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Former Expos and Jays and their MLB kidsAn In-Depth Look at Canadian Baseball and More
Last season Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr. both had all star campaigns. The two Dominican infielders have a lot in common – they’re both in their early-20s, both had MVP caliber seasons in 2021 and both have fathers that were once employed by the Montreal Expos.
Expos fans will undoubtedly remember Hall of Famer Vlad Guerrero who spent 8 seasons in Montreal but Fernando Tatis’ time in Canada was less memorable. With second generation Major Leaguers becoming more and more common, I started to rack my brain for any other players who had fathers with Canadian connections. I could only come up with two others, so I did a deep dive – here are the results.
The Guerrero Family
This Father-Son pair may be the most-Canadian duo on this list. Vlad Sr. is an Expos legend and Vlad Jr. seems to becoming a legend in Toronto.
Vlad Sr. was a four time all star in Montreal and has the most home runs in Expos history. Junior had his first all star season in 2021 and his season was one of the best single seasons in Blue Jays history.
Guerrero Jr. was also born in Montreal, meaning both father and son are Canadian baseball stars and the youngest is a Canadian by birth.
The Quantrill Family
This is the only all Canadian father-son duo on this list – Father Paul Quantrill is from London, Ontario and Son Cal is from Port Hope, Ontario. In his last season in 2005 Paul played 22 games in San Diego, 14 years later Cal made his MLB debut with the Padres.
The eldest Quantrill spent six of his 14 seasons as a main stay in the Blue Jays bullpen. His 386 appearances is the sixth most in franchise history. The highlight of his Toronto career was in 2001, when he led the league with 80 appearances and made his only all star appearance.
In 2016, Cal was taken in the first round (eighth overall) by the Padres. He made his MLB debut three years later and despite some initial success, never cemented a role in San Diego’s rotation.
The following year he was dealt to Cleveland, as part of the Mike Clevinger trade. In 2021, the 26 year old emerged as one of the Indians top rotation arms and he will likely be a fixture for the Guardians moving forward.
The Tatis Family – Tatis Jr. has emerged as one of the brightest young stars in the League. In his first full season the younger Tatis led the NL in home runs (42), had 25 steals and made his first all star appearance
The eldest Tatis played 11 seasons in the bigs and spent three of those in Montreal. His Expos tenure was far from impressive as he hit .225, with a .305 OBP in 208 games.
The Mondesi Family
Raul Mondesi played 13 seasons in the majors, two and a half of which were as a member of the Blue Jays. The Dominican outfielder had both power and speed and retired as a member of the exclusive 200 homers-200 steal club.
His first season in Toronto the eldest Mondesi fell just short of becoming the third player in Franchise history to reach the 30-30 mark in a single season. In 2002, he again had double digit home runs and steals, before being traded to the New York Yankees the following season.
Raul called it a career in 2005 and six years year later his son Adalberto Mondesi signed as a prospect out of the Dominican. The young infielder quickly became one of baseball’s top prospects and some saw him as the future face of the Kansas City Royals.
Unfortunately, the now 26 year old has struggled to stay healthy. But when he has been on the field he has shown he inherited his Father’s speed, as he has 128 steals in 343 career games.
These were the four father-son combos I could think of but they certainly weren’t the only ones…
Tim Wallach spent 13 of his 17 seasons in Montreal and represented the Expos at five all star games.
His son Chad Wallach has played 78 games over five seasons between Cincinnati and Miami.
Astro’s outfielder Michael Brantley had reportedly signed with the Blue Jays last off season but in the end actually returned to Houston.
His Father, Mickey Brantley was the hitting coach in Toronto between 2005-2007.
Delino Deshields the first was a speedy outfielder for the Expos. He spent the first four years of his career in Montreal and his 187 steals is still fifth in Franchise history. But what Deshields might be best remembered for is being traded for future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez.
Deshields the second broke in with the Rangers in 2015 and despite some early success has struggled to maintain a big league job. Blue Jays fans may remember him as a member of those Texas Rangers playoff teams that Toronto faced in 2015 and 2016.
On September 19, 2021 the Blue Jays roughed up Minnesota Twins starter Luke Farrell, scoring five runs in the first.
His father John Farrell is a former big league pitcher and was the Manager of the Blue Jays in 2011-12.
John left Toronto in a trade to the rival Boston Red Sox. He had publicly referred to the Red Sox manager role as his “dream job.” He would lead Boston to a World Series in his first season in 2013.
Jeff Shaw spent parts of three seasons in Montreal, pitching 46 games out of the bullpen for the legendary 1994 Expos team.
His son Travis Shaw played 50 games for the Blue Jays in 2020, before splitting the past season between Milwaukee and Boston.
The Shaws and Guerreros are the only two pairs on this list where both father and son have Canadian connections.
Pitcher David Weathers spent the first 18 innings of his career as a Blue Jay. Although his performance in Toronto was lacklustre, he did manage to stretch his career out over 19 seasons.
The San Diego Padres took his son Ryan Weathers in the first round of the 2018 Draft. He made his MLB debut in 2021.
Drew Butera has spent 12 seasons in the majors, serving as a reliable backup catcher. His latest stop was with the Angels in 2021.
His father Sal Butera also made a MLB career out of being a backup catcher. The eldest Butera had two stints in Canada, catching 70 games for the Expos between 1984 and 1985 and 23 games for the 1988 Blue Jays.
My criteria for this list were Fathers who had connections with Toronto or Montreal and had sons in the MLB during 2021. Obviously there are more historical examples (Tim Raines and Felipe and the Alou/Rojas Family come to mind), others may be on their way (Jose Cruz Jr. and Roger Clemens both have kids in the minors) but hopefully I didn’t miss any active father-son combos. If I did please feel free to share the details in the comments.
Cover Image: Dustin Bradford/Getty Images
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