"Some sick plays in the field" - Rangers' Josh Jung gets emotional about 'little bro' Jace Jung's stellar big league performance for Tigers
Detroit Tigers rookie Jace Jung had a special spectator in the stands for Monday's clash against the Chicago White Sox. Jace's elder brother, and Texas Ranger's third baseman, Josh Jung was at Guaranteed Rate Field to witness his sibling's major league outing for the first time.
Jace Jung made his MLB debut against the New York Yankees on Aug. 16 after being promoted to the senior team from Triple-A Toledo. Josh had an off day after the Rangers finished their series against the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday.
Josh is in Chicago for the Rangers' upcoming series against the White Sox and utilized his day off by watching his younger brother in action for the Tigers in Monday's series finale.
"Not everyday you get to sit in the stands and watch the little bro get a big league hit and make some sick plays in the field. Keep going kid!" Josh captioned the post.
Jace was in college when Josh last watched him play in the flesh. Since making his debut for the Texas Rangers in 2022, Josh had not seen his brother play and the All-Star third baseman acknowledged the rarity of the event (via MLB.com):
“Might not ever get this opportunity again,” Josh said. “Besides playing against each other and competing, I don't know if this will ever happen again. The fact that it worked out and he just debuted a couple weeks ago, it's super special.”
Jace Jung makes it count with brother Josh watching on from the bleachers
Jace Jung made the most of the opportunity to display his skills as his All-Star brother watched from the stands. He went 2-for-4 on the night, hitting a single in his first at-bat in the second inning before an RBI single in the seventh:
“We won't get a chance to really sit down and watch each other unless something like today happens, or one makes the playoffs and one doesn't,” Jace said. “It’s just one of those unique things that doesn't happen often, but you’ve gotta enjoy it when it happens.”
Jace also reflected on how baseball helped forge a strong bond between the siblings:
“Our bond has grown a lot with the game of baseball, and we've learned so much from each other,” Jace said. “We love being around each other. We hang out in the offseason, do all this stuff in the offseason together, and we just grind together.
It'll be an interesting sight for the Jung family when the two brothers come face to face in an MLB game in the future. Until then, it's all brotherly love and support between the two major league siblings.