What’s behind Detroit Tigers’ surge on offense? Michael Brdar
Detroit Tigers radio analyst Bobby Scales breaks down why the team’s hitting is clicking this season, plus why Riley Greene’s slump wasn’t worrying.
Mary Jung sat in the stands behind home plate.
She wore a custom jersey to support both of her sons — Jace Jung and Josh Jung — during their first MLB matchup, a May 10 showdown between the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers during Mother’s Day weekend at Comerica Park.
The jersey featured the logos and colors of both teams: the left side representing Jace and the Tigers, the right side representing Josh and the Rangers.
“She can’t stop smiling,” Jace said. “She’s very happy.”
For the first time, the Jung bothers played against each other in a baseball game. They played together for one year in high school — Josh was a senior, Jace a freshman — but they had never faced off as opponents.
Until now.
“I think it’s going to be pretty special, especially for the family,” Jace said before the game. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. Obviously, I would love to win. That’s the main goal.”
“Always for bragging rights,” Josh added.
On May 10, the Rangers earned a 10-3 win over the Tigers — giving older brother Josh the first big-league bragging rights over younger brother Jace. Both brothers started at third base and hit ninth in the batting order for their respective teams.
Celebrate 125 seasons of the Tigers with our new book!
They also played a game of tic-tac-toe in the dirt in foul territory.
There was no winner in the game within the game, though.
“He had put down twice, and I had only put down once,” said Jace, who drew the grid in the top half of an inning and let Josh make the first move in the bottom half of the inning. “But it was going to be one of those games that no one wins because he played in the middle.”
The first move: Josh drew an O in the center.
The second move: Jace answered with an X in the bottom corner.
The third move: Josh marked an O in the bottom middle.
“I was obviously going to put one at the top,” Jace said. “It was going to be a tie because I had to play defense the whole time. I literally told you before the game, if he plays in the middle, no one is going to win.”
Still, the brothers could’ve finished the game.
Why didn’t they?
Jace folded.
“I got scared to finish it,” said Jace, who is hitting .108 in 15 games this season, while Josh is hitting .257 in 31 games. “I was like, ‘Ah, pay attention to the game.’ I went over there and looked, and then I looked in the dugout, and I was like, ‘I can’t finish it.'”
The tic-tac-toe game during an MLB game provided a telling snapshot of the relationship between the Jung brothers — competing in as many ways as possible, including video games off the field.
There’s another side to them.
They support each other on their individual journeys.
Jace and Josh — separated by three years in age — live together while training in the offseason. They also FaceTime to talk during the season, especially when they need to evaluate their swings.
“We know each other,” Josh said. “We know each other’s swings. We know how to make each other better. We also know each other’s flaws, so we try to help the other one with what we see. We aren’t afraid to ask the hard questions. I think that’s super valuable.”
[ MUST LISTEN: Make “Days of Roar” your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
Both Jung brothers wear one batting glove — on the bottom hand.
As kids, they would share every pack of batting gloves: Jace, a left-handed hitter, used the right glove; Josh, a right-handed hitter, used the left glove. As adults, the boys still wear just one glove in the batter’s box, even in the big leagues.
It’s a reminder of where it all began.
An added bonus: The Jung brothers had their first MLB matchup on Mother’s Day weekend.
“She always had food cooked when we got home,” Jace said of their mom, Mary, who cheered May 10 from the stands at Comerica Park alongside their dad, Jeff. “She took us to every practice and every game on the road, and every summer ball game. She’s always traveling around the country for us.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Order your copy of “Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Detroit Tigers!” by the Free Press at Tigers125.PictorialBook.com.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
