Braden, Hunter Bishop go head-to-head for first time in spring training
The Bishop brothers embraced on the grass in front of the visitor’s dugout. Braden, the older brother, sporting his familiar light blue Mariners jersey, and Hunter, the younger brother, wearing his new black and orange Giants jersey.
They smiled wide, and posed for photos commemorating a special milestone — their first time playing organized baseball on the same field.
Because of their four-year age gap — Braden, 25, is an outfielder for the Mariners who has already played in big league games, and Hunter, 21, is a top-tier outfield prospect for the Giants, who was drafted in the first round last June — the two brothers never went head-to-head.
“Maybe one day,” Braden said last spring, when he would find time away from camp in Peoria to watch Hunter play down the road at Arizona State in Tempe.
They tossed the ball around together growing up in the Bay Area, and were competitive with each other, but Thursday afternoon’s spring training tilt at Peoria Stadium, which the Giants won 5-4, was the first time they met on the diamond.
“We’ve always missed each other by a year,” Braden said. “When I went to high school, he was just entering middle school, and when I went to college he just entered high school, and then I left college and he just got there. It was pretty cool.”
“Just super special,” Hunter said. “Super special, and honestly I would have never dreamt of that in 1,000 years.”
All-Pac-12 runs in the family
Braden set the baseball path, playing three seasons at Washington, where he was a first-team all-Pac-12 pick and all-Pac-12 defensive pick as a junior, before he was drafted by the Mariners in the third round in 2015.
He rose as high as Seattle’s No. 4 prospect as he worked through the minors, and debuted for the Mariners last March in Japan.
Hunter was committed to play football for the Huskies out of high school, but eventually decided to follow in his brother’s footsteps, opting to play baseball for the Sun Devils, where he also earned a first-team all-Pac-12 nod his junior season.
“With him, he’s got such a unique story in terms of being a football player and deciding to play baseball late,” Braden said. “All the sudden it just clicked for him last year and he hits (22) homers and hits .350. That’s not easy to do.
“Not many people start playing baseball junior year of high school and then become a first-round pick. … I would put him up against anybody. Honestly, I think he’s more athletic than 95 percent of major league baseball players, and I think that’s why they took him where they did. I think that’s why he’s got the upside he does.”
All of that has prompted the Giants to take a multiple looks at Hunter this spring, and add him to the travel roster Thursday as a minor league substitute.
When Hunter found out he would be hopping on the bus with the club’s major league squad he immediately contacted his older brother.
“He sent me a text this morning and he couldn’t believe it,” Braden said. “I remember my first spring training. You realize you’re traveling to a big league game — it’s a big deal. It was cool it was against us and I could be here and watch him. … Last year at this time I’m watching him at Arizona State every Friday, Saturday, Sunday, so it was pretty cool to see him on the same field as me.”
Mariner Bishop versus Giant Bishop
Braden started in center field for the Mariners, and was sharing the outfield grass with Hunter by the fifth inning, when he entered the game at the same position.
“There was actually a ball that was thrown over the fence, and it was on the warning track,” Braden said, smiling. “I saw it a couple pitches before (the inning ended), but I was like, ‘He’s coming out to center. I’m going to wait.’ I told the umpire, ‘Hey, make that other center fielder go get that ball.’
“So, his first inning he had to go pick that ball up. Mess with him a little bit.”
But, the younger Bishop maybe got the better of their first matchup. Hunter notched his first Cactus League hit in the seventh on a single to left, stole second, and then reached third on a throwing error by Seattle’s catcher.
Braden scooped up the ball on the errant throw, and thought for a split second he might try to catch his brother sprinting toward third, but pulled up with the ball.
“He got to that point where it was a little too far to make the throw,” Braden said.
He’s certainly aware of Hunter’s speed.
“That was the thing,” he said. “Once I saw him go, I was like, ‘Damn, I have to make a perfect throw to get him.’ So, I let him have that one.”
Hunter scored his first run on the next at-bat, and though Braden said the competitive side of him took over some, he was quietly rooting for Hunter to play well in just his second spring training appearance.
Braden collected a walk and a stolen base before his day was done, and said he playfully blew his brother a kiss standing on second base in the fifth.
Fighting Alzheimer’s 4MOM
It was a fun, and meaningful surprise to share the same field this early in the spring, and they could meet again in less than two weeks when the Mariners travel to play the Giants in Scottsdale.
Their father, Randy, will be in town for that game on March 8, after which the brothers will hold the second annual 4MOM charity event at nearby Topgolf in honor of their mother, who passed away in October after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. All proceeds benefit Alzheimer’s research.
“Our story the last six months has been extreme highs, extreme lows,” Braden said, “and then to have it culminate here today, I could feel her, you know?”
Braden paused for a moment.
“When he was hitting, I could feel her,” he said. “It’s special. It’s special.”
Hunter felt her, too, taking to Twitter on the bus ride home to say how blessed he felt knowing their mother was watching.
“She had the best seat in the house,” he wrote.
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 8:41 AM.
