Pinky Whitney (1905)
Red Kress (1907)
Jim Essian (1951)
Bill Madlock (1951)
David Cone (1963)
Edgar Martinez (1963)
Greg Swindell (1965)
Royce Clayton (1970)
Jeff Suppan (1975)
Left-hander Forest Gregory Swindell was a Twin for roughly a season and a half in the late 1990s. A native of Ft. Worth, he attended the University of Texas and was chosen by Cleveland with the second pick of the 1986 draft. Swindell made three starts for Class A Waterloo and was immediately promoted to the big leagues and placed in the Indians' starting rotation. He struggled some early on, and was injured for the second half of 1987, but put things together in 1988, winning 18 games with a 3.20 ERA. That was arguably the best season he would ever have as a starter, but he had some other good ones, making the all-star team for the only time of his career in 1989. Swindell remained in the Cleveland rotation through 1991, then was traded to Cincinnati for one year. He had a fine 1992 for the Reds, became a free agent, and signed with Houston. It seemed as if everything was coming together for Swindell: a 28-year-old pitcher coming off a good year going to the best pitcher's park in baseball. Instead, he went backward. He wasn't awful as an Astro, but he was not what they expected him to be, either, posting ERAs in the low-to-mid-fours over three seasons. He got off to a bad start in 1996, was sent to the bullpen, and then was released in early June. He finished the season back with Cleveland, then became a free agent again and signed with Minnesota for 1997. His days as a starter were over, but he was a valuable member of the Twins' bullpen. He made 117 appearances for Minnesota, pitching 182 innings. He went 10-7, 3.61 with three saves, a WHIP of 1.16 and an ERA+ of 129. At the end of July, 1998, with the Twins once again far from the pennant race, Swindell was traded to Boston with Orlando Merced for Joe Thomas, John Barnes, and Matt Kinney. He continued to be a valuable reliever, first for the Red Sox and then, after becoming a free agent after the 1998 season, for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He had three solid seasons for Arizona. Then, in 2002, he battled injuries and decided to retire after the season, having pitched in the majors for 17 seasons. At last report, Greg Swindell was a volunteer assistant coach for the University of Texas and a part-time analyst for Arizona Diamondbacks television broadcasts. He was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1996.
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Swindell moves into the lead for ex-Twin closest in age to me.