For the first time in their Major League careers, Corey Seager and his older brother Kyle Seager played against each other as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners began a four-game series on Monday night.
Both Corey and Kyle have had successful big league careers, and they put their talent on display in the series opener, combining to reach base seven times and both homering in the Dodgers’ 11-9 victory.
Before the game, Kyle discussed what it is like for him to play against his little brother for the first time. “For me personally, this is cool,” he said.
“This is a really cool day for me, getting to play against Corey out here in L.A., Dodger Stadium is obviously very cool. But playing against Corey is something we’ve talked about for a long time. I’m definitely really excited about it.”
The Dodgers last played the Mariners in 2018, although Corey was on the injured list after undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery. “I probably should apologize for that one,” he joked.
“It’s honestly probably my fault that it hasn’t happened sooner. But yeah, it’s going to be a lot of fun. I got to play with Justin in high school and always grew up watching Kyle, always going to his games, going to Carolina, going to the College World Series, experiencing a lot of cool things watching him play. It will be a lot of fun to share now on the field.”
Both brothers acknowledged there’s healthy competition, even betting every season on who hits the most home runs and doubles. “There’s always the little bit of a rivalry,” Corey said.
“We have our little home run bets or double bets, he pretty much wins homers every year and I pretty much win doubles every year. So I think it comes out to be pretty fair bets across the board.”
Knowing how competitive they are, it wasn’t surprising to see Corey hit a home run in the second inning and then Kyle come up the following inning and hit a homer of his own.
That must have been fun for the Seager family to watch, although Kyle stated that it is hard for them not to see it in person due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“This is definitely going be tough I think for them. It’s a really cool moment, but at the same time, they’ve planned when to come out to Spring Training, when to do a lot of different things around this type of game,” Kyle said.
“So for this season kind of being what it is and not allowing fans to be here, I think it’s definitely going to be hard for not only them, but our whole family. So this is definitely a pretty cool moment for us and we certainly wish it was under different circumstances.”
While the two are each skilled, the brothers were mindful of what they would like to possess that the other has. “I’d take his speed,” Corey quickly said.
“What would I take from Corey? Probably some height. I wouldn’t mind that. Would be nice to be a little bit taller probably,” Kyle answered.
Seager brothers keep track of each other’s success
While big-league players can often get caught up in what they are doing given the nature of playing almost every day, Kyle admitted that he also keeps track of what Corey is up to with the Dodgers.
“Absolutely. That’s my brother, so we’re obviously, as competitive as you want to be, we’re still rooting for each other,” he said. “I love looking in the box score and seeing him have good games. So obviously we’re trying to compete with each other but at the same time, we’re rooting for each other.”
Corey also joked that he hoped Kyle would perform well in a Dodgers vicotry. “I hope he goes off and has four hits tonight and we still win,” he said.
“So he’s still your brother, you’re still rooting for him, you’re still competing against him, you basically want him to do well and us to still win.”
Corey almost got his wish as Kyle finished with three hits and a walk, and the Dodgers came away with the victory.
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