Tag Archives: Hall of Famers

Happy Birthday–February 9

Harry Pulliam (1864)
Heinie Zimmerman (1887)
Specs Toporcer (1899)
Bill Veeck (1914)
Jodie Phipps (1918)
Vic Wertz (1925)
Erv Palica (1928)
Clete Boyer (1937)
Eddie Solomon (1951)
Mookie Wilson (1956)
Pete O'Brien (1958)
John Kruk (1961)
Doug Linton (1965)
Todd Pratt (1967)
Vladimir Guerrero (1975)
Dioner Navarro (1984)

Harry Pulliam was president of the National League from 1903-1909.

Bill Veeck was the owner of the Cleveland Indians (1946-49), St. Louis Browns (1951-53), and Chicago White Sox (1958-61, 1975-81).

Pitcher Jodie Phipps played in the minors from 1939-1957, winning 275 games.  He also managed in the minors for seven seasons.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to LBR.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–February 9

Happy Birthday–February 5

Bill Rariden (1888)
Max Flack (1890)
Roger Peckinpaugh (1891)
Joan Payson (1903)
Jack Murphy (1923)
Don Hoak (1928)
Al Worthington (1929)
Hank Aaron (1934)
Norm Miller (1946)
Mike Heath (1955)
Roberto Alomar (1968)
Eric O'Flaherty (1985)
Mark Hamburger (1987)

Joan Payson was the original owner of the New York Mets.

Jack Murphy was a longtime sportswriter in San Diego who helped bring the Padres to the city.  The baseball stadium was named in his honor for many years until the naming rights were sold.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–February 5

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)
Skip Schumaker (1980)
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.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–February 3

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)
Ronny Cedeno (1983)

Logan Darnell (1989)

Better known as a 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 and to Mama SoCal.

 Right-hander Scott Gavin Erickson pitched for the Twins from 1990-1995.  Born in Long Beach, California, he attended high school in Cupertino, California and then went to the University of Arizona.  He was drafted by the Twins in the fourth round in 1989.  Erickson pitched very well in the minors, but did not stay there long, making his major league debut in June of 1990.  He was apparently ready, as he went 8-4, 2.87 in seventeen starts at age 22.  The next year was the best of his career:  he was 20-7, 3.18, made the all-star team, finished second in Cy Young voting, and was seventeenth in MVP balloting.  He also began to experience some arm trouble, a problem that would plague him the rest of his career.  He had another solid year in 1992, but then his effectiveness as a Twin was pretty much over.  Erickson had back-to-back seasons with an ERA over five, leading the league in losses in 1993.  His ERA was again over five in July of 1995 when he was traded to Baltimore for Scott Klingenbeck and a player to be named later (Kimera Bartee).  He struggled at first as an Oriole but then got things back together, going 16-7, 3.69 in 1997.  In 1998, Erickson led the league in starts, complete games, and innings pitched.  He was still decent in 1999, but after that seven years of pitching over 200 innings (plus another when he pitched 196) finally took their toll.  He struggled through an injury-plagued 2000 campaign, going 5-8 in the three months that he was healthy enough to pitch.  Erickson missed all of 2001 due to injury, tried to comeback in 2002 and didn't pitch well, and missed all of 2003 due to injury.  He then struggled through three more years, pitching for the Mets and Rangers in 2004, the Dodgers in 2005, and the Yankees in 2006.  He also was in the minors for part of each of those seasons before finally calling it a career.  He attempted a comeback in 2008, but after pitching in Mexico decided he could not pitch well enough to continue.  As a Twin, Scott Erickson was 61-60, 4.22 in 153 starts and nearly a thousand innings.  He had his ups and downs, but at his best he was a very good pitcher.  He is a member of the University of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.  Scott Erickson is currently the owner of a movie production company called HomeTeam Productions.  He was the pitching coach of the Carolina Mudcats (Cleveland, A) in 2012 and was the pitching coach of the AZL Indians in 2013.  He has gotten involved with real estate development with the Diamante Golf Club in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  Further, he is the president of MLM, short for majorleaguemechanics.com, which offers professional pitching instruction.  We don't know how successful any of these ventures have been, but he certainly shouldn't lack for things to do.

Shortstop Jeffrey Adam Everett played for Minnesota in 2008.  He was born in Austell, Georgia, and attended high school in Kenesaw, Georgia.  He attended both North Carolina State and South Carolina, and was drafted by Boston with the 12th pick of the 1998 draft.  He was in the Red Sox' chain for two years and did fairly well, but was traded to Houston after the 1999 season as part of a package for Carl Everett.  He spent parts of the next four years at AAA New Orleans, where he established a reputation as an excellent fielder.  He got brief trials with the Astros in 2001 and 2002, but was called up in May of 2003 and quickly become Houston's regular shortstop from that point on.  His best year at bat was 2004, when he hit .273, but his strength was always as a fielder, not as a batter.  Everett was injured in mid-June of 2007 and missed almost all the rest of the season.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota.  He suffered through an injury-plagued season, playing only 48 games and batting just .213/.278/.323.  A free agent again after the 2008 campaign, he signed with Detroit for 2009.  He was their mostly-regular shortstop and played about the way he has played for most of his career, batting .228 but providing good defense.  It wasn’t good enough, however, as the Tigers released him in mid-June of 2010.  Out of baseball the rest of the season, he has signed with Cleveland for 2011.  He again made it through June and was released, bringing his playing career to an end.  After his retirement, Adam Everett worked for the Cleveland Indians, first as a special assistant for baseball operations and later as minor league infield coordinator.  In 2014, he moved to the Houston Astros.  He was a roving minor league infield instructor that year and became their bench coach for 2015.

Left-hander Logan Reece Darnell appeared in seven games for the Twins in 2014.  He was born in Nashville, went to high school in Madison, Tennessee, attended the University of Kentucky, and was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in 2010.  He was promoted to AA in 2011 despite not having been all that impressive at lower levels.  Not surprisingly, it took him a while to have success there.  He did well there in 2013, though, and was promoted to Rochester by mid-season.  He had a solid 2014 in Rochester and made seven appearances in the big leagues, getting a couple of brief callups during the season and another in September.  He pitched well in three relief appearances but not well at all in four starts.  Perhaps coincidentally, he moved to the bullpen in Rochester in 2015 and had another solid season, but was not called up to the Twins.  Recently, he was taken off the forty-man roster, but cleared waivers and was outrighted to Rochester.  He turns twenty-seven today.  Stardom does not appear to be in his future, but you never know with relievers, especially left-handed ones.  There's still a chance that Logan Darnell may play an important role in a big-league bullpen at some point.

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.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 31

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.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 28

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.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 26

Happy Birthday–January 25

Danny Richardson (1863)
Les Nunamaker (1889)
Kenichi Zenimura (1900)
Ernie Harwell (1918)
Bill Lucas (1936)
Jake O’Donnell (1939)
Wally Bunker (1945)
Vern Ruhle (1951)
Kerry Taylor (1971)
Dan Serafini (1974)

Better known as an NBA referee, Jake O’Donnell was an American League umpire from 1969-1972.  He is the only person to have officiated both an NBA all-star game and a major league baseball all-star game.

Kenichi Zenimura was a long-time player and manager in Japan as well as an ambassador of the game of baseball.  He helped organize Babe Ruth's tour of Japan in 1934 and is known as the Father of Japanese Baseball.

Ernie Harwell was a major league baseball broadcaster from 1948-1991 and 1993-2002, mostly for the Detroit Tigers.

Bill Lucas was the first African-American general manager, holding the position for the Atlanta Braves from 1976-1979.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 25

Happy Birthday–January 24

Dave Brain (1879)
Pinch Thomas (1888)
Cliff Heathcote (1898)
Flint Rhem (1901)
Jean Yawkey (1909)
Johnny Dickshot (1910)
Ray Kelly (1914)
Jack Brickhouse (1916)
Walter Haas (1916)
Dick Stigman (1936)
Sandy Valdespino (1939)
Jumbo Ozaki (1947)
Tim Stoddard (1953)
Atlee Hammaker (1958)
Neil Allen (1958)
Rob Dibble (1964)
Scott Kazmir (1984)

Jean Yawkey was the wife of Tom Yawkey and was owner of the Boston Red Sox from 1978 until her death in 1992.

Ray Kelly was a baseball writer in Philadelphia for fifty years.

Jack Brickhouse was a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs from 1948-1981.

Walter Haas was the owner of the Oakland Athletics from 1980 until his death in 1995.

Better known as a professional golfer, Jumbo Ozaki played professional baseball in Japan for three seasons, pitching for two seasons and playing outfield for one.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 24

Happy Birthday–January 17

Louis Santop (1890)
Hank Leiber (1911)
Lum Harris (1915)
Mayo Smith (1915)
Don Zimmer (1931)
Keith Lieppman (1949)
Antonio Munoz (1949)
Pete LaCock (1952)
Darrell Porter (1952)
Mark Littell (1953)
Jerry Turner (1954)
Doug Simunic (1956)
T. R. Bryden (1959)
Chili Davis (1960)
SBG (1965)
Tyler Houston (1971)
Rob Bell (1977)

Catcher Louis Santop was a star in the Negro Leagues, hitting .349 over fifteen seasons.

Keith Lieppman has been Oakland's Director of Player Development since 1992.

Antonio Munoz was a long-time star in Cuba, winning eight home run titles and becoming the all-time leader in walks.

Doug Simunic has been the manager of the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks since 1996.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 17