Top MLB Sons of Pro Athletes

Maybe it’s genetics. Maybe it’s the things you learn spending a lot of time growing up around top athletes. Either way, it’s no surprise many Major League baseball players are the offspring of other big leaguers.

From a controversial home run king to a couple of Hall of Famers to a few of today’s best young players, these are the sons who shine brightest.

Barry Bonds

Like him or not, he’s the greatest all-around player anyone aged 45 or under has seen play. A seven-time MVP and eight-time Gold Glover, Bonds is the only player with 500 homers and 500 steals. We know about all the home runs, but he’d also have well over 3,000 hits if anyone had the courage to throw him a strike.

Bonds showed a combination of power and speed unmatched by many, except perhaps his father, Bobby. They are the only players with 300 home runs and 400 steals, and together, they account for 10 30-30 seasons.

Ken Griffey Jr.

With nicknames like “The Kid” and “Junior” to go along with his Hall of Fame playing career, Griffey is a lock for any “best MLB sons” list. With his picture-perfect lefty stroke, silky smooth centerfield play, backwards cap and infectious smile, there’s a reason Baseballism calls him “Your favorite player’s favorite player.”

With Senior sticking in the majors until age 41 and Junior debuting at 19, father and son were teammates for two years and shared the outfield in Seattle (with the younger Griffey once famously stealing a fly ball from his dad).

Roberto Alomar

Roberto is one of two big-league sons of former infielder Sandy Alomar. Sandy Jr. played 20 years as a catcher in the majors, winning Rookie of the Year and earning six All-Star nods.

But family bragging rights go to little brother Roberto, a career .300 hitter who won two World Series with Toronto and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011. Sandy Sr., meanwhile, finished his career with a .245 average and 13 homers.

Robinson Cano

With multiple Gold Gloves, a .301 career average, 335 home runs and more than 2,600 hits, Cano has a compelling case when he becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2028. Voters may pay more attention to his suspensions for banned substances. Fortunately, there’s no character clause for inclusion in this list.

Robinson’s father Jose pitched all of six career games in the majors, with Houston in 1989, but it still counts.

Buddy Bell

The Bells are one of two three-generation baseball families on this list. Both include a patriarch who played in the 1950s, a son who was an All-Star in the ‘70s and ‘80s and went on to manage, and two grandsons who played, one of whom also managed.

Buddy, son of Gus and father to David and Mike, is the standout of the Bell bunch. Overshadowed by hot corner contemporaries like Mike Schmidt and George Brett, Buddy was a strong hitter and exceptional defender – a tremendously underrated player.

Jason Kendall

Kendall is a bit of a rarity. He is a catcher known for his speed and base-stealing ability. With 189 career stolen bases, he’s the leader in modern major league history among players who primarily played catcher. He could hit, too, with six .300+ seasons and 2,195 career hits.

This is another example of the son far surpassing the father’s success. Fred Kendall amassed a total of 1 Win Above Replacement over his 12-year career. (Jason, in 15 years, totaled 41.7.)

Moises Alou

This factoid may surprise you: After the Bondses and Griffeys, the father-son duo with the highest combined Wins Above Replacement is Alou and his father Felipe. (OK, by next May, the Guerreros should pass them, but for now, it’s accurate.)

Moises put up big years for the Marlins, Astros and Cubs, finishing with a .303 average, 332 homers and 2,134 hits. Felipe was a three-time All-Star and later a longtime big-league manager. Felipe’s brothers, Matty and Jesus, also had successful major-league careers.

Michael Brantley

In just six years, Brantley progressed from a “player to be named later” (essentially, a throw-in after the fact to complete a trade) to an MVP candidate. It turns out that the guy could flat-out hit. Brantley finished in the top 10 in batting average six times and made five All-Star teams.

His father, Mickey, played four unremarkable seasons in the majors. But he became a hitting coach, clearly teaching Michael a thing or two.

Bret Boone

The Boones are the other three-generation family, tracing back to Ray Boone, an infielder mostly for Cleveland and Detroit who slugged 151 home runs. Ray’s son Bob was a longtime catcher-turned-manager who has the edge on his sons for defense and longevity.

Bob’s son Bret gets the nod on the strength of some monster offensive seasons for the Seattle Mariners. Bret’s brother Aaron also had a couple of big years and an all-time clutch postseason home run, but he’s better known as the current manager of the Yankees.

Prince Fielder

Fielder is the co-owner of one of the greatest statistics in all of baseball lore. The slugging first baseman and his father, Cecil Fielder, both finished their careers with exactly 319 home runs.

Before becoming a first-round draft pick and multiple-time All-Star, Prince was known as Cecil’s son. Photos of a fashionable young Prince at big-league ballparks made the rounds before he followed in his dad’s footsteps. Unfortunately, the younger Fielder’s career was cut short by injury.

Cody Bellinger

It’s hard to know what to make of Bellinger. His first three seasons included a Rookie of the Year award, an MVP and two All-Star Games. In his next three, he hit a combined .203, including an abysmal .165 in 2021. He bounced back the last two years with the Cubs, but the jury’s still out.

Cody’s father, Clay, would have been happy with that .203 batting average. In his four years split between the Yankees and Angels, he managed only a career .193 average.

Todd Stottlemyre

Todd and his father, Mel, rank as the top father-son duo among pitchers in major league history. Mel was a five-time All-Star for the Yankees, then went on to a successful career as a pitching coach (notably during the Yankees’ run of championships between 1996-2000).

Todd has two rings of his own, won with Toronto in 1992 and 1993. He was a solid starting pitcher over 14 seasons, including two years with more than 200 strikeouts and 138 career wins. Todd’s brother Mel Jr. was also a big-league pitcher and pitching coach.

Fernando Tatis Jr.

Today’s game is filled with superstar “Juniors,” who take up the final three spots on this list. Though it’s still early in their careers, there’s no disputing their talent. Tatis Jr. contended for Rookie of the Year in his first season and MVP the next two. When healthy, he’s among the top players in the game.

Fernando Sr. played in 949 games over the course of his career, but he’s best known for one in particular – the day he hit two grand slams in the same inning for the Cardinals in 1999.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Following in a big-league father’s footsteps could be a little intimidating, no matter how successful Dad was. But Guerrero Jr. had to contend with something no one else on this list did – his father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr., was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

It hasn’t seemed to faze Vlad Jr., who nearly won an MVP in his first full season and has been an All-Star each of the past four. One of the game’s most dangerous hitters, he sits near the top of the rankings for exit velocity, hard-hit rate and home run distance.

Bobby Witt Jr.

Witt will ultimately end up much higher on this list. The sky’s the limit for the young Royals shortstop, who blossomed into a megastar in his third season. He led the league with a .332 average, compiled his second straight 30-30 season and is the likely runner-up for MVP.

Bobby Sr. racked up nearly 2,000 strikeouts over his 16-year pitching career. Could the Witts end up another three-generation baseball family? All of Bobby Sr.’s potential grandchildren would count. He also has three daughters, each one married to a former MLB player.

A League of Their Own

Everyone listed above had a father who played in the major leagues. But you’ll notice the headline doesn’t specify sons of just baseball players. Here are five more whose parents starred outside of Major League Baseball.

B.J. Surhoff

Surhoff was a 1984 Olympian and the first overall draft pick in ’85 before launching a solid 19-year career in the majors. His best season came in Baltimore in 1999, when he hit .308, drove in 107 runs and made his only All-Star team. Surhoff’s father, Richard, played two seasons in the NBA in the early 1950s. B.J.’s brother Rich also pitched briefly in the majors.

Michael Conforto

Conforto hit 27 or more home runs each year with the Mets from 2017 to 2019, earning one All-Star nod. After an injury cost him the entire 2022 season, he bounced back with the Giants, slugging 20 homers this year. His mother, Tracie Ruiz-Conforto, has two Olympic gold medals and a silver in synchronized swimming. (Dad Mike was a linebacker at Penn State.)

J.T. Snow

Snow’s father was former NFL wide receiver Jack Snow. J.T. had a productive big-league career, but he may be best known for the 2002 World Series when he saved Darren Baker, Giants bat boy and 3-year-old son of manager Dusty Baker. (Darren made his major league debut this season and could be a candidate for a future version of this list.)

Trayce Thompson

The Thompsons are a family of athletes. You’re probably most familiar with Trayce’s brother, Klay, four-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors. Their father, Mychal, won two NBA rings as a member of the Lakers in the ’80s. Mom Julie was a college volleyball player, and Trayce’s and Klay’s older brother, Mychel, also played briefly in the NBA.

Casey Candaele

When it comes to parents of baseball players, Candaele’s mother is in a league of her own. Helen Callaghan played five seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Her son Kelly (Casey’s brother) produced a documentary about his mom and the league, which inspired the movie A League of Their Own. Casey played nine years in the majors for Houston, Montreal and Cleveland.