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Monday, June 17, 2013

Baseball's Best Father-Son Combos

Like father, like son
In honor of Father's Day, here are my choices for the five best father-son duos in baseball history:

1. Bobby Bonds and Barry Bonds
Both Bonds blended power and speed better than anyone since Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays. The elder Bonds slugged 332 home runs and stole 461 bases. Barry inherited those abilities and took them to another level, stealing 514 bags and smashing 762 big flies to break Hank Aaron's career home run record. The Bonds hold the record for most individual 30/30 seasons with five apiece.

2. Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr.
Griffey Sr. was a fine outfielder, compiling over 2,000 hits in a big league career that spanned 19 seasons. However, when it came to power he couldn't hold a candle to his son, who slammed 630 home runs and led the league four times. Griffey Jr. also won 10 straight Gold Gloves and made 13 All-Star teams in his 22 seasons. Both Griffeys played together on the Seattle Mariners in 1990 and 1991, playing 51 games together and even hitting back-to-back home runs off Kirk McCaskill on September 14th, 1990.

3. Gus Bell and Buddy Bell
Gus starred for the Cincinnati Reds during the 1950s, making four All-Star teams and driving in 100 runs four times. His son, Buddy, was also good with the stick but earned a reputation as one of the best defensive third baseman to ever play the game. Buddy received six straight Gold Gloves for his work at the hot corner and played long enough to amass more than 2,500 hits.

4. Cecil Fielder and Prince Fielder
"Big Daddy" starred as the game's premier power hitter during the early '90s, smashing 51 homers in 1990 and 44 the following year while finishing second in the MVP voting both times (to Rickey Henderson and Cal Ripken Jr., respectively). In 2007, his son emerged as an elite slugger by blasting 50 home runs at the tender age of 23. Prince has since joined Miguel Cabrera in Detroit to form one of the scariest slugging tandems in modern times.

5. Felipe Alou and Moises Alou
Both played 17 seasons and accumulated over 2,100 base hits. Felipe made three All-Star squads and twice led the majors in hits. His son Moises was a bit more accomplished, making six All-Star teams, slugging 332 home runs and batting .303/.369/.516 for his career.

Honorable mention: Mel Stottlemyre and Todd Stottlemyre, Ray Boone and Bob Boone, Sandy Alomar Sr. and Roberto Alomar

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