Gray brothers are bashing their way through season for Trabuco Hills High

Every high school coach dreams of welcoming a family of athletic siblings. Think back to the basketball-starring Ball brothers from Chino Hills, the quarterbacking Clausen brothers from Mission Hills Bishop Alemany, Woodland Hills Taft and Westlake Village Oaks Christian, and the baseball-playing McLain brothers from Irvine Beckman.

This spring, the Gray brothers from Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills are high school baseball’s version of the “Bash Brothers.” Twins Bobby and Joey Gray, who are juniors, have combined to hit 15 home runs with 65 RBIs. And there’s their “little” brother, 6-foot-3 freshman Mikey, who has hit five home runs for the freshman team.

“It’s great because they’re great kids,” coach Michael Burns said.

At Granada Hills, the Perez twins could help the Highlanders win their first upper-division City baseball title since 1984. Zach is an ace pitcher with a 7-1 record and Danny is a backup catcher. They’re seniors.

Westlake has the Johnson twins, sophomores Nate and Nolan. Nate batted .324 and Nolan .358. Their oldest brother, Jack, was a four-year Westlake starter who signed with Baylor.

The Gray twins have been well known in Southern California since they played in the 2017 Little League World Series. They learned early on how to deal with pressure.

Bobby Gray pitches in the 2017 Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa. Today, Gray and his two brothers from Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills are high school baseball’s version of the “Bash Brothers.”

(Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press)

“At 12, we were able to play in front of 1,000 fans,” Bobby said. “Now we’re able to zone out all distractions. There’s not a lot of pressure situations anymore.”

Bobby is batting .385 with 12 home runs and 38 RBIs going into this week’s Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. He had one game against San Clemente in which he finished with two home runs and seven RBIs. He’s a third baseman and Joey is a first baseman. Joey has been helping Bobby on throws to first.

“He saves me a bunch,” Bobby said. “I owe him more than he would owe me.”

They’re identical twins and often mistaken for each other.

“It’s always funny,” Bobby said. “Somebody will call me ‘Joey’ and I’ll respond. If I don’t see a need to correct them right away, I’ll let it go.”

Even though they share the same birthday, the early days of receiving identical presents have long ended. Now if both get shirts, it’s different designs, or pants with different colors.

The best part of having brothers who play the same sport is having a willing workout partner.

The Perez twins — Danny, left, and Zach — play catcher and pitcher, respectively, for Granada Hills.

(Granada Hills High School)

The Perez twins enjoy throwing baseballs in their backyard. With Zach a pitcher and Danny a catcher, they can help each other.

“He usually points out things if he sees something wrong with my mechanics,” Zach said. “It’s good chemistry.”

Norco baseball coach Gary Parcell is about to share in the family baseball fun with the Kim brothers. Cameron, a junior, has 50 hits this season. Branden arrives in the fall as a freshman and there’s another brother, Bryce, arriving after that.

“They love to hit and love the game,” Parcell said.

Just wait until this fall when all three Gray brothers are planning to play football for Trabuco Hills. Bobby and Joey will be senior linebackers and Mikey will try tight end.

“It will be a lot of fun,” Bobby said.

Yep, their coaches are loving it.