Jeff A

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Jose Valdivielso (1934)
Ron Piche (1935)

​Infielder Jose Lopez Valdivielso was one of the original Twins, playing for them in 1961. He was born in Matanzas, Cuba. He started in organized baseball in 1953, joining the Washington organization in 1954. He came up to the majors in late June of 1955 and was the regular Washington shortstop the rest of the season. He hit .221 with an OPS of .594, yet somehow got a tenth-place vote ...

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Kent Hrbek (1960)

First baseman Kent Allen Hrbek played his entire 14-year major league career, 1981-1994, with the Twins. He was born in Minneapolis, raised in Bloomington, and drafted by Minnesota in the 17th round in 1978. He hit only .203 in 59 at-bats in Elizabethton that year, but improved to .267 with 19 homers in Wisconsin Rapids in 1980. In 1981, he hit .379 with 27 homers at Class A Visalia, and that was as much as the Twins need to ...

No major league players with connections to the Minnesota Twins were born on this day.

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Dan Ford (1952)

Outfielder Darnell Glenn “Disco Danny” Ford played for the Twins from 1975-1978. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ford was drafted by Oakland in the first round in 1970. He spent his first two seasons at Class A Burlington, hitting .354 with 18 homers the second year. That got him promoted to AAA Tucson, where he also spent two seasons. Ford hit around .280 with double digit home runs in each season, but the Athletics were apparently ...

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Carroll Hardy (1933)
Andre David (1958)
Rich Garces (1971)

Outfielder Carroll William Hardy played in 11 games for the Twins in 1967. Born and raised in Sturgis, South Dakota, Hardy attended the University of Colorado and signed with Cleveland as a free agent in 1955. Hardy began his minor league career that season with Class A Reading; he also played running back for the San Francisco 49ers that season. He stuck with baseball after ...

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Dan Monzon (1946)

Daniel Francisco Monzon was an infielder for the Twins for parts of the 1972 and 1973 seasons. He was born and raised in the Bronx, attended Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, and was drafted by Minnesota in the second round of the June Secondary draft in 1967. He was in Class A for three seasons, hitting very well in his first one and poorly in his next two. He never did hit for power, but his average came up when he ...

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Billy Martin (1928)
Jack Morris (1955)
Tack Wilson (1956)
Mark Funderburk (1957)

Second baseman Alfred Manuel “Billy” Martin played for the Twins for about four months in 1961 and later became a coach and manager for them. He was born and raised in Berkeley, California and began playing professional baseball in 1946. He played for unaffiliated teams for four years, the last two of them for Oakland in the Pacific Coast League. ...

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Scott Watkins (1970)
Justin Morneau (1981)
Brian Dozier (1987)

Left-hander Scott Allen Watkins pitched for the Twins for about two months in 1995. He was born in Tulsa, went to high school in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, and was drafted by Minnesota in the 23rd round in 1992. A reliever throughout his minor-league career, his numbers were not particularly impressive until 1995, when he posted a 2.80 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, 20 saves, and 57 strikeouts ...

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Bob Thurman (1917)
Dave LaRoche (1948)
Hosken Powell (1955)
Pat Borders (1963)
Larry Sutton (1970)

Outfielder Robert Burns Thurman did not play for the Twins, but was briefly in their farm system at the end of his career. Born in Kellyville, Oklahoma, he played semipro ball until 1941, when he went in to the Army for World War II. Upon leaving the Army, he became a victim of baseball’s color barrier, playing in the Negro ...

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Johnny Roseboro (1943)
Lenny Faedo (1960)
Jack Cressend (1975)


Catcher John Junior Roseboro was with the Twins from 1968-1969, near the end of his career. Born and raised in Ashland, Ohio, Roseboro signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers as a free agent in 1952. He hit very well for two years in the low minors, then missed a year due to military service. It took Roseboro a while to get going upon his return, but he hit .273 with 25 ...

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Vic Albury (1947)
Evan Meek (1983)

Left-hander Victor Albury pitched for the Twins from 1973-1976. Born and raised in Key West, Albury was drafted by Cleveland in the ninth round in 1965. He was a first baseman then, and spent a year at Class A Dubuque hitting .233. He then went into the military for three years, and when he came back he was a pitcher. Somewhere along the line, Cleveland transferred his rights to the Cubs. He pitched for

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Frank Quilici (1939)


Infielder/manager/broadcaster Francis Ralph Quilici has been associated with the Twins for a long time. He was born and raised in Chicago, attended Loras College of Dubuque, Iowa, one of two major league players that school has produced (Red Faber), then transferred to Western Michigan. Quilici signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1961. He was not a great batter in the minors, but had a decent season at AA Charlotte ...

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John Cumberland (1947)
Joey Meyer (1962)

This is also the birthday of Hall of Fame broadcaster Herb Carneal (1923).

Left-hander John Sheldon Cumberland did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 1973. He was born in Westbrook, Maine, attended the University of Maine, and signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1966. He had a mediocre season in Class A, but the Yankees thought they saw something in ...

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Ron Jackson (1953)
Tom Chism (1954)
Oswaldo Arcia (1991)

​First baseman Ronnie Damien Jackson played for the Twins from 1979-1981. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, he was drafted by California in the second round in 1971. He was primarily a third baseman in the minors. He had good but unspectacular minor league seasons with the exception of 1974, when he hit .328 with 11 home runs at AA El Paso. He made his major league ...