See also: List of professional sports families. Dozens of father-and-son combinations have played or managed in Major League Baseball (MLB).
The first was Jack Doscher, son of Herm Doscher, who made his debut in 1903.
Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. became the first father-and-son duo to play in MLB at the same time, in 1989 when Ken Jr. was called up by the Seattle Mariners while Ken Sr. was playing with the Cincinnati Reds. They became Mariner teammates in 1990. In Ken Sr.'s first game as a Mariner, on August 31, 1990, the pair hit back-to-back singles in the first inning and both scored.[1] On September 14, in the top of the first off California Angels pitcher Kirk McCaskill, the pair hit back-to-back home runs, the only father-son duo to do so.[2] They played 51 games together before Ken Sr. retired in June 1991.
In 2001, Tim Raines and Tim Raines Jr. played as teammates with the Baltimore Orioles.
At the 2023 Home Run Derby, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Vladimir Guerrero Sr. became the first father-son duo to win the trophy.
Cecil and Prince Fielder are the only father-son combination each to hit 50 or more home runs in any season. Cecil Fielder hit 51 homers in 1990; 17 years later, his son Prince, hit 50. Both Prince and Cecil hit exactly 319 home runs in their careers.
Six families have had a father and son serve as managers:
In 1992, Bret Boone became the first third-generation MLB player.
There are six third-generation MLB-player families:
In addition to the pairs listed above, there have been 21 other pairs of grandfathers and grandsons who played Major League Baseball. The list of grandsons includes one current player: Mike Yastrzemski is the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski.
There are third-generation families affiliated with MLB in roles other than team player:
There are fourth-generation families affiliated with MLB in roles other than team player:
, there has never been a fourth-generation major league player. However, two potential fourth-generation players have been drafted and/or signed to minor-league contracts.
In 2017, Jake Boone was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 38th round of the 2017 MLB Draft, but did not sign.[5] Jake's father is Bret Boone; his grandfather is Bob Boone; and his great-grandfather was the late Ray Boone. (Also, Aaron Boone is his uncle.) Jake played college baseball at Princeton University for three seasons before signing a free-agent contract with the Nationals in July 2020. He was unable to play professional ball immediately after signing his contract because Minor League Baseball canceled its 2020 season.[6] [7] In 2021, he spent the entire season with Washington's Low-A East affiliate, the Fredericksburg Nationals. Heading into the 2022 season, Jake was reassigned to the National's Rookie-level affiliate, but was released on May 4, 2022.[8] Since 2022, Jake has been playing in the independent Frontier League.
Luke Bell was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 34th round of the 2019 MLB Draft. His father Mike Bell was a 13-season minor leaguer who played briefly for the Cincinnati Reds in 2000 and was the vice president of player development for the Diamondbacks before his death in March 2021.[9] Luke Bell's uncle is David Bell; his grandfather is Buddy Bell; and his great-grandfather was the late Gus Bell. Luke Bell opted not to play Minor League Baseball in 2019 after he was drafted, In 2020 he made 5 appearances as a pitcher for Chandler-Gilbert Community College before the season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. He transferred to Xavier University in 2021 and played three seasons for the Musketeers. Since 2023, he has been playing in the lower levels of the Chicago White Sox farm system.
There are three known cases of a great-grandson following in his great-grandfather's footsteps to play Major League Baseball. Bill Wilkinson played for the Seattle Mariners from 1985 to 1988; his great-grandfather, Jim Bluejacket played for Brooklyn in the Federal League in 1914-15 and for the Cincinnati Reds in 1916. More recently, Drew Pomeranz and his brother Stu Pomeranz, who played briefly in 2012, both followed in the footsteps of their great-grandfather Garland Buckeye who was a regular starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians for three years in the mid-1920s and also appeared in one game each with two other teams.
The MacPhail family is the first family known to have four generations affiliated with Major League Baseball in roles other than as players. Larry was the general manager of the Reds and Dodgers as well as the president, general manager, and co-owner of the Yankees. Larry's son, Lee, was president and general manager of the Orioles, executive vice president and general manager of the Yankees, and president of the American League. Larry and Lee are also the only father-and-son duo to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The MacPhails became baseball's first three-generation family when Lee MacPhail III became an executive with the Reading Phillies of the Eastern League. Lee II's other son, Andy, is the president of the Phillies and was previously general manager of the Twins, president and chief executive officer of the Cubs, and president of baseball operations for the Orioles. The family became baseball's first four-generation family with Lee MacPhail III's son, Lee MacPhail IV, who has served as director of scouting for the Indians, Expos, Nationals, and Orioles.
As of the 2024 Major League Baseball season, the Caray family will also have four generations of MLB broadcasters when Harry Christopher Caray IV (Chris) broadcasts his first game with the Oakland Athletics, joining his father, Harry Christopher III (Chip), grandfather Harry Christopher, Jr. (Skip), and great-grandfather Harry Christopher Caray, Sr. in the booth.
| Italic | Managed his son(s) | |
| † | Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Player is active |
The following families had a parent play top-level professional baseball in a league other than MLB and a child who played in MLB.
| Umpire is active |
| Father | League | Son | League |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shag Crawford | NL | Jerry Crawford | NL/MLB |
| AL | AL/MLB, CL (Japan) | ||
| AL | |||
| Tom Gorman | NL | Brian Gorman | NL/MLB |
| Ed Runge | AL | Paul Runge | NL |
| Paul Runge | NL | Brian Runge | NL/MLB |
| Harry Wendelstedt | Hunter Wendelstedt | ||