In the summer of 2007, Jason Brunansky was preparing for his final year of high school. He did something not out of the ordinary; he went on a trip with his father. Except this wasn’t just any summer vacation. Brunansky and his father headed to Minneapolis to celebrate the anniversary of the Minnesota Twins’ 1987 World Series Championship. Brunansky’s father, Tom Brunansky, played left field for the Twins in the series.

While it was a great experience, the now-freshman outfielder for Kansas took it as nonchalantly as fielding a fly ball, even when he met perennial All-Stars Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau.

“I got to meet all of his teammates and it was quite interesting to get their ideas on the current status of the MLB,” Brunansky said. “I got to go into the clubhouse to see all the current Twins players, it was cool.”

Jason Brunansky is one of three players who have close family connections to Major League Baseball. Brunansky is joined by junior relief pitcher Brett Bochy, whose father, Bruce Bochy, is the manager for the San Francisco Giants and senior catcher Buck Afenir, whose uncle, Troy Afenir, played professional baseball for Oakland Athletics for the majority of his short career.

All three remember the way baseball permeated their lives. Their fathers and uncle, respectively, were an integral part in their development of game and life skills.

Even though his dad was a World Series champion, Brunansky said he never felt as if his childhood was affected by his father’s stardom.

“Most people look at him and they are like ‘Oh my gosh, a professional baseball player, that’s amazing,’” Jason said. “I just kind of got used to it. I mean he’s my dad; it’s funny looking how people react to it.”

Brunansky and Afenir were very young when their respective family members retired from the game, so neither of them had to deal with a father or uncle constantly being away from the family. Bochy’s father, on the other hand, took over as manager of the San Diego Padres in 1995. He had retired from the game in 1987, the same year Brett was born.

Despite this, though, Brett said he never felt like playing baseball was a chore growing up.

“He definitely helped a lot,” Brett said. “He didn’t make it an issue to force it on me, but he definitely helped out in my path to getting where I am today.”

Brunansky said he feels he wouldn’t be the player he is right now without the lessons that his father taught him about the game and life.

“I believe it’s unimaginable how much information he’s been able to pass along to me from his experiences, that pretty much no one else could,” Brunansky said.

One might think that because Afenir’s tie to the MLB is his uncle, not his father, that he might not have had same kind of mentoring as the others. But that’s far from the truth.

“We’re a pretty tight-knit family,” Afenir said. “He has the experience of being there, so having that kind of trust that whatever he says got him somewhere special anything he says I pretty much trust.”

Looking back on previous rosters, it’s become apparent that there always seems to be a couple of players on the team who have the same kind of relationship to the major leagues that Brunansky, Bochy, and Afenir have.

Is it a coincidence, or does coach Ritch Price look for this in his recruiting?

“I’m a big believer that if you grow up within a baseball family, you understand how to play the game within the game,” Price said. “We try to find kids that are from coaching families and aren’t afraid to compete in this conference.”

Price said connections with former players and their dads bring quite a few of those players to Kansas.

Most of the time, players from baseball families have a lot of the qualities that Price is looking for. He credits much of that to immersion in the sport.

“If you grow up in a baseball family, you understand the work ethic involved,” Price said. “You understand how hard you have to work in the weight room. You have to understand that you have to go hit on your own in your own individual preparation time.”

Price said he also appreciates the way they coexist with the rest of the players in the locker room and the effect that they have on team chemistry.

“I think it’s contagious,” Price said. “When other players see those kids working like that, they kind of fall in line and take the same routes to try to chase their dream of being a professional baseball player.”

Brunansky said although it never specifically came up during his recruitment, he admires the effort Price puts into getting these kinds of players on the team.

“I don’t think he looks for people with this background, but he finds it as an advantage to his program if he does get them,” Brunansky said. “Since our dads are so connected with baseball, we have a bit of advantage mentally when we come to play, so we know what’s expected of us at this level before we even come here.”

Afenir shared similar reasons for why players who grow up with baseball in their family turn out so successful. He wouldn’t go as far as to saying it is the end-all, be-all reason, but that it certainly helps.

“I don’t think it’s so much as it is why it got us to where we’re at,” Afenir said. “He just knows that if you come from a good baseball family, chances are you’re going to be a pretty good ballplayer.”

Being so close to the professional game, it would be easy to assume Brunansky, Bochy, and Afenir feel the burden of living up to their pedigrees. However, they said they didn’t feel any pressure, and Brunansky keeps in close contact with his father.

“It’s never been, ‘you need to be him,’ or anything like that,” Afenir said. “It always had been just what we like to do.”

Brunansky said he stayed in constant contact with his father since he arrived at Kansas, and he never felt any extra pressure to play professionally. Brunansky started out the season as a reserve outfielder.

“He’s very proud of the progress I’ve made and he continues to support me,” Brunansky said. “We always talk pretty much every night about what happens and anything I can do to improve myself.”

Even if they don’t feel the pressure to go pro, they still have a lot to contribute to Kansas’ success this season.

Brunansky, in 90 at-bats, has hit for a .278 average, he has flashed the leather in centerfield, routinely making running and diving catches.

Afenir is third on the team with a .357 average and second in home runs and RBIs.

Bochy struggled early in the season, but solidified himself as a reliable reliever in the Kansas bullpen, although with a 6.33 ERA. However, he leads the bullpen and is fourth overall, with 33 strikeouts.

Kansas has solidified itself as a quality team that has surpassed expectations, sitting with a 25-14 record overall, 8-7 in the Big 12, heading into tonight’s game againt Baker (16-27).

Brett and his family lived in San Diego, where his father managed the Padres, and it was quite an experience. Bochy spent as much time with his dad as possible, even on the road over the many baseball summers.

“It’s been a fun ride, growing up and being able to be around him all the time,” Bochy said. “It’s definitely had its perks and it’s played a big part to where I’ve gotten today.”

Those perks included being able to travel across America, visiting major league parks and players, with Bruce just doing his job. It sounds like every Little Leaguer’s dream, but for Brett, it was his life.

“Most kids don’t get to be with their dad at work,” Brett said with a smile. “I got to be with him everywhere he went most the time when I was younger.”

Like any college student, the distance between Brett and his father has taken its toll. With Bruce’s job working him around the clock, even in the off-season, it’s tough for him to travel to Lawrence and see Brett’s games, but they remain in constant contact.

“It’s a little tougher being away from him a lot more; he doesn’t get a chance to come out here and watch the games,” Brett said. “I still get a chance to talk to him on a nightly basis.”

After all the years that Tom Brunansky poured into the Twins organization, and that summer in 2007, the Twins would have to be Jason’s favorite team, right?

“I’ve got to go with the Red Sox,” Jason said with a chuckle.

In Jason’s defense, his father played with the Boston Red Sox towards the back end of his career. But don’t think Tom Brunansky doesn’t wish his son could change allegiances.

“My dad still likes the Twins’ organization the most,” Brunansky said. “How he considers playing the game the right way.”

If his son Jason can play the game the right way with Kansas, Tom Brunansky might be able to swap major league stories with his son sooner rather than later.

— — Edited by Melissa Johnson