by Paul Semendinger
June 20, 2021
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Happy Father’s Day !
I decided to take a look at all the MLB fathers, focus of the Yankee ones, and do a quick summary of their careers and the careers of their sons.
All told 32 Yankees had sons who played Major League Baseball.
Here they are:
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Sandy Alomar (Yankee years – 1974-76)
Sandy Alomar had two sons who reached the big leagues. They were both very successful.
Sandy played 15 years, just a few with the Yankees, as a light-hitting second baseman (primarily.)
Sandy Alomar, Jr. was a catcher who played 20 years. He won a Rookie-of-the-Year Award and was a six-time All-Star.
Roberto Alomar played for 17 years, won 10 Gold Gloves, was an All-Star twelve times, and is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Felipe Alou (1971-73)
One of the famed Alou Brothers to reach the big leagues, Felipe was a three-time All-Star. He hit .286 over a 17-year MLB career.
His son Moises Alou was a big leaguer for 17 years. He batted .303 and was an All-Star six times.
Ruben Amaro (1966-68)
An infielder who played eleven years in the Major Leagues Ruben Amara had a lifetime batting average of .234.
Ruben Amaro, Jr. played for eight years and batted .235.
Jesse Barfield ( 1989-92)
Jesse Barfield was a power-hitting outfielder who hit 241 homers over his 12-year MLB career. He won two Gold Gloves and played in one All-Star game.
Josh Barfield played four years as a second baseman and batted .264.
Clay Bellinger (1999-02)
Clay Bellinger played in just 183 big league games, but they were all with the Yankees. He played all over batting .193 for his career.
Cody Bellinger has earned a lot more awards: MVP, Gold Glove, All-Star. His career is still going strong.
Yogi Berra (1946-63)
Yogi was a legend – one of the greatest players in Yankees’ history and is, of course, in the Hall-of-Fame.
Dale Berra his .236 over an 11-year Major League career. Dale played for his dad as a Yankee.
There have been only two families that have had a father and son on the Yankees. This is one of them.
Bobby Bonds (1975)
Bobby Bonds had a ton of talent. He was a three-time All-Star. In his 14-year career, he hit 332 homers, stole 461 bases, and batted .268.
His son Barry eclipsed all that, and almost every other player – ever. He won seven MVP’s. He his 762 home runs. He’s the all-time home run champ. (The list goes on…)
Jose Cruz (1988)
Cruz finished his impressive career with a cameo of 38 games with the Yankees. He hit .284 over a 19-year career.
Jose Cruz, Jr., played for 12-years and batted .247.
Ron Davis (1978-81)
Ron Davis was a relief pitcher (and a darn good one) for the late 1970s and early 1980s Yankees teams.
Ike Davis, his son, has a great start as a New York Met hitting 32 homers one year. He finished his seven-year career by playing eight games with the Yankees in 2016.
The Davis’ are the only family, other than the Berras who has a father and son play for the Yankees.
Ivan DeJesus (1986)
Ivan DeJesus had a 15-year career as a solid fielding shortstop. He played 7 games for the Yankees in 1986.
Ivan DeJesus, Jr. had a four-year career (mostly as a second baseman) and hit .242.
Doug Drabek (1986)
Oh, what could have been. Doug Drabek, a future Cy Young Award winner, was a Yankee in 1986, as a rookie.
Kyle Drabek has a seven year career, also as a pitcher.
Cecil Fielder (1996-97)
Cecil was an important contributor to the 1996 World Series Yankees. In his 13-year MLB career, he hit 319 home runs and was a three-time All-Star.
Prince Fielder was a six-time All-Star who played 12 years and also hit 319 homers.
To my knowledge this is the only father-and-son home run hitting duo to both hit the exact same amount of home runs in their career.
Tom Gordon (2004-05)
Tom Gordon enjoyed a long career as a solid relief pitcher. He pitched in the big leagues for 21 years. He is the father of two Major League playing sons.
Dee-Strange-Gordon last was in the bigs in 2020. An infielder and occasional outfielder, he has hit .286 over a ten-year career.
Nick Gordon is a Minnesota Twin currently. He’s in his rookie season and is hitting over .300. He plays the same positions as his brother did.
Ken Griffey (1982-86)
Ken Griffey hit .296 over a 19-year career that had many highlights with the Big Red Machine. He was a three-time All-Star.
His son was also one of the greatest ever. Ken Griffey, Jr. is a Hall-of-Famer. He hit 630 home runs over a 22-year career.
Charlie Hayes (1992, 96-97)
Charlie Hayes was also an important member of the 1996 World Champion Yankees. Over 14 years in the big leagues, he hit .262.
His son, Ke’Bryan Hayes is currently in his second year with the Pirates.
Bill Kunkel (1963)
Bill pitched just three years in the Major Leagues, but he later became a big league umpire.
Jeff Kunkel played eight years in the MLB, mostly as an infielder batting .221.
Dave LaRoche (1981-83)
Soon Dave LaRoche will be the subject of our nest 1977 Topps card series.
Dave LaRoche pitched in 647 games over a 14-year career.
Adam LaRoche played for 12 years. He hit 255 homer runs and batted .260.
Andy LaRoche hit .226 over six years.
John Mayberry (1982)
Big John Mayberry closed out a solid 15-year career by playing 69 games with the 1982 Yankees. In his career, he hit 255 homers and batted .253.
John Mayberry, Jr. played for seven years and hit .235.
Lance McCullers (1989-90)
Lance McCullers had the misfortune of pitching poorly for some bad Yankees teams and being seen as a symbol of hope unfulfilled. He pitched for seven years in the big leagues.
Lance McCullers, Jr., is pitching with success today. He was an All-Star in 2017.
Raul Mondesi (2002-03)
Raul Mondesi played for 13 seasons. He was a Rookie-of-the-Year and an All-Star one time. He hit 27i lifetime homers.
Adalberto Mondesi is in his sixth year playing for the K.C. Royals.
Joe Niekro (1985-87)
Joe Niekro was the successful, but not as good as his brother, pitcher who still toiled for 22 years in the Major Leagues and won 221 games.
Lance Niekro played for four years and hit .246.
Bob Oliver (1975)
Bob Oliver enjoyed an eight-year Major League career batting .256 with 94 homers. He closed out his career with 18 games as a Yankee in 1975.
Daren Oliver was a left-handed relief pitcher who toiled for 20 seasons in the MLB. He pitched for nine teams, and even pitched in New York, but for the Mets.
Paul Quantrill (2004-05)
Paul Quantrill was one of the “circle of trust” pitchers on those Joe Torre staffs on the mid 2000s. He pitched in 108 games as a Yankee, but it seemed like he pitched in every game in that period. All told he had a 14-year MLB career.
Cal Quantrill is in his third big league season with the Indians.
Mel Queen (1942, 1944, 1946-47)
Mel Queen pitched for eight Major League seasons.
You may not have heard of Mel Queen, Jr., but he was a less-famous Shohei Ohtani… sort-of, kind-of. He played in 193 Major League games. He pitched in 140 of them and played outfield in 53 games. He hit only 2 home runs in his career and batted only .179. From 1964-65, he was an outfielder. From 1967-1972, he was a pitcher. But in 1966, he played both positions.
Tim Raines (1996-98)
Rock Raines put the finishing touches on his Hall-of-Fame career as a role player on the Yankees teams of the late 1990s. He was a seven-time All-Star in his 23-year career. He hit .294 and stole 808 bases.
Tim Raines, Jr. wasn’t quite his dad. He played three years and hit .213.
Ivan Rodriguez (2008)
Ivan Rodriguez played in 2,543 games, all but 33 of those not in a Yankees uniform. His Hall-of-Fame career included an MVP and 14 All-Star Games.
Dereck Rodriguez pitched in the Majors from 2018-2020. He’s currently in AAA.
Gary Roenicke (1986)
Gary Roenicke played in 69 games as a Yankee as part of a 12-year career where he hit .247.
Josh Roenicke pitched for six years in the Major Leagues.
Dick Schofield (1966)
This 19-year veteran played in 25 games for the 1966 Yankees. He batted .227 lifetime.
Dick Schofield Jr. played for 14 years and batted .230, just bettering his dad.
Mel Stottlemyre (1964-74)
A Yankees legend, Mel won 164 games in his career presiding as the ace of the staff in the quiet years between championships. He was a five-time All-Star who won 20 games three times.
Mel Stottlemyre, Jr. didn’t do as well as his dad. He pitched for one season, 1990.
Todd Stottlemyre did much better than his brother. He pitched for 14 years winning 138 games.
Wayne Tolleson (1986-90)
A light-hitting infielder, Wayne Tolleson put together a 10-year career where he hit .241.
Steven Tolleson played four seasons and hit .245.
Gary Ward (1987-89)
Gary Ward played big league ball for 12 years. He hit .276 with 130 home runs and was an All-Star two times.
Daryle Ward played for 11 years, batting .263 with 90 homers.
David Weathers (1996-97)
Another member and contributor to the 1996 World Series team. (There were a lot of future big league dads on that squad.) David Weathers pitched for 9 teams over a 19-year career.
Ryan Weathers is a rookie for Padres this year.
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Happy Father’s Day to all.
(Please let me know if I missed anyone. Next year we’ll do a list of Big League Sons Who Played for the Yankees.)
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