Leo: “Brothers don’t shake hands, brothers gotta hug!”

I was listening to Chris Duncan chat on the Scott Van Pelt Show on ESPN Radio today, Chris is the son of longtime Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan. He’s also the brother of Clippers/Indians slugger Shelley Duncan. Chris, who sounds extremely intelligent and colorful (maybe has a future in broadcasting), was an outfielder who played in the International League in 2009 (Pawtucket) and 2010 (Syracuse). He and Shelley crossed paths in an early May series last season at Huntington Park, both discussed how competitive they are with each other, and it showed. It was the only time they played in the same games in professional baseball.

This wasn’t the first time the Clippers hosted a brother vs. brother showdown, outfielder Bronson Sardinha played against older brother Louisville catcher Dane in 2006.

There have been other Clippers sibling stories, like Aaron Boone in 2008, of course he’s the younger brother of Bret and son of Bob, from a pretty famous baseball family.

The International League has plenty of brother stories too, like when the Rochester Red Wings were managed by Stan Cliburn and his twin brother Stu was pitching coach. I remember that Reds prospect Todd Frazier faced his older sibling, Jeff, when he was in Toledo.

According to Baseball Almanac, there have been over three-hundred and fifty combinations of brothers in the major leagues. I can think of plenty: Jose & Ozzie Canseco, Tony & Chris Gwynn, Sandy & Robbie Alomar, Cal & Billy Ripken, Pedro & Ramon Martinez, Phil & Joe Niekro, B.J. & Justin Upton, Jayson & Laynce Nix, etc., etc., etc.

Who is the greatest combination of brothers in baseball history? E-mail your thoughts to sleo@clippersbaseball.com

Clippings…

* The Cleveland Indians not only named the Major League staff for the 2012 season, but also hired Alan Zinter as the minor league hitting coordinator. Zinter has worked in the Arizona Diamondbacks system for the last four seasons.

* Clippers playing in winter leagues include: OF Jerad Head (Dominican), INF Juan Diaz (Dominican), LHP Eric Berger (Venezuela), RHP Paolo Espino (Venezuela), INF Luis Valbuena (Venezuela), RHP Steven Wright (Panama).

* RHP Hector Rondon continues on the comeback trail from last August’s Tommy John surgery. He will play in the Venezuelan Winter League.

* You have until Oct. 20th to vote for the Clippers for MILB “Team of the Year”, Justin Germano for “Moment of the Year” and Germano or Chad Huffman for “Game of the Year”.

* Tony Lastoria of Indians Prospect Insider reported that INF Jason Donald was playing CF in the Advanced Instructional League in Arizona (AZPL). Donald will be vying for the utility infield job in spring training, but could be transitioning to a “super utility” role with the outfield as an option. Follow Tony on twitter (@TonyIPI) to keep tabs on other Indians minor league news.

* Paul Sokoloski of the Time Leader writes that the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees may not be the “Yankees” much longer.

* Congratulations to former Clippers coach Scott Radinsky on his appointment to the Indians pitching coach role. Radinsky, 43, served as Cleveland’s bullpen coach for the last two seasons. He is an excellent coach and very interesting person. Scott owns a skateboarding park and museum in his hometown of Simi Valley, CA and serves as the lead singer for the band “Pulley”.

* The Clippers pink jerseys from Breast Cancer Awareness Night are now available for purchase through the Clippers Cargo Shop.

* Indians manager Manny Acta will serve as a World Series analyst for Fox Sports Deportes.

My last entry asked about sporting events/scenarios that you miss, I received several excellent responses. Here are a few: Major League teams playing in-season exhibition games against their Triple-A clubs, The “Ohio Cup” in Columbus every March between the Indians and Reds, The AL vs. NL “Hall of Fame Game” (before interleague play), the Chicago College All-Star Football Game (played between college all-stars and the NFL champions).

Thanks for the great responses!

Talk to you soon.