"I'm more vocal and Stu is more laid back,’’ Stan says in a Southern drawl. “He's very much a perfectionist. He could have a stack of quarters on a table and they'd all be one on top of another. Mine would be laying flat on the table.'"
Stan is divorced with one grown son. Stu is married with no children.
"Stu’s a very well-dressed guy," Stan says. "He wears suits, I wear blue jeans. I'm a hunter, he's a fisherman. He drives Corvettes, I drive Broncos. Now that I'm driving a Monte Carlo, I'm getting pretty close to his stature."
Yet for the differences, they have a bit of that twin magic when it comes to communication.
“I could count on two hands the number of times we’ve disagreed on a decision,’’ Stu says.
“Our talents were always equal,’’ Stan says. “Whether it was on the playing field or in the classroom, we were always at the top of our class.’’
A History of Competing Together
The Cliburns are one of nine sets of twins to play in the major leagues.
Born Dec. 19, 1956 in Jackson, Mississippi, Stan is older by two minutes. They were inseparable growing up. Sports was their common love: Stan was the quarterback in football, the point guard in basketball and the catcher in baseball. Stu was the receiver, shooting guard and pitcher.
Stan was the California Angels’ fifth-round pick in the 1974 draft. He reached the majors in 1980, hitting .179 in 54 games. He also earned the job as American League All-Star bullpen catcher. That was his only big-league experience, although he played on eight championship teams in 14 minor-league seasons.
Stan, a right-handed pitcher, was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fourth round of the 1977 draft and reached the majors in 1984 with the California Angels. He went 9-3 in 1985 and finished fifth in American League Rookie of the Year voting (the winner was Ozzie Guillen of the White Sox). Stu completed his three-year big-league career with a 13-5 mark and 3.11 ERA.
The twins faced each other 10 times during their careers. Stan is proud to say he’s 5-for-10 against his “little” brother.
“I’ll take that .500 average anywhere,’’ Stan says, “but he got me on the big one.’’
It was the final game of the 1984 Pacific Coast League championship. Stan was playing for the Hawaii Islanders, and Stu was pitching for the Edmonton Trappers.
“I batted against him in the ninth inning and he threw me a fastball right down the middle,’’ Stan says. “I popped it up to first base. Game over, Stu and the Trappers win the PCL championship.’’
Stu had another reason to celebrate that day. He was promoted to the big leagues for the first time.
“A tough day for me, but a great day for Stu Cliburn,’’ Stan says. “Made me proud.’’
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