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M 6C Sunday, June 17, 2012 www.star-telegram.com From Ray and John Kinsella clos- ing out Field of Dreams by having a catch in an Iowa corn field to Roy Hobbs’ final throw in The Natural landing in the mitt of his son in a sun-splashed wheat field, there’s something about a father and son tossing a baseball back and forth that strikes upon our emotions. Now imagine a father being able to have his glove popped by his son on a major league dia- mond. For a select few who have worn a Texas Rangers uniform, those scenes have played out and ulti- mately led to their son also play- ing in the majors. Two father-son duos — the Alomars and the Bacsiks — played for the Rangers. Twelve other Ran- gers watched their sons develop into major-leaguers with other franchises. Fourteen other Rangers were sons of former major-lea- guers. A look at the Rangers for whom Father’s Day has carried an extra-special baseball meaning: Like father ... Many sons of former Rangers have made their dads proud in the big leagues By David Thomas Special to the Star-Telegram TEXAS RANGERS’ TH ANNIVERSARY Buddy Bell (1979-85, ’89) Bell, a member of the Rangers Hall of Fame, was the middle of three gener- ations of big-leaguers. He spent eight of his 18 seasons in Arlington. His father, Gus, played 15 years in the majors. Buddy’s son David played for six teams over 12 seasons. Son Mike, a first-round draft choice of the Rangers, played 19 games for the Cincinnati Reds. The four Bells played in more than 5,500 games. Bobby Bonds (1978) Bobby and son Barry combined for more home runs (1,094), RBIs (3,020) and stolen bases (975) than any other father-son duo in major league history. Both outfielders, they also accounted for 11 Gold Gloves. Tom Grieve (1972-77) Rangers Hall of Famer Tom and son Ben, who played nine seasons in the majors, were the first father and son to be selected in the first round of the MLB Draft. Tom was the sixth overall pick of the Washington Sena- tors in 1966, and Ben was selected second out of Arlington Martin by the Oakland Athletics in 1994. Jeff Russell (1985-92, ’95-96) Jeff’s 134 saves with the Rangers are second-most all-time behind John Wetteland’s 150. Son James, a gradu- ate of Colleyville Heritage, is in his third season as a reliever with the Chicago Cubs. He recorded his first career save on May 29. Gary Ward (1984-86) Gary, who had a 12-year big league career, hit for the cycle in 1980 dur- ing his rookie season with the Minne- sota Twins. (He had played in 10 games with the Twins in ’79.) Son Daryle played for six teams over 11 seasons and hit for the cycle in 2004 while playing for the Pittsburgh Pi- rates, making the Wards the first father and son to hit for the cycle. Floyd Bannister In the majors: 1977-89, ’91-92 With the Rangers: 1992 Son Brian: Pitched for the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals from 2006-10. Jeff Burroughs In the majors: 1970-85 With the Rangers: 1972-76 Son Sean: Made major league debut in 2002 with the San Diego Padres. He played in 10 games with the Minnesota Twins this April and currently is in Triple A with the Rochester Red Wings. Bill Fahey In the majors: 1971-72, ’74-77, ’79-83 With the Rangers: 1972, ’74-77 Son Brandon: Played in 189 games for the Baltimore Orioles from 2006-08. Dave May In the majors: 1967-78 With the Rangers: 1977 Son Derrick: Played for six teams from 1990-99. Wayne Tolleson In the majors: 1981-90 With the Rangers: 1981-85 Son Steve: Made his major league debut with the Oakland Athletics in 2010. He was called up to the majors this season by the Baltimore Orioles in early May. Clyde Wright In the majors: 1966-75 With the Rangers: 1975 Son Jaret: Pitched in the majors from 1997-2007, including six seasons with the Cleveland Indians. Eric Young In the majors: 1992-2006 With the Rangers: 2004, ’06 Son Eric Jr.: Is in his fourth season as an outfielder with the Colorado Rockies. Damon Buford In the majors: 1993-2001 With the Rangers: 1996-97 Father Don: Played five seasons with the Chicago White Sox (1963-67) and five seasons with the Baltimore Orioles (1968-72). Gary Green In the majors: 1986, ’89-92 With the Rangers: 1990-91 Father Fred: Pitched during five seasons from 1959 through 1964, including with the ’62 Washington Senators. Jason Grilli In the majors: 2000-01, ’04-09, ’11-12 With the Rangers: 2009 Father Steve: Pitched in 70 games (68 in relief) with the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays from 1975-79. Jerry Hairston Jr. In the majors: 1998-2012 With the Rangers: 2006-07 Father Jerry Sr.: Played 14 seasons from 1973 through 1989, almost all with the Chicago White Sox. Jerry Jr.’s grandfather, Sam, played in four games with the White Sox in 1951. Jerry Sr. has an- other son currently in the majors: Scott, with the New York Mets. Jeff Kunkel In the majors: 1984-90, ’92 With the Rangers: 1984-90 Father Bill: Pitched in 89 games, mostly in relief, for the Kansas City Athletics (1961-62) and New York Yankees (’63) Gary Matthews Jr. (right) In the majors: 1999-2010 With the Rangers: 2004-06 Father Gary Sr.: Played for five teams over a 16-year career (1972-87) Robb Nen In the majors: 1993-2002 With the Rangers: 1993 Father Dick: Played six seasons from 1963 through 1970, including four sea- sons with the Washington Senators. Darren Oliver In the majors: 1993- 2004, ’06-12 With the Rangers: 1993-98, 2000-01, ’10-11 Father Bob: An outfielder/ first baseman/third baseman, he played in 847 games from 1965 through 1975. David Segui In the majors: 1990-2004 With the Rangers: 2000 Father Diego: Pitched in 15 seasons from 1962 through 1977, including nine years with the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics. Roy Smalley III In the majors: 1975-87 With the Rangers: 1975-76 Father Roy Jr.: Like his son, he primarily was a shortstop dur- ing his 11-year career. Brandon Snyder In the majors: 2010-12 With the Rangers: 2012 Father Brian: Pitched in a total of 17 games with the Seattle Mariners (1985) and Oakland Athletics (1989). Kurt Stillwell In the majors: 1986-93, ’96 With the Rangers: 1996 Father Ron: Played in 14 games as a shortstop/second baseman for the Washington Senators in 1961-62. Todd Stottlemyre In the majors: 1988-2000, ’02 With the Rangers: 1998 Father Mel: Pitched for the New York Yankees from 1964- 74. He won at least 20 games three times and was selected as an All-Star in five seasons. Bump Wills In the majors: 1977-82 With the Rangers: 1977-81 Father Maury: Played short- stop and third base from 1959- 72, including 12 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was a National League MVP and a five-time All-Star. David Thomas is a former humor columnist for the Star-Telegram. He can be reached at david@ davidthomasbooks.com. Mike Bacsik was part of the first father-son duo to play for the Rangers. AP Tom Grieve Mike and Mike Bacsik When Mike Bacsik toed the rubber to start the bottom of the first inning at Detroit on Aug. 4, 2004, he and his father — Mike — became the first father-son duo to play for the Rangers. The elder Bacsik — Michael James — pitched in 32 games for the Rangers during the 1975-77 sea- sons. Michael Joseph appeared in three games during the 2004 season. Ben Grieve Like his dad, Sandy Alomar Jr. played for the Rangers late in his career. File photo Sandy and Sandy Alomar Sandy Sr. was the father of two big-leaguers — Sandy Jr. and Hall-of-Famer Roberto. The elder Sandy played the final two seasons (1977-78) of his 15-year big league career with the Rangers. Junior, who was 11 when his father joined the Rangers, was a major league catcher for 20 years. He played in 46 games for the Rangers in 2005 and retired two seasons later. S-T
