Chicago Cubs players Austin and Andrew Romine have already shared one historic moment this season, and in Tuesday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, they’ll accomplish something that no pair of brothers has done for the franchise in more than 125 years.
Austin Romine will play catcher and bat seventh for the Cubs in the second game of their series against the Reds at the Great American Ballpark. Andrew Romine will play shortstop and will bat eighth, so not only will the brothers be batting next to each other, they’ll be making history.
According to Cubs historian Ed Hartig, the Romine brothers will become the first pair of brothers to start in the same game for the Cubs since all the way back on May 8, 1894, when Kid and Lew Camp started for Chicago in a game against the Cleveland Spiders.
This game took place so long ago that the Cubs were known as the Colts, and played their games at West Side Park, which was located near the current site of the Illinois Medical District. The block was bounded by Taylor, Wood, Polk and Wolcott streets.
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This interesting matchup isn’t the first bit of history that the brothers have made this season. On Thursday, Andrew Romine pitched for the Cubs in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers, and his brother Austin did the catching.
The Romine’s became the first pair of brothers to make up a pitcher-catcher battery in a game since Norm and Larry Sherry achieved the feat in 1962. They also became the first pair of brothers to appear in the same game at the same time for the Cubs since Hal and Danny Breeden in 1971, according to Hartig.
