It was a friendly competition. Catcher Jimmy Campanis and infielder Bret Boone, Seattle farmhands, were teammates last season with the Jacksonville
(Fla.) Suns in the Double-A Southern League. ”It really wasn`t that big a deal,” Jimmy recalled. ”But we joked about it. Who would get (to the major leagues) first?”
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The competition ended last week. Recalled from the Mariners` Triple-A farm club, Boone went 1 for 4, a single, Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles.
And so a doff of the chapeau to the Boones, baseball`s new first family:
Grandpa Ray, a shortstop who had a 13-year big-league career; Ray`s son, Bob, a catcher and potential Hall of Famer who holds the record for most games caught; and Bob`s son, Bret, a second baseman.
There have been 121 father-son combinations, but until Wednesday there had not been a third-generation major-leaguer.
”You can`t beat that,” observed Nick Kamzic, a veteran scout with the California Angels. ”Ray must be very proud. First his son, then his grandson. What are the odds?”
More than likely, others will follow.
”I`m glad for Bret,” Campanis said Friday. ”But I think I`ll play in the big leagues someday. Maybe Bret and I will be teammates again.”
Jimmy, who is still with the Jacksonville club but was sidelined for the season when a foul tip broke a bone in his hand two weeks ago, is the grandson of Al Campanis, now retired but the longtime GM of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Al had a brief playing career-seven games in 1943 with the Dodgers. His son, Jim, a catcher, also played with the Dodgers-46 games over three seasons. His father traded him to Kansas City after the 1968 season.
More than likely, the Bell family also will complete the three-generation cycle. The patriarch is Gus Bell, a hard-hitting outfielder who spent most of his big-league career with the Cincinnati Reds. His son, Buddy, was an All-Star third baseman. Buddy`s boy, David, is en route. Like his father, David is an excellent-fielding third baseman. David is in the Cleveland organization and hitting .252 in the Class-A Carolina League. He is a top big-league prospect.
Four or five years ago, it appeared that the Hairston family would be first. Grandpa Sam, for many years a scout and spring-training instructor with the White Sox, has two sons, Jerry and John, both of whom played big-league ball.
Jerry was the star: 14 years in the major leagues. He holds the White Sox record for most pinch hits. Sam and John were catchers. Sam got into four games with the 1951 White Sox, John three with the 1969 Cubs.
I remember Sam speaking of John`s son, John Jr., who was then a college star. An outfielder, John Jr. signed with the White Sox and was in their system for three years. He was released after the `91 season. He had good power but didn`t hit for an average.
The Hairstons are still on the track. John`s second son, Jeffrey, a 17-year-old outfielder, was signed last month by the Pittsburgh organization. And if Jeff doesn`t make it, John has a third ballplaying son in junior high school.
There is no question the sons of fathers who played in the majors have an edge. But it`s not so much the genes as it is the opportunity. There have been scores of examples where the kid, at best, is a marginal player, but as a favor to the father, is signed to a minor-league contract.
This year alone there are, or were, 24 second-generation players, probably more than at any time in big-league history: Roberto and Sandy Alomar Jr., Moises Alou, Barry Bonds, Boone, Mark Carreon, Ken Griffey Jr., David Howard, Todd Hundley, Stan Javier, Jeff Kunkel, Bill Landrum, Derrick May, Jeff McKnight, Brian McRae, Jamie Navarro, Omar Olivares, Dick Schofield, David Segui, Joel Skinner, Randy St. Claire, Kurt Stillwell, Todd Stottlemyre and Danny Tartabull.
The Delahantys of Cleveland had the largest major-league family: five brothers-Ed, Frank, Jim, Joe and Tom-all active in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Ed was the star of the family and is in the Hall of Fame. He had a 16- year .346 career average, fifth highest in history.
The O`Neills are next-four brothers, Mike and Jack, born in Galway, Ireland, then to America and Minooka, Pa., birthplace of Steve and Jim. Only Steve had a long career: 17 years as a player, 14 more as a field manager.
According to Larry Amman, in an exhaustive study on baseball families that appears in ”Total Baseball,” there have been about 300 big-league brother combinations, from Hank and Tommie Aaron to Robin and Larry Yount. Also included are the Grimes twins, Ray and Roy, from Chicago`s Crane High School.
It is unusual when both brothers excel, but there have been exceptions. The DiMaggios, Joe, Dom and Vince, were all front-line players. Joe is in the Hall of Fame and certainly is the best known, but Dom and Vince weren`t ham-and-eggers. Dom started in four All-Star Games. He outhit Joe by 26 points in 1946, and that year received more votes than Joe in the All-Star balloting. Vince, the oldest, led the National League six times in strikeouts but nonetheless had good power: 20 home runs and 100 RBIs in 1941, his first full season.
On Sept. 25, 1963, the Alous-Matty, Felipe and Jesus-formed an all-brother outfield for one memorable inning when they were with the San Francisco Giants. Matty and Felipe (current manager of the Montreal Expos)
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were strong hitters and finished 1-2 in the 1966 National League batting race. The Aarons hold the brother record for home runs, 768. Hank hit 755, Tommie 13. The Niekros won the most games, Phil 318 and Joe 221 for 539 total, only 10 more than the Perrys. Gaylord won 314, Jim 215.
The Meusel brothers had identical careers. Long Bob, 11 seasons and all but one with the Yankees, finished with a .309 lifetime average. His older brother, Irish, also played 11 years and retired with a .310 average.
Outfielders, they were opponents in three World Series. The sportswriters of the time delighted in reporting ”Meusel flied to Meusel.”