Long-Awaited Lowe Family Baseball Reunion Gets Put On Hold For A Day

Brothers Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Lowe were on the same major-league field on Friday night, and they were joined by a lot of family and friends when the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays got together for a showdown of the two best teams in baseball. Josh didn't get to play, but that will finally happen on Saturday. It's a great family story.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Baseball parents know the routine, and know the dream. They spend thousands of hours at ballfields and in back yards, playing catch, working on swings and watching their kids dream those little boy dreams of playing in the major leagues someday.

Dave and Wendy Lowe did that with their boys in Marietta, Ga. Nathaniel Lowe and little brother Josh were both terrific young players, and both talked and dreamed and imagined being on a major-league field.

On Friday, they were on a major-league field TOGETHER for the first time. 

“To have a moment come to fruition like this after so many years of hard work and dedication, not from just the both of us, but these two and then the entire group,” Nathaniel said in talking about his parents and the hundred or so friends who came to St. Petersburg for the historic weekend. “There's so many people that we owe thank-yous to, to get to this point. It's a real blessing.”

Nathaniel Lowe is the starting first baseman for the Texas Rangers, who have the second-best record in baseball right and Nathaniel is a big reason why. He will turn 27 in July, and he's following his breakout 2022 season with another great year so far in 2023.

Josh, who turned 25 in February, is having a huge year too for the Tampa Bay Rays, who have the best record in baseball. Lowe, who struggled during his first taste of the big leagues last season, is hitting .295 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs.

The Lowe brothers have been on the same fields before, at the minor-league level. They were both drafted by Tampa Bay in 2016, Josh in the first round right out of high school and Nathaniel in the 13th round out of Mississippi State. They were teammates for Class-A Bowling Green in 2017 and with their former Charlotte affiliate during the 2018 season.

Nathaniel made it to the majors with the Rays in 2019, but he was traded to the Rangers for three prospects — none who did anything for the Rays — in December 2020 after he hit just .224 during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. A year ago, he had 27 home runs and this season he is hitting .275 with seven homers and 37 RBIs. 

Josh got one at-bat the end of the 2021 season, but made the Rays roster out of camp in 2022. But he struggled mightily at the plate, especially against left-handed pitching. He bounced back and forth between Tampa Bay and Triple-A Durham, playing in 52 big-league and batting just .221 with two home runs in 181 at-bats.

Against left-handed pitching, he was just 4-for-42, an .095 batting average. He's been slightly better this year — he's 4-for-17 so far in limited opportunities — which is why Rays manager Kevin Cash didn't cave to the sentimentality of the moment on Friday night. Despite the Lowe family reunion, he did not start Josh against Texas left-hander Andrew Heaney. He will most certainly be in the lineup on Saturday when the Rays go up against right-handed starter Nathan Eovaldi.

They've waited a lifetime for this moment — both in the starting lineup in a major-league game — so waiting one more day is OK, too.

Texas Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe (left) and his younger brother Josh Lower of the Tampa Bay Rays get together before Friday's game. It's the first time they've met at the major-league level. (Photo by Tom Brew) 

“It is a momentous weekend, and we are making lifelong memories with the friends and the family that are here, and the ones that can’t be here are already glued to the TV,” mom Wendy said. “We’re just overjoyed to be here.”

The Lowe parents were dressed for the occasion. Dave wore a gray polo shirt featuring with the Rangers' logo on his right chest and the Rays logo on the left. Wendy had a special split “LOWE” jersey, half Rays and half Rangers that some family members had custom-made for her. 

“It's just an awesome moment to be here on the field with my parents, my brother. It's something we've dreamed about since being little kids, being on a major-league field,” Josh said. “We never knew we'd be on the same major-league field. It's just an awesome moment.”

Dave and Wendy Lowe are excited to watch their two sons play baseball this weekend. They're even dressed fairly, showing no bias in representing both son and their teams. (Photo by Tom Brew)

Both players have played big roles in their team's success this season and they surely want to win this weekend. Both teased each other about winning all three games in the series.

“It’s going to be great baseball games this weekend,” said Nathaniel, who picked up a big Thursday night dinner bill. “And I hope the Rangers win all three. But being a big brother to him is a treat.”

Josh had the opposite thoughts, of course: “The two best teams in the American League going at it this weekend, it’s going to be some awesome baseball, and I can’t wait for the Rays to win all three games.”

Dave and Wendy shared a different perspective.

“Regardless, the Lowe family wins.”

There's no doubt about that. There are only 400 or so position players in the big leagues and “two of those are my kids,” said Dave, who was drafted himself in 1986 by the Seattle Mariners, but opted for a career as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Navy.

He's flying high this weekend for sure. A day later, he's going to finally see both boys on the field at the same time on Saturday afternoon at Tropicana Field.

There can be no better feeling as a parent. 

The Lowe brothers competing for bragging rights.
@Rangers | #StraightUpTX | 📺: BSSW pic.twitter.com/LmSsRBZQw6

— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) June 9, 2023

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