MINNEAPOLIS — Harry Hunter Wendelstedt Jr. and Harry Hunter Wendelstedt III are the only father-son tandem to work major league games together. The father went by Harry and the son by Hunter.

They umped several games in the same crew in 1998, when Harry was getting ready to retire and Hunter was a 26-year-old rookie breaking into the big leagues.

There were times earlier in what's now a 27-season career for Hunter that veteran managers would mention in disputes with him how inferior he was to father Harry as an umpire.

As the Twins were filling new Target Field in its inaugural season in 2010, one such manager — Atlanta's Bobby Cox — was in his final season and the Braves were here for a June series.

Wendelstedt was in the umpiring crew and had one of his traditional run-ins with Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. Later, Cox was in the visiting manager's office and recalled an ejection when he told Hunter that he wouldn't make a good flaw on one of his "old man's" body parts.

Cox remains the runaway all-time leader with 162 ejections as a manager. Our guy Gardy is in seventh place with 84, with the Twins and then the Tigers.

Ejections are harder to achieve now with replay review, but Hunter had an all-timer a week ago. He threw out Yankees manager Aaron Boone five pitches into the game, and it turned out due to some heckling from a fan behind the home dugout.

Wendelstedt was unrepentant when faced with the evidence of his error, and MLB announced no discipline for the overzealous umpire.

One night later, the Timberwolves were playing Phoenix in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series at Target Center, with constant, often-animated complaints to the referees in the middle of the court that were impossible to miss.

There were no technical fouls assessed directly for this behavior — just abuse added onto what's the toughest job in officiating.

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