When Jack Leiter made his major-league debut on April 18, it was the first time the sons of two major-league brothers played in the majors. Jack, a pitcher for the Texas Rangers, is the son of Al Leiter, a 19-year veteran pitcher in the majors from 1987 to 2005.
Al’s brother is Mark Leiter, who pitched in the majors from 1990 to 2001. Mark’s son is Mark Jr., who is currently a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.
Jack was the first-round pick of the Rangers in the 2021 MLB Draft.
Vlad Guerrero Jr., in his sixth season with the Toronto Blue Jays, is already a three-time All-Star, a Gold Glove Award winner, and Silver Slugger Award winner, at age 25. He grabs a lot of headlines these days.
His father was a pretty good player, too. In fact, Vlad Sr. is a Hall of Famer, having played 16 seasons in the majors. Vlad Sr. was an eight-time All-Star, seven-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and the recipient of Most Valuable Player Award votes in 11 seasons, including 10 years in a row from 1999 to 2008. He captured the award in 2004.
Click here to read about Vald Sr.’s top 10 career moments
J.J. Niekro is continuing the Niekro family tradition of playing in the Atlanta Braves organization.
J.J. signed with the Braves as a non-drafted free agent in 2021. The right-handed pitcher is working his way up the major-league ladder, now with the Double-A Mississippi Braves.
His father is Joe Niekro, a 22-year major-league pitcher, including seasons with the Braves in 1973 and 1974. His uncle is Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, who pitched for 24 seasons, including 21 seasons as a pitcher with the Braves.
J.J.’s brother Lance Niekro played four seasons in the majors with the San Francisco Giants organization. Part of Lance’s 10-year pro career was with the Gulf Coast Braves in 2009.
Click here to read more about J.J.’s career.
Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. is prolific on the baseball diamond. He was last year’s National League Most Valuable Player. He burst on the scene as a 20-year-old in 2018, when he won Rookie of the Year honors. He’s been outstanding since then.
The Acuna family and its relatives have been prolific in producing professional baseball players for three generations.
His major-league cousins include Kelvim, Alcides and Edwin Escobar, whose father was former major-leaguer Jose Escobar. Vicente Campos and Maikel Garcia are also major-league cousins.
Acuna Jr.’s younger brothers, Bryan and Luisangel, are currently making their way through the minors with the Twins and Mets, respectively.
Acuna Jr.’s father, Ronald Acuna Sr., played in the minors from 1999 to 2009, primarily within the Mets organization. His grandfather, Romualdo Blanco, played in the minors from 1971 to 1977, primarily with the Astros’ organization.
Click here to read more about the Acunas and their relatives.
Chris Caray, the son of St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Chip Caray, will get his first major-league gig as a play-by-play broadcaster for the Oakland A’s in 2024.
Chris is the fourth generation of his family to man a major-league broadcast booth. Besides his father Chip, his grandfather Skip was a long-time announcer for the Atlanta Braves, and his great-grandfather is the legendary Harry Caray, who worked for the St. Louis Browns, St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland A’s, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs.
Chris is the twin brother of Stefan Caray. Both of them worked together as broadcasters in the Arizona Diamondbacks minor-league system for two seasons.
Chris will team with Jenny Canvar and Dallas Braded for the A’s. Canvar is the first female primary play-by-play announcer in MLB history.
Click here to read more about Chis Caray.
The Guerrero family has already been prolific in major league baseball, with Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero and his three-time all-star son Vladimir Jr. But the Guerrero family legacy isn’t finished yet.
Vladimir Jr.’s brother Pablo Guerrero was an international player signee last year by the Texas Rangers a year ago and made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer Leaguer as a 16-year-old.
This winter Vladimir Jr.’s half-brother, Vladi Miguel Guerrero, was signed by the New York Mets.
If the two young signees are anything like their big brother, they have a promising career to look forward to.
Oh, by the way, the Guerrero baseball clan doesn’t stop there. Vladimir Sr.’s brother Wilton was a major-leaguer from 1994 to 2004. Their brother Julio Guerrero played in the Red Sox organization from 1998-2001.
Three brothers’ nephew, Gregory Guerrero, played in the New York Mets organization from 2016 to 2022, and nephew Gabriel Guerrero played one season in the majors with Cincinnati in 2018.
To read more about newcomers Vladi Miguel and Pablo, click here and here.
Brothers Joshua and Richie Palacios are relative newcomers to the big leagues, following in their father’s and uncle’s footsteps in professional baseball.
Joshua played his third season in the majors in 2023, with the Pittsburgh Pirates, while Richie played for the St. Louis Cardinals in his second major-league season.
The brothers played against each other for the first time on August 21, 2023. Each of them collected hits in the contest, with Joshua’s including a home run and double.
They had played together in the 2023 World Baseball Classic for the Netherlands.
Their father Richard, played in the Detroit Tigers organization, while their uncle, Rey, played three seasons with the Kansas City Royals.
Read more about the Palacios brother by clicking here and here.
Jim Leyland, major-league manager for 22 years with four different teams, was elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Era Committee. He obtained the required 75% of the votes of the 16-member committee. He will be inducted into the Hall next year.
Leyland was the skipper of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies, and Detroit Tigers. He won a World Series championship with Florida in 1997 and AL pennants with the Tigers in 2006 and 2012.
He is the father of Patrick Leyland, who played six seasons in the minors from 2010 to 2015.
Click here and here to read more about Jim Leyland’s career.
There are a number of MLB players today who have family ties in baseball, whether it be their father who preceded them in the sport, or a brother whom they might be currently competing against.
Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra, a three-time American League MVP Award winner, whose career crossed the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, had three sons who followed in his sport-minded footsteps.
Dale Berra had the most significant career of the three brothers, as a major-league player from 1977 to 1987. The infielder briefly played for his father, who was manager of the Yankees for 16 games in 1986.
Larry Berra played parts of two seasons in the New York Mets farm system in 1971 and 1972.
Tim Berra, didn’t follow in the baseball footsteps of his father or brother, instead choosing football as his sport. He played one season as a wide receiver with the Baltimore Colts in 1974.
Click here to read a “where are they now” story about Yogi’s three sons.
Arizona Diamondbacks broadcaster Chris Garagiola has a surname that is familiar to many baseball fans.
His grandfather is Joe Garagiola, a former major-league player in the 1940s and 1950s and a long-time nationally-renowned broadcaster. Joe was a part-time broadcaster in the early days of the Diamondbacks.
His father is Joe Garagiola Jr., who was the general manager of the Diamondbacks from 1997 to 2005 and now serves as a special advisor to the president and CEO of the Diamondbacks’ Derrick Hall.
Click here to read more about Chris on The Athletic (requires a subscription).
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