Happy Birthday--March 8

Pete Fox (1909)
Ray Mueller (1912)
Al Gionfriddo (1922)
Carl Furillo (1922)
Jim Bouton (1939)
Jacques Doucet (1940)
Dick Allen (1942)
Jim Rice (1953)
John Butcher (1957)
Mark Salas (1961)
Mike Moriarty (1974)
Juan Encarnacion (1976)

Right-hander John Butcher pitched for the Twins from 1984 through mid-1986.  A native of Glendale, California, he attended Yavapai Community College and was drafted by Texas in the first round of the June secondary draft in 1977.  Butcher pitched well in the low minors, but then was a bit up and down.  He had a fine year in 1980 at AAA Charleston, resulting in his first September call-up.  He struggled the next year at AAA Wichita, but still got another September call-up.  Butcher got off to a strong start in AAA Denver in 1982, and was brought up for good in late May.  He made a few appearances out of the bullpen, then entered the starting rotation in mid-July.  Butcher was used mostly in relief in 1983 for the Rangers and pitched very well.  After the season, however, he was traded to Minnesota with Mike Smithson for Sam Sorce and Gary Ward.  The Twins immediately moved Butcher into the rotation and he had his best year, going 13-11, 3.44 in 1984.  In 1985 his ERA went up by over a run and a half, and after a slow start in 1986 he was traded to Cleveland for Neal Heaton.  He finished the season for the Indians, but did not pitch well there, either.  He apparently injured his arm that year, and his career was over.  As a Twin, John Butcher was 24-28, 4.48 in just over 500 innings.  He made 84 appearances, 77 of them starts.  There are a lot more people in this world named "John Butcher" than one might suppose; no information on "our" John Butcher was readily available.

Palindromic catcher Mark Salas played for the Twins from 1985 until June of 1987.  He was born in Montebello, California, went to high school in La Puente, California, and was drafted by St. Louis in the 18th round in 1979.  He had been nothing special in the minors when all at once he hit .304 with 20 home runs in AA Arkansas in 1983.  He fell back to a more typical .244 with 12 homers the next year, despite which he made his major league debut for about a month from mid-June to mid-July.  Salas was not protected that offseason, and was chosen by Minnesota in the Rule 5 draft.  He shared catching duties with Tim Laudner in 1985 and 1986; Salas, as a left-handed batter, got the majority of the at-bats, but not by as much as one would expect.  He hit .300 in 360 at-bats in 1985, but only .233 in 258 at-bats in 1986.  He was hitting well in limited playing time in early June of 1987 when he was traded to the Yankees for Joe Niekro.  Things did not go well for Salas in New York, and after the season he was traded again, this time to the White Sox.  He spent 1988 in Chicago as a part-time catcher, was released at the end of spring training in 1989, and hooked on with Cleveland.  He was with AAA Colorado Springs much of the year and hit well there, but did little in thirty games with the Indians.  Released again at the end of the season, Salas moved on to Detroit for 1990 and was a reserve catcher there for two years before ending his career.  Salas' best season was clearly with the Twins in 1985; for his career as a Twin, he hit .279/.320/.440 in 663 at-bats.  Since his playing career ended, Mark Salas has been employed mostly by the White Sox, for whom he currently works as bullpen coach.

Infielder Mike Moriarty did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them.  Born in Camden, New Jersey, he attended high school in Pennsauken, New Jersey, and then went to Seton Hall.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the seventh round in 1985.  He was in the Twins' minor league system for six years, the last three and a half in AAA.  He hit between .220 and .260 in all six of those years, never hitting more than 13 home runs.  Moriarty became a minor league free agent after the 2001 season and played for several organizations before ending his career.  He signed with Baltimore for 2002 and surprisingly made the club out of spring training, but hit only .188 in 16 at-bats, his only stint in the big leagues.  Returned to the minors in early May, he hit .277 in Rochester, his best season in the minors.  Moriarty signed with Toronto for 2003, was released in June, signed with Houston in July, became a free agent after the season, signed with Colorado for 2004, was released in April, signed with Pittsburgh, was released after the season, signed with Boston for 2005, was released in April, signed with the Cubs, was moved on to Baltimore in May, and was released after the season, ending his career.  He played in AAA almost all of that time, hitting between .210 and .240.  Moriarty's primary position was shortstop, although he also saw time and second base and third base.  After his playing career was over, Mike Moriarty became a coach in the Pittsburgh Pirates' minor league system, which is where he remained at last report.