Sibling Rivalry: Which MLB Brothers Have Earned Family Bragging Rights?

Major League Baseball has a rich history of competition by siblings and relatives. Elite talent often runs in the family, as was the case for Joe DiMaggio and his All-Star siblings Dom and Vince. Since a healthy competitive spirit is part of family life, let’s review some groups of active MLB brothers and see who comes out ahead in family bragging rights.

Gurriel Brothers

Yuli Gurriel Scorecard:

Debut: August 21, 2016

Position: First and Third Baseman

Hardware: 1x Gold Glove; 1x Batting Title; 2017 World Series Champion*

Career Totals: .293/.337/.467; 116 OPS+; 86 HR; 13.8 bWAR

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Scorecard:

Position: Left Fielder, Shortstop, Second Baseman

Debut: April 20, 2018

Career Totals: .282/.324/.492; 118 OPS+; 63 HR; 5.8 bWAR

Ahead of Lourdes’s MLB debut, Yuli Gurriel said his younger brother was better in many areas of the game.

Yuli Gurriel on his brother Lourdes Jr., who was called up to the Blue Jays from Double-A: “Don’t want to give him too much pressure, but he hits better than me, runs better than me and plays better than me defensively.”

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) April 20, 2018

Lourdes is already catching up to his elder sibling in career bWAR and home runs after just four seasons and hopes to secure a ring of his own as a member of the rising Toronto Blue Jays.

Moran Brothers

Brian Moran Scorecard:

Position: Pitcher

Debut: September 5, 2019

Career Totals: 6.55 ERA; 73 ERA+; 11.0 IP; 17 K; 0.0 bWAR

Colin Moran Scorecard:

Position: Third Baseman and First Baseman

Debut: May 18, 2016

Career Totals: .267/.329/.418; 101 OPS+; 45 HR; 0.1 bWAR

Younger brother Colin has a longer history in MLB, but he was Brian’s first major-league strikeout victim in a special family moment.

Nola Brothers

Austin Nola Scorecard:

Position: Catcher, First Baseman and Second Baseman

Debut: June 16, 2019

Career Totals: .271/.345/.435; 114 OPS+; 19 HR; 3.6 bWAR

Aaron Nola Scorecard:

Position: Pitcher

Debut: July 21, 2015

Hardware: 1x All-Star

Career Totals: 3.68 ERA; 115 ERA+; 1023.1 IP; 1145 K; 24.2 bWAR

Aaron is ahead in career All-Star appearances and WAR. His older brother also numbers among Aaron’s 1145 career strikeouts.

Romine Brothers

Andrew Romine Scorecard:

Position: Shortstop, Third Baseman and Second Baseman

Debut: September 24, 2010

Career Totals: .233/.288/.300; 63 OPS+; 11 HR; 0.6 bWAR

Austin Romine Scorecard:

Position: Catcher and First Baseman

Debut: September 11, 2011

Career Totals: .238/.277/.358; 70 OPS+; 28 HR; -0.5 bWAR

Neither Romine brother has had a memorable MLB career. Both had the misfortune of being part of the 2021 Chicago Cubs. This misfortune did result in a special family memory when Andrew took the mound to pitch to Austin during the 9th inning of a blowout loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on August 12. This made them the first pair of siblings to play in a single game for the Cubs since Rick and Paul Reuschel in 1978 and the first sibling battery in MLB since Larry and Norm Sherry in 1962.

Zimmer Brothers

Kyle Zimmer Scorecard:

Position: Pitcher

Debut: March 31, 2019

Career Totals: 5.19 ERA; 90 ERA+; 95.1 IP; 90 K; 0.0 bWAR

Bradley Zimmer Scorecard:

Position: Center Fielder

Debut: May 16, 2017

Career Totals: .225/.310/.347; 77 OPS+; 19 HR; 2.7 bWAR

The younger brother earned family bragging rights when Bradley took Kyle’s 84 mph slider deep to right field late in the 2021 season.

Did I miss any active MLB brothers? Please leave a comment!