Is it difficult to be on the same team as one's father?

[Migrant Redbird]

I doubt if it was an issue for Ken Griffey Jr., since he was a well established star by the time his father joined him as a teammate, but I'm wondering how Orioles fans treated Cal Jr. when Cal Sr. was 3rd base coach and -- briefly -- his manager, and how that compares with what Chris Duncan has been going through in St. Louis?

St. Louis Today: La Russa lashes out at fans

St. Louis Today: Fans react to La Russa rant

St. Louis Today Blogzone; Round 2: Is La Russa correct in saying Duncan has been treated unfairly?

St. Louis Today: Chris Duncan optioned to Memphis

Of course, there's no real comparison between Duncan and Cal Jr., aside from the situation of playing on a team with one's father as a coach/manager.

Cal debuted as the ROY in 1982 and followed that up with 19 consecutive all star selections. Cal also zipped through the minors as an acknowledged blue chip prospect (2nd round draft pick), batting .280/.339/.453/.792 over his minor league career and .288/.383/.535/.919 with 23 home runs the year before his rookie season (and 25 the year before that).

Compare that with Chris. Yes, he was a supplemental 1st round draft pick in 1999 (12 rounds before Albert Pujols) and had an impressive debut in 2006 (.293/.363/.589/.952 with 22 home runs in just 314 PAs). Yes, Chris was leading the Cardinals in OPS at the end of June 2007 (Albert got off to a slow start) before the sports hernia injury put his season into free fall. But Chris got off to a very slow beginning in the lower minors and it took him 7-1/2 seasons to reach the major leagues (ignoring a September "cup of coffee" in 2005). Chris didn't break .800 in OPS until his 5th minor league season (2004, in AA). From 2004 on, he had decent minor league numbers and earned his call up midway through the 2006 season, but the Cardinals did exercise an awful amount of patience with him earlier in his career.

Other than Cal Jr. and Chris, were there any other major league players in comparable situations, coming up through the same organization where their fathers were influential coaches/managers? I know there have been many father/son combinations in baseball, but I'm not aware of any other situation where the son of a manager or major league coach came up through his father's organization.

[scOtt]

Didn't we draft Sam Perlozzo's son a couple years ago? Like in the 387th round?

[TGO]

Didn't we draft Sam Perlozzo's son a couple years ago? Like in the 387th round?

Yes, Eric Perlozzo, and we fired his father like ten days later. So I would say this doesn't really count for what MR is looking for.

And Eric was released earlier this season.

[MurphDogg]

The comparison you are looking for would be Moises Alou. He reached the Majors for good in 1992 with Montreal when his father Felipe was managing the club.

[The Wedge]

I seemed to remember there being some good vibes about Cal Sr and Jr. Which I think was helped by both of them acting professionally. Though Ripken does tell the story about first coming up, and accidentally calling him Dad early on and getting teased, and from that point on he'd call him Rip like everybody else.

But I seem to remember the only problem it causing was Cal's beef with the club after his father was fired. One of the many reasons why when he retired, a lot of those overtures were to his father's memory rather than to Cal's retirement (like the plaque). I don't think fans ever thought it a real issue. Except maybe briefly while manager to the "make him rest" crowd.

[Boy Howdy]

I'm not aware of any other situation where the son of a manager or major league coach came up through his father's organization.

MurphDogg already mentioned my favorite example, the Alous, but don't forget the Alomars.

Sandy Alomar, Sr was a Padres coach when Roberto Alomar played his rookie season with San Diego in 1988. Not only that --Sandy Alomar, Jr. also joined the club in September. The scenario repeated itself in 1989, though Sandy, Jr was traded to Cleveland before becoming a big league regular in 1990.

Interestingly, Sandy, Sr was a Mets coach in 2007, when Sandy, Jr played briefly for the Mets. (Moises Alou was also on that team). The last two years, Sandy, Sr & Sandy, Jr have both been Mets coaches at the same time. As far as I know, that's never happened before.