For Hoffmans, It’s a Major League Rivalry

Years ago, Dodger Manager Glenn Hoffman would change strategies to keep his younger brother Trevor out of a ballgame.

“We played against each other, but it was in the backyard--Wiffle Ball games, Ping-Pong games,” said Trevor Hoffman, the San Diego Padres’ closer. “[Glenn and their oldest brother, Greg] always were tough on me. I was the little brother, the gnat. When I wanted to play, they’d come up with a new rule just to get me out of the game.”

Trevor Hoffman, 30, is no longer the annoying little brother, but a pain in the side of every manager in the National League, thanks to his league-leading 25 saves in 25 opportunities. He is the only regular closer in baseball who has converted every save opportunity this season.

The four-game series in Dodger Stadium, which began Thursday with the Dodgers’ 12-3 victory, is the first time Hoffman is facing Hoffman since those days in the backyard. But this time Glenn, 40, needs to change strategies to keep his team in the game and keep Trevor off the mound.

“He’s top-notch, and I can’t tell him anything different,” the manager said. “I’ve never seen him pitch, so it’d be hard. I just hope I can keep him out of there for three more games.”

He succeeded Thursday.

Trevor has dealt with this kind of sibling rivalry before. He played basketball at Savanna High in Anaheim against Western, which was coached by his oldest brother.

For Glenn, though, this is all new.

“This is the first time,” he said. “There’s a 10-year difference between Trevor and me, and Greg coached against him at different schools in high school, but I never have [faced either brother in sports],” Glenn said.

As they have gotten older, the gap between the brothers has gotten smaller, and, yes, they do talk about baseball.

“It’s not like I am going to be giving anybody any secrets,” Trevor said. “They have scouts and they know what I’m doing. They have videotape to see what I got and things like that. But it can only help. I mean, the more you talk about baseball, no matter if it’s your brother or a teammate or a pro league player, maybe it can help you.”

Playing Glenn’s team doesn’t change Trevor’s game plan. That is, as long as Glenn stays in the dugout.

“I think the only way I’d be fazed by it is if he activated himself really fast and went out there and played,” Trevor said. “It’s still going to be the same lineup and the same team that I’ve gone up against regardless if he is in the dugout or not.”

Of course, the lineup has changed a bit since the Dodgers last played the Padres in San Diego on June 16 and 17. Since then, the team has added and subtracted numerous players, and new closer Jeff Shaw is the 43rd player this season to put on a Dodger uniform.

Said Trevor: “They’ve had a little bit of change, but I think it has been maybe magnified a little because there hasn’t been much change in the last 50 years. Any little thing they do is kind of like, oh my God, headline news. There’s no doubt that they’ve made changes lately, and hopefully they don’t have to mess with the manager spot.

“[Glenn] has been given an opportunity, and it’s up to him to make the most of that. I think that all he wanted was that opportunity, and hopefully he can make the most of it.”