Brotherly Love from the Eyes of a Mother: The Story of Taylor and Tyler Rogers

The call was brief. Short and sweet.

“Mom, I’m going to The Show.”

Those were words Twins reliever Taylor Rogers spoke to his mother Amy in 2016 after receiving the news that he would be packing up his bags in Rochester, NY, and heading to Target Field. 

Coming out of a business meeting, it was a moment that Amy still cherishes like it was yesterday. 

“I told him to hold on a minute, and then I just yelled in joy,” she recalled. 

Yet Amy wasn’t the first person that Taylor shared the news with; the lanky lefty kept it to himself for 3-4 hours. 

The reason why? Taylor’s identical twin brother Tyler was still at practice when Taylor received his call of a lifetime. 

Taylor and Tyler Rogers have emerged as two of the most prolific relief pitchers in Major League baseball. Taylor was a 2021 All-Star and has earned his stripes as an anchor in the Twins bullpen. Tyler emerged as a breakout star for the San Francisco Giants, garnishing a 7-1 record and 2.22 ERA for the 2021 NL West champion Giants. 

The best stat? Taylor and Tyler are one of just ten sets of identical twins to play Major League Baseball together at the same time. 

Amy couldn’t be more proud of her sons. From hours in the backyard to playing at the game’s highest level, one thing has remained constant; their love and support of each other. 

Linked at the Hip
Like many twins, Taylor and Tyler were close from a young age. When Amy wasn’t bussing them to baseball and basketball games the two lived in the family's backyard with a pair of gloves and a ball. 

“I think they pushed each other's talents,” Amy said. “They complimented each other all the time. They'd come inside, and Taylor would say things like ‘Wow, Ty, you're throwing really hard today,’ and vice versa.”

The kindness and love wasn’t just for the brothers, they extended it to their mother too. 

“I’d get them a new bat and they’d say ‘Thanks Mom, we're gonna hit a home run today,” Amy recalled. “I have a huge bag of 50 baseballs that they signed for me, the only level I don’t have signed by is an MLB ball.”

That love extended off the playing field and into the seats. Growing up in Colorado in the late 90’s/early 2000’s, the Rogers’ spent hours at Coors Field as the Rockies franchise grew. And while the high home run rate of the park didn’t scare them away from the mound, neither Taylor nor Tyler were prodigies from a young age. 

In fact, the two didn’t make the varsity roster until the back half of high school; Taylor his junior year and Tyler his senior year. 

Yet when Taylor found his stride, he hit the ground running, earning all-state honors his senior year that drew attention from Power Five conferences… and MLB Scouts. Taylor was drafted by the Orioles after his senior high school season in the 37th round of the 2009 Amateur Draft. The excitement was surreal, but it wasn’t his time. 

Taylor declined and committed to the University of Kentucky. Yet the situation planted a thought for Amy; her son had a chance to ‘make it.’

“He was focused on going to college so he went to Kentucky,” Amy said. “As he progressed through there, we began to realize that (playing professional baseball) was a possibility. 

Three years later, Taylor was drafted again, this time in the 11th round by the Twins. 

As a late-blooming right-handed pitcher, Tyler’s journey was a bit different than his brother's.

“Tay had different opportunities being a left-handed commodity, Ty didn't have the same opportunities right away,” Amy said. “That was hard to navigate, especially with peer pressure from people who didn't understand it. People would make comments like ‘Why aren't you going to Kentucky?’ to him.”

Tyler’s road to The Show went through Junior College in Garden City, Kansas where he developed his submarine delivery. That was followed by two years on the mound at Division I Austin Peay. 

Just a year after his brother was drafted by the Twins, the Giants selected Tyler in the 10th round of the 2013 draft. Fast-forward seven minor league seasons, Tyler received the call that he had dreamed of; a moment for Amy that was even more emotional than Taylor’s call up. 

“I'll admit, my reaction to Tyler’s (call up) was more emotional than Taylor’s; he was at the end of his seventh year in the minors and wasn't sure it was gonna happen. It wasn't so much about him going up to the big leagues, it was ‘This is happening for Tyler, he’s finally gotten here and he's living his dream.” 

Just like Taylor, Tyler made sure the first person to hear the news was his brother. 

Mother and Fan
If there’s anyone that deserves a free subscription to MLB TV, it’s Amy Rogers. When she’s not at Oracle Park or Target Field she can be found glued to her sons’ games that span multiple time zones and start times. 

“I enjoy watching the dynamics of how the games come together, and then the role that Taylor and Tyler play when they come into the game,” she said. “That’s when I get amped up.”

Yet nothing can replace times at the ballpark for Amy. The visual of seeing her sons’ success in the flesh is priceless.

“Being in the stands at Target Field when it's the bottom of the 9th with a two-run lead, two outs, two strikes, and everyone is standing and cheering, it’s so surreal to think ‘Everyone is cheering for my son’.”

Yet while the cheers are loud, the boos and heckling also loom. Despite the occasional negativity, Amy has learned to persevere.

“When you head off to places like Dodger Stadium, people aren't necessarily fans of you," she said. "When those (negative) people say things, I cheer even louder to make it known who I am. It doesn't matter if (Taylor and Tyler) get the save or if they blow it, I’m still standing.”

How Far They’ve Come 
Amy smiles as she reflects on the journeys of her sons. 

“They really just wanted to have fun,” she said. "Obviously every kid dreams of playing MLB, but that wasn’t their end goal. They just wanted to have fun.”

And while she’s proud of their baseball accolades, there’s even greater pride in the relationship that they’ve built. 

When Taylor was named to the All-Star game in 2021, Tyler was there to watch. The favor was returned at the end of the 2021 season. Since Taylor was on IL, the Twins allowed him to head west to watch his brother pitch for the division-winning Giants. It was Taylor’s first time watching Tyler pitch in the big leagues. 

“When Taylor saw Tyler enter the game, he was dialed in,” Amy said. “He walked all the way down the concourse and down to the field. He didn’t care who was in front of him.”

That brotherly love is nothing new. It’s something that Amy feels lucky to have witnessed and experienced since the boys were young. 

“What I like is that they share the same values and interests, but they're still their own people,” she said. “Each of them have individual traits that they contribute to the world."

From the days of youth to adulthood, she describes Taylor as Type A and organized in contrast to the free-flowing and outgoing personality of Tyler. 

“Even though they’re twins, there's still that first and second-born child dynamic,” she said.

The few minutes of age that Taylor has on Tyler doesn’t halt the potential that both men have on the mound. Taylor looks to forge back to health and dominance in 2022, and Tyler will gun for a stellar follow-up campaign coming off a breakout season. In fact, the two teams are slated to face off from Aug 26-28 at Target Field in 2022. It will be the first time that the Rogers’ twins compete head-to-head at the MLB level. 

Wins aside, Amy can rest easy at night with the young men that she has raised both on and off the field.

“I’m most proud that they remember where they came from, they stay humble, and honor their teammates. I just feel like they're really good people that have grown into their positions and haven't let it go to their head. They're really appreciative of what they've got.”

Special thanks to Amy Rogers for taking time for this story and sending some photos.