Commenter RandBallsStu of the RandBall blog (Branding!) tracks down each week a former Minnesota sports figure about whom you otherwise might have forgotten. Stu? ------------
The Hunt Down
Name: Jeff Cirillo Claim to Fame, Minnesota: was a member of your Minnesota Twins for part of the 2007 season. No, it wasn't Mike Lamb using a different identity, it was Jeff Cirillo (pictured from 2007 with Kuuuuuuubs). There's a statistical record, news items, the whole schmear. He was claimed off of waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks in August of that year, his last in the majors. Claim to Fame, Everywhere Else: The third baseman got his start with the Milwaukee Brewers, where he spent the first six seasons of his career hitting doubles and hovering around .300, mostly. He then went on to the Colorado Rockies, where he had crazy good numbers because of Coors Field, and was acquired by the Seattle Mariners before the 2002 season instead of Scott Rolen, which the Mariners blog Lookout Landing was still angry about as of 2012. Also, like every MLB player between roughly 1999-2008, he either played with or was traded for Brian Fuentes. Where He Is Now: he is a scout for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California, USA. Is He On Twitter: oh yes. Has He Been in a Twitter Feud with Patrick Reusse: no. Glorious Randomness: per his Wiki page, Cirillo is a partner in the ownership group of the Walla Walla Sweets. They are so named NOT because of delicious candy or the power-pop singer-songwriter Matthew, but because of Walla Walla's legendary sweet onions, as this logo featuring a squinty, bat-wielding onion makes plain. You can learn more about them at www.sweetonions.org. (That is not an adults-only link.)
