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.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 6 →

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.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 4 →

Deacon White (1847)
Andre Rodgers (1934)
Pedro Borbon (1946)
Wayne Simpson (1948)
Julio Cruz (1954)
Chip Hale (1964)
Darryl Kile (1968)
Mark Kotsay (1975)
Peter Moylan (1978)

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 2 →

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)

Continue reading Happy Birthday–November 29 →

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.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–November 26 →

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.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–November 25 →

George Burns (1889)
Billy Rogell (1904)
Joe Medwick (1911)
Danny Ozark (1923)
Bob Friend (1930)
Jim Northrup (1939)
Steve Yeager (1948)
Randy Velarde (1962)
Ben McDonald (1967)
Al Martin (1967)
Cal Eldred (1967)
Dave Hansen (1968)
Chris Herrmann (1987)

Danny Ozark was the manager of Philadelphia from 1973-1979.

The staff of Happy Birthday wishes everyone a happy and blessed Thanksgiving.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–November 24 →

Bobby Mathews (1851)
Charlie Bennett (1854)
Billy Clingman (1869)
Andy High (1897)
Freddie Lindstrom (1905)
Paul Richards (1908)
Stan Musial (1920)
Warren Hacker (1924)
Tom McCraw (1940)
Bill Almon (1952)
Rick Peters (1955)
Mike Mason (1958)
Mark Eichhorn (1960)
Dick Schofield (1962)
Ken Griffey (1969)
Todd Erdos (1973)
Brian Meadows (1975)
Hank Blalock (1980)

Rick Peters was drafted by Minnesota in the eighteenth round in 1973, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–November 21 →

Joe Sommer (1958)
Kenesaw Landis (1866)
Clark Griffith (1869)
George McBride (1880)
Leon Cadore (1890)
Larry Benton (1897)
Jay Ritchie (1936)
Herm Starrette (1938)
Jay Johnstone (1945)
Rick Monday (1945)
Ron Cash (1949)
Alex Arias (1967)
Gabe White (1971)
J. D. Drew (1975)
Sam Fuld (1981)
Brock Peterson (1983)

Kenesaw Landis, as I'm sure you know, was the first commissioner of baseball, holding the job from 1920 until his death in 1944.

Pitcher Clark Griffith was a star for the Cubs before jumping to the White Sox when the American League was formed. Later, of course, was the owner of the Twins franchise while it was still in Washington. His adopted son, Calvin, brought the team to Minnesota.

Ron Cash was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in 1969, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–November 20 →