Back in the early ’60s, the Dodgers had brothers on the team at the same time. Larry Sherry was a star reliever and World Series, 1959, MVP. His brother Norm was Roseboro’s light-hitting backup when Pignatano was not available. Norm had a good grasp of the game and later managed in the minors, and the Angels for a 147 game stretch in 77-78. Norm passed away earlier this year in March. He played parts of 4 seasons with LA and one with the Mets. He is most known for helping Sandy Koufax curb his wildness by suggesting in a spring B game that he did should not try to throw the ball so hard. Just play catch. The rest as they say is history.
In the history of baseball, there have been 432 sets of brothers play the game at the major league level. Some were good, some were great, and others sniffed the coffee and were gone. Paul and Lloyd Waner, both Hall of Famers, the DiMaggio boys, Joe, Dom, and Vince. The Alou’s, Matty, Felipe, and Jesus. Dizzy and Daffy Dean. The list just goes on.
The Dodgers had a trio of brothers back in the ’90s, Pedro, Ramon, and Jesus Martinez. Jesus was the only one not to make it to the show. Jesus was in the Dodger system from 92-97. He never rose above AAA. Unlike his brothers, he was a lefty. Jesus passed away in 2018 at the age of 44.
The Waner’s and George and Harry Wright are the only set of brothers who both are in the Hall. The Wrights’s other brother, Sam, is not in the hall. The Dodgers also had the Sax brothers on the roster together for a short time, Steve as we all know was a 2nd baseman, his brother Dave was a catcher. They have also had the other brother of two Padre Hall of Famers, Glen Hoffman, Trevor’s brother, and Chris Gwynn, Tony’s sibling. Ed Delahanty, another Hall of Famer, had four of his brothers play pro baseball. George Brett’s brother, Ken, pitched for the Dodgers at one time.
Usually one of the brothers is pretty good, sometimes they both are very productive players. There are several brother acts in the game right now at some level. The Bard’s, the Contreras brothers, the Cron’s, dArnaud’s, Gordon’s, Megill’s, Romine’s, Tyson and Joe Ross, Seager’s, Sheffield’s, Stassi’s, and the Wongs. Joey and Alex Cora are also still in the game, one coaching, and Alex is managing the Red Sox.
The Molina brothers are a rarity as all three played catcher at the major league level. Yadier is entering his final year with the Cardinals. His brothers and he never played on the same MLB team at the same time, but in this photo, they are celebrating the Cardinals World Series win.
The list of brothers who have a brother in the hall is pretty impressive. Dave and Dick Sisler played in the ’50s and ’60s, Dick was an outfielder, and Dave was a pitcher. Neither is in the Hall, but their dad, George Sisler is. Hank Aaron is a HOF player, his brother Tom had a couple of short stints with the Braves.
Last names of players who are in the Hall, but their brother is not, Alomar, Clarke, Clarkson, Connor, Coveleski, Dean, Delahanty, Dickey, DiMaggio, Evers, Ewing, Ferrell, Glavine, Guererro, Gwynn, Hoffman, Kell, Larkin, Maddux, Manush, Martinez, Mathewson, Murray, Niekro, O’Rourke, Perry, Ripken, W.Robinson, Sewell, Torre, Wagner, Wheat (I did not even know Zack had a brother who played), White, and Yount.
Other Dodgers who had brothers in the league while they were with the team, Dick Allen, Bob Aspromonte, Willy Aybar, Jim Baxes, Juan Bell, Ken Boyer, Ken Brett, Tony Brewer, Jolbert Cabrera, Pete Coscarart, J D Drew, Wilton Guererro, Jerry Hairston Jr., Andy High, Brian Holman, Cesar Izturis, Andy LaRoche, Mike Maddux, Ramon Martinez, Ron Roenicke, Vincente Romo, Jose Valentine, Dixie Walker Jr., Jeff Weaver, Todd Worrell.
Robins pitcher, Jeff Pfeiffer had an older brother who pitched in the majors, his name was also Jeff, but they called him Big Jeff. I also did not know that Dixie Walker’s dad, Ewart, was a major league pitcher and was also nicknamed Dixie. Which I found confusing since he was born in Pennsylvania. Dixie, the Dodger outfielder, was born in Georgia, so his nickname made sense. Another thing I learned about Walker was that in the early ’30s, he was thought to be the heir apparent to Babe Ruth. But he did not reach his potential in New York, spent a couple of years with both the Tigers and White Sox before he landed in Brooklyn at the age of 29 in a waiver claim.
Dixie became the Peoples Cheerce in Brooklyn where he played until 1948. He was traded to Pittsburgh after he supposedly led the group of players who petitioned to keep Jackie Robinson off of the team. There is also one very obscure pair of brothers who both pitched for the Dodgers, but not at the same time. Chris Can Cuyk pitched from 50-52, going 7-11. His brother Johnny pitched from 47-49 with no decisions in 7 games. I actually have a 52 Van Cuyk card.
Well there you have it, the brother acts. Hope you enjoy the trip down memory lane. This pic is for you DC.
Amazing stuff Bear.
I bought several cards featuring the Ramon/Pedro pair in Dodger uniforms way back then. I treasured them until Pedro got traded. That took the shine off them.
I always remember Dominic DiMaggio as one of the few playeres who wore glasses in those days. His career was dwarfed by Joe’s but Dom could hit. He had a .298 career batting average over 1399 games with the Red Sox.
Thanks. Yeah, Dom was a damn good hitter. Vince was a .249 career hitter who spent his career in the NL as opposed to his AL brothers. He hit 125 HR’s in his 10 year career. Played for the Braves, Reds, Pirates, Phillies and Giants. You are right about the glasses. But I remember a catcher, Clint Courtney who wore them also. And Bill Virdon wore glasses. That would take some research, the all specs team. I just googled that about glasses, wow, lots of guys. There was a perceived stigma about glasses in the early days, scouts would dismiss prospects who wore glasses as it was deemed a weakness. It does give a great idea for a post.
It is strange what we remember.
I do remember Clint Courtney wearing glasses but not Bill Virdon.
Another one I remember is that at one point I think Bill Tuttle was the only MLB player wearing number 13.
Bill later died of throat cancer due to chewing tobacco. He worked for some time with MLB as an anti-spit tobacco advocate.
I saw a picture of Tuttle post surgery. His whole jaw was missing. Funny you do not remember Virdon wearing glasses because all of his baseball cards show him with glasses. Added a photo of Bill to the post. Check it out. After Branca gave up the Thompson HR not many players wore it for a while. Ferguson was the first Dodger since Branca
I must have known that Bear. I looked up Virdon’s cards and as you say he has glasses in every one.
I did like those cut away uniforms as in his picture above.
I remember Ted Kluszewski with a sleevelss uniform. Probably with arms like that he couldn’t wear sleeves very comfortably.
You are dead on about Big Klu. I never saw that guy in a full cut uniform. He was with the White Sox in the 59 series and hit .391 with 3 homers and 10 RBI’s against LA. That was his only post season appearance. He had cut the sleeves off of his Sox uni too.
Fun post Bear! The Alou’s, Rueshcel’s and Nekros were guys I got to see play when I was younger. Two of the Molina bros played on the Angels at the same time. Bummer that the Dodgers broke up the Martinez bros and the third never made it. I didn’t realize there were so many brothers that played. Thanks again for a great post.
I missed that, I checked the baseball reference page for both, but my glasses must have been fogged up! LOL> I remember the Rueschels and Neikro’s well. But I also remember Ken and Bob Forsch. There was another trio of brothers who made it, the Boyers, Clete, Ken and Cloyd. I remember seeing Jesus Martinez in a spring game, and before you knew it, he was gone. Yeah, them trading Pedro for DeShields was a dumb move.
Just for fun let’s sign Kyle Seager.
Never heard of this site, so I’ll presume their contribution is like ours (meaningless) but here’s another look at prospects:
https://www.justbaseball.com/prospects/los-angeles-dodgers-top-prospects/
Also Baseball America ranked the Dodgers Rule V draft as tops. Which, IMO, is like saying saying a President chose a very good Undersecretary for Commerce.
I think it ranks higher on the scale, Bluto. We’ve heard of Carson Fulmer, but I bet you can’t name the Undersecretary of Commerce without googling it.
My niece’s ex-boyfriend, whom I’m still in touch with, spent some time in the White Sox farm system and got to know Fulmer very well. Can’t say enough good things about him. Says he’s got spectacular stuff if only someone could harness it (hopefully the Dodgers can do that). Also says he’s a spectacular human being. Really raved about him.
I think it was very well done. Thanks for the link. If anyone wants the CliffsNotes version, see below [personal annotations in brackets]:
1. Miller: monster size, monster stuff, needs to prove his stamina [I see him as late-season relief weapon]
2. Vargas: ever-present hit tool, emerging pull-side power, defense passable at 3b [Glowing write-up; ’22 option]
3. Cartaya: the total package, patience at the plate, few weaknesses [Untouchable in trade talks]
4. Pages: prototypical RF profile, most power in system, elite arm [Needs to prove himself at AA]
5. Pepiot: best single pitch in system with changeup, faded down stretch [Will be tempting to use in pen]
6. Busch: still need to see more of a sample, lack of position limits him [Max Muncy comp really fits]
7. Knack: good mix of above-average pitches, excellent command, mid-to-back-end SP [Is he our Logan Webb?]
8. Beeter: possible best raw stuff in system, breaking balls have great shape, command issues [Bullpen likely]
9. Jackson: athletic, good SP potential, arm action sells the deception [Please replace Josiah Gray in our hearts]
10. Rodriguez: quick bat, $2.7m invested, smooth swing [At a certain point the bonus becomes irrelevant]
Honorable Mentions [I chose two from the list]: Choi–sleeper due to stuff being limited but he knows how to pitch; Bruns–“absurd stuff”
Good job Bear. I don’t know how you keep coming up with these different historical subjects, but keep it up.
If I remember correctly, it seems to me that the Giants played a game with an outfield of Felipe, Matty and Jesus Alou. It would have been in ’63 since that’s the only year that they were on the team together. Do you recall this or am I wrong?
You are correct. September 13, 1963 all three Alou brothers played the outfield for the Giants. It was more of a promotional gimmick than anything else. All three would have decent careers. Jesus played on two A’s World Champion teams. Felipe managed for many years, and Matty won a batting title in 1966 with the Pirates. I got the idea when I was reading about the Sherry brothers and that got me to thinking how many brothers had played. I was surprised there were so many. Three was what I thought was the most, I knew about the Alou’s, DiMaggio’s and the Martinez and Boyer Brothers. I was surprised to learn about the 5 Delahanty brothers and that Zack Wheat had a brother who played. I think the biggest chuckle I got was finding out that Honus Wagner had a brother named Butt.
Ron Fairy use to tell a story about there being 4 Alou brothers. According to Ron the 4th brother was Boog Powell. He changed his name because he didn’t want to go through life known as Boog Alou!
Classic, and very funny.
that was great LOL
Lead guitarist and song writer Michael Nesmith of the Monkee’s passed away. Mickey Dolenz is now the only surviving member left.
The Heir to the Whiteout fortune!
i never understood that. were they a real band or just a tv show?
They were put together for the TV show, but their music became so popular that they had to go out on tour, and they had never played together as a band before that. So no, they were not a real band until after the show aired. Only Mickey Dolenz, who was a child TV star on his own show, Circus Boy, is still living. Peter Tork and Davey Jones passed years ago.
Thank you. That answers my question. I grew up with the Partridge Family, Eight is Enough & The Brady Bunch.
Although I think my favorite from that time period was Bob Newhart.
My kids liked those shows. I always thought Shirley Jones was one of the most talented actresses there was. She did quite a few musical’s in her early career including The Music Man with Robert Preston, who some will remember as the alien who recruits the kid in The Last Starfighter. She was also in April Love with Pat Boone and Carousel. She stepped out of the nice girl persona and won an Oscar for her performance opposite Burt Lancaster in Elmer Gantry. She was married to David Cassidy’s dad, Jack. I was never a big fan of Cassidy, but my girls loved him. I liked the guy who played their road manager, Dave Madden, who was on Laugh-in for a while. Never a huge Newhart fan, but I did like the bit he did in Steve McQueen’s, Hell is For Heroes. Jones is still alive, she is 87 now.
Newhart has made more pitches from the Dodger mound than any of the prospects being talked about lately.
True about Mickey being “Circus Boy” but he went by the name Mickey Braddock then and was blonde as a child. I vaguely remember seeing it in reruns when I was little in the early 60’s. It was only on two seasons but in those days a season was over 30 episodes.
Kasten said the Dodgers will honor Gil Hodges during the 22 season, if there is one. Hopefully they retire # 14. Since every other Dodger who actually spent some time with the team has had that honor, I am pretty sure that will be part of it. Gilliam is the only non Hall of Fame Dodger with a retired number.
I just read that for the first time in Dodger Stadium history there is going to be a comedian do a concert there. Gilbert Iglesias is going to be there in May. Hopefully while LA is on the road.
But, Jay Johnstone has already played in Dodger Stadium so maybe not the first comedian?
I stand corrected.
If the Dodgers sign Correa, he could play third in 2022 and then move to short if Trea bolts. Might help with Trea negotiations.
I will vomit if Correa becomes a Dodger. In my mind that would be the equivalent to Hermann Göring being appointed to run the Strategic Air Command in 1946.
I will join you. That frippen rumor just will not go away. I do not personally think that if they signed Correa that it would affect what Turner does at all. If he and the Dodgers talk extension, that is great. But my thinking is he is going to test free agency and not sign before then. Unless the deal is huge. Scherzer finally admitted he did not like the way he was used by the Dodgers and that was part of the reason he left. So I am not worried about either of the coaches who interviewed with the Mets getting the job. Most think Showalter is a lock for the job. He supposedly nailed his interview, If I were going to sign a SS who would move to third and then to short if Turner bolts, it would be Story. Great glove, had some issues last season, but I think a change of scenery would energize him. Also, he would cost a lot less in both angst and money.
Sal Magli, Juan Marichal are hated players that joined Dodgers.
Neither cheated. I was totally surprised when they signed Marichal. I really hated the guy. Maglie was back when they were in Brooklyn. Rosey forgave Marichal, so I did too. Maglie was simply mean on the mound. He never hit anyone with a bat. What Correa did is at a different level, and you think Bellinger would welcome him? Doubtful. Besides, the Dodgers are not giving him a deal close to Corey’s and that is what he wants. It is all a rumor started by Heyman. It has no basis in fact.
Pass on Correa. He’s a slime ball.
Have a happy. Most baseball news is involving minor league signings, KBO signings, where Puig is going, and some players calling it quits. Giants signed infielder Alex Blandino to a minor league deal.
The Dodgers site listed three prospects who could help the Dodgers this season, Miller, Pepiot and Vargas. Beeter and Busch less likely to be of much use. They do not seem concerned that Pepiot struggled at AAA. They love his change up and think it will help him adapt quickly.
Vargas, not Vagas! 😉
I typed that on my laptop at 2 in the morning. So if the spelling was incorrect, blame it on blurry eyes and a weak mind.
I love Miguel Vargas (not Vagas) and I’m very excited to see him in a Dodgers uniform soon. His bat has been solid at every stop and I like his bloodlines as his dad was a star in Cuba. However, as AC has pointed out on numerous occasions, his glove is a real concern. It looks like he might have throwing problems. He seems to have the range to handle 3rd base, but the errors and lack of double plays seem to point to throwing problems.
My dark horse to impact the Dodgers this season is Michael Grove. Due to the timing of his TJ surgery and the lost Covid year, he’s always had stops and starts to his season which probably has to do with his inconsistent numbers. I can see him making big gains this year with a normal offseason and start to the season next year. He’s got a big fastball into the mid and upper 90’s similar to Miller. He’s got two breakers, one that breaks downward and another that has some horizontal break and a nasty change with movement. He’s 24 and he’s on the 40 man.
With the current state of the 40 man roster, it’s hard to imagine Miller, Pepiot and Vargas getting significant time on the big club this year. Right now, it looks more like Outman, Grove and Amaya will more than likely get a look this upcoming year.
Are you referring to Kendall Williams? He is 6’6″ Carlos Duran is 6’7″ Cameron Gibbens is 6’8″. Nick Robertson is 6’6″ Mark Washington is 6’7″ They have a few tall ones. I noticed while looking these guys up that Andy Burns is still in the organization at AAA OKC. I thought for sure he had moved on.
I’m in moderation jail! Please Help Me!!!
I fixed it for you……against my better judgement……..
Butane is getting married this weekend. His ladies name is McKenzie. Wish them both a long and happy life. Now, go win the Cy Young next year! Belli is a new daddy, go win another MVP award! Kersh just had his 4th kid, now retire.