BALTIMORE — It was a first in major league baseball -- two identical twins were part of the same crew umpiring a twin bill.
Unfortunately, the Baltimore Orioles were not hosting the Minnesota Twins. The Toronto Blue Jays were the opponent.
Still, Austin and Tyler Jones made history, as the 31-year-old identical twins umpired both games of Wednesday’s doubleheader at Baltimore’s Camden Yards.
During Baltimore’s 4-2 victory in the opener, Austin Jones was at first base and Tyler Jones handled umpiring duties at second base, MLB.com reported. They switched roles in the nightcap as the Orioles completed a sweep with a 2-0 win.
The only way to tell the difference between the two umpires was the numbers on their uniforms, according to The Associated Press.
Identical twins Austin and Tyler Jones umpired their first MLB game together today in Baltimore.
— MLB (@MLB) September 23, 2026
They broke in together in the Minors in 2014 and haven't worked on the same field in over ten years! pic.twitter.com/ylZ3bdGbK5
“This is something we’ve dreamed about forever,” Tyler Jones said. “We were told last year, ‘OK, if we can make it happen, we’ll make it happen.’ And it didn’t. The schedules didn’t align. Even this year we weren’t even sure if it was going to happen or not, and then it was kind of a shock.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Tyler Jones was napping at his Baltimore hotel when his brother called. Austin Jones was taking some time off before preparing to travel to Washington to work a weekend series between the Mets and Nationals, MLB.com reported.
Tyler Jones was asleep and did not realize the second game of the Orioles-Blue Jays series had been rained out, meaning a doubleheader was scheduled for Wednesday, the AP reported.
Then, Austin Jones gave his brother the news -- he was driving from their native Charleston, South Carolina, for Wednesday’s doubleheader.
The Jones’ supporters in the Camden Yards stands included their parents, their wives and Austin’s three children.
The twins are part of a select group of umpiring families in MLB history, the AP reported. There have been fathers and sons, such as Harry and Hunter Wendelstedt, and brothers, such as John and Mark Hirschbeck.
It was a surreal night for the Joneses.
It was cool to look over, and that’s something my wife told me. She was like, ‘Hey, when you’re out there, obviously you’re looking at your partners every pitch every play, but take a second and look at him not as just the guy working first base, your partner, look at him as your brother,’” Austin Jones said. “So I did that a little bit more so tonight.”
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