Megill parents look on as brothers finally face off?

NEW YORK -- A few months after Donna Kelce made a split-jacket fashion statement at Super Bowl LVII -- one half Eagles for Jason, the other half Chiefs for Travis -- the Megill family decided to do something similar. Julie Megill contacted Passion For Ezra, the custom clothier who had made Mama Kelce’s famous coat. She wanted jerseys for herself and husband Kevin to cheer on their sons, Trevor and Tylor, during an upcoming game between the Brewers and Mets.

Call it the best-laid plans of mice and Megills. Julie and Kevin purchased the threads early in 2023, then proceeded to stow them unused for the better part of a year. In a cruel coincidence just four days before the Brewers and Mets were set to meet at Citi Field last July, those clubs optioned Trevor and Tylor to the Minors.

“We were all ready to go,” Kevin Megill said.

“We had to pack them away,” Julie added. “Then we brought them back out.”

The jerseys finally debuted Friday at Citi Field, after the brothers made their teams’ respective Opening Day rosters. With Kevin and Julie sitting down the first-base line, Trevor debuted that afternoon with a scoreless inning out of the Brewers’ bullpen. He added another scoreless frame in Saturday afternoon's game. Tylor is set to start Sunday for the Mets.

“We always believe everything happens for a reason,” Julie said. “It was sad … both of them went down on the same day. It was like, ‘When does that happen?’”

“But how much positive came [out of it] when they came back,” Kevin said. “Sometimes you just need to step away and regather.”

When Tylor returned to the Majors in early August, he was a different pitcher, featuring a split-fingered fastball and better command. He produced a 2.55 ERA over his final six starts to put himself in prime position, after Kodai Senga landed on the injured list this spring, to claim the Mets’ vacant rotation spot.

Trevor, meanwhile, reeled off six consecutive scoreless outings upon returning to Milwaukee, with a 2.12 ERA over his final 15 games. The Brewers now consider him a legitimate late-game weapon, with a chance to earn saves in the absence of regular closer Devin Williams.

“He’s been doing it a lot longer than I have, and he’s taught me a lot [of the] pitching aspect of it, because he’s done it his whole life,” Tylor said. “We talk all the time, whether it’s life or baseball. We’re really close.”

Trevor is the emotional brother who studies analytics and sees himself as a future pitching coach. Tylor features more of a typical laid-back, Southern California vibe -- except when the two play the videogame RuneScape, as they do often upon returning to their respective homes each night. During a recent offseason period when Tylor was staying with his parents and Trevor was in Arizona, Julie could hear through the walls as her younger son screamed at his brother from a few hundred miles away.

That part of the relationship is all fun and games. In other ways, the Megill brothers have become resources for each other during their professional careers. Not particularly close as children, the two only played formal baseball together twice: once during a year of travel ball as kids, then again during a shared season at Loyola Marymount University.

“Ever since college, we started getting closer and closer,” Trevor said. “And even throughout pro ball, it remains the same.”

The two never met as opponents on their respective Minor League journeys. When it finally happened this weekend, the reunion was cause for celebration. Julie and Kevin, who often crisscross the country to watch their sons play, made the trip out to New York. The family went to dinner on Friday night at Park Side, Tylor’s favorite restaurant in Corona. Then on Saturday, Trevor and Tylor met at home plate to exchange lineup cards for their respective teams, while their parents -- Kevin in a Brewers cap, Julie in a Mets coat, both wearing their custom-made jerseys -- watched from the stands.

“It’s the kind of things we dream of as kids,” Tylor said. “It seemed like it was going to happen last year, but it was unfortunate -- the timing and everything that happened. Doing it on Opening Day seems a lot better."