As another year goes in the books we need to look back and remember the Minnesota Twins players that left us this past year. The players may be gone but the memories will always be there.
Fred Lasher was born in Poughkeepsie, NY on August 19, 1941 and passed away at the age of 80 in Altoona, Wisconsin on February 27, 2022. As a youngster, Fred played various positions and was a fine hitter. He batted and threw right-handed. But while at Poughkeepsie High School, Fred began to concentrate on pitching. Ultimately, he became a star pitcher for the Poughkeepsie High School baseball team. Major League Baseball had not yet conducted its inaugural free agent draft of amateur baseball players. As a result, Fred was free to sign with any professional team after graduation from high school. At 6-foot-4 and a hard thrower, he attracted the interest of numerous MLB teams. Eventually, in 1960 he signed with the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent. The Senators eventually became the Minnesota Twins in 1961. Lasher pitching for Wytheville, a Class D Appalachian League team. Lasher made his major league debut at age 21 at Memorial Stadium in Kansas City on April 12, 1963. The Twins lost the game, but Lasher contributed by pitching a scoreless inning. Lasher pitched 9.1 innings for the Twins, but control issue brought about his demotion to the Charlotte Hornets in the South Atlantic League. It turned out that his Twins carrer was over after the 1963 season in which he appeared in just 11 games and had a 0-0 won/lost record. Lasher went on to play with the Tigers, Indians and very briefly with the Angels and his big league career was over after six seasons in 1971. After retiring from baseball, Fred operated a drywall company and served as a recreation therapist for youth with drug and alcohol problems. His obituary in Ripbaseball.com is an interesting read.