Forgotten Seasons of the Past By Minnesota Twins Players

RP: Bill Dailey, 1963

Stats: 66 G, 108 2/3 IP, 6-3, 21 SV, 1.99 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 19/72 BB/K
Like so many arms in the era, Dailey was a reliever that was chewed up and spit out, having one huge usage season and never again being healthy, with his career in the majors done before he was 30 years old. Dailey wasn’t even a plan for the Twins in 1963, being purchased from the Indians when he wasn’t going to make their team, and he found his way quickly into the most important role in the bullpen. While that 1963 team was known for its pitching, it was starters Camilo Pascual, Dick Stigman, Jim Kaat, and Jim Perry who drew the most attention as well as swingman/5th starter Lee Stange. Dailey’s arm was so overrun after 1963 that he appeared in just 14 games in 1964 before retiring, nearly walking as many in those 14 appearances as he had in all of 1963.

RP: Tom Johnson, 1977

Stats: 71 G, 146 2/3 IP, 16-7, 15 SV, 3.13 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 47/87 BB/K
Another guy who was churned through, Johnson was a local guy, having attended high school in St. Paul and attended college at the University of Minnesota before joining the Twins in 1974. He lingered at the end of the bullpen for three seasons before being thrust into the primary closer role in 1977 for one season. Shoulder issues popped up for Johnson after that one season, and he made his last major league appearance in 1978 at age 27. Johnson went to seminary after baseball, and he has been in ministry for two decades. Johnson and his wife now live in Slovakia.

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RP: Dennys Reyes, 2006

Stats: 66 G, 50 2/3 IP, 5-0, 0.89 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 15/49 BB/K
The Minnesota Twins in the late 2000s had deep bullpens, which is one reason that Reyes went completely under the radar in 2006. In that season, he was elite in his role as the LOOGY in the rotation, yet the rotation had two brilliant lefties that season in Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano, while the bullpen had Joe Nathan leading a crew of arms that would eventually feature both future relief aces Pat Neshek and Glen Perkins. Reyes ended up pitching with the Twins for two more seasons, but neither was as tremendous as 2006. Interestingly, a 27 year-old Craig Breslow would push Reyes out in 2008 before struggling himself in 2009 until a trade to the Oakland Athletics.

Next: Pressly shows closer stuff through struggles

There were many players that I had to clip off of here that could have been good selections. Do you remember all of these guys? Do you remember ANY of these seasons (or did you before you were reminded in this post)? Comment below to join the conversation!