FullCountPitch - Band of Brothers

There have been many brother tandems that have played in the Major Leagues over the years, but there have been few that have jointly found success. Generally, one brother stands out, (the all-time combined brothers home run leader for instance, Hank Aaron – 755, Tommie Aaron – 13), or neither member of a set of brothers have a memorable career.

Among the brothers currently playing Major League Baseball today, some of the more notable pairs include:

B.J. and Justin Upton
Eric and Corey Patterson
J.D. and Stephen Drew (another brother, Tim, played parts of five seasons)
Bengie, Yadier, and Jose Molina; the “first family” of catching
Scott and Jerry (Jr.) Hairston
Andy and Adam LaRoche
Laynce and Jason Nix
Erick and Willy Aybar
Adrian and Edgar Gonzalez

Each of the aforementioned sets of brothers could fall into one of the categories previously mentioned. The top brother combo right now is the Uptons, who are still a work in progress. B.J. has had the better career to date, though he has backslid from his 2008 season. Meanwhile, Justin appears to still be on the rise to stardom.

So who are the Top 10 best brother combinations since the beginning of baseball time?

Honorable Mention – George and Ken Brett, Orlando and Livan Hernandez, Trevor and Glen Hoffman, Carlos and Lee May, and Bob and Ken Forsch.

#10 - Aaron and Bret Boone are not only two of the better brother combos in baseball history, but they are members of a baseball legacy. Their father (Bob) and grandfather (Ray) played in the majors as well. 2nd baseman Bret had a 14-year career spent primarily in Seattle and Cincinnati. The four-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner hit 252 career home runs and drove in 1,021 runs. He finished third in the AL MVP voting in 2001 when he hit .331-37-141 and won one of his two Silver Slugger Awards.

Aaron played for six teams in 12 years, seven of which were spent with the Cincinnati Reds. He was primarily a 3rd baseman, but saw some time at 2nd base, shortstop, and 1st base. He was acquired by the New York Yankees at the 2003 trade deadline and hit one of the most famous home runs in playoff history when his extra-inning blast defeated the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the ’03 ALCS. He injured his knee playing basketball during the ensuing off-season, which fortuitously led to a mega-deal (including Alfonso Soriano) that enabled the Yankees to acquire Alex Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers.

Aaron underwent heart surgery during Spring Training in 2009 and made it back for 10 games with the Houston Astros. He retired at the conclusion of that season.

#9 – Our first trio of brothers – Cloyd, Ken, and Clete Boyer. The eldest of the three, Cloyd, played in the Major Leagues for just five seasons, winning a total of 20 games before moving on to coaching. But from 1955-1964 Ken Boyer was one of the best all around 3rd baseman in the game. During that stretch he averaged 24 HR and 92 RBI, was a seven-time All-Star, won five Gold Glove Awards and was the 1964 NL MVP. His seventh inning home run in Game 7 of the 1964 World Series proved to be the difference as the Cardinals beat the Yankees four games to three. He concluded his 15-year career after the 1969 season with 282 career home runs, 1,141 RBI and 2,143 hits. Ken has borderline Hall of Fame numbers that should be considered by the veteran’s committee.

Though he never hit like Ken, Clete could flash the leather at 3rd base as well as anyone. He played in the shadow of the Oriol

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