990)
Jocko Conlan (1899) Tony Lazzeri (1903) Stan Hack (1909) Dan Dobbek (1934) Tony Horton (1944)
Larry Bowa (1945)
Tim Foli (1950) Chuck Baker (1952) Gary Ward (1953) Juan Carlos Oliva (1954) Steve Bedrosian (1957) Larry Sheets (1959) Kevin Campbell (1964) Kevin Appier (1967)
Jose Contreras (1971) Chris Basak (1978) Jason Bulger (1978)
Jocko Conlan played two seasons of major league baseball, but is best known as a National League umpire from 1941-1965.
The younger brother of Tony Oliva, Juan Carlos Oliva was a star pitcher in Cuba and later became a successful pitching coach there.
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)
