The younger brother

I have heard of this happening quite a bit.  The school knows, or has an idea of what the younger brother will develop into.  Probably same reason sons of pro players get recruited/drafted despite their numbers.  Just my $.02.

Not sure if it was here or somewhere else I read about a kid in HS getting PT in football even though he  was undersized and stunk in his early years.  Then when he was a junior senior he blossomed just like his brother and got a scholly somewhere good.

We have had multiple sets of brothers on our team and committed over the last 4 years.  Sometimes the brothers sticks and sometimes he doesn't.

Compared to other sports I'd say it happens more in baseball. I can think of several similar situations just in my rural area. It expands beyond siblings too. I'm even aware of cousins. It seems like every team my son has played on always liked to call themselves "family". I'm all for family values of loyalty and supporting each other, but I think it's gotten to be a bit nepotistic at times. Daddy ball is alive and well all over...even at the collegiate level.

I’m not talking about Daddy Ball.  I’m talking about younger brother (and ok, relatives) receiving offers based on the assumption they’re as good as the older player when they’re not.

Sorry, I was trying to say the whole sibling connection advantage happens way too often. The connection advantage happens so frequently that it's even spread to familial connections beyond younger siblings.

I don't know if I can blame any coach for going that route.  Baseball is so much more than physical talent and when you have an opportunity to know that the older brother was a good player and then thinking about baseball IQ as that important 6th tool, knowing that the younger brother most likely had the same training, it's not that far of a stretch to expect them to be of similar value.  In today's game that 6th tool is so lacking.

I'm also guessing that the coach has probably followed that younger brother longer and more closely than he has other players, and has the benefit of more input on their abilities.

Being an older brother, I can say most of my coaches chomped at the bit to grab my younger brother when his time came.  I even remember my High School coach telling my Dad that when my younger brother Graduated he said that he would miss him more, because when I graduated he knew he was getting my brother.  That kind of pissed me off considering I helped bring him a state title, one that didn't come again for another 30 years  ;-)

The interesting thing is that my brother and I were two totally different players, he had speed and more power and I was a better Pitcher and defensive infielder.

After my oldest committed to his school the RC/PC asked about his younger (2 years) brother. The youngest wanted to go his own route and it wasn't a fit academically. He ended up committing to a school in the same conference not long after.

My younger brother was always compared to me.  That was not right and he was an excellent baseball player.  However, he was the shortest kid in school.  He was cut every year he tried out.  After high school, he had a growth spurt and is now taller than me. 

The only benefit my son got was I told him if asked about siblings don’t say, “My sister plays softball.” Say, “My 5’10” sister plays softball in the Big East.” Let them imagine how big you could get and there’s already a D1 athlete in the family.

No sport, that I know of, relies on comps more than baseball. Essentially evaluating you based on what somebody who looks/moves like you did in the past and projecting that into your future. And having a successful family member is the easiest/laziest comp out there. I personally think an over-reliance on comps is a flaw in baseball evaluations.

FWIW,  IIRC, when Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount went into the HOF together and were getting to know each other, they all realized they were the youngest brother. More recently, Joe Mauer too.

Think of it from the parent's perspective. You know the school. You know the campus. You know the area. You know the coach. There's no guesswork on any of these things. You're sending your 18-year old somewhere and he will have his older brother there to help guide him around and look out for him. Also, equally important for the parents of multiple kids playing college baseball, you have both your kids on the same schedule. There's no missing one kid's games to see another kid's games. You get to be with them and see them equally.

Now, factor in all of the above from the coach's perspective. This is the easiest recruit you will ever have. You don't have to sell anything to him or his parents. It's as simple as make an offer and ask for a response.

I'm really surprised the younger brother thing doesn't happen more often.

@Francis7 posted:

Think of it from the parent's perspective. You know the school. You know the campus. You know the area. You know the coach. There's no guesswork on any of these things. You're sending your 18-year old somewhere and he will have his older brother there to help guide him around and look out for him. Also, equally important for the parents of multiple kids playing college baseball, you have both your kids on the same schedule. There's no missing one kid's games to see another kid's games. You get to be with them and see them equally.

Now, factor in all of the above from the coach's perspective. This is the easiest recruit you will ever have. You don't have to sell anything to him or his parents. It's as simple as make an offer and ask for a response.

I'm really surprised the younger brother thing doesn't happen more often.

From a parent's perspective who almost went through this. My oldest son was told to transfer after his soph year, if my youngest had gone to the same school (which was a possibility) he would have been part of the incoming class. At best it would have been extremely awkward and at worst we would have been looking for new schools for both kids. So not all unicorns and rainbows.

Good point @nycdad

@Francis7 posted:

Think of it from the parent's perspective. You know the school. You know the campus. You know the area. You know the coach. There's no guesswork on any of these things. You're sending your 18-year old somewhere and he will have his older brother there to help guide him around and look out for him. Also, equally important for the parents of multiple kids playing college baseball, you have both your kids on the same schedule. There's no missing one kid's games to see another kid's games. You get to be with them and see them equally.

Now, factor in all of the above from the coach's perspective. This is the easiest recruit you will ever have. You don't have to sell anything to him or his parents. It's as simple as make an offer and ask for a response.

I'm really surprised the younger brother thing doesn't happen more often.

The point of my post wasn’t from a parental or easy recruiting standpoint. It’s from a “if the older brother is a stud the younger brother must be a stud” standpoint. If I could see at a tournament the kid wasn’t the best player on the field in two games with the other top talent headed to the Big East was the kid really a legit SEC prospect? He wasn’t. Then after an competent two years at a mid major he was drafted likely under the same premise.

I have seen this situation at a few different programs over the years and it never turned out well for the younger brother.

Imagine the older bro being a top draft pic but the younger brother can't live up to that expectation.

Go to a program where you won't be the studs younger brother but can be your own person.

JMO

@TPM - what if the younger brother is the stud? That happens a lot too.

I know of a younger brother, now a MLB pitcher, with much more talent than his older brother, but parents were smart enough to send them to separate programs.

@Francis7 posted:

@TPM - what if the younger brother is the stud? That happens a lot too.

There’s pressure involved in being the younger one. I started at the same high school as my father. My father was a stud football player. He played in the Big Ten before getting injured. The head coach was a young assistant for my father. The first thing he asked me in front of the team was, “Are you as good as your father?” My sophomore ability was compared to his senior ability. Moving after soph year got me out of the situation.

When my five years younger son arrived at high school he got a lot of, “Are you smarter and a better athlete than your sister?” She graduated in the top 10% of her class and earned fourteen varsity letters. My son didn’t get into it. He only responded “Yes” and tuned it out.