Sons of Baseball

Growing Up with a Major League Dad

Mark Braff

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Year: 2023
• eBook ISBN:
  9781538176894
• Edition: 1

A rare glimpse of professional ballplayers, not as pitchers, hitters, managers, and coaches, but as dads and grandads.

Sons of major league baseball players grow up in a unique environment, not only because they are raised in part by professional athletes, but also because they are raised by the game itself. They come of age immersed in the distinct sounds and aromas of baseball. The locker rooms, the cinderblock-lined corridors beneath the stands, the dugouts, and the fields are the playgrounds of their youth.

In Sons of Baseball, Mark Braff interviews 18 men who share their exclusive stories, ballpark memories, and the challenges and rewards of having fathers whose talents enabled them to reach the pinnacle of their profession. Each chapter is devoted to one son talking about his experiences, from the poignancy of one son's disclosure that his dad has not been able to acknowledge his son's sexuality as a gay man, to the humor of another son absconding with the groundskeepers' cart in Cleveland.

With a foreword by Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. and interviews with the sons of beloved players such as Yogi Berra, Mariano Rivera, Roger Maris, Gil Hodges, and Larry Doby, Sons of Baseball provides a unique, well-rounded perspective on the lives of professional ballplayers and their families.

Table of contents

• Foreword by Cal Ripken Jr.
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1 Jerry Hairston and Jerry Hairston Jr.: Following Grandpa and Dad into the Family Business
• 2 Roger Maris and Kevin Maris: Still Teaching Lessons from Dad
• 3 Larry Doby and Larry Doby Jr.: From Baseball to Billy Joel
• 4 John Wathan and Dusty Wathan: Cup Ball and Stories from Buck O’Neil
• 5 Henry Rodriguez and David Rodriguez: Seeking Dad’s Acceptance: “All I Wanted Was a Barbie”
• 6 Mariano Rivera and Jafet Rivera: “Come on, Rivera, Throw the Cutter”
• 7 Vada Pinson and Vada Pinson III: Yearning for a Father’s Love
• 8 Yogi Berra and Larry Berra: Fielding Fungoes from Mickey Mantle
• 9 Dave McNally and Jeff McNally: A National Television Debut at Age Seven
• 10 Jack Aker and Matt Aker: If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Lynchburg
• 11 Boog Powell and John W. Powell Jr.: Stealing (and Abandoning) the Groundskeepers’ Cart
• 12 Gil Hodges and Gil Hodges Jr.: Embracing the Legacy
• 13 Tony Peña and Tony Peña Jr.: Poking Sleeping Players with Toothpicks
• 14 Jim Bouton and Michael Bouton: Riding Upside Down to Yankee Stadium
• 15 Leo Cardenas and Leo Cardenas Jr.: “I Should Have Made It”
• 16 Bobby Richardson and Robby Richardson: Getting Past Frank Crosetti, Baseball Cop
• 17 Mike Hargrove and Andy Hargrove: Fishing Off Bo Jackson’s Lap
• 18 Ron Guidry and Brandon Guidry: Handfuls of Bazooka and Other Stadium Fun
• A Note on Sources
• About the Author