The Toronto Blue Jays of 1993 had five players who fathers played pro ball.
Roberto Alomar's father Sandy played 15 years in the bigs (1964 to 1978). Although not a great player, he certainly had something that would come in handy for Robbie years later!
Sandy played second base, a position that Alomar would play flawlessly years late. Also, he passed that base stealing skill of his from father to son.
Ed Sprague Sr. pitched in the big leagues from 1968 to 1976, mainly as a reliever. Again, he was no star. But again, he helped. Ed Jr. was brought up as a catcher. And who better to practice catching against then your own father. A big league father!
Dick Schofield Sr., played in the bigs for nearly 20 years (1953-1971). Although never a great player (here we go again!) he was a fine fielder. Also, like his son, he was a member of a team that won the World Series with a walk-off-homerun. Yep, the senior Schofield, also known as Ducky, was a member of the 1960 World Series Champion Pittsburgh Pirates, who won the Series on Bill Mazeroski. Schofield was frequently right next to Mazeroski, as he played shortstop. Like father, like son.
But neither Schofield played in the walk-off, win-the-World-Series-game!
1960 World Series was the first of 5 straight years that the Yankees played in. In 1964 they were back. They lost this one too, and again it was in 7. But rookie Mel Stottlemyre started 3 games for the Yankees in that Series. And he is one of only two pitchers to beat Bob Gibson in a World Series game.
Mel was brought up in August of '64 and went 9-3. He pitched 10 more seasons, winning 20 games in 1965, 1968 and 1969. He is the only pitcher to win 20 games 3 or more times with the Yankees without ever winning 20 games on a pennant winning Yankee team. The Yanks, sadly didn't play in the World Series again until 1976, so Mel never got another chance to pitch in the postseason.
Todd, his son (and he had another, Mel Jr., who pitched in the bigs), got to pitch in the postseason 7 times. I guess that makes up for that. But Todd never won a World Series game. His son played first base for over 2000 games in the bigs.
John Olerud's father, John Sr. pitched in the minor leagues from 1965 to 1971. He never reached the majors, and his top batting average in the minors was .286 in 1967 with the San Jose Bees of the California League. He reached as high as AAA. He was also involved in the very first MLB draft in June of 1965, as he was taken in the 4th round by the Los Angeles Angels (they would move to California in 1966).
The senior Olerud was primarly a catcher, playing just one game at first and one game at third. The junior Olerud would play over 2000 games at first. But the John Olerud I knew for the Jays, actually started out as a pitcher. And quite a pitcher.
In 1988, while attending Washington State Univercity, he became the first player to ever hit 20 homeruns and win 15 games in one NCAA season. There was even some talk about Olerud pitching and playing regularly for the Jays in 1990, his first full season. While that never happened, having a father as your catcher certainly made Olerud another Babe Ruth possibility!
References
Rutsey, Mike. "A Game For Fathers And Sons." Scorebook. June 1993: 47-56. Print. Toronto Blue Jays Program.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.
Roberto Alomar's father Sandy played 15 years in the bigs (1964 to 1978). Although not a great player, he certainly had something that would come in handy for Robbie years later!
Sandy played second base, a position that Alomar would play flawlessly years late. Also, he passed that base stealing skill of his from father to son.
Ed Sprague Sr. pitched in the big leagues from 1968 to 1976, mainly as a reliever. Again, he was no star. But again, he helped. Ed Jr. was brought up as a catcher. And who better to practice catching against then your own father. A big league father!
Dick Schofield Sr., played in the bigs for nearly 20 years (1953-1971). Although never a great player (here we go again!) he was a fine fielder. Also, like his son, he was a member of a team that won the World Series with a walk-off-homerun. Yep, the senior Schofield, also known as Ducky, was a member of the 1960 World Series Champion Pittsburgh Pirates, who won the Series on Bill Mazeroski. Schofield was frequently right next to Mazeroski, as he played shortstop. Like father, like son.
But neither Schofield played in the walk-off, win-the-World-Series-game!
1960 World Series was the first of 5 straight years that the Yankees played in. In 1964 they were back. They lost this one too, and again it was in 7. But rookie Mel Stottlemyre started 3 games for the Yankees in that Series. And he is one of only two pitchers to beat Bob Gibson in a World Series game.
Mel was brought up in August of '64 and went 9-3. He pitched 10 more seasons, winning 20 games in 1965, 1968 and 1969. He is the only pitcher to win 20 games 3 or more times with the Yankees without ever winning 20 games on a pennant winning Yankee team. The Yanks, sadly didn't play in the World Series again until 1976, so Mel never got another chance to pitch in the postseason.
Todd, his son (and he had another, Mel Jr., who pitched in the bigs), got to pitch in the postseason 7 times. I guess that makes up for that. But Todd never won a World Series game. His son played first base for over 2000 games in the bigs.
John Olerud's father, John Sr. pitched in the minor leagues from 1965 to 1971. He never reached the majors, and his top batting average in the minors was .286 in 1967 with the San Jose Bees of the California League. He reached as high as AAA. He was also involved in the very first MLB draft in June of 1965, as he was taken in the 4th round by the Los Angeles Angels (they would move to California in 1966).
The senior Olerud was primarly a catcher, playing just one game at first and one game at third. The junior Olerud would play over 2000 games at first. But the John Olerud I knew for the Jays, actually started out as a pitcher. And quite a pitcher.
In 1988, while attending Washington State Univercity, he became the first player to ever hit 20 homeruns and win 15 games in one NCAA season. There was even some talk about Olerud pitching and playing regularly for the Jays in 1990, his first full season. While that never happened, having a father as your catcher certainly made Olerud another Babe Ruth possibility!
References
Bingley,
Phil, et al. Another World: the Toronto Stars Tribute To The’ 93 Blue
Jays. Toronto Star for Doubleday Canada, 1993. Print.
Hersch, Hank. “A Gentleman And A Slugger.” SI.com / Sports Illustrated. <www.si.com/vault/1991/04/15/123996/a-gentleman-and-a-slugger-toronto-first-baseman-john-olerud-is-a-sweet-natured-22-year-old-who-talks-softly-but-carries-a-big-stick>.
Dan Diamond and Associates and Toronto Blue Jays Club. Toronto
Blue Jays Official Guide 1993, 1994. Print.
Hersch, Hank. “A Gentleman And A Slugger.” SI.com / Sports Illustrated. <www.si.com/vault/1991/04/15/123996/a-gentleman-and-a-slugger-toronto-first-baseman-john-olerud-is-a-sweet-natured-22-year-old-who-talks-softly-but-carries-a-big-stick>.
Rutsey, Mike. "A Game For Fathers And Sons." Scorebook. June 1993: 47-56. Print. Toronto Blue Jays Program.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.
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