Minnesota Twins - Other Favorite Players

Below are cards from my personal collection of some of my favorite Minnesota Twins players that are not in the Minnesota Twin Hall of Fame. As fans, we are attracted to different players for different reasons. These are some of those Minnesota Twins that made an impression on me. Enjoy!

Leo Cardenas

Leonardo Lazaro Cárdenas Alfonso, also known as "Chico" and "Mr. Automatic" was born on December 17, 1938 in Matanzas, Cuba. He played shortstop for the Minnesota Twins from 1969 to 1971. He was a 5-time All-Star and was one of the best-fielding shortstops of his era. He also had respectable power, hitting hitting a career high 20 home runs with 81 RBI in 1966 for the Cincinnati Reds. Leo broke into the major leagues in 1960 with the Reds and then after playing for the Twins, Leo went on to play for the California Angels, Cleveland Indians, then finished his career in 1975 with the Texas Rangers.

Dave Goltz

David Alan Goltz was born on 06/23/1949 in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota which is located just 47 miles east of Fargo, North Dakota. He graduated from Rothsay, Minnesota and entered the Minnesota Twins organization in 1967. After delaying his career by serving in the US Army Reserves as a helicopter mechanic he was called up to the Twins in 1972 when Jim Kaat was placed on the disabled list. He pitched for the Minnesota Twins from 1972 through 1979. In 1980 he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodger and then in 1982 to the California Angels where he finished his career in 1983. His best years however, were with the Twins where he went 96-79. In 1977 Dave became a 20-game winner by going 20-11 with the Twins which tied him for the American League wins lead. In 1981 Dave appeared in the World Series as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Jim Grant

James Timothy "Mudcat" Grant was born on 08/13/1935 in Lacooche, Florida. He made his MLB debut on April 17, 1958, at the age of 22 with the Cleveland Indians. He won a complete game in his debut against the Kansas City Athletics. In his 7th season as a Cleveland Indian, he was traded to the Minnesota Twins. He went on to pitch for the Twins from 1964 to 1967. In 1965, he had his best year as a Minnesota Twin, which also happened to be the best year in his career, Mudcat went 21-7. Interestingly, he hit a home run in the 1965 World Series, only the second American League pitcher at that time to do so. He was traded in 1968 to the Los Angeles Dodgers. From 1968 to his last year in 1971 Mudcat played for 5 teams which included the Dodgers, Expos, Cardinals, A"s (twice) and the Pirates. A fun fact, he was the starting pitcher in the Montreal Expos first major league game. Mudcat finished his career with the Oakland A's in 1971.

Jim was one of the nicest major leaguers that I had the pleasure to meet. I was fortunate to meet Mudcat a few times. The first time I met him the two of us sat and talked about his career. He loved talking about his past and baseball in general. The another time I met him was at the Metrodome. He was a kind soul. He loved kids and made it a priority to talk to my son that day and to sign an autograph for him. Jim "Mudcat" Grant died on June 11, 2021, at the age of 85.