Kaiser Wilhelm (1874)
Tubby Spencer (1884)
George Blaeholder (1904)
Charlie Gelbert (1906)
Bob Nieman (1927)
Bob Uecker (1935)
Mike Pazik (1950)
Rick Schu (1962)
Jeff Branson (1967)
Ryan Rowland-Smith (1983)
Left-hander Mike Pazik appeared in 13 games for Minnesota in the mid-1970s. He was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, attended high school there, and then went to Holy Cross, the most recent major league player to come from that school. Pazik was drafted by the Yankees in the 13th round in 1971. He was used as a starter in the Yankees' minor league system and pitched pretty well, but did not get a chance in the majors with them. In May of 1974, Pazik was traded along with cash to Minnesota for Dick Woodson. He pitched pretty well at AAA Tacoma and came to the Twins for about a month in 1975, but got little chance to play, appearing in five games (three starts) and pitching 19.2 innings. Pazik made the Twins out of spring training in 1976, but again appeared in only five games (all in relief) before going back to AAA. In 1977, Pazik again made the Twins out of spring training and pitched very well in three starts, but then was seriously injured in an automobile accident which broke both his legs, and missed the rest of the season. He became a free agent after the season and signed with the White Sox. He pitched well in the minors, but was not brought back to the big leagues. Pazik started 1979 still in the White Sox' organization, moved on to Pittsburgh, and then ended his career. His entire major league career was with Minnesota: he was 1-4, 5.79 in 46.2 innings. After his career ended, Pazik went on to coaching and managing, and was the pitching coach for the White Sox from 1995 to 1998. More recently, Mike Pazik has been employed as a scout.
Left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith never played for Minnesota, but was in spring training with them in 2005. Born in Sydney, Austalia, he attended high school in Newcastle, Australia. He was signed by Seattle as a free agent in 2000. He alternated between starting and relieving through much of his early career. Despite generally pitching well, he had not been above Class A through the 2004 season. Following that season, Minnesota selected him in the Rule 5 draft; however, he did not make the team, and was returned to Seattle in late March. He struggled in his AA debut in 2005, but did much better the second time around in 2006. He has split his time from 2007-2009 between Seattle and AAA Tacoma. He was used in relief in 2007, but was converted back to starting in 2008. He has mostly pitched well in AAA, although he struggled some in ten starts last season. His major league record has actually been slightly better than his AAA numbers. So far, he has made 88 major league appearances, 27 of them starts. He is 11-7, 3.62 with a 1.30 WHIP and a 118 ERA+. Ryan Rowland-Smith turns 27 today, and appears ready to put in his first full season in a major league starting rotation.
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HERE'S the pic I was looking for. I used to wear the black frames in HS athletics, but Ryan looks great in the sports specs
Wayne Gretzky (1961)
Big Mak (1982)
HBD, Mak!
Have a great day, Mak. We could use a player bio!
Born in northern MN, Outfielder/Utility guy Big Mak went undrafted out of high school and opted to attend Gustavus Adolphus College. In a feat reminiscent of Joe Mauer's high school hitting prowess, he struck out a grand total of zero times in his entire college career, but still did not attract the eyes of any pro scouts. He moved on to Chicago, where, occasionally, he could be seen by spectators at nearby Beloit Snappers (Twins Low-A affiliate) games. He never appeared on any organizational top prospects lists, although some say that was due to his focus being divided between his baseball career and graduate studies (he received a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Northwestern in 2009).
Currently, Big Mak is living in Kansas, still pursuing his dual careers as a professional baseball player/chemist.
Mak links to Greatness. Happy happy!