Tigers Star Jace Jung Celebrates Incredible Mother’s Day at Comerica Park

The Major League schedule aligned to give Detroit Tigers third baseman Jace Jung a chance to celebrate his mom during a home game.

Apr 30, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Detroit Tigers third baseman Jace Jung (17) throws a fielded ball to first base for an out against the Houston Astros during the fifth inning at Daikin Park. | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

DETROIT — For Detroit Tigers third baseman Jace Jung, this weekend series with the Texas Rangers has been all about family.

The former first-round pick of the Tigers got to play against his brother, Rangers third baseman Josh Jung, for the first time since a Texas Tech intrasquad scrimmage in 2019.

At the time, Josh was selected in the first round by the Texas Rangers while Jace was an incoming freshman to the Red Raiders.

Josh became a Major Leaguer in 2022. Jace earned his promotion last year. At the time, their paths overlapped in Chicago as the Tigers were wrapping up a series with the White Sox and the Rangers were preparing to start a series with the White Sox. Josh got to see his younger brother play from a suite.

This time, they played the same position — third base — for two straight games. On Saturday, as one might expect between competitive brothers, they played a game within the game during innings, as they were caught playing tic-tac-toe in the dirt by the Rangers’ television game feed.

Brotherly competition never stops 😂 pic.twitter.com/BJKz99bMRR

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) May 10, 2025

But nothing compared to Sunday.

How Jace Jung Celebrated Mother's Day

Their parents, Jeff and Mary, were in town all weekend. With Sunday being Mother’s Day, it was a rare chance for the pair to celebrate their mom before a game. In fact, they became the eighth set of brothers to play each other in a MLB game on Mother's Day since 1969.

Before the game, Jace and Josh stood with mom and dad in front of the Rangers’ dugout on the first-base side and presented her with a pink baseball bat in honor of the day. The bat featured the logos for both teams, along with the game’s date and Mary’s name on the barrel.

Gifts for mom 🥺#MothersDay pic.twitter.com/LGFLtIRuXK

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) May 11, 2025

She was also presented with an authentic jersey split down the middle, with one side a Rangers blue jersey and the other side a white Tigers jersey with the iconic gothic ‘D’ on the front. The back had each of her son’s numbers and their last name. She had worn a variation on the jersey all weekend.

Then, the Tigers asked Mary to deliver the game ball to the pitcher’s mound, where her sons joined her for another round of photos.

Mama Jung delivered today’s game ball 🩷#MothersDay pic.twitter.com/fdv0OIfLkI

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) May 11, 2025

The last set to do it were Yuli Gurriel of Houston and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. of Toronto in 2021.

But Sunday wasn’t just a first for the Jungs, it was a first for both franchises. The Rangers and Tigers had never had brothers play each other Mother’s Day before Sunday.

They are just one of 456 sets of brothers that have played Major League Baseball.