Pep Young (1907)
Joe Schultz (1918)
Orval Grove (1919)
Billy Cox (1919)
Doug DeCinces (1950)
Bill Latham (1960)
Henry Blanco (1971)
Pitcher William Carol Latham was signed out of Auburn University as a free agent by the Mets in 1981. He did well in the minors, winning 13 games in both 1984 and 1985 with an ERA under 3.00 both years, mostly at AAA Tidewater. Latham started 1985 with the Mets and did not do badly, posting an ERA of 3.97 and a WHIP of 1.24 in 22.2 innings, starting three games and relieving four. In the off-season, the Mets traded him along with Billy Beane and Joe Klink to the Twins for Pat Crosby and Tim Teufel. Latham pitched well in AAA Toledo, and appeared in seven games for the Twins in 1986, two of them starts, going 0-1 with a 7.31 ERA in 16 innings. He started poorly in 1987 with AAA Portland and was traded back to the Mets in May for Jayson Felice. He spent the rest of 1987 and all of 1988 in the Mets' minor-league organization, and then called it a career. Bill Latham is currently a scout for the Boston Red Sox.
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Henry Blanco was signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 1989. He did not hit much in the minors, but slowly moved up, making his AAA debut in 1995. A .313 average at AAA Albuquerque in 1997 earned him a cup of coffee with the Dodgers, but he was back in Albuquerque for all of 1998. Blanco became a minor-league free agent after that season, and was signed by the Rockies. His first full year in the majors came in 1999 for Colorado, but it was his only season there, as he was traded to the Brewers as part of a three-team deal that also included future Twin Jeff Cirillo. Blanco spent two seasons as a part-time player in Milwaukee, and then was traded to Atlanta in spring training of 2002. After two years in Atlanta, he became a free agent. Minnesota signed him during the 2003-04 off-season to back up Joe Mauer, but when Mauer was hurt, Blanco became the regular, playing 114 games, the most he has ever played in a season. He had never hit well in the majors and did not do so in Minnesota, batting .206 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs, but he gave the Twins good defense behind the plate. The Twins let him go after that season, and Blanco moved on to the Cubs, where he spent four years as a part-time catcher. Let go by the Cubs after 2008, he signed with the Padres, for whom he currently plays. Henry Blanco has thrown out over 40 percent of opposing base stealers, throwing out 59 percent in 2000. Needless to say, the Twins still miss him.
couldn't readily find a Blanco Twins card, but this pic is classic
almost as good as this one...
It's Missing Henry Blanco Day at the WGOM and the Boss didn't mention it in the CoC???
also on this date:
1996 - Seattle obtains Dave Hollins from the Twins, and releases Jeff Manto, who signs with the Red Sox. Manto had been swapped on July 22 by the Red Sox.
and in 1963 the Twins hit a whole lot of home runs
In those days, the home run was the hallmark of Twins Baseball.
as it was in 1986
More on Blanco:
In his time with the Braves and Cubs, he was pretty much Greg Maddox's personal catcher.
Nickname was "Mango-Face." (Lost-in-translation version of "Peach Fuzz" maybe?)