Brothers From Another Mother – Mike Huff/Hough

1992 Topps – Mike Huff

1989-90 O-Pee-Chee – Mike Hough

So, they may have spelled their names differently, but Mike Huff and Mike Hough might very well be related to each other.

How we know they’re different people:

Mike Huff was a marginal Major League Baseball player who played in 369 total games for the Dodgers, Indians, White Sox and Blue Jays.  Mike Hough was a pretty regular NHL’er for over a decade, retiring after the 1998-99 season when he realized that playing for the New York Islanders, Utah Grizzlies and Lowell Lock Monsters in one season wasn’t fun anymore.

How we’re not sure they’re different people because we’ve never seen them in the same room together:

Both of the Mike Huffs/Houghs were born in 1963.  The baseball version was born in Honolulu, and the hockey version was born in Montreal.  Yeah.  Honolulu.  Sure, Mike Huff.  Also, both are listed at 6 feet 1 inch tall.  Convenient.  The kicker here is that Mike Huff, again, conveniently, never became a regular Major Leaguer, which made it much easier to manage his professional hockey career in the NHL.  He just joined his baseball team midseason once he was done on the ice.  I’m convinced this is true and I won’t listen to your reasons why it’s not.

Brothers from Another Mother – Mike Stanton, Mike Stanton, and Mike Stanton

1983 Donruss – Mike Stanton (#1)

1993 Upper Deck – Mike Stanton (#2)

2012 Topps – Mike Stanton (#3)

How we know they’re different people:

Mike Stanton #1 pitched in 277 Major League games, 274 of them in relief, for Houston, Cleveland, Seattle and the Chicago White Sox between 1975 and 1985.  He never appeared in a postseason game.

Mike Stanton #2 pitched in 1178 Major League games, 1177 of them in relief, for nine teams between 1989 and 2007, including a total of 53 postseason games and six different World Series.

Mike Stanton #3 got so tired of all the confusion of being a baseball player named Mike Stanton that he changed his name to Giancarlo Stanton prior to the 2012 season.  When he made the announcement, he was reportedly quoted as having said “I ain’t no stinkin’ relief pitcher like those other clowns,” but this is unconfirmed.

How we’re not sure they’re different people because we’ve never seen them in the same room together:

Mike Stanton #1 started his career in 1975, but didn’t appear in the bigs again until 1980.  He then retired in 1985, and Mike Stanton #2 started his career in 1989.  Maybe Mike Stanton #1 just took another break before his second comeback.  Think about it.  As for Mike Stanton #3, well, he was born that same year, in 1989.  Coincidence?  Come on.

Brothers from Another Mother – The “Smith Brothers”

1983 Fleer – Smith Bros.

In 1983, Fleer produced a card featuring the “Smith Brothers,” which, besides being borderline racist, was not particularly truthful about its subjects, Ozzie Smith and Lonnie Smith of the St. Louis Cardinals.  Let’s take a look:

How we know they’re different people:

Ozzie Smith is a Hall of Famer after a stellar 19-year career as one of the best shortstops to ever take the field in the Major Leagues.  He played his first four years in San Diego, and was then traded to St. Louis, where he often did a backflip on his way out to take the field on Busch Stadium’s beautiful plastic grass.

Lonnie Smith had a very pedestrian 17 year career in the Majors for six different teams.  He never played any position other than the three in the outfield.  He hit 98 career home runs, 21 of which came for Atlanta in 1989.  Especially in his later years, there was absolutely no fucking way that Lonnie Smith could have done a backflip.  However, he did play in 5 World Series, winning three of them.  Not bad, but not Ozzie.

Why we’re not sure they’re different people because we’ve never seen them in the same room together:

We have seen them in the same room together.  They are on the same baseball card in the same photo (see above).  Try to pay attention.  I’m pretty sure they’re different people.  Photoshop sucked in 1983.  It was a simpler time.

Now you know.

Brothers From Another Mother – C(h)ris Carpenter

1990 Upper Deck – Cris Carpenter

2010 Topps – Chris Carpenter

How we know they’re different people:

Cris Carpenter pitched for four different teams (St. Louis, Florida, Texas and Milwaukee) in a career that featured 291 Major League appearances between 1988 and 1996, 13 of which were starts.  He was a pretty middling middle reliever for a few years, and according to Baseball-Reference.com, had a similar career to Oscar Villarreal, John Frascatore, and Donn Pall, earning just over $2.2 million in the process.  Wikipedia tells us that he now teaches social studies at Gainesville High School in Gainesville, Georgia after.

Chris Carpenter was the 2005 National League Cy Young Award winner.  He has consistently been one of the best starting pitchers in the league when healthy, compiling a career record of 144-92.  He has been outstanding in the playoffs in helping the St. Louis Cardinals win two World Series titles (2006, 2011), and has career earnings of over $77 million.  He is currently on the disabled list battling back from yet another injury – thus far injuries have cost him the 2003 season as well as most of 2007 and 2008.  From all of this, it would seem that Cris and Chris Carpenter are actually different people.

How we’re not sure they’re different people because we’ve never seen them in the same room together:

Cris Carpenter was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays but spent the majority of his career, achieving the most success, with St. Louis.  Chris Carpenter was also drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays, but has spent the majority of his career, achieving the most success, with St. Louis.  This seems like too much of a coincidence to be true, doesn’t it?  You’d think he could have done more than just add an “h” in his name for the second go-round, which started in 1997, the year after “Cris Carpenter” retired.  Hmmm…

Brothers from Another Mother – Greg Harris

1991 Donruss - Greg A. Harris

1991 Donruss - Greg W. Harris

Two Greg Harrises pitched in the Majors in 1990: Greg Allen Harris, who played for Boston that year, and Gregory Wade Harris, who played for San Diego.

How we know they’re different people:

Greg Allen Harris was known not only for being both a mediocre starter and a mediocre reliever, he also wore a funny-looking glove that could be worn on either hand, because he had the ability to throw with either hand.  He even demonstrated this ability on 1991 Score.

Gregory Wade Harris, meanwhile, posted some pretty decent numbers as a reliever before being converted into a mediocre starter himself.  He threw with his right hand only.

How we’re not sure they’re different people because we’ve never seen them in the same room together:

They both pitched, and for the most part they pitched in opposite leagues.  Back before interleague play and the Internet, who really knew what was going on in the other league?  There’s almost no way to tell that these alleged Greg Harrises were not just one person going back and forth from league to league, being average.

Brothers from Another Mother – Greg(g) Olson

1991 Donruss - Gregg Olson

1991 Donruss - Greg Olson

Back in the early 1990’s, and on 1991 Donruss, there were two Greg Olsons in the Major Leagues.  One was named Greg Olson.  He was a catcher.  The other was named Gregg Olson, and he was a pitcher.

How we know they’re different people:

Gregg Olson, after growing up in Scribner, Nebraska, pitched for 10 teams between 1988 and 2001, recording 217 career saves, including a few prolific years in Baltimore between 1989 and 1993.

Greg Olson grew up in Minnesota, went to High School in Minnesota, went to University in Minnesota, and then debuted in the Major Leagues with Minnesota, even after having been drafted by the New York Mets seven years earlier.  He stlll might not know where Nebraska is.

Also, one is named Greg and one is named Gregg.  Pay attention.

How we’re not sure they’re different people because we’ve never seen them in the same room together:

Greg Olson caught 81 games for the 1993 Atlanta Braves.  Seamlessly, Gregg Olson pitched in 16 games for the 1994 Atlanta Braves.  They were never on the Atlanta Braves roster at the same time, but somehow they ended up in Atlanta in back to back seasons.  Hmmmm…

Hope this is clear for you and you won’t be wondering which of your 1991 Greg(g) Olson cards is more valuable.  HINT: neither one is.

Brothers From Another Mother – Randy Johnson

1985 Topps - Randy Johnson

1991 Topps - Randy Johnson

Apparently there were two Randy Johnsons that played in the Major Leagues in the 1980’s.  The first one to crack an MLB roster was Randall Glenn Johnson, who played a total of 204 games with the Atlanta Braves from 1982-1984.

The second had a bit more success, as Randall David Johnson won 303 games with six teams, including the dirty, awful Yankees, striking out 4875 total batters.

How we know they’re different people:

The Randy Johnson who achieved utility player status with the Atlanta Braves is listed at 6 feet 1 inch tall.  The Randy Johnson who broke in with the Expos and achieved fame and fortune with the Seattle Mariners is 6 feet 10 inches tall.  This made him the tallest Major Leaguer in history until Jon Rauch took his talents to the South Side of Chicago.  You can tell how tall he is based on the photograph on his 1991 Topps card.  The photographer was obviously much shorter, or maybe just creepy.

How we’re not sure they’re different people because we’ve never seen them in the same room together:

Both are from California and played the latter parts of their careers in Phoenix (Randall Glenn with the old Phoenix Firebirds of the PCL, and Randall David with the Arizona Diamondbacks, in both the purple and post-purple eras).  They also both had mustaches.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Confusion alleviated?  No big deal.

Brothers From Another Mother – Jose Bautista

1989 Fleer - Jose Bautista

2011 Topps - Jose Bautista

Sometimes, there are multiple professional athletes with the same name.  I have started this category to help alleviate some of the confusion surrounding this, and to help the masses know who is who.  It is one of my gifts to the world.

There have been two Jose Bautistas in the Major Leagues.  The first was Jose Joaquin (Arias) Bautista, who played for the Orioles, Cubs, Giants, Tigers and Cardinals between 1988 and 1997.

The second (Jose Antonio Bautista) is still active today, and currently plays in Toronto.  His career started in 2004.  He is also very good at baseball.

How we know they’re different people:

Jose Antonio Bautista hit 54 home runs in 2010, leading the Major Leagues, and in 2011 is hitting .329 on July 27.  Jose Joaquin Bautista, meanwhile, hit .100 with zero home runs and one RBI in his Major League Career, spread over nine seasons and 50 at-bats… he was also a pitcher.

How we’re not sure they’re different people because we’ve never seen them in the same room together:

Both were selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Baltimore Orioles, and both are from the Dominican Republic.

Clear?  You’re welcome.