Brian Moran secured bragging rights for life in his MLB debut by striking out his little brother
It's not terribly unusual for a pair of brothers to make the Major Leagues. It's difficult, but when you have genes of that caliber in the family, the talent can shine through. There's Bret and Aaron Boone, Roberto and Sandy Alomar Jr., the three DiMaggios and Alous -- the examples over the years are nigh-countless. Even the legendary Hank Aaron's brother, Tommie, played for seven years.
It's been some time since we've seen brothers like Brian and Colin Moran, though. Normally, brothers will both pitch or both be position players, but Colin is the Pirates' third baseman, and Brian is a Marlins reliever. That set the stage for a showdown not seen in at least a century.
The promotion was a long time coming for Brian. Colin was four years younger than him, but he debuted back in 2016. Brian had to pitch for 10 seasons in the Minors before finally being given a shot this September, and wouldn't you know it? His first career series would be against Colin's Pirates.
Colin was ecstatic for his brother to finally get to experience life in The Show, but anyone who's had siblings knows that the competitive juices were starting to flow, too.
Whether it's a race to see who gets to sit in the front seat or who gets the last scoop of mashed potatoes, siblings are going to test each other. It's inevitable. My older sister constantly beat me in our contest to see who could get the most consecutive jumps on a pogo stick. It drove me nuts.
Colin had something particular in mind for Brian. Yeah, yeah, it was going to be big brother's MLB debut. But he still wanted to go yard.
"I know if I face him, I'm gonna try to take him deep." 😂
— Intentional Talk (@IntentionalTalk) September 5, 2019
The Moran brothers joined @Plesac19 & @ChrisRose to chat about facing each other in the Big Leagues. @Marlins @Pirates
Full 📽️: https://t.co/dcHyygIMzt pic.twitter.com/8Pr06b1lDw
Brian couldn't have expected anything less. That's a brother for you.
Since Brian's a reliever, there were no guarantees about whether or not he'd face his brother. Luckily, Marlins skipper Don Mattingly made it happen when he brought the elder Moran in to pitch the fourth inning of Thursday's 10-7 win. Colin ended up being the second batter he faced.
Brian got the last laugh after all, fanning Colin for his first career K:
*Very best mom voice* BRIAN, don’t punch out your brother!!
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) September 6, 2019
The Moran brothers are the first since 1900 to face each other in an @MLB at bat during a debut.
Brian ended it with his first career strikeout. pic.twitter.com/Ch9nmQcAAI
This is going to have huge implications for bragging rights at holidays. The odds are that Colin will have the longer career since he's younger and already has 294 MLB games under his belt.
It doesn't matter. That's because now until the end of time, Brian will always be able to say that he struck him out in his MLB debut. That's the last word.
So settle down, little brother. Until you take him deep, Brian's on top. Now and always.
Gonna be an awkward Thanksgiving.
— Jessica Kleinschmidt (@KleinschmidtJD) September 6, 2019
“Mom will you ask Brian to pass the salt?”
Brian would just say “K.” https://t.co/xl4Coz4NjO
Andrew Mearns is a writer for Cut4 whose baseball obsession was born from the shattered dreams of Mike Mussina's perfect game attempt in 2001. He has a startling memory of World Series highlights that barely functions as a party trick.
