Diamonds For Women

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Tue 3/6/12 11:26 am Post subject:

As a sort of continuation of last year's Dodgers family ties notes, here's a fun read about the Dodgers' first spring training game.

Responding to a post from last September by Sunnyblue:

GilHodgesFan · Joined: 15 Jan 2011 Posts: 1763 Location: Cedar Rapids Iowa

This was a fun read Very Happy

I am particularly interested in Dee Gordon and Tony Gwynn of the Dodgers. They will probably become my team favorites. I know there are many others who should be my favorites such as Kemp and Kershaw, not that I don't like them.
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"If you had a son it would be a great thing for him to grow up to be just like Gil Hodges" -Pee Wee Reese (Brooklyn Dodgers)

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Wed 5/9/12 10:17 am Post subject:

The Pomeranz brothers, Stu and Drew, are the latest siblings in the major leagues. Stuart, an RHP, made his major league debut for the Orioles on Monday, and threw three shutout innings against the Rangers (although the Rangers won the game handily). On the same evening, Rockies pitcher Drew hit a home run, but left the game early due to a quad injury in Colorado's game at San Diego.

From this article in the Denver Post:

GilHodgesFan · Joined: 15 Jan 2011 Posts: 1763 Location: Cedar Rapids Iowa

So interesting to hear about another set of brothers in the Major Leagues Smile

Thanks for the report.
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"If you had a son it would be a great thing for him to grow up to be just like Gil Hodges" -Pee Wee Reese (Brooklyn Dodgers)

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Wed 6/6/12 10:09 am Post subject:

From the L.A. Times:

GilHodgesFan · Joined: 15 Jan 2011 Posts: 1763 Location: Cedar Rapids Iowa

What cool news!!!! Very Happy

Dodger fans and the boys families have got to be mighty proud of them Very Happy

_________________
"If you had a son it would be a great thing for him to grow up to be just like Gil Hodges" -Pee Wee Reese (Brooklyn Dodgers)

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Thu 6/7/12 8:20 am Post subject:

While I do love that story, this one speaks to my heart, and I wonder if I'll be posting updates in future years on the Gelalich boys.

From the L.A. Times, last weekend, in the opening days of June Madness:

"For Gelalichs, baseball is a game of balls, strikes and texts"

The La Verne family was busy, with sons playing in key games for UCLA, Pepperdine and Bonita High. Parents Greg and Karyn had it covered with the help of cellphones.

By Gary Klein

June 3, 2012

Greg and Karyn Gelalich long ago mastered the coordination required for keeping up with their three baseball-playing sons.

"Divide and conquer," Greg said Saturday.

The Gelalichs, of La Verne, celebrated a new challenge this weekend with the start of the NCAA playoffs and the end of the high school season. And they wound up, for a day anyway, as the first family of Southland baseball.

On Friday, oldest son Jeff helped UCLA win a regional opener at Jackie Robinson Stadium, middle son Matt led Pepperdine to a victory in a regional at Stanford, and youngest son Danny played in La Verne Bonita High's historic victory in the Southern Section Division 3 championship game at Dodger Stadium.

Greg stayed in Los Angeles — "You don't have to twist my arm to watch more than one baseball game," he said — while Karyn traveled to Palo Alto.

The slow cellphone reception you experienced Friday? Blame it on Greg and Karyn, who keep cell towers humming with texts to each other providing pitch-by-pitch updates of the boys' at-bats and on-field exploits.

"It was a good day for our family," Karyn said. "We don't take these for granted."

Pepperdine's game against Michigan State started at 1 p.m., so Karyn kept her husband posted as Matt, a freshman center fielder, drove in three runs in a 6-2 win.

Greg, who co-owns a machine shop in Los Angeles, was already at Dodger Stadium to take pictures of Danny going through pregame warm-ups, figuring a freshman who had been called up for the playoffs would not play in the 1:30 p.m. game against Alhambra.

"I was pretty relaxed," he said, "knowing one of my guys wasn't on the field."

But in the third inning, Bonita coaches inserted Danny as a pinch-runner. Not that Karyn heard immediately about it from her now nervous husband.

"I asked him why he didn't let me know, and he said he was taking pictures," she said. "Luckily, one of my girlfriends sent me a text."

Danny was in the middle of the celebratory pile after the final out of Bonita's 5-1 victory over Alhambra, which gave Bonita its first championship since 1951.

Later that night, he was still in his jersey at Jackie Robinson Stadium, watching his father text his mother as Jeff, a junior, drove in a run with a first-inning double in UCLA's 3-0 victory over Creighton.

After Pepperdine's afternoon victory, an assistant coach asked Karyn whether she planned to fly to Los Angeles for the UCLA game. She laughed and said no.

The Gelalichs have already played out the possible regional scenarios. If one son is finished by Sunday and the other's extends to Monday, one of the parents will travel so they can watch together.

"These are games and times," Greg said, "you don't get back."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As an experienced fan of the tournament circuit, I say "Amen, Greg--amen!"
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

forloveofthegame · Joined: 23 Oct 2009 Posts: 6936 Location: San Diego

GilHodgesFan · Joined: 15 Jan 2011 Posts: 1763 Location: Cedar Rapids Iowa

I agree Forloveofthegame. I am sure it brings back a lot of memories of their playing days.
_________________
"If you had a son it would be a great thing for him to grow up to be just like Gil Hodges" -Pee Wee Reese (Brooklyn Dodgers)

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Sat 8/18/12 10:18 pm Post subject:

It's hard to script stuff like this: Orioles pitcher Steve Johnson made his first major league start last week for the same team his father pitched for. That's not the oddity, though.

From MLB.com:

GilHodgesFan · Joined: 15 Jan 2011 Posts: 1763 Location: Cedar Rapids Iowa

That is the beauty of stories like this - they are not scripted. No one could script something this wonderful Smile

Thanks for sharing it with us.
_________________
"If you had a son it would be a great thing for him to grow up to be just like Gil Hodges" -Pee Wee Reese (Brooklyn Dodgers)

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Sat 10/27/12 11:53 am Post subject:

Here's a good read about the Avilas.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Wed 1/30/13 11:34 am Post subject:

Now that the Uptons are playing in the same outfield in Atlanta, MLB.com posted this article about brothers in baseball. About 100 sets of brothers have played as teammates, going back to the Gleason brothers for the St. Louis Browns in 1882.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

forloveofthegame · Joined: 23 Oct 2009 Posts: 6936 Location: San Diego

You know my Padres have had quite a few!

What is interesting about the brothers we have had over the years, is they are all from our local area. Not only baseball brothers, but hometown brothers. Smile

_________________
"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Wed 3/6/13 1:22 pm Post subject:

True, Cathy.

We've always been proud of former Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan here in S.D., but what his family has gone through over the past couple of years is pretty remarkable. Dave and his two sons, Shelley and Chris, have all seen major league action. The boys' mom has always been, as baseball moms are, extremely supportive. And baseball still unites their family through all the challenges they've faced.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Sun 3/31/13 10:54 pm Post subject:

Stories to share later...
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Tue 4/9/13 7:10 am Post subject:

Nice family touch for Opening Day at Progressive Field, in which fathers threw out ceremonial first pitches to their sons. All five of the dads were employed by MLB at some point. Reminds me of a couple of years ago when we did something similar, having more sons of former players in the organization than any other team. Since then, we still have several, but a few have been traded and some who saw major league service in L.A. are again back in the minors.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Sat 9/14/13 8:41 am Post subject:

Last month, the Mets called up catcher Travis d'Arnaud, brother of Pirates infielder Chase d'Arnaud.

Although this article was written before the 2013 season began, it's a great example of how tough the baseball competition is in Socal, as described by Travis to the New York Daily News. Not surprisingly, given his age, Travis grew up idolizing Mike Piazza when he was a Dodger, but I love how this article describes him giving back to his community--Lakewood, California! And, he's not the only Mets player from Lakewood; so, too, is his teammate in New York, infielder Justin Turner.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

forloveofthegame · Joined: 23 Oct 2009 Posts: 6936 Location: San Diego

It was interesting you would post the info on the day you did, since the next day Travis had a walk-off hit for the Mets.
_________________
"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Fri 3/14/14 12:30 am Post subject:

Spring training is seeing a lot of fathers and sons on the same field, notably Bruce and Brett Bochy, manager and pitching prospect for the Jints, respectively.

SVS, yet another outfielder in the mix for the Dodgers, appeared for the first time in the same game with his father, Andy, who was coaching for Seattle when the Dodgers and Mariners played last week. According to Rick Monday on the radio broadcast, it was an emotional moment for the Van Slyke family.

And Blue Jays hitting coach Kevin Seitzer watched during a game against the Rays as his son, Tampa Bay prospect Cameron Seitzer homered to win the game.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

forloveofthegame · Joined: 23 Oct 2009 Posts: 6936 Location: San Diego

I forgot until just now reading this to check about Brett. I remember last year he was cut before the end of camp.
_________________
"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg

forloveofthegame · Joined: 23 Oct 2009 Posts: 6936 Location: San Diego

For all you hear about some sons of famous baseball fathers (think Gwynns), you do not hear as much anymore about Pete Rose Jr. Looking at the picture of him in this article it was kind of eerie how much he looks like his dad. It seems like time has gotten away as he is now 44! Anyway I did not know he manages in the White Sox organization and has been with them for 4 years now. He will take over for their low A ball team, in Kannapolis, NC in the South Atlantic League, this coming season.

Article from whitesox.com
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"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Wed 3/19/14 9:05 am Post subject:

I remember "Petey" well, and he actually played in the Dodgers organization back around 2000. I remember seeing Pete at Vero Beach posing for pics with him, and it seemed so weird to see a Rose in Dodger Blue!

I just looked up the Kannapolis team, and their name is the Intimidators! Smile

_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

forloveofthegame · Joined: 23 Oct 2009 Posts: 6936 Location: San Diego

Posted this in both the Hot Stove and this thread:

In an all minor leaguer trade, this one is getting a lot of attention, even though we here have been watching these 2 players since they were kids. Remember our discussions about Trevor Gretzky and Matt Scioscia - they were traded for each other, so Trevor is now in the Angels organization and Matt won't likely play for his dad because he's going to the Cubs. Trevor (OF) has done better in the minors than Matt (C) so I think the Angels probably got the better part of the deal.

Article from mlb.com
_________________
"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Thu 3/27/14 2:05 pm Post subject:

Another good one, this time about Indians broadcaster Tom Hamilton and his son Nick, minor league outfielder.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

forloveofthegame · Joined: 23 Oct 2009 Posts: 6936 Location: San Diego

I love those kinds of stories.
_________________
"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Sat 8/9/14 3:19 pm Post subject:

B.J. and Justin Upton both homered for the Braves as Atlanta beat Washington last night, setting a record for brothers homering in a single game. Congratulations to the Uptons.

I also want to post a little bit later about the Angels' Cam Bedrosian.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Wed 9/3/14 6:49 am Post subject:

Well, RHP Brett Bochy has finally been called up for the Jints, and the Poway High grad/son of manager Bruce is with the team in Colorado now. It's kind of a nice story even if I can't stand that team. We've seen him a couple of times with the team in training camp, but now, finally at age 27, it's during the regular season.

From MLB.com:

forloveofthegame · Joined: 23 Oct 2009 Posts: 6936 Location: San Diego

They were talking about this on the Padres' broadcast too. Poway has sure seen its share of sons of players and managers come and go.
_________________
"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Sun 9/28/14 7:27 am Post subject:

There's been another "brothers milestone" for the B.J. and Justin of Atlanta. The Uptons both homered and had an outfield assist in yesterday's game as the Braves beat the Phillies in Philadelphia, the first time brothers have ever accomplished both feats in the same game.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame