Mariners Manager : Eric Wedge

Eric Wedge is in his first year as manager of the Seattle Mariners. He was the Cleveland Indians manager from 2003 until 2009. He led the Indians to a division championship in 2007 and was voted AL Manager of the year.

As a player, Wedge played sparingly for the Red Sox from 1991-1992 then was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the expansion draft. He was a late season call up for the Rockies in 1993. Andres Galarraga was having an All Star season for the Rockies during their inaugural year.

Galarraga also represented the Montreal Expos in the 1988 All Star game. '88 was the final year for teammate and 6 time All Star Graig Nettles.

Nettles had his best season playing for the 1977 World Series Champion New York Yankees. Despite putting up career high numbers during the regular season, Nettles hit an anemic .171 in the post season. Fortunately his teammate was Mr. October, Reggie Jackson.

Reggie led the AL with 39 Homers in 1975 while an aging Billy Williams still showed that sweet swing with 22 home runs as DH for the 1975 Oakland A's.

In 1964 Billy Williams and Ron Santo represented the Chicago Cubs in the All Star game.

From Eric Edge to Ron Santo in 5 degrees.

Braves Manager : Fredi Gonzalez

The Braves have a new manager this year. Fredi Gonzalez has taken the helm after 21 years with Bobby Cox. Gonzalez was the manager of the Florida Marlins from 2007-2010

Fredi Gonzalez doesn't have a MLB card as he never made it past AA. He appeared on a regional card for the Greensboro Hornets in 1983 where he played with future big leaguer Roberto Kelly.

 

In 1992 Kelly was an All Star for the New York Yankees. Also in 1992 fellow Yankee, Steve Howe was banned for life (only to be reinstated) for substance abuse.

 

Coming off his Rookie of the Year season, Howe and bullpen mate Jerry Reuss were part of the 1981 World Series Champion Dodgers.

Ten years earlier Reuss pitched for the 1971 St. Louis Cardinals where Joe Torre was having an MVP season.

In 1962 a young Joe Torre caught for the veteran pitcher Lew Burdette on the Milwaukee Braves.

In 1965 Burdette made 7 appearances for the Cubs before being dealt to the Phillies. During that time he was teammates with Ron Santo.

From Fredi Gonzalez to Ron Santo in 6 degrees after a short stint in the minors.

Astros Moving To American League?

Rumors are flying around that the Astros will move to the American League and join the Texas Rangers in the Western Division. I started thinking about players that had played for both Texan teams. The only active player to have played for both teams is Carlos Lee. Lee played with the Rangers in 2006. He was teamed with Ivan Rodriguez on the Houston Astros in 2009.

In 1993 I-Rod caught for hall of famer Nolan Ryan on the Rangers

Native Texan, Ryan is the poster-boy for the Astros-Rangers rivalry, having pitched for both teams during his illustrious career. In 1988 he shared the mound with Danny Darwin on the Astros.

In 1979 Darwin shared the mound with another Hall of Famer, Fergie Jenkins on the Rangers.

While Jenkins never played fort the Astros, he did play for the Chicago Cubs along with Ron Santo.

From Carlos Lee to Ron Santo in 5 degrees Texas-Style.

Here is a list of people who played for both the Houston Astros (or Colt .45's) and the Texas Rangers:

Pedro Astacio

Alan Bannister

Floyd Bannister

Buddy Bell

Doug Brocail

Ken Caminiti

John Cangelosi

Bruce Chen

Terry Clark

Danny Darwin

Jack Daugherty

Alex Diaz

Carl Everett

Billy Hatcher

Mike Henneman

Dwayne Henry

Xavier Hernandez

Richard Hidalgo

Joe Hoerner

Pete Incaviglia

Chuck Jackson

Chris James

Jason Jennings

Cliff Johnson

Jonathan Johnson

Matt Kata

Hal King

Randy Knorr

Mike Lamb

Carlos Lee

Mike Marshall

Marty Martinez

Mark McLemore

Dan Miceli

Phil Nevin

C.J. Nitkowski

Jay Powell

Luis Pujols

Mike Richardt

Dave W. Roberts

Leon Roberts

Ivan Rodriguez

Nolan Ryan

Mike Simms

Rusty Staub

Dickie Thon

Chris Tremie

Denny Walling

Danny Walton

Mitch Williams

Gregg Zaun

Athletics Interim Manager : Bob Melvin

Last Friday Bob Melvin took over as the new A’s manager. His last stint as skipper was for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2009. He also managed the Mariners 2003-2004.

Melvin was teammates in 1987 with Bob Brenly on the San Francisco Giants. Brenly managed the Diamondbacks to their only World Series title in 2001.

Before retiring in a Giants uniform in 1989, Brenly played briefly on the Toronto Blue Jays along with pitcher Mike Flanagan.

Flanagan was the 1979 Cy young award winner for the Baltimore Orioles. His teammate Tippy Martinez had the distinction of picking 3 runners off first base in one inning.

Tippy played for the New York Yankees in 1976 along with Lou Piniella,

Piniella, who managed the Seattle Mariners prior to Bob Melvin in 2003, was playing for the Kansas City Royals in 1971 with side-arm closer Ted Abernathy.

Abernathy pitched relief for the 1969 Cubs and their All Star 3rd baseman, Ron Santo.

From new manager Bob Melvin to old Cubbie Ron Santo in 6 degrees.