A surprisingly high number of 1993 Finest alumni have children that reached the major leagues. Charlie Hayes son Ke’Bryan plays for Pittsburgh. Craig Biggio’s son Cavan is holding down second base for the Blue Jays. Chad Wallach (father: Tim Wallach) has gotten a few games under his belt, as has Roger Clemens’ son Kody. Bryan Harvey’s son Hunter can currently be seen in the Nationals bullpen. Ivan Rodriguez’ son Dereck is a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins.
Some sons of major leaguers have already wrapped up their careers. Scott Van Slyke played for five years, retiring 22 years after his father Andy. Doug Drabek’s son Kyle pitched for Toronto before an injury sidelined his progress. Tony Gwynn, Jr. wrapped up an 8-year MLB career in 2014 with Tim Raines, Jr. and Eric Young, Jr. likewise following in their father’s footsteps. Prince Fielder famously retired with the same number of home runs as his father, Cecil.
Delino DeShields has not one but two children playing top level professional sports. Delino DeShields, Jr. was a first round draft pick for the Houston Astros in 2010. Like his father he has shown significant speed on the basepaths. Although he last played in the majors in 2021, recent changes emphasizing speed could soon prompt a promotion from AAA. A daughter, Diamond, is an all-star in the WNBA and a 2018 first round draft pick. She won a championship with the Chicago Sky three years later and is currently playing in her first year with the Dallas Wings.
An anagram of Delino DeShields is “He’s old; sidelined.” I guess that’s true given that he is in his mid-50s and spent the last few seasons literally standing along the foul lines as a coach for the Cincinnati Reds. That doesn’t seem like a fair assessment of a very good ballplayer. He hit triples about as often as he grounded into double plays. His 1,500+ career hits are nothing to sneeze at (highest ever for someone from Delaware).
DeShield’s appearance was easily recognizable. While players like Kent Hrbek were campaigning to do away with stirrup socks and regulations concerning socks in baseball uniforms, DeShields was proudly rounding the bases in socks worn at his knees in homage to the Negro League stars of earlier generations. He has always been active in promoting this history, having hung up posters of Negro League players in his children’s rooms and often wearing a jacket emblazoned with logos of bygone teams. Delino, Jr. took the message to heart and now has a tattoo mural of black baseball history on his right leg. Delino, Sr. works with former teammates Oil Can Boyd (Urban Baseball League) and Marquis Grissom (Marquis Grissom Baseball Association) to bring the sport back. DeShields has been an MLB coach for years, mentoring young players and will likely manage a team at some point. The Nationals, successor to his old Montreal Expos, have signed him as the 2023 manager of their Harrisonburg minor league affiliate.
