Bobby Bonds played for the Angels while Barry Bonds played in the World Series against the Angels. Bob Boone was one of the most-feared catchers during his tenure with the Halos but sons Aaron and Brett spent a large portion of their careers playing against the club.
While many Angels players have had fathers and sons play in the major leagues, the tandems that have both played for the Angels is more exclusive. Only four father and son combinations have donned ann Angels uniform for regular season baseball games.
Today, we celebrate Father’s Day by taking a look back at these four combinations and their contributions to the franchise and game.
Angels first baseman Bob Oliver and southpaw reliever Darren Oliver are the most well-rounded duo of father-son combinations to wear an Angels uniform for multiple seasons. The Olivers played a combined 573 regular-season games for the Angels during their MLB careers.
Bob joined the Angels in 1972 at age 29 after he established himself as a starting first baseman for the Kansas City Royals the previous three seasons. Between 1972 and 1974, Bob hit .262 with 45 home runs in 395 games as an Angel.
His son, Darren, would join the Angels as a veteran of 14 MLB seasons when arriving in Anaheim during his age-36 campaign in 2007. Like his father, Darren spent three seasons for the Angels, pitching out of the bullpen and a 15-3 record with a 3.10 ERA across 178 games for the club.
Olivers with Angels: 573 games, .262 batting average, 45 home runs, 214 RBI, 3.10 ERA, 15-3 pitching record
Dad with Angels: 395 games, .262 batting average (370-for-1,412), 45 home runs, 214 RBI
Son with Angels: 178 games (one start), 3.10 ERA, 15-3 pitching record
Chris Cron and C.J. Cron
Chris Cron had two very impressive offensive seasons with the Triple-A Edmonton Trappers in 1990 and 1991, earning him a September call-up in the latter year. Cron would appear in six games with the California Angels, going two-for-15 along the way.
20 years after Chris Cron’s brief Angels career, his son, C.J., was the Angels’ first-round selection with the 17th overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft. The younger Cron would make his debut in Anaheim in 2014 and hit .262 with 59 home runs and 213 RBI across 408 games (four seasons) at first base and designated hitter for the Halos.
Crons with Angels: 414 games, .261 batting average, 59 home runs, 213 RBI
Dad with Angels: Six games, .133 batting average (two-for-15)
Son with Angels: 408 games, .262 batting average (358-for-1,366), 59 home runs, 213 RBI
Jerry DaVanon and Jeff DaVanon
Utility infielder Jerry DaVanon had already played for three other MLB clubs by the time he joined the Angels’ minor league system in 1972. DaVanon would hit .302 in 29 games at Triple-A Salt Lake in 1973, earning him a promotion to Anaheim. He appeared in 41 games for the Angels that season, hitting .245 and spending time at shortstop, second base, and third base.
Jerry’s son, Jeff, was drafted and developed by the Oakland Athletics before the Angels acquired him as one of two minor leaguers acquired at the trade deadline in exchange for Randy Velarde and Omar Olivares. DaVanon would make his MLB debut for the Angels in 1999 and play six seasons for the Angels before leaving for Arizona in 2006. Jeff was a valuable fourth outfielder for the Angels’ playoff teams of the mid-2000s, hitting .256 with 28 home runs during his 403 games with the team.
DaVanons with Angels: 443 games, .255 batting average, 28 home runs, 111 RBI
Dad with Angels: 41 games, .245 batting average (12-for-49), two RBI
Son with Angels: 402 games, .256 batting average (250-for-978), 28 home runs, 109 RBI
Ruben Amaro and Ruben Amaro Jr.
Shortstop Ruben Amaro began his MLB career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1958 and won a Gold Glove at the position for Philadelphia in 1965 before joining the Angels at age 33 in 1969. Amaro would play 41 games for the Angels as a utility infielder, hitting just .222 in 36 plate appearances with the club before his release after the season.
Ruben Amaro Jr. was drafted in the 11th round of the 1987 MLB Draft out of Stanford. Amaro Jr. was a hitting machine in the Angels’ farm system, hitting .368 in 88 games between Single-A and Double-A in 1989. He followed that up with a .317 average during the 1990 season between Double-A and Triple-A. Amaro would begin 1991 season at Triple-A Edmonton and hit .326 for the Trappers and make his MLB debut as a pinch-runner on June 8 before being sent down again. He would earn a September call-up and hit .217 in 10 games with the Angels before being traded with pitcher Kyle Abbott to his hometown Phillies for veteran outfielder Von Hayes. Amaro would later become the general manager for the Philadelphia Phillies’ World Series team.
Amaros with Angels: 51 games, .220 batting average, three RBI
Dad with Angels: 41 games, .222 batting average (six-for-27), one RBI
Son with Angels: 10 games .217 (five-for-23), two RBI
Angels This Week
The Angels agreed to terms with Long Beach State southpaw Adam Seminaris, the club’s fifth-round selection in the 2020 MLB Draft. Seminaris agreed to a signing bonus of $140,000, which was $250,400 less than the slot value of $390,400. These savings will be extremely valuable in signing other picks.
Angels fourth-round selection and Detroit high school infielder Werner Blakely agreed to terms with the Angels on a bonus of $900,000, according to MLB insider Robert Murray.
Angels third-round selection and Canadian outfielder David Calabrese also agreed to terms with the Angels as he signed for a $744,000 bonus, according to Prospect365’s Mason McRae. The left-handed-hitting outfielder was committed to attending Arkansas and will give the Angels another strong outfield prospect.
A second wave of Angels minor league cuts occurred on June 5 with the club releasing 15 additional players from their contracts with the franchise. Catchers Alexis Olmeda, Justin Kunz and Ysaac Pena, outfielders Nonie Williams and Johan Sala, infielders Connor Justus, Justin Jones and Alvaro Rubalcaba, and pitchers Jason Alexander, Brett Hanewich, Luke Lind, Ethan Clark, Clayton Chatham, Ridge Chapman, and Jacob Voss were all cut.
Hanewich appeared to be the most promising of these players since being drafted out of Stanford in the ninth round of the 2017 MLB Draft. He was 6-8 with a 3.63 ERA and 154 strikeouts across 134 minor league innings over the past three seasons. With a delivery similar to former Angels reliever Brendon Donnelly, the right-handed reliever should emerge at the MLB level with another organization one day.
