When baseball enters a family it almost always becomes tradition. From little league to the bigs; players from the same family have played with and against each other. Today we look at a sibling combination within our own organization, and a few from the past.
The Wright brothers, the DiMaggios, John and Ted Kennedy, Big and Little Poison, the brothers Grimm, Ramon and Pedro Martinez, the Marx brothers, the Uptons, Ben and Casey Affleck. There are plenty of brothers in history that have gone down similar successful career paths.
With a recent complete game shutout from the Padres' starter Tyson Ross, and his little brother Joe ripping up the minor leagues in Lake Elsinore; the Ross bros. are currently a powerful bloodline within the Padres organization. But which one gets to be Batman?
Now at the middle of 2014; TRoss has had 18 starts to show how lethal he really is when given a professional team that can solidify a win with at least some run support. His little brother JRoss is virtually mirrored his older sibling's talent, and in 16 starts so far has exemplified why he has recently been a top 10 prospect for the Friars for a while now.
The Lines
The talent is visible, and with similar pitching kits both players have a good reason why they're as successful as they've been this 2014 season. Both brothers keep the runs low, the strikeout average high, and are seeing plenty of starts respectively.
But the Ross brothers aren't the only family-tied players to be within the Padres organization.
The Brotherhood
1988-1989Roberto Alomar (.295), Sandy Alomar Jr (.211)
1996Tony Gwynn (.353), Chris Gwynn (.178)
2007Brian Giles (.271), Marcus Giles (.229)
2008-2009Adrian Gonzalez (.279), Edgar Gonzalez (.274)
2010Jerry Hairston (.244), Scott Hairston (.210)
Every parent has a favorite, and it's pretty easy to pick them out as a fan whilst going down the names. When we look at Edgar giving the younger Gonzalez some good competition, we know which one put up better numbers way past just two seasons. Meanwhile the Hairstons might have been one of the more underwhelming combinations that saw get so many starts for the Friars in 2010.
But it was Captain Video himself that must have had his little brother Chris kicking dirt after hitting double his average. How do you approach a plate with the name Gwynn on your back knowing that Mr. Padre was in that dugout? Watching. Analyzing every swing.
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Sibling Rivalry
Since 2011 Joe has been praised for his arm speed. More than any other pitching prospect in his depth. But once into 2012; shoulder tendinitis pulled JRoss out of performing into a full season, which prevented us from seeing how he would truly debut.
That following year was when big-bro Tyson starting putting up his career best numbers after leaving O.co Coliseum for the beach sands of Petco Park. At the moment, Tyson Ross is beginning to stand out for the Padres; in the most abysmal June in Padres history he has hovered around a solid 3.18 ERA - and when backed by at least an average offense - can almost guarantee a win for the club.
In all of Tyson's 2014 starts he has only had two games where has given up more than 3 runs. Little brother Joe has more or less done the same thing this year; keeping his minor league opponents to 3 or less in his last 8 out of 10.
Creating a Family Legacy
The Ross brothers have both shown what they can do with a baseball and a lineup to support them. Both Tyson and Joe sport some seriously nasty pitches. TRoss' slider/sinker is revered as one of the most disgusting in the National League. His little brother has developed the same similarities in his breaking pitches, with a little bit of heat.
Wherever Joe and Tyson end up, they've already proven that pitching is in their blood. Whether or not we see both of them stay within the San Diego organization in 2015-2016 remains to be seen. Due to his obvious talent; the pace in which Joe is moving up the ranks is quick, but it's probably unlikely we'll get the pleasure of seeing him in the same rotation as his big bro.
Regardless, the Rossies will continue to be worth watching for plenty of seasons to come.