Happy Birthday--March 9

Billy Southworth (1893)
Myril Hoag (1908)
Arky Vaughan (1912)
Jackie Jensen (1927)
Ron Kline (1932)
Jim Landis (1934)
Bert Campaneris (1942)
John Curtis (1948)
Darrel Chaney (1948)
Terry Mulholland (1963)
Benito Santiago (1965)
Vince Horsman (1967)
Aaron Boone (1973)
C. J. Nitkowski (1973)

Right-hander Ron Kline had a solid year for the Twins in 1967.  A native of Callery, Pennsylvania, Kline signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent in 1950.  He pitched very well in the low minors and reached the Pirates in 1952, jumping from Class B.  He appears not to have been ready--in 27 games, 11 starts, he went o-7, 5.49.  Kline then missed the next two years due to the Korean War.  Upon his return in 1955, he stayed in the big leagues, pitching for Pittsburgh from 1955 through 1959.  Used mostly as a starter, Kline was durable and consistent, pitching around 200 innings per year and posting WHIPs just over 1.3o.  He slipped a little in 1959, however, and was traded to St. Louis after the season.  After a poor 1960 for the Cardinals, Kline was sold to the Angels in April of 1961.  He continued to pitch poorly, was placed on waivers, and was claimed by Detroit in August.  He was moved to the bullpen in 1962 and did somewhat better, but not great, and was sold to Washington in March of 1963.  Kline saved his career in Washington.  He became the closer for the Senators and posted an ERA under three in four consecutive seasons.  He was 26-25 with 83 saves in that span, leading the league with 29 saves in 1965.  He was still pitching well in 1966, but after that season he was traded to Minnesota for Bernie Allen and Camilo Pascual.  The Twins had Al Worthington to close, so Kline became a setup man and had another fine year in 1967, going 7-1, 3.77 with a WHIP of 1.20.  He was on the move again after the season, though, traded to Pittsburgh for Bob Oliver.  He had an excellent 1968, going 12-5, 1.68 with a WHIP of 1.11.  That was his last good year, though.  Off to a poor start in 1969, Kline was traded to San Francisco in June, sold to Boston in July, and released by the Red Sox after the season.  He signed with Atlanta for 1970, but was released in June.  The Angels picked him up and he had a fine rest of the season in AAA Hawaii, but then his career was over.  After his retirement, Ron Kline returned to his home town of Callery, Pennsylvania, eventually serving as mayor.  Ron Kline passed away at his home in Callery on June 22, 2002. 

Left-hander Terry Mulholland pitched for the Twins in 2004 and 2005.  A Uniontown, Pennsylvania native, he attended Marietta College and was drafted by the Giants in the first round in 1984.  He pitched well in the low minors, but struggled when promoted to AAA in 1986.  Despite that, he was bounced back and forth between AAA and San Francisco in 1986.  He spent all of 1987 in AAA, still not pitching particularly well.  Mulholland went back to bouncing between AAA and the Giants in 1988 and 1989 until he was traded to Philadelphia in June of 1989.  He established himself as a Phillie; he became a rotation starter there and was a good one, posting an ERA under four for four consecutive years, 1990 through 1993.  He pitched a no-hitter in 1990, led the league in complete games (12) in 1992, and made the all-star team in 1993.  He was traded to the Yankees in February of 1994 and immediately collapsed.  He went 6-7, 6.49, became a free agent after the season, and signed with the Giants for 1995.  After another poor year he became a free agent again and went back to the Phillies, but was traded to Seattle at the end of July, 1996.  Mulholland pitched somewhat better that year, but continued to be on the move in 1997, signing with the Cubs at the start of the season but being selected off waivers by the Giants in August.  Mulholland went back to the Cubs for 1998, went to the bullpen, and suddenly was a good pitcher again, going 6-5, 2.89 in 112 innings.  He could not sustain his success, was traded to Atlanta in July of 1999, pitched poorly for the Braves in 2000, and was a free agent again.  He was with the Pirates and Dodgers in 2001 and with the Dodgers and Indians in 2002.  He stayed with Cleveland for 2003, but was pretty mediocre.  A free agent again after that campaign, Mulholland signed with the Twins for 2004.  He stuck with Minnesota for two years, the longest he had been with the same team in over a decade.  He did not pitch particularly well out of the  Minnesota bullpen in the first half of the season, but the Twins were desperate for a fifth starter, so he went into the rotation in early July.  He was not great in that role, either, but managed to go 4-5 with an ERA just under five.  Moved back to the bullpen for 2005, he actually did somewhat better.  Still, he became a free agent after the season and signed with Arizona for 2006.  He began the season in the majors, but was quickly sent back to AAA, and was released in June ending his career.  It was a pretty good career, though, lasting twenty seasons and including two World Series teams.  Terry Mulholland is currently the part-owner of the Dirty Dogg Saloon in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Left-hander Vince Horsman made six appearances for the Twins in 1995.  He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and went to high school in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.  He signed with Toronto as a free agent in 1984.  He was mostly used in relief, although the one time he was used as a starter, 1987 at Class A Myrtle Beach, he went 7-7, 3.82 with a 1.22 WHIP.  Returned to the bullpen after that, Horsman continued to pitch pretty well.  After going 4-1, 2.34 in 80.2 innings in AA Knoxville in 1991, Horsman got a September call up.  Surprisingly, he was waived after that season and was claimed by Oakland.  He was with the Athletics for all of 1992, his only full season in the majors, and did quite well as a Loogy, going 2-1, 2.49 in 43.1 innings spread over 58 games.  Horsman started 1993 in the minors, but was called up in mid-June and placed in the same role.  He did not do as well, posting a 5.40 ERA in 25 innings spread over 40 appearances.  He split 1994 between Oakland and AAA, again used as a Loogy.  He was released after the season and signed with Minnesota just before the 1995 campaign.  He was in the majors for about two weeks that season, pitching nine innings over six games and giving up seven earned runs on twelve hits.  His best outing as a Twin came on May 7, when he pitched three scoreless innings in a seventeen inning loss to Cleveland.  He did not pitch particularly well in AAA, and was released in August.  Horsman pitched in AAA for Toronto in 1996, pitched in Taiwan in 1997, and pitched in AAA for Baltimore in 1998, and then his playing career was over.  Horsman was a batting practice pitcher for the Orioles from 1999 through 2004 and pitched for Dartmouth in the Baseball Canada Senior Championship in 2005.  Vince Horsman is currently the pitching coach for the Auburn Doubledays, a short-season Class A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.