Which baseball player has the most jacked dad?
We know that professional baseball players are strong. We see evidence of it every day, whether they're hitting towering home runs or throwing baseballs over 100 mph. But what you may not know is that, very often, behind an extremely jacked baseball player is an extremely jacked baseball dad.
These enormous baseball dads don't always get the same attention as their professional-athlete sons, and that is an injustice. They deserve credit for hitting the gym day in and day out around work schedules and watching their sons play baseball. The hustle is real.
Their guns are out, so we might as well shine some sun on them. It's only the polite thing to do.
Ron Harper (father of Bryce Harper)
Most of us first became acquainted with Harper's dad during the 2018 Home Run Derby, where he pitched his son to victory in his then-home of Nationals Park. Thanks to his impressive display of dingers, Bryce's strength was the main story of the day.
But, when it came time to hoist the trophy, Ron showed that his strength was worth way more than a footnote to his son's performance.
John Field (father of Johnny Field)
Johnny Field may well be the clearest case of nominative determinism currently in baseball, and it's not just because he grew up to be a pretty good outfielder. You see, his dad, John Field, took the field before his son as an undrafted safety signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Though John's playing days are well behind him at this point, it appears he has continued to stay in shape.
Rays' Johnny Field following in his dad's Bucs footsteps https://t.co/VCkDoJOCuH #Rays | https://t.co/sEA0xbjVQb pic.twitter.com/AIsPuiuZfp
— Tampa Bay Fandom (@TBRaysFandom) March 4, 2016
Earnest Bell (father of Josh Bell)
Josh Bell has been on fire in May, hitting 9 home runs in just 19 games through Wednesday. He's hit home runs so far that they fly out of PNC Park and land straight in the Allegheny River.
Looking on from the stands, Earnest is probably quite impressed by his son's success on the baseball field. But you can also sort of see him saying, "I could hit that across the Allegheny to downtown Pittsburgh!"
Earl Stroman (father of Marcus Stroman)
Possibly the original jacked baseball dad, Earl's stature is a stark contrast to his son's. At 5-foot-8, Marcus Stroman is considered short for a Major League pitcher. There's nothing small about his dad:
Reminder that even though Marcus Stroman just hit an opposite field dinger, Marcus Stroman's dad is still stronger pic.twitter.com/ad8CqfQpBQ
— Matt Monagan (@MattMono11) May 19, 2017
Terry O'Neill (father of Tyler O'Neill)
You may already be familiar with O'Neill as the most jacked player in baseball and reasonably assume he's the most muscular member of his family.
But, Tyler is very much not the most jacked member of the O'Neill family. That title belongs, of course, to his dad Terry, who was a professional bodybuilder. He was even named Mr. Canada -- the title of top bodybuilder in the nation -- in 1975.
That's an impressive list of jacked dads around the game of baseball. Perhaps it's not surprising there are so many -- after all, their sons must have gotten their physical gifts from somewhere.
As scary as it may be to offend any one of these dads -- let alone four of them -- the time has come to decide: Which baseball dad is the most-jacked baseball dad?
Eric Chesterton is a writer for MLB.com. He is an appreciator of the stolen base, the bunt against the shift and nearly every unconventional uniform design. He eagerly awaits Jamie Moyer's inevitable comeback.
