Bill Hallman (1867)
Jack Stivetts (1868)
Big Jeff Pfeffer (1882)
Brick Owens (1885)
Tom Sheehan (1894)
Carson Bigbee (1895)
Mule Suttles (1900)
Marv Grissom (1918)
Dave Koslo (1920)
Moises Camacho (1932)
Moose Stubing (1938)
Balvino Galvez (1964)
Chien-Ming Wang (1980)
Jeff Mathis (1983)

Brick Owens was a longtime major league umpire.  His first name was Clarence.  He got the nickname "Brick" after being hit by one while umpiring a game in Pittsburg, Kansas early in his career.

Mule Suttles is sometimes credited as the all-time Negro Leagues home run leader with 237.  He swung a fifty-ounce bat.

One of the top second basemen in the history of the Mexican League, Moises Camacho played  there from 1951-1975.  He was known as the Rogers Hornsby of Mexico.

Their birthdays are not today, but we would like to recognize Luke Easter and Henry Easterday.  There are seven players called "Bunny" and eight with the last name "Cross".

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 31 →

Cy Young (1867)
Duff Cooley (1873)
Bill Dietrich (1910)
Tommy Holmes (1917)
Ferris Fain (1921)
Denny McLain (1944)
Bill Castro (1952)
Tom Hume (1953)
Domingo Ramos (1958)
Mike Kingery (1961)
Billy Beane (1962)
Laz Diaz (1963)
Eric Gunderson (1966)
Brian Jordan (1967)
Alex Ochoa (1972)
Danny Kolb (1975)

Danny Kolb was drafted by Minnesota in the seventeenth round in 1993, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 29 →

Jack McCarthy (1869)
Bill Zuber (1913)
Ben Mondor (1925)
Harry Kalas (1936)
Mel Queen (1942)
Kevin Seitzer (1962)
Jarvis Brown (1967)
Jose Vizcaino (1968)
Shane Reynolds (1968)
Jason Maxwell (1972)
Eric Hacker (1983)

Ben Mondor was the owner of the Pawtucket Red Sox from 1977-2010.  He is a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame and the International League Hall of Fame and won numerous minor league Executive of the Year awards from various organizations.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 26 →

Jack Boyle (1866)
Ernie Quigley (1880)
Goldie Holt (1902)
Bob Elson (1904)
Marv Owen (1906)
Billy Goodman (1926)
Al Schroll (1932)
Gene Oliver (1935)
Frank Pulli (1935)
Dick Ellsworth (1940)
Ron Wojciak (1943)
Jake Brown (1948)
Eddie Bane (1952)
Bob Costas (1952)
Eric Rasmussen (1952)
Scott Bradley (1960)
Matt Sinatro (1960)
Rich Monteleone (1963)
Glenallen Hill (1965)
Sean Berry (1966)
Ramon Martinez (1968)
Cory Lidle (1972)
Mike Morse (1982)
Ike Davis (1987)

Ernie Quigley was a National League umpire for twenty-six years and then became the NL supervisor of umpires.

Goldie Holt is credited with teaching Charlie Hough to throw the knuckleball.

Bob Elson was a baseball broadcaster for over thirty years, mostly in Chicago.

Frank Pulli was a National League umpire from 1972-1999.

Ron Wojciak helped the Minnesota Golden Gophers win the College World Series in 1964 and played in the Twins’ farm system in 1965.  He passed away from lung cancer in 1966.

Jake Brown was drafted by Minnesota in the thirty-third round in 1967, but he did not sign.

Scott Bradley was drafted by Minnesota in the twelfth round in 1978, but he did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 22 →

Jack Herbert (1877)
Mysterious Walker (1894)
Bill McGowan (1896)
Shanty Hogan (1906)
Tommy Davis (1939)
Manny Sanguillen (1944)
Al Fitzmorris (1946)
Bill Plummer (1947)
Fernando Arroyo (1952)
Luis Leal (1957)
Shawon Dunston (1963)
Tim McIntosh (1965)
Cristian Guzman (1978)

Jack Herbert was a minor league manager in the early 1900s.  Among the teams he managed were the Pekin Celestials, the Cedar Rapids Rabbits, and the Cairo Egyptians.

Bill McGowan was an American League umpire from 1925-1954.  He worked the first all-star game and worked eight World Series.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 21 →

Bill Cammeyer (1821)
Mike Griffin (1865)
Joe McGinnity (1871)
Bob Connery (1880)
Walter Schmidt (1887)
Vern Kennedy (1907)
Clyde Shoun (1912)
Hank Izquierdo (1931)
George Altman (1933)
Pat Corrales (1941)
Rick Langford (1952)
Steve McCatty (1954)
Paul Mirabella (1954)
Si-jin Kim (1958)
Chris Hoiles (1965)
Manny Alexander (1971)

Bill Cammeyer was involved in the early days of professional baseball.  He is credited as a pioneer who put a fence around his ballpark so he could charge admission, he built a clubhouse, he graded the diamond, created a very primitive set of stands for fans, and put a saloon inside the fence.

Bob Connery is the scout credited with discovering Rogers Hornsby and Tony Lazzeri.

Paul Mirabella was drafted by Minnesota in the sixteenth round in 1975, but did not sign.

Si-Jin Kim was a top pitcher in the first decade of Korean professional baseball.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to AMR’s daughter.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 20 →

Jose Mendez (1887)
Bill Wambsganss (1894)
Gee Walker (1908)
Bob Davids (1926)
Richie Ashburn (1927)
Al Solerno (1931)
Paul Powell (1948)
Tim Corcoran (1953)
Mike Norris (1955)
Ivan Calderon (1962)
Jason LaRue (1974)
David Ross (1977)
Clayton Kershaw (1988)

Jose Mendez was a star in Cuba and in the Negro Leagues, pitching from 1906-1925.

Bob Davids was one of the founders of the Society for American Baseball Research.

Al Solerno was an American League umpire from 1961-1968.  His firing was one of the things that led to the formation of the umpires union.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 19 →

Bud Fowler (1847)
Blondie Purcell (1854)
Jerry Denny (1859)
Patsy Donovan (1865)
Jake Flowers (1902)
Buddy Myer (1904)
Lloyd Waner (1906)
Ken O'Dea (1913)
Tom Gorman (1919)
Clint Courtney (1927)
Hobie Landrith (1930)
Don Blasingame (1932)
Rick Reichardt (1943)
Rick Renick (1944)
Charles Hudson (1959)
Fieldin Culbreth (1963)
Abraham Nunez (1976)
Curtis Granderson (1981)
Mickey Storey (1986)

Bud Fowler was the first African-American to play professional baseball, playing in the minors in 1878 and from 1884-1894.

Tom Gorman was a National League umpire from 1951-1977.  His son Brian is currently a major league umpire.

Mickey Storey was drafted by Minnesota in the 22nd round in 2007, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 16 →

Candy Nelson (1849)
Bill Holbert (1855)
Marty McManus (1900)
Jack Rothrock (1905)
Santos Amaro (1908)
Dave McKay (1950)
Butch Wynegar (1956)
Steve Lake (1957)
Jerry Willard (1960)
Kirby Puckett (1960)
Kevin Brown (1965)
Brent Gates (1970)
Matt Kata (1978)
Bobby Jenks (1981)

Santos Amaro is the father of Ruben Amaro Sr. and the grandfather of Ruben Amaro Jr.  He was a star player in Cuba and in Mexico and is a member of the Salon de la Fama.

Matt Kata was drafted by Minnesota in the twentieth round in 1996, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 14 →