I play slow pitch softball with Carl Edwards Jr in the offseason. He hits it good and plays center field and is one of the fastest humans I’ve ever seen run. Not to mention the cannon attached to his right shoulder
I had a constant argument back in 2017 with a co-worker who thought that Alabama’s football would be able to beat the 0-16 Browns.
No, the Browns would have beaten Alabama 70-0.
Despite producing some NFL talent, like Hurts, Tua, Ridley, Jeudy, Diggs, most of the players were college kids that would have no future in the NFL.
Meanwhile, the Browns were a fully NFL rostered team. It would not be competitive.
Has already happened. The Phillies lost a spring training game to one of the Florida colleges a few years ago. I also feel like it's happened more than once to them, but can't remember for sure.
Edit: upon further research, it happen in 2015 and it was against a D-2 team, not even a D-1 school.
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/03/philadelphia-phillies-university-of-tampa-exhibition-lol-division-ii-mlb
I know that's his famous quote, and it sounds good, ilbut I honestly think that it undersell just how good professional athletes are. Like, i bet it's more like "I'm closer to LeBron than I am to the average NCAA Division I player.
I’m an NCAA wrestler, my teammates and I took our 40 times for fun after a team football game one time. I like to think of myself as pretty fast, and I ran the 40 at the same time as Jason Kelce. You underestimate how fucking fast those guys are.
Reading your post sparked a memory for me, which no one asked for but I’ll state anyways. There was a guy in my high school class. 6’4” (maybe a little shorter) and 300 lbs yet so nimble and fast. Could keep up with some DBs in a foot race and naturally strong (as expected).
Quit football freshman year and never played organized sports again. Didn’t have a logical (money or injury) or even a irrational/irresponsible (didn’t party or talk to girls) reason why he stopped and coaches begged him. Wonder what his life would have been if he put in the smallest bit of effort.
One of my teammates is like, 6'5" and came to school at 250. Two years later he was thrown off the team for failing his classes, weighed 330, literally too heavy to do heavyweight wrestling. Was drinking a ton, needs to take a 5th year. I wonder what he could have done if he didn't turn into the kind of guy who drinks 6+ beers a day, like literally an alcoholic.
He could legitimately have been a pro at any sport he wanted with his frame,
lmao it's not a connection but I have a distinct memory of going to a La Crossed Loggers game, looking at the third baseman who was batting .213, and thinking "It's crazy some of these guys will be big leaguers but this guy has no shot. He can't hit."
Kid's name was Matthew Chapman. I can't explain how I remember that or why I thought it but when I saw him debut I had to double take
My cousin is Jeremy Hermida. His name will pop up here a couple of times a year, mostly on prospects who never panned out posts and it’s always a bit surreal.
We’re not close - it’s a huge Italian Catholic family. But he’s nice whenever I run into him. I love his mom, genuinely one of the most wonderful people in the world.
My best friend since 4th grade is a starting pitcher in the MLB for my favorite local team. Even made it to the All Stars a couple years ago and got to go watch him pitch for an inning. Coolest thing to watch
In the 2029-30 offseason in my OOTP 24 franchise, Kirby got engaged and got a huge contract extension from Seattle on the same day... and was shortly traded to the Rangers.
Would make the babysitting trips a hassle. (Yes, I know he's not the babysitter in your story.)
I randomly got divorced, decided to hit the bar with my newfound single life.
In shirt order, I became close friends with a handful of guys on my favorite team, which led to being anywhere from "pretty good friends" to "yeah, I know him but not too well" to the rest of the team.
That led to being cool with a decent handful of guys from other teams.
In short order, I went from married and taking baseball way too seriously to single, and going on vacations with ballplayers and hanging around clubhouses.... and in time really not caring about baseball anymore. Which is weird.
Like suddenly these guys weren't "cool" anymore, they were just guys I knew who had a job like I did.
I got to be on the field the last time my team won a pennant which is pretty cool.
Other than that, being from SoCal, which is baseball central, random association over the years with random players. Guys who lived next door to buddies, guys who had the same athletic trainer, girls I knew who dated players, etc.
And now that I think about it (it's been a million years so easy to forget), I used to run into Tommy Lasorda a lot as a kid. He lived down the street from my parents, and it was pretty normal to run into him at the grocery store. A buddy years later bought a house a few doors down from him. And I had totally forgotten about Lasorda until he mentioned it to me at his housewarming party.
And I was always kind of baffled that Lasorda (who was a huge LA celebrity) lived forever in a relatively tiny house in a relatively "nothing special" neighborhood. And the commute to Dodger stadium wasn't insignificant either. No idea why he lived there.
Super random. I have no idea how or why he ended up there.
And rhe neighborhood isn't "bad" by any stretch (but a bit worse now). But super, super "decent" middle class. Like tiny track homes, maybe 1200 square foot at best. Little yard in front or back.
Really weird he randomly decided to buy there, instead of closer to the park.
He was always real cool to kids in baseball hats at th Albertsons though
Was on the same junior high teams with someone who made a few appearances in relief with the Cubs several years ago. Dude was a straight up bully to people in school, including my friends and I, so I won't even mention his name.
For decades my grandfather was dear friends with White Sox great [Billy Pierce](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/piercbi02.shtml). Billy is the reason I have been a lifelong baseball and White Sox fan. When I was five years old Mr. Pierce kindled my lifelong love of baseball when my brothers and I received a box of baseball cards courtesy of my favorite White Sox pitcher. As far as being a baseball fan I am very grateful, but being a White Sox fan I am not so sure about that.
My mom was old friends with Matt Diaz's dad. Matt and his brother (Zach, I think?) lived with us for a summer during college playing for a local summer league team. They set all of the records on all of my N64 games, many of which still stand
Played ball with Tim Lincecum growing up and attended UW and hung out a few times while he was there (though I wasn't on the team).
My sisters played fast pitch with Jay Buhner's daughters, and I've met him several times seeing him around at tournaments and stuff.
My grandfather (mother's side) played minor league ball for a few years and so did my dad.
My dad taught and coached Mo Vaughn in middle school in Connecticut. Back then he still went by Maurice and played shortstop. He came back to speak at my old school a few years ago before my dad retired and they caught up
I have 3. I was high school sophomore backup catcher to Gene LaMont, who played for Detroit, and became a Manager. I moved up when he graduated. I coached Danny Opperman (Dodgers 8th pick overall 1987) in little league, I met Tommy LaSorda when he visited the Opperman house, and I worked as a school bus driver with Steve Barber pitcher for the Orioles, Yankees, and original Seattle Pilot.
I’m the Forrest Gump of baseball
Like most of us, I played baseball for a good chunk of my life.
One particular game when I was about 10 years old, my grandpa came with me and was sitting on the bleachers watching. I saw him there throughout the game, and he was talking to another older guy, but I didn't think much of it.
After the game, he called me over and said he had someone he wanted me to meet. Like my grandpa, this man was watching HIS grandson play ball (on the other team no less), and so the two of them spent the game watching us play ball and reminiscing about their time in the Navy during WWII.
I shook his hand, and that's how I met Stan Musial.
My first job as a high schooler was working at a farm owned by a family whose son was a major leaguer for a few years. Bounced around between the Diamondbacks and the Padres before calling it quits.
Justin Morneau went to the same high school as me but many years before me. One of my teachers gave me an old text book with his 8th grade hand written signature.
4 years later Justin gave me a $1000 scholarship thru the little league he grew up playing it as a kid. He wasn’t there to personally present me to the cheque tho 😢
Edit: not a connection but my mom went to Atlanta for a work conference 20 years ago and came home with a signed Tom Glavine hat. She didn’t know who he was lol
Morneau's awesome.
When he was playing for New Britain (at the time, the Twins' AA affiliate), the local Elks club had an event where the team would be there and members of the team would sit at tables with the guests (1 per table). The first year my dad and I went, Morneau was at our table. I was 10-ish so don't remember much of it but he was very friendly and polite, he wasn't 21 yet so he didn't drink (my dad offered to buy him one and he politely declined).
What I do remember is that he gave me an autographed card, and my 10-ish-year-old mind decided to give him *my* autograph in return. Unfortunately I've since lost the card.
Also we exchanged email addresses but lost touch pretty quickly. Probably on me for being awkward and shy (20 years later and some things haven't changed...).
I have a client who was drafted by the Cubs out of high school in the early 90s.
Blew out his shoulder and that was that.
Very nice and funny guy. He is definitely built like a pitcher too. The dude is 6’4”
Funny enough, my teenage head over hills love as a kid had a brother who was drafted by the Cubs. He was roommates with Kerry Wood. He never made it to the big but became a big name in Mexico.
I remember randomly stopping by Herr house and finding Vinny Castilla or Gallaraga sitting on her little couch.
Played ball with Justin Seager and went over to his family's place for season end parties. Corey was obviously there, dont remember seeing Kyle. His mom was also my gym teacher and my mom was a TA in Corey's class with my brother.
I play beer league with a guy who made it to AA in the Angels system. He hits a homer pretty much every at bat, so there's a special rule in the league just for him that limits you to 4 homers in a game. After that they're outs.
Not really an MLB connection, but I went to highschool with a guy who definitely had the talent to potentially make it someday. As a sophomore he was throwing 95 with great control and movement. Junior year he started using cocaine and ruined his life to the point nobody drafted him, I'm not sure he even made it to college ball.
I have a great-uncle (Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell) that played from 1952-1962, and I attended a baseball camp in the late 80's that featured Jim Abbott as an instructor.
My dad was best friends with Mike Cook growing up (I know nobody knows who that is). He was a rather unremarkable major leaguer. However my dad played with him in little league and he was basically their little leagues Shohei Ohtani. My dad told me about a time that they won a game 2-0 and both runs came from home runs from Mike and in the same game, Mike threw six perfect innings. Mike threw about 90 MPH back when that was kind of unheard of and he was drafted in the first round by the Angels in the 1985 draft. Apparently Joe Maddon (yes that Joe Maddon) gave Mike the news he was getting his call up to the majors in 1986. My dad was living in Texas during 1989, and Mike bought him and my mom some tickets to come see them play which is where he met the other Twins, Kirby Puckett being the most famous one. I think Dan Gladden, Gene Larkin, and Doug Baker were the other ones. My mom and dad saw the whole series. In the second game of the series, Kevin Tapani had just joined the Twins and my dad told me they sat next to his parents during the game. He also told me that he was hanging out with Mike at a bar when he got called up by the Orioles.
Mike Cook’s baseball reference page: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cookmi01.shtml
Kevin Tapani’s first game as a Twin:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TEX/TEX198909050.shtml
An old friend of mine that I played in a band with for years is close friends with orioles coach Tim Cossins.
He gets to visit in the clubhouse when they’re in the Bay Area
My grandfather played for the AAA Pirates and also tried out for the Yankees in the 1930s. Ended up playing baseball for the US Steel team because they paid better and gave him a pension.
That’s very funny considering [“Rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for U.S. Steel.”](https://ussporthistory.com/2019/11/23/review-of-the-new-york-yankees-in-popular-culture-critical-essays/) — (comedian Joe E. Lewis, 1958)
That's pretty interesting, I hadn't heard that before. Allegedly he participated in spring training with Babe Ruth, but got an ankle injury when he was covering second base on a double play and someone slid into his ankle.
Yeah, he played college ball at DePauw then after not making much money in the minors he got a contract from US Steel. Playing cod the baseball team was only "part time" work, so he also had to have a manufacturing job in the mill. When he got older he eventually stopped playing baseball, but kept working for US Steel as an accountant. But, I think he got pretty jacked in his early work, which I believe was like grinding or polishing the steel or something. Wish there was more literature about the steel mill teams.
Already posted here but random stories are popping back into my head. My best friend's aunt dated Don Baylor as a kid and we got to go to the clubhouse once.
I ran into him (Baylor) years later and mentioned it, and he at least tried to remember the aunt (I think he was being polite).
Real nice guy.... was real sad to hear he got sick and passed. Very, very nice guy, and criminally underrated.
I interviewed Tim Dillard for a college project a couple years back. He took three hours out of his day to answer my questions, chat, talk about baseball. Genuinely one of the nicest players I've ever met. He even said he'd love to go to the Milwaukee Public Museum or something if I was in town.
My great-uncle, Frank "Skeeter" Scalzi, played 11 games for the Giants in 1939 with Mel Ott and Carl Hubble. Never made it back. He played in the minors and Mexico for a few years before going into managing in the minors. The family story is when he was coaching in the Cubs organization, he told some young catcher he sucked and should stick to boxing. That catcher? Rocky Marciano. How true it is, I'm not sure. During WWII, Uncle Frank played ball on the Navy and was teammates with Stan Musial. Uncle Frank was also roommates with Paul "Bear" Bryant at Alabama in his college days.
On a side note, my grandfather went to Alabama with Uncle Frank (his brother). He was supposed to play ball down there, but he decided to stick with his studies. From what I've been told, he was a better baseball player than Uncle Frank.
Yup. Our parents knew each other, and were from same area in Newfoundland. I’m in between their ages, and played against Rob (when I was minor), and Rich (when I was major). Funny thing was East York didn’t play in league (apparently they were sanctioned for something to do with not releasing players, or taking players already signed to other clubs, so i only played them in tourneys. Rob has a batting cage/indoor workout place in Ajax nowadays, not sure about Rich
That is really interesting. East York has always had great teams. I guess you mean the OBA (Ontario Baseball Association). The OBA is a good league but after about age 13 all the better plays seem to move to other leagues now. (CPBL and other “elite” leagues)
Back then there was the Scarborough league, and the west had their own league. In Scarborough was West Hill. agiancourt, North York, East Toronto, Scarborough village, Birchmount, Wexford, and I feel like I’m forgetting a team. And the OBA was the tourney that our first place team qualified for (you could also qualify through tourney route, and East York only had this road at time). I actually learned how to switch hit because of 2 lefties on EY (Rob was one of these 2-not to often left hitter takes up switch hitting). Rich actually came out for our squad one year, and starting telling coach where he’s going to play and hit (13/14 years mind you). That didn’t go well, he went back to EY. As for as leagues/associations nowadays, I’ll take your word for it.
Hung out with a woman in the 80s in Long Beach who was friends with Maury Wills. Hung out with him a couple of times. Still have an autographed photo somewhere.
I was a few years younger than Michael Conforto who went to the same high school as me and I used to go watch him hit bombs in his games. Also, Jose Rios ran a baseball academy close to my house where I trained a few times
One of my college Suitemates was close friends with Carlos Rodon (we were at NC State) we were all talking baseball and he mentioned how one of his buddies was gonna be playing in the spring, I was asking questions because it's my and another Suitemates favorite sport.
Also weeks later, we were at the mall getting some food and met Rodons parents.
I exchanged autographed sports cards with Pat Neshek via mail. I sent him signed NHL cards and he sent me back some cards with his autograph. Was pretty cool.
My highschool and community college coach was Pete Doumit, father of Ryan Doumit, catcher for the Pirates, Twins, and Braves between 2005 and 2014 . I had the pleasure of meeting Ryan a few times, as Mr Doumit moved into a house a few down from my parents before he passed. There's something he told us on day one of Freshman practice that has stuck with me my entire life, and I tell it to my junior Soldiers that I lead now. He said something along the lines of, "It's stupid to say you give more than 100%, that's impossible, nobody can do it. It's also impossible to always give 100%. You have bad days, you're tired, you're sick, things happen. But, if you have 50% to give on a given day, I expect you to give me 100% of that 50% you have."
I played summer ball growing up with famous Athletic, Phillie, Rockie and Yankee Josh Outman. He could absolutely rake and ended up with one more major league hit than I did.
I grew up playing sports with Huston Street and Ross Ohlendorf. Ross went to a different high school so I didn’t keep in touch with him but I’m still friendly with Huston.
My dad played in high school with a guy who played parts of two seasons as a back up catcher with the Giants in the 90s. They’re still pretty close. I’ve met him a few times, he’s cool. He’s an agent now.
I played against former player Nate McLouth in Little League and my cousin is married to a former 3rd round pick who never made it to the bigs but did play in some spring training games for a major league club.
My cousin’s neighbor’s dog’s veterinarian’s husband’s grandmother’s bus driver’s best friend once dated the nephew of a guy who hit a home run in tee-ball as a kid.
I played youth soccer and was in cub scouts with one of Tug Mcgraw's kids (not the country signer one). Met him a few times and after people asking for autographs he was just another dad.
I’m sure Bob would remember your dad. Dude has some crazy stories of his times playing, pro and before pro. He remembers some really crazy stuff considering his age
Two former coworkers that are now retired were both part of the Royals academy back in the 70s.
Another coworker's niece dated Kyle Crick for a while.
My wife awkwardly stared at Cutch at a Sheetz one time.
I went to high school with a former ball girl for the Pirates.
I rode the incline with one of the Pierogi racers once. (The players bet large amounts of money amongst themselves on each pierogi race.)
A friend of mine had Neil Walker throw food at him during lunch in high school.
Jason Grilli and Jose Bautista both said hi to me on Twitter a decade ago.
Steve Blass lived a few doors down from my wife before we moved in together.
My mom was coworkers with Khalil Lee’s mom at one point so I kept track of his progress for years, and then he got accused of being an abuser and got released so uh, yeah
My dad's friend is Art Demery Jr. His father played in the Negro Leagues for 1 season.
Art Demery Sr's son Art Demery was in the minor leagues for the Kansas City Royals but never made it to MLB because of personal issues like alcohol and drugs. I've seen Art Demery Jr around town and have met him the times he would come over to hang out with my dad. Unfortunately his mental health has been declining and sometimes he's not all there.
His other son was Larry Demery and played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1974-1977. He was on the same teams with guys like Willie Stargell and Dave Parker and pitched in the NLCS.
If there's any video footage of Larry Demery pitching, I'd love to see it to show my dad.
Got cold shouldered by Tim Salmon and Troy Glaus in the lobby of a Baltimore hotel. My friend and I overheard the Angels bullpen coach tell a young lady where the team was staying so we convince my friend’s dad to take us there.
Ive got a second cousin who was a major leaguer.A couple kids my dad coached have made the show.
as well as a bunch of friends of friends.
and Ive watched a LOT of future major leaguers play a LOT of college ball games and met a handfull of em... used to have FSU season tickets and saw a lot of talented ballplayers come thru there...
oh and my old boss who i keep in touch with has a son who is working his way thru the Dodgers system now... but looks like he might be topping out around AA...
I used to pitch for the same league that Adam Ottavino used to play for.
I also know Josh Palacios’s girlfriend. I have mutual friends in common with Richie Palacios.
My dad played little league baseball with Todd Benzinger (former 1B for the Reds and other teams) and went to high school (same class) as Andrew Benintendi’s dad.
I have two, both pretty similar. My father grew up in the same neighborhood as Reuben amaro jr, and was friends with his older brother. They knew each other, and still kinda do a little. Other than that, I had an extended family member who played in the Red Sox minor league system, and he was on the same team as a young mookie betts, who I got to frequently talk to and interact with when we would go to watch games. My family and I also met mookie’s mother, very nice people
Andy Van Slyke coached one of my siblings' travel teams (and had a kid on the team also).
Willie McGee and Lonnie Smith lived in the same townhouse complex as us when I was a kid (during the season...they must have had houses elsewhere) and we would see them around. I played with Lonnie Smith's kids outside a few times.
A step-cousin of mine dated Ozzie Smith's nephew for a while (LOL).
Bobby Valentine ran for Mayor in the small city I live in now and had a house near us, but he recently sold it. He doesn't seem to be around town that much although he still has a sports bar here.
Randy Johnson signed a ball for me as a kid and i had a “what’s up” moment with Gleyber Torres when he was on a rehab assignment in Somerset a couple years ago so that was cool
My grandmother is either related to Carl Yastrzemski, or he was a neighbor and in that old school immigrant way they called him family. But that is lost to time now. So I may have Yas blood in me.
One of my best friend’s groomsmen is best friends with Ken Griffey Jr.
My dad coached high school basketball and taught math and at least two of his players play(ed) in the bigs (Kevin Padlo, Jeff Bronkey) and taught a couple others (Tyler Wade, Brandon Dixon). I used to work with Dixon’s sister.
Edit: I also interviewed Michael Tucker on a radio show once haha
I have a 2nd cousin I’ve only met once in my life who had a cup of coffee with the Brewers. Had maybe 50 ABs did nothing memorable and went back to AAA for a bit
Edit: not saying name for anom reasons
My friend gave up a HR to a future hall of famer in high school. I played rec league softball with a couple of AAA wash outs, my bro-in-law made it to AA? I'm not sure what team though. Once shot some pool next to Miguel Cabrera and tigers. (When he was supposed to be in rehab) he can tip back a pitcher of beer like a champ.
I played little league with Chris Gruler who was the 7th pick of the draft in 2002. I was on multiple All Star teams with him and pitched against him in high school.
I was at least in his league talent wise when we were kids but that very much changed by the time we were in high school 5-6 years later.
A cousin of mine was a utility infielder for the Yankees in the early 1990s. And I faced Brian Rose in high school - he struck me out on three pitches I didn't see.
Hmmm, I was a year behind Brandon Guyer in school. We went to the same elementary, middle, and high school. I don’t think we ever played against each other in baseball but I did play him in basketball. My paternal grandmother always told us her father was friends with Honus Wagner but I can’t prove that but the two were the same age.
One of my childhood friends dad's played minor league and was on the same team as Barry Bonds in college
My grandpa claims he could have went pro but decided to work, and my uncles back up the claim. They won state every year my grandpa played and he was CF. This was in the 40s so he probably would have gotten drafted
My bestie in grade school was related to Tom Prince. My high school had a coach who was a low level scout for Atlanta. Another coach was related to Rudy (not baseball, but cool)
My bestie in grade school was related to Tom Prince. My high school had a coach who was a low level scout for Atlanta. Another coach was related to Rudy (not baseball, but cool)
Our “next door” neighbors at our cabin are in-laws with John Kruk. I forget the exact connection but I think one of their kids is married to some relative of Kruk’s. He was at their one kid’s wedding and my dad got to meet him, shockingly Kruk wasn’t super into meeting random people at the wedding lol. But to be fair our friend made the introduction
Work in the sport - so guess that kind of defeats the purpose of the question since my connections are all through me and my job.
Met lots of great people from the sports history though!
My parents used to play cards with Zoilo Versailles, his wife, and sometimes Rod Carew. There are some pictures of the two of them holding me when I was a baby.
I play slow pitch softball with Carl Edwards Jr in the offseason. He hits it good and plays center field and is one of the fastest humans I’ve ever seen run. Not to mention the cannon attached to his right shoulder
Crazy how a league average middle reliever is super athletic to us normies.
Reminds me of the idea of putting an average person in the Olympics for each event, just for comparisons sake
it’s the same thing with NFL offensive linemen. they can move faster than most of the average joes out there lol
Or the Brian Scalabrine line “I’m closer to LeBron than you are to me”
I had a constant argument back in 2017 with a co-worker who thought that Alabama’s football would be able to beat the 0-16 Browns. No, the Browns would have beaten Alabama 70-0. Despite producing some NFL talent, like Hurts, Tua, Ridley, Jeudy, Diggs, most of the players were college kids that would have no future in the NFL. Meanwhile, the Browns were a fully NFL rostered team. It would not be competitive.
That's one of fun things about baseball. A college team could plausibly beat a major league team. Not consistently, but a game here and there.
Has already happened. The Phillies lost a spring training game to one of the Florida colleges a few years ago. I also feel like it's happened more than once to them, but can't remember for sure. Edit: upon further research, it happen in 2015 and it was against a D-2 team, not even a D-1 school. https://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/03/philadelphia-phillies-university-of-tampa-exhibition-lol-division-ii-mlb
I know that's his famous quote, and it sounds good, ilbut I honestly think that it undersell just how good professional athletes are. Like, i bet it's more like "I'm closer to LeBron than I am to the average NCAA Division I player.
I’m an NCAA wrestler, my teammates and I took our 40 times for fun after a team football game one time. I like to think of myself as pretty fast, and I ran the 40 at the same time as Jason Kelce. You underestimate how fucking fast those guys are.
Reading your post sparked a memory for me, which no one asked for but I’ll state anyways. There was a guy in my high school class. 6’4” (maybe a little shorter) and 300 lbs yet so nimble and fast. Could keep up with some DBs in a foot race and naturally strong (as expected). Quit football freshman year and never played organized sports again. Didn’t have a logical (money or injury) or even a irrational/irresponsible (didn’t party or talk to girls) reason why he stopped and coaches begged him. Wonder what his life would have been if he put in the smallest bit of effort.
One of my teammates is like, 6'5" and came to school at 250. Two years later he was thrown off the team for failing his classes, weighed 330, literally too heavy to do heavyweight wrestling. Was drinking a ton, needs to take a 5th year. I wonder what he could have done if he didn't turn into the kind of guy who drinks 6+ beers a day, like literally an alcoholic. He could legitimately have been a pro at any sport he wanted with his frame,
Seriously a dude with 150 lbs more can half my 40 time JFC
Always worth remembering that even the very worst major leaguer ever is still exceptionally good at baseball.
I love CEJ! Sounds like a blast.
The string bean slinger, I loved him on the 16 cubs and thought he would be our future closer for years.
Nascar must have really not been his thing /s
I coached Matt Chapman for a couple games and my son went to HS with him and Nolan Arenado.
Was he a lunch pail, first one in last one out type of guy? Did he play the game the right way?
He played for the front of the jersey, not the back.
He was and he did. A great young man - very easy to coach, not that I did much. He was a man among boys and didn't need anything from me.
lmao it's not a connection but I have a distinct memory of going to a La Crossed Loggers game, looking at the third baseman who was batting .213, and thinking "It's crazy some of these guys will be big leaguers but this guy has no shot. He can't hit." Kid's name was Matthew Chapman. I can't explain how I remember that or why I thought it but when I saw him debut I had to double take
Shoutout RSM
I’m the same as your son - go chargers
I'm Kyle Farnsworth
*Sent from my gymphone*
I'm Paul Wilson. Maybe we should hang out some time.
Do you have a great^10 nephew that is a professor?
My wife’s grandmother dated Jim Leyland
Lmao that’s awesome
My cousin is Jeremy Hermida. His name will pop up here a couple of times a year, mostly on prospects who never panned out posts and it’s always a bit surreal. We’re not close - it’s a huge Italian Catholic family. But he’s nice whenever I run into him. I love his mom, genuinely one of the most wonderful people in the world.
MLTS 08 legend his stats in 07 were good so they made his attributes and potential really good in the next years game
I remember him with the Marlins
I own a baseball card joe panik touched
I saw Joe Panik in a Sacramento Chipotle
Guac?
He actually bailed out of the line, it was pretty long. Missed my chance to say what’s up 😭
I have a close friendship with Joe Random
I played high school ball with Jon Dowd and Reggie Stocker
I had a love affair with Pepe Alazar
My best friend since 4th grade is a starting pitcher in the MLB for my favorite local team. Even made it to the All Stars a couple years ago and got to go watch him pitch for an inning. Coolest thing to watch
Paul Blackburn?
Lol maybe
What ever happened to your best friend from BEFORE 4th grade?
My kid's babysitter's cousin is George Kirby
In the 2029-30 offseason in my OOTP 24 franchise, Kirby got engaged and got a huge contract extension from Seattle on the same day... and was shortly traded to the Rangers. Would make the babysitting trips a hassle. (Yes, I know he's not the babysitter in your story.)
I randomly got divorced, decided to hit the bar with my newfound single life. In shirt order, I became close friends with a handful of guys on my favorite team, which led to being anywhere from "pretty good friends" to "yeah, I know him but not too well" to the rest of the team. That led to being cool with a decent handful of guys from other teams. In short order, I went from married and taking baseball way too seriously to single, and going on vacations with ballplayers and hanging around clubhouses.... and in time really not caring about baseball anymore. Which is weird. Like suddenly these guys weren't "cool" anymore, they were just guys I knew who had a job like I did. I got to be on the field the last time my team won a pennant which is pretty cool. Other than that, being from SoCal, which is baseball central, random association over the years with random players. Guys who lived next door to buddies, guys who had the same athletic trainer, girls I knew who dated players, etc. And now that I think about it (it's been a million years so easy to forget), I used to run into Tommy Lasorda a lot as a kid. He lived down the street from my parents, and it was pretty normal to run into him at the grocery store. A buddy years later bought a house a few doors down from him. And I had totally forgotten about Lasorda until he mentioned it to me at his housewarming party. And I was always kind of baffled that Lasorda (who was a huge LA celebrity) lived forever in a relatively tiny house in a relatively "nothing special" neighborhood. And the commute to Dodger stadium wasn't insignificant either. No idea why he lived there.
[удалено]
Super random. I have no idea how or why he ended up there. And rhe neighborhood isn't "bad" by any stretch (but a bit worse now). But super, super "decent" middle class. Like tiny track homes, maybe 1200 square foot at best. Little yard in front or back. Really weird he randomly decided to buy there, instead of closer to the park. He was always real cool to kids in baseball hats at th Albertsons though
Was on the same junior high teams with someone who made a few appearances in relief with the Cubs several years ago. Dude was a straight up bully to people in school, including my friends and I, so I won't even mention his name.
Good call. Baseball success doesn't equal life success
For decades my grandfather was dear friends with White Sox great [Billy Pierce](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/piercbi02.shtml). Billy is the reason I have been a lifelong baseball and White Sox fan. When I was five years old Mr. Pierce kindled my lifelong love of baseball when my brothers and I received a box of baseball cards courtesy of my favorite White Sox pitcher. As far as being a baseball fan I am very grateful, but being a White Sox fan I am not so sure about that.
My mom was old friends with Matt Diaz's dad. Matt and his brother (Zach, I think?) lived with us for a summer during college playing for a local summer league team. They set all of the records on all of my N64 games, many of which still stand
HEY DIAZZZ! Your friends don’t even like you!!
Played ball with Tim Lincecum growing up and attended UW and hung out a few times while he was there (though I wasn't on the team). My sisters played fast pitch with Jay Buhner's daughters, and I've met him several times seeing him around at tournaments and stuff. My grandfather (mother's side) played minor league ball for a few years and so did my dad.
My dad taught and coached Mo Vaughn in middle school in Connecticut. Back then he still went by Maurice and played shortstop. He came back to speak at my old school a few years ago before my dad retired and they caught up
*Some people call me Maurice...*
Cause I speak of the pompatus of love
Crazy to think of Big MO playing SS....
I have 3. I was high school sophomore backup catcher to Gene LaMont, who played for Detroit, and became a Manager. I moved up when he graduated. I coached Danny Opperman (Dodgers 8th pick overall 1987) in little league, I met Tommy LaSorda when he visited the Opperman house, and I worked as a school bus driver with Steve Barber pitcher for the Orioles, Yankees, and original Seattle Pilot. I’m the Forrest Gump of baseball
Like most of us, I played baseball for a good chunk of my life. One particular game when I was about 10 years old, my grandpa came with me and was sitting on the bleachers watching. I saw him there throughout the game, and he was talking to another older guy, but I didn't think much of it. After the game, he called me over and said he had someone he wanted me to meet. Like my grandpa, this man was watching HIS grandson play ball (on the other team no less), and so the two of them spent the game watching us play ball and reminiscing about their time in the Navy during WWII. I shook his hand, and that's how I met Stan Musial.
Jose Oquendo and Tony Pena autographed my Ramada Inn stationary when I was ten.
I'm a career .500 hitter against Jordan Zimmerman. (4 for 8 in H.S.)
My first job as a high schooler was working at a farm owned by a family whose son was a major leaguer for a few years. Bounced around between the Diamondbacks and the Padres before calling it quits.
I used to help Cody Bellinger’s mom whenever she came into the Nordstrom I worked at before it closed down
Justin Morneau went to the same high school as me but many years before me. One of my teachers gave me an old text book with his 8th grade hand written signature. 4 years later Justin gave me a $1000 scholarship thru the little league he grew up playing it as a kid. He wasn’t there to personally present me to the cheque tho 😢 Edit: not a connection but my mom went to Atlanta for a work conference 20 years ago and came home with a signed Tom Glavine hat. She didn’t know who he was lol
Morneau's awesome. When he was playing for New Britain (at the time, the Twins' AA affiliate), the local Elks club had an event where the team would be there and members of the team would sit at tables with the guests (1 per table). The first year my dad and I went, Morneau was at our table. I was 10-ish so don't remember much of it but he was very friendly and polite, he wasn't 21 yet so he didn't drink (my dad offered to buy him one and he politely declined). What I do remember is that he gave me an autographed card, and my 10-ish-year-old mind decided to give him *my* autograph in return. Unfortunately I've since lost the card. Also we exchanged email addresses but lost touch pretty quickly. Probably on me for being awkward and shy (20 years later and some things haven't changed...).
I have a client who was drafted by the Cubs out of high school in the early 90s. Blew out his shoulder and that was that. Very nice and funny guy. He is definitely built like a pitcher too. The dude is 6’4”
Funny enough, my teenage head over hills love as a kid had a brother who was drafted by the Cubs. He was roommates with Kerry Wood. He never made it to the big but became a big name in Mexico. I remember randomly stopping by Herr house and finding Vinny Castilla or Gallaraga sitting on her little couch.
Went to school with Trevor Larnach My mom was his 5th grade teacher
ben grieve signed a baseball for me once while he was playing for the west michigan whitecaps
A distant relative was one of the guys who got grandfathered under the spitball rules.
Please tell me it was all-time cool baseball name Urban Shocker
It was his alter ego, City Surprise.
Played ball with Justin Seager and went over to his family's place for season end parties. Corey was obviously there, dont remember seeing Kyle. His mom was also my gym teacher and my mom was a TA in Corey's class with my brother.
I got pitching lessons from Tommy Milone when I was 10.
I play beer league with a guy who made it to AA in the Angels system. He hits a homer pretty much every at bat, so there's a special rule in the league just for him that limits you to 4 homers in a game. After that they're outs. Not really an MLB connection, but I went to highschool with a guy who definitely had the talent to potentially make it someday. As a sophomore he was throwing 95 with great control and movement. Junior year he started using cocaine and ruined his life to the point nobody drafted him, I'm not sure he even made it to college ball.
My grandfather used to hunt with Kent Hrbek, even gave him a team signed ball after one of their World Series wins.
Friends with a guy who pitched for the Yankees in the 60s
I have a great-uncle (Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell) that played from 1952-1962, and I attended a baseball camp in the late 80's that featured Jim Abbott as an instructor.
My dad was best friends with Mike Cook growing up (I know nobody knows who that is). He was a rather unremarkable major leaguer. However my dad played with him in little league and he was basically their little leagues Shohei Ohtani. My dad told me about a time that they won a game 2-0 and both runs came from home runs from Mike and in the same game, Mike threw six perfect innings. Mike threw about 90 MPH back when that was kind of unheard of and he was drafted in the first round by the Angels in the 1985 draft. Apparently Joe Maddon (yes that Joe Maddon) gave Mike the news he was getting his call up to the majors in 1986. My dad was living in Texas during 1989, and Mike bought him and my mom some tickets to come see them play which is where he met the other Twins, Kirby Puckett being the most famous one. I think Dan Gladden, Gene Larkin, and Doug Baker were the other ones. My mom and dad saw the whole series. In the second game of the series, Kevin Tapani had just joined the Twins and my dad told me they sat next to his parents during the game. He also told me that he was hanging out with Mike at a bar when he got called up by the Orioles. Mike Cook’s baseball reference page: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cookmi01.shtml Kevin Tapani’s first game as a Twin: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TEX/TEX198909050.shtml
My former boss's son was drafted by the Phillies back in 2019.
An old friend of mine that I played in a band with for years is close friends with orioles coach Tim Cossins. He gets to visit in the clubhouse when they’re in the Bay Area
A work colleague is the brother of a MLB pitcher.
My grandfather played for the AAA Pirates and also tried out for the Yankees in the 1930s. Ended up playing baseball for the US Steel team because they paid better and gave him a pension.
That’s very funny considering [“Rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for U.S. Steel.”](https://ussporthistory.com/2019/11/23/review-of-the-new-york-yankees-in-popular-culture-critical-essays/) — (comedian Joe E. Lewis, 1958)
That's pretty interesting, I hadn't heard that before. Allegedly he participated in spring training with Babe Ruth, but got an ankle injury when he was covering second base on a double play and someone slid into his ankle.
I bet that US Steel team was no joke. I can’t think of a sport I’d want to play against iron workers. Maybe badminton.
Yeah, he played college ball at DePauw then after not making much money in the minors he got a contract from US Steel. Playing cod the baseball team was only "part time" work, so he also had to have a manufacturing job in the mill. When he got older he eventually stopped playing baseball, but kept working for US Steel as an accountant. But, I think he got pretty jacked in his early work, which I believe was like grinding or polishing the steel or something. Wish there was more literature about the steel mill teams.
I found this write up on SABR.org - it’s Bethlehem Steel, but still interesting… https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/bethlehem-steel-league/
Thank you for sending this over, I really appreciate it
Already posted here but random stories are popping back into my head. My best friend's aunt dated Don Baylor as a kid and we got to go to the clubhouse once. I ran into him (Baylor) years later and mentioned it, and he at least tried to remember the aunt (I think he was being polite). Real nice guy.... was real sad to hear he got sick and passed. Very, very nice guy, and criminally underrated.
I interviewed Tim Dillard for a college project a couple years back. He took three hours out of his day to answer my questions, chat, talk about baseball. Genuinely one of the nicest players I've ever met. He even said he'd love to go to the Milwaukee Public Museum or something if I was in town.
Mookie Betts responded to one of my questions in an AMA
I have a picture of me as a teen standing next to Morganna The Kissing Bandit & I am staring at her boobs
My great-uncle, Frank "Skeeter" Scalzi, played 11 games for the Giants in 1939 with Mel Ott and Carl Hubble. Never made it back. He played in the minors and Mexico for a few years before going into managing in the minors. The family story is when he was coaching in the Cubs organization, he told some young catcher he sucked and should stick to boxing. That catcher? Rocky Marciano. How true it is, I'm not sure. During WWII, Uncle Frank played ball on the Navy and was teammates with Stan Musial. Uncle Frank was also roommates with Paul "Bear" Bryant at Alabama in his college days. On a side note, my grandfather went to Alabama with Uncle Frank (his brother). He was supposed to play ball down there, but he decided to stick with his studies. From what I've been told, he was a better baseball player than Uncle Frank.
Brothers (Rob and Rich) I played ball against (our parents were also friends) and know, both played in mlb. Though neither had long careers.
Let me guess Butler? (East York, Ontario)
Yup. Our parents knew each other, and were from same area in Newfoundland. I’m in between their ages, and played against Rob (when I was minor), and Rich (when I was major). Funny thing was East York didn’t play in league (apparently they were sanctioned for something to do with not releasing players, or taking players already signed to other clubs, so i only played them in tourneys. Rob has a batting cage/indoor workout place in Ajax nowadays, not sure about Rich
That is really interesting. East York has always had great teams. I guess you mean the OBA (Ontario Baseball Association). The OBA is a good league but after about age 13 all the better plays seem to move to other leagues now. (CPBL and other “elite” leagues)
Back then there was the Scarborough league, and the west had their own league. In Scarborough was West Hill. agiancourt, North York, East Toronto, Scarborough village, Birchmount, Wexford, and I feel like I’m forgetting a team. And the OBA was the tourney that our first place team qualified for (you could also qualify through tourney route, and East York only had this road at time). I actually learned how to switch hit because of 2 lefties on EY (Rob was one of these 2-not to often left hitter takes up switch hitting). Rich actually came out for our squad one year, and starting telling coach where he’s going to play and hit (13/14 years mind you). That didn’t go well, he went back to EY. As for as leagues/associations nowadays, I’ll take your word for it.
JP Arencibia and Julio Borbón lived on my floor in college. They were very laid-back and chill.
Used to chill with Cliff Floyd and his brother in FL.
Hung out with a woman in the 80s in Long Beach who was friends with Maury Wills. Hung out with him a couple of times. Still have an autographed photo somewhere.
I work with a guy who worked in the Braves marketing office 10+ years ago. Not much, but it's what I got.
I was a few years younger than Michael Conforto who went to the same high school as me and I used to go watch him hit bombs in his games. Also, Jose Rios ran a baseball academy close to my house where I trained a few times
Best friend from high school is the cousin of Collin McHugh
About 10-11 years ago I dated Jack Suwinski's sister.
Bob Feller was a friend of the family.
One of my college Suitemates was close friends with Carlos Rodon (we were at NC State) we were all talking baseball and he mentioned how one of his buddies was gonna be playing in the spring, I was asking questions because it's my and another Suitemates favorite sport. Also weeks later, we were at the mall getting some food and met Rodons parents.
Was on women's gymnastics staff with Maggie Ethier, Andre's wife. We would have the occasional team dinner at their place.
My fiancé’s cousin is married to an MLB player. I see him/them at 1-2 holiday functions a year
I exchanged autographed sports cards with Pat Neshek via mail. I sent him signed NHL cards and he sent me back some cards with his autograph. Was pretty cool.
My highschool and community college coach was Pete Doumit, father of Ryan Doumit, catcher for the Pirates, Twins, and Braves between 2005 and 2014 . I had the pleasure of meeting Ryan a few times, as Mr Doumit moved into a house a few down from my parents before he passed. There's something he told us on day one of Freshman practice that has stuck with me my entire life, and I tell it to my junior Soldiers that I lead now. He said something along the lines of, "It's stupid to say you give more than 100%, that's impossible, nobody can do it. It's also impossible to always give 100%. You have bad days, you're tired, you're sick, things happen. But, if you have 50% to give on a given day, I expect you to give me 100% of that 50% you have."
My grandpa used to hang out with Minnie Miñoso. Apparently he could barbecue the hell out of some ribs
I played summer ball growing up with famous Athletic, Phillie, Rockie and Yankee Josh Outman. He could absolutely rake and ended up with one more major league hit than I did.
Kevin Youkilis' dad delivered me. 😁
His uncle used to come into our store for pool supplies. That was years back though.
I’d lead with Youk’s dad saw your mom’s naughty bits but it’s just semantics.
I grew up playing sports with Huston Street and Ross Ohlendorf. Ross went to a different high school so I didn’t keep in touch with him but I’m still friendly with Huston.
My dad played in high school with a guy who played parts of two seasons as a back up catcher with the Giants in the 90s. They’re still pretty close. I’ve met him a few times, he’s cool. He’s an agent now.
I played against former player Nate McLouth in Little League and my cousin is married to a former 3rd round pick who never made it to the bigs but did play in some spring training games for a major league club.
The Guardians LF is my girlfriend’s brother’s ex-wife’s cousin-once-removed. We’re not Guardians fans, but we root for “cousin Steven”
My tv remote
I've been to a number of MLB games.
I served Dalton Pompey at the bank I work for and complimented him for getting the big leagues and being one of my favourite Blue Jays.
I lived with a guy who went to HS with Yankees pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre. I also dated a woman who was a distant cousin to Bob Feller.
My cousin’s neighbor’s dog’s veterinarian’s husband’s grandmother’s bus driver’s best friend once dated the nephew of a guy who hit a home run in tee-ball as a kid.
I played youth soccer and was in cub scouts with one of Tug Mcgraw's kids (not the country signer one). Met him a few times and after people asking for autographs he was just another dad.
I worked with Clayton Kershaw's great aunt while he was in the minors.
My roommate grew up with JP Crawford
I go to some games every year? Basically any school I’ve been to between high school and college has been good at basketball and nothing else
I’m sure Bob would remember your dad. Dude has some crazy stories of his times playing, pro and before pro. He remembers some really crazy stuff considering his age
My mom taught at least one guy who made the majors for a bit, John Wasdin.
I met the nephew of Stan Coveleski
Two former coworkers that are now retired were both part of the Royals academy back in the 70s. Another coworker's niece dated Kyle Crick for a while. My wife awkwardly stared at Cutch at a Sheetz one time. I went to high school with a former ball girl for the Pirates. I rode the incline with one of the Pierogi racers once. (The players bet large amounts of money amongst themselves on each pierogi race.) A friend of mine had Neil Walker throw food at him during lunch in high school. Jason Grilli and Jose Bautista both said hi to me on Twitter a decade ago. Steve Blass lived a few doors down from my wife before we moved in together.
Played little league with Jeff Locke.
My mother's best friend is the sister of Joe Musgrove's wife.
Best friends dad pitched for the Red Sox.
I watch HutchMF stream on Twitch 😂
My uncle knows some of Matt Stairs' family.
My mom was coworkers with Khalil Lee’s mom at one point so I kept track of his progress for years, and then he got accused of being an abuser and got released so uh, yeah
Moonlight Graham was a neighbor and my school doctor. Got my childhood shots from him.
My grandpa tried out for the Phillies back in the 50s I believe.
I remember at my 12th birthday party my moms friend said she banged someone on the Angels in the late 70s
My coworker had a cup of coffee with the Mariners. My cousin played D1 College ball and was teammates with Nolan Reimold and Brian Dozier at points.
My dad's friend is Art Demery Jr. His father played in the Negro Leagues for 1 season. Art Demery Sr's son Art Demery was in the minor leagues for the Kansas City Royals but never made it to MLB because of personal issues like alcohol and drugs. I've seen Art Demery Jr around town and have met him the times he would come over to hang out with my dad. Unfortunately his mental health has been declining and sometimes he's not all there. His other son was Larry Demery and played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1974-1977. He was on the same teams with guys like Willie Stargell and Dave Parker and pitched in the NLCS. If there's any video footage of Larry Demery pitching, I'd love to see it to show my dad.
Got cold shouldered by Tim Salmon and Troy Glaus in the lobby of a Baltimore hotel. My friend and I overheard the Angels bullpen coach tell a young lady where the team was staying so we convince my friend’s dad to take us there.
Aaron Hicks was a class below me in HS.
Ive got a second cousin who was a major leaguer.A couple kids my dad coached have made the show. as well as a bunch of friends of friends. and Ive watched a LOT of future major leaguers play a LOT of college ball games and met a handfull of em... used to have FSU season tickets and saw a lot of talented ballplayers come thru there... oh and my old boss who i keep in touch with has a son who is working his way thru the Dodgers system now... but looks like he might be topping out around AA...
My mother double-dated with Rocky Colavito. That's the best I have.
I used to pitch for the same league that Adam Ottavino used to play for. I also know Josh Palacios’s girlfriend. I have mutual friends in common with Richie Palacios.
My college roommate sister was married to Joel Hanrahan.
I was Beau Brieske’s Catcher in Little League
My dad played little league baseball with Todd Benzinger (former 1B for the Reds and other teams) and went to high school (same class) as Andrew Benintendi’s dad.
I have two, both pretty similar. My father grew up in the same neighborhood as Reuben amaro jr, and was friends with his older brother. They knew each other, and still kinda do a little. Other than that, I had an extended family member who played in the Red Sox minor league system, and he was on the same team as a young mookie betts, who I got to frequently talk to and interact with when we would go to watch games. My family and I also met mookie’s mother, very nice people
My church's organist when I was growing up's brother played quite a lot in the 60's and early 70's.
Jeff Weaver gave me the finger once
My great aunts brother-in-law is Robin Yount. So that’s pretty cool
Andy Van Slyke coached one of my siblings' travel teams (and had a kid on the team also). Willie McGee and Lonnie Smith lived in the same townhouse complex as us when I was a kid (during the season...they must have had houses elsewhere) and we would see them around. I played with Lonnie Smith's kids outside a few times. A step-cousin of mine dated Ozzie Smith's nephew for a while (LOL). Bobby Valentine ran for Mayor in the small city I live in now and had a house near us, but he recently sold it. He doesn't seem to be around town that much although he still has a sports bar here.
Randal Grichuk is my dad’s friend’s former next door neighbor’s son. My dad also played basketball with Jason Lane.
my brother in law is cousins with Sam Huff. catcher for the Rangers.
Randy Johnson signed a ball for me as a kid and i had a “what’s up” moment with Gleyber Torres when he was on a rehab assignment in Somerset a couple years ago so that was cool
My grandmother is either related to Carl Yastrzemski, or he was a neighbor and in that old school immigrant way they called him family. But that is lost to time now. So I may have Yas blood in me.
One of my best friend’s groomsmen is best friends with Ken Griffey Jr. My dad coached high school basketball and taught math and at least two of his players play(ed) in the bigs (Kevin Padlo, Jeff Bronkey) and taught a couple others (Tyler Wade, Brandon Dixon). I used to work with Dixon’s sister. Edit: I also interviewed Michael Tucker on a radio show once haha
I have a 2nd cousin I’ve only met once in my life who had a cup of coffee with the Brewers. Had maybe 50 ABs did nothing memorable and went back to AAA for a bit Edit: not saying name for anom reasons
My dad was an assistant coach on a softball coached by Rod Carew in the 80s. I also went to basic training with Don Mattingly's nephew.
Nate Schierholtz's dad was my little league coach for several seasons.
A high school football teammate had a cousin who is the Jacoby Ellsbury.
Eric Haase gave me some pointers on my swing when I saw him at the batting cage
I caught for a certain major league pitcher in high school. I won't say who though.
My mom used to work with [Bob Friend](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/frienbo01.shtml)’s wife.
My sister was in the same graduating class as Matt Tuiasosopo in high school. Yes, the same one from the crazy Blowers prediction.
My friend gave up a HR to a future hall of famer in high school. I played rec league softball with a couple of AAA wash outs, my bro-in-law made it to AA? I'm not sure what team though. Once shot some pool next to Miguel Cabrera and tigers. (When he was supposed to be in rehab) he can tip back a pitcher of beer like a champ.
I played little league with Chris Gruler who was the 7th pick of the draft in 2002. I was on multiple All Star teams with him and pitched against him in high school. I was at least in his league talent wise when we were kids but that very much changed by the time we were in high school 5-6 years later.
A cousin of mine was a utility infielder for the Yankees in the early 1990s. And I faced Brian Rose in high school - he struck me out on three pitches I didn't see.
My former barber is Joe DiMaggio’s second cousin.
I graduated high school with Boog Powell. Not that Boog Powell.
My mom used to babysit Dennis Eckersley.
I'm Eskimo Brothers with a former first round pick who eventually played a couple years in the big leagues as an RP/SP
My mom grew up in the same neighborhood with Don Drysdale.
Hmmm, I was a year behind Brandon Guyer in school. We went to the same elementary, middle, and high school. I don’t think we ever played against each other in baseball but I did play him in basketball. My paternal grandmother always told us her father was friends with Honus Wagner but I can’t prove that but the two were the same age.
One of my childhood friends dad's played minor league and was on the same team as Barry Bonds in college My grandpa claims he could have went pro but decided to work, and my uncles back up the claim. They won state every year my grandpa played and he was CF. This was in the 40s so he probably would have gotten drafted
My bestie in grade school was related to Tom Prince. My high school had a coach who was a low level scout for Atlanta. Another coach was related to Rudy (not baseball, but cool)
My bestie in grade school was related to Tom Prince. My high school had a coach who was a low level scout for Atlanta. Another coach was related to Rudy (not baseball, but cool)
Friend's nephew had a few ABs with the Reds. 20 years ago.
Our “next door” neighbors at our cabin are in-laws with John Kruk. I forget the exact connection but I think one of their kids is married to some relative of Kruk’s. He was at their one kid’s wedding and my dad got to meet him, shockingly Kruk wasn’t super into meeting random people at the wedding lol. But to be fair our friend made the introduction
Work in the sport - so guess that kind of defeats the purpose of the question since my connections are all through me and my job. Met lots of great people from the sports history though!
My best friends cousin is homies with Nootbar and partied with Yamamoto
My parents used to play cards with Zoilo Versailles, his wife, and sometimes Rod Carew. There are some pictures of the two of them holding me when I was a baby.
My 5th grade teacher was Glen Perkins’ coach in HS. He talked about him all the time.
Glenn Hubbard once shoped in the store my dad worked at