Tag Archives: Happy Birthday

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–April 12

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Vic Willis (1876)
Addie Joss (1880)
Bill Bailey (1888)
Eric McNair (1909)
Bill Wight (1922)
Bob Zuk (1927)
Johnny Antonelli (1930)
Terry Cooney (1933)
Charlie Lau (1933)
Woodie Fryman (1940)
Vicente Romo (1943)
Terry Harmon (1944)
Mike Macfarlane (1964)
Paul LoDuca (1972)
Antonio Osuna (1973)
Brad Brach (1986)
Pedro Hernandez (1989)
Dennis Santana (1996)

Bob Zuk was a long-time scout who was responsible for signing, among others, Reggie Jackson, Willie Stargell, and Gary Carter.

Terry Cooney was an American League umpire from 1975-1992.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–April 11

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Pop Corkhill (1858)
Ossee Schrecongost (1875)
Matsutaro Shoriki (1885)
Sam Chapman (1916)
Barney McCosky (1917)
Jim Hearn (1921)
Bob Casey (1925)
Sid Monge (1951)
Bret Saberhagen (1964)
Turner Ward (1965)
Sean Bergman (1970)
Robin Jennings (1972)
Jason Varitek (1972)
Trot Nixon (1974)
Todd Dunwoody (1975)
Kelvim Escobar (1976)
Mark Teixeira (1980)
Andres Blanco (1984)
Alejandro De Aza (1984)
Kenta Maeda (1988)

Matustaro Shoriki is known as the father of Japanese baseball.

Bob Casey was the Twins' public address announcer from 1961 until his death in March of 2005.

Jason Varitek was drafted by the Twins in the first round in 1993, but did not sign.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–April 10

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Ross Youngs (1897)
Bubba Hyde (1908)
Chuck Connors (1921)
Frank Lary (1930)
Robert Nederlander (1933)
Wes Stock (1934)
Joe Gibbon (1935)
Bob Watson (1946)
Lee Lacy (1948)
Tom Lundstedt (1949)
Ken Griffey (1950)
Mike Devereaux (1963)
Starvin’ Marvin Freeman (1963)
Alberto Reyes (1971)
Mike Lincoln (1975)
Andre Ethier (1982)
Corey Kluber (1986)
Charlie Culberson (1989)
Scott Blewett (1996)

Bubba Hyde was an outfielder in the Negro Leagues for twenty-six years.

Better known as an actor, Chuck Connors was a first baseman for the Chicago Cubs in 1951.  He also played professional basketball, and was the first player to break the glass backboard with a slam dunk in a professional basketball game.

Robert Nederlander is a part-owner of the New York Yankees and was managing partner in from 1990-1991, when George Steinbrenner was suspended.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–April 9

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Doc White (1879)
Hippo Vaughn (1888)
Wade Johnston (1898)
Vic Sorrell (1901)
Fred Frankhouse (1904)
Claude Passeau (1909)
Zip Payne (1909)
Joe Brinkman (1944)
Peter Gammons (1945)
Nate Colbert (1946)
Kirk McCaskill (1961)
Hal Morris (1965)
Graeme Lloyd (1967)
Rudy Hernandez (1968)
A. J. Ellis (1981)
David Robertson (1985)
Luis Arraez (1997)

Cecil "Zip" Payne was a long-time minor-league player and manager, collecting 2,179 hits.

Joe Brinkman and Derryl Cousins hold the record for most games umpired together, 2,123.

Rudy Hernandez was an infielder in the Mets organization from 1987-1991, reaching AA.  With the exception of 2004, he has been a manager or coach in the Twins' organization since 2001.  He is currently a batting coach for the Twins.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to Mama MagUidhir.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–April 8

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John Peters (1850)
Kirby Higbe (1915)
Stan Wasiak (1920)
Charlie Maxwell (1927)
Turk Farrell (1934)
Takao Kajimoto (1935)
John Hiller (1943)
Catfish Hunter (1946)
Randy Marsh (1949)
Mac Scarce (1949)
Gary Carter (1954)
Alex Gonzalez (1973)
Timo Perez (1975)
Jeremy Guthrie (1979)
Matt Ford (1981)
Chris Iannetta (1983)
Bobby Wilson (1983)
Felix Hernandez (1986)
Carlos Santana (1986)
Yonder Alonso (1987)
Jeremy Hellickson (1987)
Jo Adell (1999)

Stan Wasiak holds the record for most wins as a minor league manager, 2,530.  He managed from 1950-1986, managing at levels from Class D to AAA.

Pitcher Takao Kajimoto won 254 games in Japan and was a twelve-time all-star.

Randy Marsh was a major league umpire from 1981-2009 and is currently a director of umpiring.

Yonder Alonso was drafted by Minnesota in the sixteenth round in 2005, but did not sign.

We would like to wish a happy birthday to the brother of Daneeka's Ghost.

Dad A passed away on this date five years ago.  I'm not asking for sympathy--he lived a long, full life, he was ready to go, and I'm confident about where he is.  Still, I felt that I should at least acknowledge the anniversary somehow.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–April 7

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John McGraw (1873)
Oral Hildebrand (1907)
Bobby Doerr (1918)
Jerry Hoffberger (1919)
Tom Phoebus (1942)
Bill Stoneman (1944)
Pete Van Wieren (1944)
Bobby Mitchell (1955)
Ricky Bones (1969)
Brett Tomko (1973)
Ronnie Belliard (1975)
Adrian Beltre (1979)

Jerry Hoffberger was the principal owner of the Baltimore Orioles from 1965-1979.

Pete Van Wieren was a broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves from 1976-2008.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to the Philosofer's wife.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–April 6

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Smokey Joe Williams (1885)
Mickey Cochrane (1903)
Ernie Lombardi (1908)
Phil Regan (1937)
Marty Pattin (1943)
Bert Blyleven (1951)
Kenny Williams (1964)
Bret Boone (1969)
Lou Merloni (1971)
Ralph Garza (1994)

A star in the Negro Leagues, some say that Smokey Joe Williams was a better pitcher than Satchel Paige.

I don't know if four Hall of Famers on one day is the record, but it has to at least be close.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–April 5

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Bill Dinneen (1876)
Wid Conroy (1877)
Bill Lachemann (1934)
Ron Hansen (1938)
Rennie Stennett (1951)
Andy MacPhail (1953)
Cris Carpenter (1965)
Ross Gload (1976)
Jorge De La Rosa (1981)
John Curtiss (1993)

The brother of Rene and Marcel Lachemann, Bill Lachemann is a long-time minor league manager, coach, and scout.

Andy MacPhail, of course, was the general manager of the Twins from 1985 through 1994, a period which included both of the Twins' World Series titles.  He later worked for the Chicago Cubs, the Baltimore Orioles, and the Philadelphia Phillies.  He is the son of baseball executive Lee MacPhail and the grandson of baseball executive Larry MacPhail.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to Mrs. brianS.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–April 4

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Bill Hinchman (1883)
John Hummel (1883)
Tris Speaker (1888)
Joe Vosmik (1910)
Mickey Owen (1916)
Gil Hodges (1924)
Gary Geiger (1937)
Bart Giamatti (1938)
Eddie Watt (1941)
Jim Fregosi (1942)
Mike Epstein (1943)
Nick Bremigan (1945)
Ray Fosse (1947)
Herm Schneider (1952)
Tom Herr (1956)
Brad Komminsk (1961)
Scott Rolen (1975)
Casey Daigle (1981)
Cameron Maybin (1987)
Martin Perez (1991)

Bart Giamatti was commissioner of baseball from April 1, 1989 until his death on September 1, 1989.

Nick Bremigan was an American League umpire from 1974-1988.

Herm Schneider has been a trainer in major league baseball for over thirty years.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to CarterHayes’ brother.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–April 3

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Guy Hecker (1856)
Henry McHenry (1910)
Larry Shepard (1919)
Alex Grammas (1926)
Art Ditmar (1929)
Wally Moon (1930)
Jerry Dale (1933)
Hawk Taylor (1939)
Larry Littleton (1954)
Darrell Jackson (1956)
Gary Pettis (1958)
Doug Baker (1961)
Chris Bosio (1963)
Mark Shapiro (1967)
Mike Lansing (1968)
Ryan Doumit (1981)
Kyle Phillips (1984)
Jay Bruce (1987)
Jason Kipnis (1987)

Guy Hecker is one of three pitchers to have won over fifty games in a season.  He is also the only pitcher to have won a batting title.

Larry Shepard managed Pittsburgh in 1968-1969.  Coincidentally, he was replaced by Alex Grammas.

Jerry Dale was a National League umpire from 1971-85.  He pitched in the minors for the Washington (now Minnesota) franchise from 1951-52.

Mark Shapiro was the general manager of the Cleveland Indians from 2001-10 and was president of that club from 2011-2015, when he became president of the Toronto Blue Jays.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Papa Pirate.

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