Five Greatest Father-Sons in MLB History
Five Greatest Father-Sons in MLB History
When researching this, I was amazed to learn about the amount of fathered son combinations in MLB history. The latest emerged when Jackson Holliday (son of Matt) made his debut in April 2024 at the age of just 20. Here are the five greatest (arguably) based on the statistic of Wins Above Replacement (WAR):
1. Bobby Bonds (57.8) and Barry Bonds (162.8)
No player in MLB history has racked up anywhere near the WAR as a position player than Barry Bonds, a seven-time MVP Award winner who owns the single-season and career home run records and pretty much rewrote baseball in the early 2000s. Only the unfortunate allegations of performance-enhancing drug use have kept him waiting for Cooperstown’s call. While Barry overshadows his father, Bobby shouldn’t be underrated. The Bondses are the only two players in history to combine for at least 300 career home runs with at least 400 steals, as well as the only two to go 20-20 in 10 different seasons.
2. Ken Griffey Sr. (34.5) and Ken Griffey Jr. (83.8)
This pair actually played together with the 1990-91 Mariners, famously smacking back-to-back home runs against the Angels on Sept. 14, 1990. At the time, Griffey Sr. was finishing up a 19-year career that included three All-Star selections and a pair of World Series rings with the Big Red Machine. While he was more steady than spectacular - logging an OPS+ between 96 and 129 in 14 seasons - his son became a megastar. With 630 home runs and 10 Gold Glove Awards, Griffey Jr. cruised into Cooperstown on the first ballot in 2016.
3. Felipe Alou (42.2) and Moises Alou (39.9)
This isn’t even the whole baseball family. Felipe’s brothers, Jesus and Matty, both played 15 seasons in the Majors, with the latter also producing more than 20 WAR. Their cousin Jose Sosa, pitched briefly in MLB, and their nephew Mel Rojas pitched 10 seasons and collected 126 saves. And another of Felipe’s sons, Luis Rojas, managed the Mets in 2020-21 and is currently Yankees 3rd Base Coach. But just between the two of them, Felipe and Moises played 34 MLB seasons and racked up more than 4,200 hits, 500 home runs and 750 doubles. And that doesn’t include Felipe’s 14 years as a manager in Montreal and San Francisco.
4. Vladimir Guerrero (59.5) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (16.8 -- as
of June 14, 2024)
There is still plenty of time for this combo to move up on this list. Despite being just 25 years old and in his sixth Major League season, Vlad Jr. still has a shot at matching Senior’s Hall of Fame career numbers. More than 25 years ago now, Vlad Sr. was making an immediate impact on the Montreal Expos, becoming one of the best players in franchise history before going on to win an AL MVP Award with the 2004 Angels. He finished with 449 home runs - a pretty good target for the younger Guerrero to pursue.
5. Ray Boone (25.8) and Bob Boone (27.4)
There actually have been four big league Boones across three generations, and this pair could just as easily include either of Bob’s sons, Bret (22.8 WAR) or Aaron (13.5 WAR), who also manages the Yankees. Bob, a seven-time Gold Glove Award winner, played 19 MLB seasons and ranks third all time with 2,225 career games caught. His father, Ray, posted a 114 OPS+ in 13 seasons as an infielder, snagging a pair of All-Star selections.