TWINS TRIVIA is hopefully a fun and informative site that will help you to better enjoy the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful history. “History never looks like history when you are living through it” – John Gardner, former Secretary of Health
There is always something interesting in the “MLB Weekly Notes”, it is a shame that MLB does not make this available to the general public. I am putting out the notes for everyone to enjoy. I will try to put them out here for as long as they continue.
Charles “Chuck” Nieson, a right-handed pitcher who spent seven seasons in the Minnesota Twins organization and made two major league appearances during a short September call-up in 1964, passed away on April 7, 2026, in Ortonville, Minnesota. He was 83.
Born September 24, 1942, in Hanford, California, Nieson developed into a promising young arm at Fresno State University, becoming just the fifth Bulldogs player ever to reach the major leagues. The Twins signed him as an amateur free agent before the 1962 season, beginning a long and steady climb through the organization’s minor-league system.
Nieson debuted that summer with the Fort Walton Beach Jets, striking out more than a batter per inning and showing the swing-and-miss ability that would remain his calling card. He advanced to Double-A Charlotte in 1963 and then to AAA Atlanta in 1964, earning a September promotion to Minnesota at age 21.
Former Minnesota Twins catcher Tom Nieto, a member of the franchise’s unforgettable 1987 World Series championship team, passed away on March 27 at the age of 65. His family shared that he died in Florida following a heart attack, leaving behind a long baseball life that touched clubhouses across the majors and minors alike.
Nieto’s career wound through several organizations, but in Minnesota he found the role that Twins fans remember best: a reliable, defense first catcher who helped stabilize a pitching staff during one of the most pivotal seasons in franchise history.
Born in Downey, California, Nieto played his college ball at Oral Roberts University before being drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third round in 1981. He reached the majors in 1984 and served as Darrell Porter’s backup during the Cardinals’ 1985 pennant run.
After a stop in Montreal, the Expos dealt him to Minnesota — a move that would place him squarely in the middle of one of the most improbable championship seasons in modern baseball.
The 1987 Twins were a team built on personality, power, and the Metrodome’s peculiar magic. But every championship club needs its glue pieces, and Nieto was one of them. Working behind the plate with a staff that included Frank Viola, Bert Blyleven, Les Straker, and a bullpen full of characters, Nieto provided the steady defensive presence that managers covet in a backup catcher. He appeared in 47 games that season, and while his offensive numbers were modest, his value came in the trust the staff placed in him and the professionalism he brought to the job.
He earned a World Series ring that fall as the Twins stunned the baseball world by beating the Cardinals — the very team that drafted him — in seven games. For Twins fans, his name sits comfortably in that long list of role players whose contributions don’t always show up in the box score but are woven into the fabric of a championship.
