Another trip around the Sun and it is once again time to to look back and remember former Minnesota Twins that have gotten the call to their final resting place. They may be gone from this earth but their memories will always remain.
Jeff Bittiger was born April 13, 1962 in Jersey City, NJ and died on July 19, 2025 at the age of 63 after a lengthy battle with Cancer. Bittiger was originally drafted by the Mets in 1980 but made his big league debut on September 2, 1986 with the Phillies and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in April 1987. He pitched for the Minnesota Twins in 1987 appearing in three games late in the 1987 season. He won his first and only game as a Twin in his lone start for the Twins in a 8-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Bittiger went 7 innings allowing 1 run on 6 hits while striking out 5. Bittiger again became a Free Agent after the 1987 season. Bittiger pitched in the majors in 33 games with a 4-6 record with a 4.77 ERA. Bittiger must have loved baseball because he pitched in the minor/independent leagues from 1980-2003, a total of 23 years.
Bill Dailey was born on May 13, 1935 in Arlington, Virginia and passed away on January 11, 2025 at the age of 89. Dailey started his baseball career by signing with the Cleveland Indians prior to the 1953 season and made his big league debut on August 17, 1961 at Cleveland Stadium versus the Boston Red Sox with 4 innings of scoreless relief in a 14-inning 4-3 Cleveland win. The Minnesota Twins purchased Dailey in April of 1963 and he quickly became a folk hero in Minnesota and they even had a song about him called “won’t you come in Bill Dailey”. In his first season in Minnesota he pitched in 66 games, pitching 108.2 innings with a 1.99 ERA and a 6-4 record notching 21 saves. In 1964 he suffered a rotor cuff injury and had to walk away from the game at the age of 29, baseball can be a cruel game. You can find my interview with Bill Dailey in the Interview Archives on this site.
Scott Klingenbeck was born on February 3, 1971 in Cincinnati, Ohio and died on May 20, 2025 at the age of 54. Klingenbeck was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the fifth round of the 1992 amateur draft and made his debut in a start against the Detroit Tigers in an 11-5 win in which he pitched 7 innings allowing 3 earned runs for his first big league win. In July of 1995 the Orioles traded Klingenbeck to Minnesota for a PTBNL (who was later announced as OF Kimera Bartee). Klingenbeck pitched for the Twins in 1995-1996 and compiled a 1-3 record in 28 games with an ERA of 8.30. The Twins traded Klingenbeck to the Cincinnati Reds in April 1997. Klingenbeck pitched briefly for the Reds in 1998 before and for their AAA team in 1999 before retiring from baseball.
Andy Kosco was born on October 5, 1941 in Youngstown, Ohio and died on December 19, 2025 at the age of 84. Kosco excelled at every sport as a youngster. By the time he was a senior at Struthers High School, he was a strapping 6-feet-3 and 210 pounds, and excelled in football, basketball, and baseball. He received 44 scholarship offers for football, including ones from powers such as Michigan State and Ohio State, and 27 offers for basketball. “I think I was blessed with a lot of size,” said Kosco. “I ran well and threw well.” Kosco started his career with the Detroit Tigers as a free agent prior to the 1959 season and was released on June 3, 1964 and signed by the Minnesota Twins just three days later. Kosko debuted with the Twins on August 13, 1965 on a team packed with stars that was on its way to the World Series. Kosco played for the Twins between 1965-1967 but could not win a starting job and was sold to the Athletics after the 1967 season. Kosco went on to a number of other teams playing in the big leagues for all or parts of ten seasons with the Twins, Yankees, Dodgers, Brewers, Angels, Red Sox and the Redlegs appearing in 658 games hitting .236 with 73 home runs. If Andy Kosco’s baseball career could be described in a song, it might be the old Hank Snow classic “I’ve Been Everywhere.” Kosco may best be remembered for replacing Mickey Mantle in his final game, it was a memorable moment for Kosco, who often retold the story of taking over for the Yankee legend in his final game.
Bill Pleis was born on August 5, 1937 in St. Louis, MO and died on October 17, 2025 at the age of 88. Pleis was one of the original Twins moving with the Washington Senators to Minnesota prior to the 1961 season. Please spent his entire career pitching for the Minnesota Twins between 1961-1966. Pleis played in 190 games over parts of 6 seasons with Minnesota, and he had a 21-16 record with 13 saves. His ERA was 4.07, and he struck out 184 and walked 126 in 280-2/3 innings.
Hosken Powell was born on May 14, 1955 in Selma, AL and died on June 27, 2025 at the age of 70. Powell and outfielder was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (3rd) of the 1975 MLB June Draft-Secondary Phase from Chipola College (Marianna, FL). Powell’s roommate at Chipola College was Buck Showalter. Powell’s major league debut took place April 5, 1978 at the Kingdome in a 3-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners. Powell was 1-4 in the lead-off spot. He played four seasons for the Minnesota Twins, from 1978 to 1981. He played over 100 games in each of his first three seasons, and would likely have reached the number again in 1981 were it not for the strike. As a Twin, Powell slashed .322/.349/.671. After the 1981 season he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for a PTBNL (Greg Wells).
Rich Rollins (another original Twin) was born on April 16, 1938 in Mount Pleasant, PA and died on May 13, 2025 at the age of 87. After attending Kent State University, Rollins was signed by the Washington Senators in 1960 and began his pro career that year, hitting .341 in 62 games with the Wilson Tobs. He spent most of 1961 in the minors with the Charlotte Hornets and the Syracuse Chiefs but got into 20 games for the former Senators, now the Twins. He hit .298 with 16 home runs and 96 RBI as a rookie for Minnesota in 1962 and made the American League squad for both All-Star Games that summer. In 1964, he led the American League with 10 triples, and the following year, 1965, he made his only career postseason appearances, going hitless in three pinch-hitting appearances versus the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1965 World Series. On June 6, 1966, he was one of five Twins to homer in the 7th inning against the Kansas City Athletics; these five home runs still stand as the record for most homers in a single inning. Rollins had a slash line with the Twins of .333/.394/.727 over 8 seasons and 888 games. Rollins was selected by the Seattle Pilots in the 1968 expansion draft. Rollins played for the Brewers (former Pilots) in and Cleveland Indians in1969 before retiring.
Greg Thayer was born on October 23, 1949 in Cedar Rapids, IA and died on December 12, 2025 at the age of 76. Thayer was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 32nd round of the 1971 MLB June Amateur Draft from St. Cloud State University (St. Cloud, MN). The Giants released Thayer in April of 1973 and the Twins signed him as a free agent September 18, 1973. Thayer made his big league debut on April 7, 1978 at the Kingdome in a Twins 6-3 loss to the Mariners. Thayer’s big league career lasted just 20 games and his record was 1-1 with a 3.80 ERA. Thayer spent 1979 pitching for the Twins AAA team and then moved on to Toronto where he also pitched in AAA before retiring from pro ball.
Jose Valdivielso (another original Twin) was born on May 22, 1934 in Mantanzas, Cuba and died on March 4, 2025 at the age of 90. Infielder José Valdivielso was signed by the famed Washington Senators scout Joe Cambria from the Lubbock Hubbers of the West Texas-New Mexico League before the 1954 season. Jose, whom many called “Sandy”, came from a well-to-do Cuban family. His father played football at Boston University, then returned to Cuba to teach physical education. A light-hitting shortstop with a good glove, he appeared in 401 games during his five seasons in the majors. José managed to hit major league pitching at just a .219 average while with the Senators in 1955, 1956, 1959 and 1960 and the Minnesota Twins in 1961, following the relocation of the Senators to Minnesota. He spent the 1957 and 1958 seasons in the minor leagues with the Indianapolis Indians, Minneapolis Millers and Phoenix Giants. In 1960, the team’s sixtieth and last season in Washington, Valdivielso was the Senators’ most-used shortstop, starting in 92 games and playing a career-high 117 contests. But by late September he had lost his starting job to Zoilo Versalles, a 20-year-old fellow countryman. Jose finished out the last three years of his ten-year minor league career (1962-1964) with the Vancouver Mounties and Indianapolis, winding up with a .264 career hitting average in 745 games with 2,536 at-bats. José had a few fond memories of his time in baseball and this is what he had to say: “Coming to Yankee Stadium as a player was my biggest thing. To me it was the greatest accomplishment of my life. The first time I was in New York with the Washington Senators, we had a game at two o’clock on a Saturday afternoon. I was so excited I arrived at the Stadium between 8-9 in the morning. It was the greatest game of my life. Whitey Ford was pitching and I went three-for-three.” José was also a part of the only all-Cuban triple play in big league history. He recalled: “It was on July 23,1960 at Griffith Stadium. Whitey Herzog was hitting with runners on first and second and Pedro Ramos was pitching. Herzog hit a line drive to Pedro (one out). Ramos threw to Julio Becquer at first base (two outs). Julio then threw to me at second base (three outs). A 1-3-6 triple play.”
It takes a lot of hard work and patience to reach the big leagues on the part of the player but also on the part of his family. Thank you so much for all the wonderful memories.