Jim Rantz is a “baseball lifer” who knows a thing or two about talent, personalities, and wisdom.  A former minor league pitcher, who joined the Minnesota Twins organization when they were still the original Washington Senators, Jim moved into the front office in 1966 and he has never left the organization he loves.  He is now the Twins’ Senior Director of Minor Leagues, and has been since 1986. In 2007, Jim was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame.

As a “baseball man” through and through, Jim is quite familiar with my father, Del Wilber, and recently I had the distinct pleasure of chatting with Jim for a bit, on the phone.  Although we know too many people in common to possibly connect all the dots, I don’t believe Jim and I had ever spoken before, so it bears a mention that our phone call was set up by Dave St. Peter, the Twins’ President and one of the most active and helpful members of our Advisory Board here at TPGF.

Jim and I chatted for a bit about the Wilber family and my lifelong connection to the Twins, but before I knew it he was telling colorful stories about Big Del, and I was soaking them up as fast as he could deliver them. It was a treasure trove of heartfelt comments, and I appreciated every word of it.

Something even better came not too long after, when Jim reached out with a quick note to reinforce what we had talked about, while adding in some details we had not talked about, including the fact that he had played for Dad, in the Florida Instructional League. That was a fact of which I was previously unaware.

Here, in its entirety, is what Jim passed along.

I hope you enjoy his words as much as I did.

Bob Wilber

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bob,

It was really great to chat with you today, about Twins baseball and your father. Your dad was a truly great person, and one of those “bigger than life” personalities that no one will ever forget.

I wanted to tell you that I had the pleasure of playing for him one fall, in the Florida Instructional League way back in the early 60s, and that was some of the most fun I ever had playing the game. Del always made sure we worked hard but had fun, because you play your best when you’re enjoying it. As players, we saw him as a big teddy bear but we also viewed him with enormous respect, because of the playing career he’d had and all the legends of the game he played alongside. When you’re young and in the Instructional League, it makes a big impact to know your manager not only played successfully in the big leagues, but he did it alongside guys like Ted Williams and Stan Musial.

Your dad knew the ins and outs of the game for sure, and he had a great baseball mind. When he instructed, it was to the point but he took the time to tell us why were were learning those drills, rather than just put us through them. He loved telling stories, and I can tell you that just about anyone he ever met enjoyed hearing them.

One other thing I remember about that Instructional League season was that it seemed to us that he never left the ballpark. We’d get there at 9:00 a.m. and he was in full uniform, waiting for us. We’d take our showers and get ready to leave at the end of another long hot day, and Del was still dressed, and still telling stories. We figured maybe he kept telling us stories just to keep us at the ballpark for as long as he stayed.

I think the most important thing, though, is that whenever you think of Del Wilber, the first thought is always about what sort of person he was. He was bigger than life, but he was a player’s manager who always interacted with us one-on-one. Whether he was playing, managing, coaching, or scouting, he was dearly loved by all who had the pleasure of working with him.

Your dad will always be missed.

Take care, and best of luck with The Perfect Game Foundation. It’s a great cause.

Jim Rantz