Today’s story is today’s story because today’s bonus fact happened last night; sharing this story became an “if not now, when?” moment. — Dan

If you’re a fan of Major League Baseball, you’re probably familiar with “Tommy John surgery.” The procedure is a creative one that most of us non-athletes will never need. Our elbows have a ligament known as the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), and it’s common for baseball pitchers to tear that ligament due to the strain of throwing a baseball. When it snaps, you need it replaced; in Tommy John surgery, the surgeon removes a similar ligament, typically from the pitcher’s forearm, and grafts it into the elbow.

Brady Feigl, pictured above, isn’t one of those pitchers who needed Tommy John surgery. He’s two of them.

Feigl, not pictured above (bear with me here), was pitching for the University of Mississippi in 2014 when he tore his UCL. He went to Dr. James Andrews, the leading expert in Tommy John surgery, for the procedure shortly thereafter, and figured that would be that. Yes, there’s a year-long recovery, but you typically don’t have to have a second procedure done. So when Dr. Andrews called Ole Miss in April of 2015, asking if Feigl would be coming in for the procedure the next day, he was confused — as the Clarion-Ledger reported, he had already undergone the procedure six or seven months prior.

It’s unclear what happened next, but per some accounts, the doctor’s office asked Feigl to help them solve the mystery. Were they speaking to Brady Feigl, the pitcher? He confirmed, yes. Was he 6’4” tall, with red hair, glasses, and a beard? Yep — he matched the description perfectly. But, he didn’t need the surgery — he had already had it. And that’s when he and the doctor’s office realized the nearly impossible coincidence: Ole Miss’ Brady Feigl wasn’t the only 6’4” red-headed pitcher named Brady Feigl who needed Tommy John surgery. There was another — the man pictured above. Here’s a side-by-side of the two, via an episode of Inside Edition from 2019:

The man on the left? The Mississippi Feigl. The one on the right? Not him.

The two have a few notable differences — the Mississippi Feigl is five years younger, weighed a bit more, and pitched with his right hand. The other one is a lefty, and is also the only of the two to make it to the Majors (and only briefly). But the similarities run deep enough to cause a lot of confusion. Both get tagged on Twitter when the other was actually the one in the story — and in multiple cases, the Brady on the left was asked to sign baseball cards depicting the Feigl on the right. (He declined.)

Despite the similarities and the uncommon last name — there are only about 2,000 Feigls globally — the two don’t seem to be related. As part of the Inside Edition story, the pair agreed to undergo a DNA test, and found that while both shared significant Germanic heritage, they had no other familial link. That doesn’t matter to the pair, though — they reportedly still stay in contact, brothers of sorts, connected through the fraternity of baseball (and weird coincidences).

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Today’s Bonus fact: On June 29, 2026 — yes, last night — the Los Angeles Dodgers played in Sacramento against the team formerly known as the Oakland A’s. Playing third base and batting seventh in lineup for the A’s was a man born on August 25th named. Max Muncy. And apparently, that’s a very common thing, because the Dodgers’ third baseman and seventh-slot hitter was also a man, born in August 25th, named Max Muncy. The Dodgers’ Muncy had a great game, hitting a home runs, but the A’s’ Muncy had a funnier night — he had one hit, which bounced off third base and was fielded unsuccessfully by, you guessed it, the other Max Muncy.

From the Archives: How The Worst Swinging Strike in Baseball History Broke the Game: This may be my favorite baseball story, and that’s saying a lot because I really love baseball.

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And thanks! — Dan