Identical Twins Turned Major League Rivals

Photo+Credit%3A+Taylor+Rogers+Instagram+%0A

Photo Credit: Taylor Rogers Instagram

Makayla Kennedy, OwlFeed Lifestyle Editor

For identical twin brothers Tyler and Taylor Rogers, sharing things has been a big part of their life. From sharing the womb to sharing the pitching mound for rival teams, they became the tenth pair of twins to play in Major League Baseball. 

Taylor and Tyler grew up in Colorado, but had very different careers. Tyler was undrafted out of high school and attended Garden City Community College and then transferred to Austin Peay State University to play college baseball as a pitcher. 

Taylor, on the other hand, was drafted to the Baltimore Orioles right after high school in 2009. He, however, did not sign and decided to play college baseball instead at the University of Kentucky. 

The brothers would reunite in the big leagues in 2019. Taylor was drafted in 2012 by the Minnesota Twins as a pitcher and made his major league debut in 2016. Tyler would join him three years later, making his major league debut in 2019 with the San Francisco Giants as a reliever pitcher. 

“When he got called up and we became the 10th set of twins to be major leaguers, I thought that was pretty darn cool and ‘How do you get better than this?’” said Taylor in an interview with CBS. 

Tyler would stay with the Giants, while Taylor was traded to the San Diego Padres for the 2022 season, now putting the twins against each other, as the Giants and Padres, NL West division rivals, aren’t the friendliest towards each other. 

The brothers would face off against each other on April 11, 2022, making them only the fifth pair of twins to play in a game together since the 1990s. Taylor picked up the win, with an end score of 4-2. 

The reunion was bittersweet. 

“It will be nice to not have to watch him on TV as many times,” said Taylor to MLB. “I’m looking forward to seeing him throughout the year. Dinners are on him.” 

While they may be identical, they’re easily distinguishable once they reach the mound. Taylor is a left-handed closer pitcher and Tyler is a right-handed reliever. 

“We pitch different, I pitch different than everybody, but really if you look at it, we’re very similar pitchers,” said Tyler. “We’re both trying to throw a lot of strikes, we’re both sinker-slider guys.” 

While the duo may be division rivals, they still hold a lot of love. They made sure to take a picture together for their mom right before their first game together. “I owe every baseball skill I ever had, it’s because of him,” Taylor said of his brother. 

With being division rivals, it’ll be hard to cheer each other on, but the bond they have will never strike out.