All-Time Fathers Versus Sons

With Father’s Day right around the corner, now is an excellent time to recognize some of the best baseball families in the sport. But rather than highlighting some father-son combos, let’s take a look at what the best all-time fathers and sons teams would look like on paper.

There are currently 249 dads and 266 sons to have played in MLB. This excludes all players who may have played professionally but did not make it to the big leagues. Who made the cut?

Team Dads

Hall Of Famers Welcome

A common theme for the fathers’ team is that most of them are Hall of Famers. It starts with IF Craig Biggio, a last name that sounds familiar to current baseball fans and even more so to the Toronto Blue Jays faithful. Biggio spent all 20 seasons with the Houston Astros and dominated on both sides of the field. While Biggio spent the early part of his career at catcher, he thrived at second. Biggio won four Gold Gloves and five Silver Sluggers to go along with his seven All-Star appearances. His son, Cavan Biggio, is now making a name for himself alongside a few other legacy players in the Blue Jays infield.

Charlie Hustle

While the third baseman of Team Dads is not in the Hall of Fame, he is still considered one of the greatest players of all time. IF Pete Rose was banned from baseball after being accused of betting on his team’s games while he was the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. No matter what type of team or list of all-time players in the sport, Rose will always be on it. 

Rose did it all in his 24 years in the big leagues. In 1963, he won Rookie of the Year. From there, he won the MVP in 1973 and World Series MVP in 1975. Rose was a 17-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glover and batting champion, and a Silver Slugger. Don’t forget Rose also holds the record for career hits at 4,256, a number that seems unthinkable in the current era. Rose is also the only person to start 500 games at five different positions. He could have been put anywhere on this team, but third base was the best fit amongst all the Hall of Famers. His son, Pete Rose Jr., only played one season in the big leagues, but it was with his father’s longtime Reds team.

Mr. Padre

OF Tony Gwynn was the definition of consistency in the batter’s box and is a great candidate for rightfield. During his 20 years with the San Diego Padres, Gwynn led the league in hits seven times and won eight batting titles, including 1994, when he missed the .400 mark by six points. In addition, Gwynn earned his way to 15 All-Star games with his seven Silver Sluggers and five Gold Gloves. Tony Gwynn Jr. spent eight seasons in the league as an outfielder, two of which were with the Padres.

Vladdy Sr.

Rounding out the Team Dads lineup is yet another Hall of Famer, Vladimir Guerrero Sr. However, his .318 career average paints a different picture than his free-swinging ways. Guerrero was a nine-time All-Star, eight-time Silver Slugger and 2004 MVP. Guerrero played about 75% of his 2,000-plus games in right, but he still had over 500 appearances as a DH.

ERA King  

What a surprise that the starter for Team Dads happens to be in the Hall of Fame. RHP Ed Walsh played for 14 years in the early 1900s, with all but one season being with the Chicago White Sox. He had the lowest ERA in the league twice, and his 1.82 career ERA is the lowest ever. His son by the same name also played for the White Sox in the late 1920s but had an 11-24 record over four seasons.

Team Sons

Royalty At First

1B Prince Fielder, son of Cecil Fielder, was known for one thing: crushing baseballs. The big man put up 319 home runs in 12 seasons before injuries derailed his career. The Fielders reached the epitome of the old saying, “like father, like son,” as they both ended their careers with identical home run totals. However, Prince picked up a few more accolades than his father in one fewer season. Prince was a six-time All-Star and the 2011 All-Star MVP. Prince also won three Silver Sluggers and led the league in homers once.

New Kid On The Block

SS Fernando Tatís Jr. is tied for the shortest tenured player on either team, but he is already proving to be one of the game’s best. He has already netted a significant contract extension with the Padres going into his third season. Tatis Jr. had 106 hits during his rookie season, 22 home runs and 53 RBI in just 84 games. In the shortened 2020 season, he kept it up with 62 hits, 17 home runs and 45 RBI. He has played a little over a season’s worth of games and has put up a slash line of .295.308/.603.

Home Run Machine

The left fielder for Team Sons put up Hall of Fame numbers but tainted his career with steroids. OF Barry Bonds is the obvious starter in left. With everything he did in his career, it is easy to forget his father played 14 years, and a large part of it was with the San Francisco Giants. Bonds, however, is the face of the franchise with the career home run record (762) and single-season record (73). Even before Bonds went to the Giants and things got messy, he was a two-time MVP with the Pittsburgh Pirates with three Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves. Bonds added to his resume during his 15 years in San Francisco with five MVPs and Gold Gloves, nine Sliver Sluggers and two batting titles. Not to mention he is the record holder for most career walks.

The Kid

It wouldn’t be an all-time sons’ team if The Kid weren’t on it. OF Ken Griffey Jr. will patrol center as the second Hall of Famer on the team. While Junior only has one MVP to his name, he was in the conversation nine times in his first 11 seasons. Once Griffey Jr. set foot in the league, he was a star. He was part of the epic home run battles in the 90s with Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Bonds, leading the AL in homers four times. Also, he and his dad shared the greatest father-son moment in baseball when they hit back-to-back home runs. Of course, we can’t forget to mention Griffey Jr. giving his dad the greatest Father’s Day gift of all time — his 500th career home run. To everyone reading this, good luck finding a better Father’s Day gift than that.

Vladdy Jr.       

In just his third season, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the best fit at DH for Team Sons. Just looking at the 2021 season, Guerrero Jr. has similar numbers to his father when he won the MVP in 2004 at the same spot in the season. Guerrero Jr. came into the league in 2019 with very high expectations, and this year he is starting to live up to them. The most significant difference between the two is their approach. Vladdy Sr. was much more of a free swinger, while Vladdy Jr. has a more methodical approach. But if there was a Home Run Derby before these two teams squared off, you can bet the Guerreros would put on a show.

Overall, both teams have potent lineups. While Team Dads have a plethora of Hall of Famers, Team Sons have some talented stars who could be in Cooperstown next soon. Here is a look at the complete rosters for each team.

 Team Dads:

C — Yogi Berra

1B — George Sisler

2B — Craig Biggio

3B — Pete Rose

SS — Maury Wills

LF — Tim Raines

CF — Earl Averill

RF — Tony Gwynn

DH — Vladimir Guerrero Sr.

P — Ed Walsh

 

Team Sons:

C — Bob Boone

1B — Prince Fielder

2B — Roberto Alomar

3B — Buddy Bell

SS — Fernando Tatis Jr.

LF — Barry Bonds

CF — Ken Griffey Jr.

RF — Cody Bellinger

DH — Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

P — Joe Coleman

Cover photo courtesy of Joshua Bessex/AP Photo