Tag: Jim Manning

Twins players that left us in 2020

As we start a new year in 2021 and hope to get the COVID-19 pandemic behind us and head out to Target Field to watch the Twins play ball I wanted to share a list of former Minnesota Twins players and people associated with the Twins that passed away in 2020. We lost some great ones.

Pinch-hitter extraordinaire Julio Becquer was born in La Habana, Cuba on December 20, 1931 and passed away on November 1 at the age of 88. Originally signed by the Washington Senators he appeared in 419 games for them between 1955-1960 before playing in 57 games for the Twins in 1961 and in one game in 1963. Becquer goes down in Twins history for hitting the Twins first pinch-hit grand slam home run and as the first “position” player to pitch in a Twins game.

Carroll Hardy was born in Sturgis, South Dakota on May 18, 1933 and passed away at the age of 87 on August 9th. An amazing athlete, he earned ten letters as a Colorado Buffalo in football, baseball and track. While in the Cleveland Indians farm system he played in the NFL with the San Francisco 49’ers in 1955. He played major league baseball as an outfielder with the Indians, Red Sox, Colt .45s and finished his career with the Twins in 1967 primarily as a pinch hitter appearing in eleven games. In 1960 he became a trivia question for the ages when he became the only player to ever pinch-hit for Ted Williams.

Continue reading Twins players that left us in 2020

Know your Twins numbers

0 – The lowest number worn by a Twins player or field staff is 0 (zero), worn by catcher Junior Ortiz back in 1990 and 1991.

3 – Worn only by Hall of Fame Twins player Harmon Killebrew and retired on May 4, 1975.

4 – Hall of Famer Paul Molitor wore the number 4 as a Twins player in 1996-1998 and as a coach in 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2014 and as a manager from 2015-2018. 

6 – Worn by four former Twins players, Billy Consolo, Ted Lepcio, Jim Snyder, and Vic Wertz before Tony Oliva. Tony-O had his number 6 retired on July 14, 1991.

10 – Nine different Twins players wore the number 10 before manager Tom Kelly strapped it on his back from 1987-2001 as the Twins skipper. The Twins retired TK’s number 10 on September 8, 2012.

13 – Ten different Twins players and field staff have worn unlucky number 13, the first player being Bill Tuttle back in 1961 and the last player being Jason Kubel in 2014.

14 – Worn by four players and a manager before Kent Hrbek took the number 14 to glory. Twins retired the number on August 13, 1995.

25 – Hall of Fame and one time Twins player Jim Thome wore the number 25 on his back in 2010-2011.

28 – Worn by 14 different players including Bert Blyleven. The first player to wear the number 28 was Pedro Ramos and the last was Jesse Crain 2004-2010. Bert’s number 28 was retired on July 16, 2011.

29 – The seventh and final player to wear the number 29 was Rod Carew. The Twins retired this number 29 on July 19, 1987.

32 – MLB Hall of Famer and one time Twins player Dave Winfield wore the number 32 in 1993-1994.

34 – Nine players wore the number 34 before Kirby Puckett put it on in 1984 and no one has worn the number since Kirby took it off for the last time in 1995. The number was retired on May 25, 1997.

38 – MLB Hall of Famer and one time Twins pitcher Steve Carlton wore the number 38 in 1987-1988.

42 – Only three Twins players (Gerry Arrigo, Jim Manning and Buzz Stephen) wore the number 42 before the number was retired across MLB in 1997.

47 – Hall of Fame pitcher and one time Twins pitcher Jack Morris wore the number 47 in 1991.

73 – The lowest number that has never been worn by a Twins player or field staff.

83 – In the Minnesota Twins 58 year history Twins players and field staff have worn 83 different numbers.

99 – The highest number worn by a Twins player was 99 and it was worn by Logan Morrison.

Three players were on the active roster for the Twins but never played in a game for the team: Chuck Schilling, who wore number 18, in 1966; Maurice Ogier, who wore number 17, in 1968; and Dave May, who wore number 20, in 1977. Ogier and May never played in the majors.

Information is courtesy of historian and Minnesota Twins official scorer Stew Thornley’s website

Twins Mr. Everything Passes Away

Francis Ralph Quilici was born in Chicago, Illinois on May 11, 1938 and passed away on May 14, 2018 in Burnsville, Minnesota from kidney disease complications. The out-going Frank Quilici always had a smile on his face and was always willing to talk baseball.

After high school Quilici went to Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, but his stay there was short, just one semester due to financial difficulties. He returned to Chicago and got a job and continued playing ball. Frank caught a break when a scout told him he could help him walk-on to the baseball team at Western Michigan.

Quilici took advantage of the offer and his freshman roommate turned out to be none other than Jim Bouton. Quilici hit .400 his Junior year and was named second-team All-American. The New York Yankees offered Quilici a $28,000 signing bonus but Frank passed it up keeping his promise to his father that he would finish school. In his Senior year Quilici was named first team All-American with a .369 average. Western Michigan had some good baseball teams and finished fifth in the 1959 and 1961 seasons.

The Yankees lost interest in Quilici but Minnesota Twins scout Dick Wiencek who also signed Bert Blyleven, Graig Nettles, Dick Woodson and others quickly signed Quilici to  a $15,000 bonus after graduation and the Twins sent him off to the Class D- Appalachian League Wytheville Twins to start his pro career in 1961, There, Quilici played with future Twins like Tony Oliva, Jim Manning, Ted Uhlaender, and Bill Whitby. Quilici worked his way up through the Twins system with stops in places like Erie, Wilson, Charlotte, and Denver. Quilici, known more for his glove work than his bat,  spent the entire 1964 season with the AA Charlotte Hornets playing in 140 games and hitting a respectable .261 average with 25 doubles and 60 RBI. That season earned him his first spring training invite in 1965 with the parent club Minnesota Twins. 

Guido, as Frank was known, started the 1965 season with the AAA Denver Bears under manager Cal Ermer. Quilici was playing well in Denver in 1965 hitting .277 in July when the Twins came calling. The Twins had Jerry Kindall playing second base but he was hitting under .200 and then suffered a leg injury so Quilici was on his way to Minnesota to start his big league career. The Twins were losing to the California Angels 5-1 at Met Stadium in the first game of a double-header when Manager Sam Mele had Quilici enter the game as the second baseman in the top of the eighth inning. In his first big league at bat in the ninth inning off Bob Lee, Frank fouled out to the first baseman.

In the second game of the DH Quilici started at second base hitting lead-off and hit a double to left off Angels starter Ken McBride for his first big league knock and ended up scoring later in the inning on a bases loaded double by Bob Allison. 

Quilici’s first taste of the big leagues was one for the ages as the Minnesota Twins won the American League pennant and went on to play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1965 World Series and Frank went on to start at second base in all seven games. In game one, Quilici tied an MLB record when he had two hits (double and a single) off future Hall of Fame Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale in the third inning when the Minnesota lads scored six times and went on to an 8-2 win.

Quilici spent all of 1966 with the AAA Denver Bears where he played for manager Cal Ermer. Ermer said that Quilici was a “winner” and when Ermer replaced the fired Sam Mele as Twins skipper early in 1967 it didn’t take Ermer long to bring Frank up to the big leagues again but now as more in a utility player role. Quilici played for Minnesota through the 1970 season and appeared briefly in the 1970 ALCS series against the Baltimore Orioles.

On the eve of the 1971 season the Minnesota Twins released the soon-to-be 32-year-old Frank Quilici but his tenure with the Twins organization did not end as Twins owner Calvin Griffith offered him a job as a Twins coach under manager Bill Rigney. On July 6, 1972 Twins owner Calvin Griffith sent Bill Rigney packing after a 36-34 start to the 1972 season and moved the 33-year-old Quilici into the managers seat where he would be the youngest manager in baseball. Frank Quilici managed the Twins to a 280-287 record from 1972-1975 before he too was let go by Griffith. But Frank didn’t go far as he was hired as a broadcaster to team up with the great Herb Carneal to do Twins games on the radio from 1976-1977 and again from 1980-1982. After that Quilici took a position at Western Diversified Insurance where he would go on to become a VP. Baseball and the Twins called him back in 1987 to team up with Dick Bremer to do some Twins TV broadcasting.

Frank Quilici remained a Minnesota Twins ambassador and a baseball fan his entire life and devoted a lot of his time to the community and charitable causes. Frank had a kidney transplant in 2012 and was honored with the Kirby Puckett Award for Alumni Community Service in 2013 for his passion in promoting organ donorship. He was also a former member of the board of directors for the Twins Community Fund, the Killebrew Foundation and a number of other boards.

Frank Quilici is survived by his wife Lila and children, Kelly, Kolleen, Tony and Nick and numerous grand-children.

I had a few opportunities to work with and talk with Frank for some interviews I did with him back in 2009 when I first met him and he was a wonderful person who loved baseball and most of all loved life and enjoyed his time with family and friends to the very end. We will all miss you Frank Quilici!

Frank Quilici Obituary

Frank Quilici Obituary

Minnesota Twins Press Release

SABR Bio

Frank Quilici article by Pat Reusse

 

 

Former Twins pitcher Bill Whitby passed away March 12, 2016

Bill Whitby
Bill Whitby

I found out just recently that former Minnesota Twins pitcher Bill Whitby had passed away on March 12, 2016 in Huntersville, North Carolina at the age of 72 from heart disease.

William Edward Whitby was born in Crewe, Virginia on July 29, 1943. Bill was a star athlete at Victoria High School (Virginia) and after his high school graduation signed as a 17-year-old amateur free agent with the Minnesota Twins for $10,000, a substantial bonus back then.

Bill WhitbyBill started his professional pitching career as a 17 year old in class D ball with the Wytheville Twins and played there with future Twins to be Jim Manning, Tony Oliva, Frank Quilici, and Ted Uhlaender. Whitby climbed the Twins minor league ladder quickly and found himself pitching for the AA Charlotte Hornets late in 1963. In 1964 Bill started the season in Charlotte again but got the call that all players wait for, the call to the big leagues. Bill Whitby made his big league debut at the age of 20 on June 17, 1964 at Cleveland Stadium in game 2 of a doubleheader in the 8th inning with two runners on and two out with the Twins trailing 4-0. He retired Indians second baseman Larry Brown for the final out but in the ninth inning he got the first batter out before giving up a home run (Pedro Ramos) and a single before retiring the final two batters. Whitby made three more relief appearances in a Twins uniform before being returned to Charlotte.

Sadly for Bill, it turned out that those four appearances for the Twins would be his only pitching opportunities in the big leagues. Bill started the 1965 season in Charlotte but after posting a 10-8 record with a 2.61 ERA (including pitching a no-hitter) he was promoted to AAA Denver where it turns out he spent the next four years. The Twins traded RHP Bill Whitby to the St. Louis Cardinals on July 1, 1969 and in return received 1B Bill Davis and RHP Mel Nelson. Bill pitched briefly in 1970 for AAA Denver which was then a Washington Senators affiliate before encountering some shoulder issues that prompted him to  hang up his baseball spikes for good at the age of 26.

Bill and his wife Donelle were married for over 50 years and actually met when Donelle was selected as “Miss Hornet” in 1964 and Bill who was playing for Charlotte at the time served as her escort. As part of being selected “Miss Hornet”, Donelle Ranson was also given a trip to spring training in Melbourne, Florida where she and Bill started dating and on February 12, 1966 they were married and went on to have two children, son’s Brian and Kevin.

After baseball was in his rear view mirror Bill and Donelle returned to their farming roots and bought a farm near Huntersville, North Carolina where they raised beef cattle and some crops. When I talked with Donelle she was very grateful to the Minnesota Twins because they provided the opportunity for her and Bill to meet and share a wonderful life together.

William Whitby Obit

Remembering Bill Whitby…

The Fleeting Baseball Memories of Bill Whitby

Bill’s son put together this  YouTube video about his Dad’s life

Sporting News August 28, 1965 P37

Sporting News March 26, 1966 P12

Our condolences to Bill Whitby’s family and friends and to Bill Whitby, thank you for the memories!

These guys were Twins players too

CoffeeAccording to Wikipedia, a “cup of coffee” is a North American sports idiom for a short time spent by a minor league player at the major league level. The idea behind the term is that the player was only in the big leagues long enough to have a cup of coffee before being returned to the minors, or simply to describe a brief stint served with a professional team. The term originated in baseball and is extensively used in ice hockey,

The 52 players listed below appeared in five or fewer games wearing a Twins uniform. Some of them ended up playing for other major league teams and had long big league careers and others did not. Those that did not play in major league games other than the games mentioned here still achieved their dream of playing in a major league game, a wish that most of us reading this can only dream about. Some of these players had very short big league careers but they climbed the ladder and reached the top, their stay may not have been long but they touched the star they fought so long and hard to achieve.

The reasons that their stays in ‘the show” were not as long as they had hoped were many, some careers ended due to injury, others due to rumors and or politics, personal reasons, maybe they couldn’t stay sober or drug free, some heard the call from their country and other just were not good enough to play in the major leagues. But the bottom line is that they were one of the 758 players that appeared in a Minnesota Twins game so they should not be forgotten.

Although the list below has all the positions covered, most of the players on this list are pitchers. Some of the players on this list like Max Kepler and Alex Meyer will probably drop off this list in the near future but for now they find their names on this list of Twins players that many Minnesota Twins fans have never heard of.

Bruckbauer, Fred 2Probably the most famous or infamous player on this list is the now deceased pitcher Fred Bruckbauer. Born in New Ulm, Minnesota Bruckbauer pitched for the University of Minnesota and appeared in one game for the Minnesota Twins on April 25, 1961. The Twins were trailing the Kansas City A’s 7-2 at Municipal Stadium when Fred took the mound in the bottom of the fourth inning. A double by Dick Howser, a single by Jay Hankins, a walk to Jerry Lumpe and a double by Lou Klimchock and Twins manager Cookie Lavagetto had seen enough and brought in Chuck Stobbs, and Bruckbauer’s big league pitching career ended then and there. Fred Bruckbauer’s pitching line for the game and his career was three hits, one walk and four earned runs in zero innings pitched giving him an ERA of infinity. Bruckbauer never again pitched in a major league game, but remember, he pitched in a big league game.

 Players who appeared in five or fewer Twins games in their career

Rk Player G From To Age PA AB H BA Pos
1 Corky Miller 5 2005 2005 29-29 12 12 0 .000 /*2HD
2 Mike Fetters 5 2003 2003 38-38 0 0 0 /*1
3 Gary Rath 5 1999 1999 26-26 0 0 0 /*1
4 Shane Bowers 5 1997 1997 25-25 0 0 0 /*1
5 Greg Brummett 5 1993 1993 26-26 0 0 0 /*1
6 Mike Maksudian 5 1993 1993 27-27 17 12 2 .167 /*3H5
7 Rich Yett 5 1985 1990 22-27 0 0 0 /*1
8 Mike Mason 5 1988 1988 29-29 0 0 0 /*1
9 Tack Wilson 5 1983 1983 27-27 4 4 1 .250 /*HD8
10 Jim Shellenback 5 1977 1977 33-33 0 0 0 /*1
11 Jim Manning 5 1962 1962 18-18 1 1 0 .000 /*1
12 Howie Clark 4 2008 2008 34-34 8 8 2 .250 /*345
13 Darnell McDonald 4 2007 2007 28-28 11 10 1 .100 /*9HD
14 Jason Miller 4 2007 2007 24-24 0 0 0 /*1
15 J.D. Durbin 4 2004 2004 22-22 0 0 0 /*1
16 Warren Morris 4 2002 2002 28-28 7 7 0 .000 /*4H
17 Jose Rodriguez 4 2002 2002 27-27 0 0 0 /*1
18 Danny Mota 4 2000 2000 24-24 0 0 0 /*1
19 Tom Quinlan 4 1996 1996 28-28 6 6 0 .000 /*5H
20 Riccardo Ingram 4 1995 1995 28-28 10 8 1 .125 /*D*H
21 Keith Comstock 4 1984 1984 28-28 0 0 0 /*1
22 Jay Pettibone 4 1983 1983 26-26 0 0 0 /*1
23 John Hobbs 4 1981 1981 25-25 0 0 0 /*1
24 Bill Whitby 4 1964 1964 20-20 1 1 0 .000 /*1
25 Jake Jacobs 4 1961 1961 24-24 8 8 2 .250 /*8H
26 Max Kepler 3 2015 2015 22-22 7 7 1 .143 /*H*9
27 Kris Johnson 3 2014 2014 29-29 1 1 0 .000 /*1
28 Juan Morillo 3 2009 2009 25-25 0 0 0 /*1
29 Joe Beimel 3 2004 2004 27-27 0 0 0 /*1
30 Luis Quinones 3 1992 1992 30-30 6 5 1 .200 /*H6D5
31 Greg Olson 3 1989 1989 28-28 2 2 1 .500 /*2
32 Tippy Martinez 3 1988 1988 38-38 0 0 0 /*1
33 Jeff Bittiger 3 1987 1987 25-25 0 0 0 /*1
34 Kevin Stanfield 3 1979 1979 23-23 0 0 0 /*1
35 Bucky Guth 3 1972 1972 24-24 3 3 0 .000 /*H6
36 Bucky Brandon 3 1969 1969 28-28 2 1 0 .000 /*1
37 Don Williams 3 1963 1963 27-27 0 0 0 /*1
38 Alex Meyer 2 2015 2015 25-25 0 0 0 /*1
39 Eric Hacker 2 2011 2011 28-28 0 0 0 /*1
40 Armando Gabino 2 2009 2009 25-25 0 0 0 /*1
41 Kevin Mulvey 2 2009 2009 24-24 0 0 0 /*1
42 Ryan Jorgensen 2 2008 2008 29-29 1 1 0 .000 /*2
43 Dave Gassner 2 2005 2005 26-26 0 0 0 /*1
44 Mauro Gozzo 2 1992 1992 26-26 0 0 0 /*1
45 Dan Graham 2 1979 1979 24-24 4 4 0 .000 /*H*D
46 Buzz Stephen 2 1968 1968 23-23 4 3 0 .000 /*1
47 Chuck Nieson 2 1964 1964 21-21 0 0 0 /*1
48 Rob Delaney 1 2010 2010 25-25 0 0 0 /*1
49 Matt Fox 1 2010 2010 27-27 0 0 0 /*1
50 Justin Huber 1 2009 2009 26-26 2 2 1 .500 /*3
51 Mike Smith 1 2006 2006 28-28 0 0 0 /*1
52 Fred Bruckbauer 1 1961 1961 23-23 0 0 0 /*1
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/1/2015.

Did you know that 355 (or 46.8%) of the 758 players that wore a Twins uniform played in 49 or fewer games as a Minnesota Twin? Don’t get too attached to that player because he will probably not be around for long.

Do any of these guys bring back a special memory for you? Do you remember seeing them play? Feel free to leave a comment.

A-ball to the big leagues

Jorge Polanco
Jorge Polanco

The 20-year old Jorge Polanco‘s stay in the big leagues with the Twins is expected to end today when the Twins are expected to send him back to the minor leagues. Polanco was called up from the Ft. Myers Miracle of the High A ball Florida State league on June 26th making Polanco the fifth Twins player to make the mammoth leap to the big leagues from class A ball.

Jim Manning
Jim Manning

The first player in this exclusive group was 18-year old right-handed pitcher Jim Manning who was called up very early in 1962 from the class A Charlotte Hornets in the Sally League. Manning was only in his second year of pro ball after having signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1961 and pitching in just 12 games for the Wytheville Twins in the Appalachian League in 1961. Manning became the youngest Minnesota Twins player to appear in a big league game when he debuted in relief on April 15, 1962 at the age of 18 years and 268 days against the Los Angeles Angels at Met Stadium in a 6-3 Twins loss. Manning appeared in four more games for the Twins before being sent down to the minors and to never again put on a big league uniform.

Butch Wynegar
Butch Wynegar

The second Twins player to make the jump from class A to the majors was catcher Butch Wynegar. Wynegar was a Twins second round pick in 1974. Harold Wynegar, better known as Butch spent the 1975 season playing for the class A Reno Silver Sox and made the 1976 Twins team out of spring training and was a major leaguer from the day he made his big league debut on April 9, 1976 at Arlington Stadium at the age of 20 years and 26 days.

Kent Hrbek 1983 FleerPlayer number three was non other than Twins Hall of Fame and Minnesota native first baseman Kent Hrbek. Hrbek, a 17th round pick in the 1978 draft for the Twins was playing in his third season of pro ball for the class A Visalia Oaks after stops in Elizabethton in 1979 and Wisconsin Rapids in 1980 when the Twins called him up in August 1981 and he made his debut at Yankee Stadium at the age of 21 year and 95 days on August 24, 1981. Hrbek never returned to the minors again. SABR Bio on Hrbek.

Jim Eisenreich
Jim Eisenreich

Player number four was another Minnesota native, outfielder Jim Eisenreich who was drafted by the Twins as a 16th rounder in 1980. Eisenreich spent time in Elizabethton and Wisconsin Rapids in 1980 and 1981 before coming north with the Minnesota Twins after making the club in spring training in 1982. Jim debuted at the Metrodome on April 6, 1982 at the age of 22 years and 353 days. Eisenreich was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome and chose to retire causing him to miss all of the 1984 and 1985 seasons before making a comeback with the Kansas City Royals and going on to enjoy a very productive 15 year career with five major league teams although only 48 of his 1,422 big league games were spent in a Twins uniform. Eisenreich SABR Bio.

But getting back to Mr. Polanco, though he never had a chance to play in Target Field in front of home town fans during this call-up the switch-hitting shortstop garnered a loyal following among Twins fans that are looking to see him in the big leagues once again. Polanco appeared in four games getting seven plate appearances that included getting two walks and two hits and three RBI’s. His hits were a double and a triple. MLB ProspectWatch did a little blog on Polanco that you might want to check out. I think the most interesting part of the blog was the Baseball Prospectus scouting report on Polanco.

This Day in Twins History – April 15, 1962

Jim Manning became the youngest Twins player to appear in a MLB game when he came in to pitch in relief at the tender age of 18 years, 8 months and 25 days against the Los Angeles Angels at Met Stadium. Manning had been signed as a free agent prior to the 1961 season and pitched in just 45 innings in a dozen class D ball games in 1961 before make his major league debut on this date in 1962. Jim made four more appearances for the Twins before being sent down to the minors and he never made another big league appearance again. Manning pitched in the Twins minor league system through 1965 but did not get above AA ball. In 1966 Manning pitched in the Washington Senators AA team in York before walking away from baseball at the age of 22.

Don’t forget to check our Today in Twins History page each day, there are all kinds of interesting facts out there.