Yesterday I posed the question, if your brother signs with an MLB team, can he get you a job too? In that post I covered Zach and Buck Britton, Jonathan and Sharlon Schoop, and Caleb and Corban Joseph – all brother teams that have a connection to the Baltimore Orioles. Curiously, the younger brother is in the big leagues, while the older brother still toils in the minors.

This is also the case with the Washington Nationals’ Bryan and Bryce Harper. Bryan Harper was drafted in the 31^st round of the 2008 draft by the Washington Nationals, and in the 27^th round of the 2010 draft by the Cubs. He was drafted again by the Nationals in the 30^th round of the 2011 draft, one year after his little brother Bryce was the first pick of the first round of the 2010 draft. Bryce started his career in the Arizona Fall League in 2010 and made his major league debut on April 28, 2012. Bryan spent 2012 in the New York-Penn League. He finished the 2015 season with the Nationals AAA team, the Syracuse Chiefs.

Of course, some baseball brothers have followed more parallel paths. Take, for example, Dylan and Bobby Bundy, both of whom are in the Orioles organization. The older of the two, Bobby, was drafted by the Orioles in 2008, and the younger, Dylan, was drafted in 2011. Dylan made it to the majors first – after beginning his minor league career in 2012 and was called up to Baltimore from Bowie at the end of the 2012 season. Dylan, who had been in the Orioles farm system since 2008, had been promoted to Bowie in 2011 and remained there in 2012.

Prior to the start of the 2013 season, however, Dylan experienced elbow pain and ended up undergoing Tommy John surgery in June of that year. Three months later, Bobby would have the same surgery. The pair spent 2014 rehabbing and both began the 2015 season in Bowie. However, in May the Orioles announced that Bobby needed knee surgery and would miss the rest of the season. Then in June, the Orioles shut down Dylan “indefinitely” due to a shoulder injury. Hopefully we will see these two brother again.

Of course, one of the most famous brother duos – at least in the Maryland-DC area – was Cal and Billy Ripken. In this case, it was the older of the two that would make history. Cal Ripken was drafted in the 2^nd round of the 1978 draft and made his MLB debut on August 10, 1981. Younger brother Billy was chosen by the Orioles in the 11^th round of the 1982 draft. Cal played through the 2001 season – the entire time for the Baltimore Orioles. Among other honors, Cal was a 19-time All Star, was AL MVP twice, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. Billy played in the majors from July 1987 through July 1998. After the 1992 season, Billy was signed by the Texas Rangers. He finished his career with the Detroit Tigers in 1998. But he’s still Maryland’s favorite little brother.

Have you hugged your brother today?

~ baseballrebecca