2 Baseball Players Named Brady Feigl Take DNA Tests To See If They’re Related

Do you ever wonder if there is another person in the world that is a carbon copy of you in every way? Imagine yourself in this situation; what would you do? It’s natural to assume that two men who seem so similar are related, but these two are actually total strangers. This isn’t some made-up tale; it happened to two individuals from different states. 

Brady Gregory Feigl, who shall hereafter be referred to as “Brady 1” for the sake of clarity, was born in Missouri and has loved baseball since he was a young boy. He had excellent grades and was a tall, athletic guy. His parents took every opportunity to gush over what a wonderful child he was. 

Brady Matthew Feigl, or “Brady 2,” is a class jokester who has been playing baseball since he could walk. He is a southpaw from Maryland. With the second Brady being born not too far from Missouri, it’s easy to assume that the two are indeed related. Are they twins that were separated at birth because of adoption? 

If one or both of these Bradys have been adopted, it would not be surprising to know they are curious about their roots. Aside from wanting to know their biological parents, they would like to understand why they gave their twin boys up. 

Their physical appearance is not the only similarity the men share because they both love the same sport—baseball. Right-handed Brady Gregory Feigl participated in collegiate baseball at Mississippi before joining the Oakland Athletics’ Single-A Beloit (Wisconsin) Snappers. At Mount St. Mary’s, his doppelgänger played collegiate baseball for his local team before joining the Texas Rangers Triple-A affiliate, the Round Rock (Texas) Express. 

If people see the two Bradys together, they will automatically think they are identical twins. This is because the type of siblings share an appearance and are always of the same gender. Even though many identical twins look the same, that doesn’t mean they can’t be told apart. Twins can be told apart by their hairstyle, moles, or freckles, as well as by how they look or move. 

With both men looking so much alike, it’s easy to believe they are long-lost brothers. Perhaps their mother could not care for the twins; either she wasn’t financially capable or was too young when she had them. Because it was not possible to adopt them together, the twins were separated at birth. 

It’s nice to be told that you look like a famous person, but is it possible to look exactly like someone you’ve never met? Yes, it seems, and a new group wants to prove it. The Twin Strangers Project is an effort by a group of friends to find people in the world who look just like them. 

With the dawn of social media, greeting people with happy birthdays online has become common. Then, we either post a solo photo of the celebrant with the greeting as a caption or choose a snap that includes us.

Until the day they discovered each other, both Bradys never realized there was somewhere out there who looked exactly like them. With their homes only being a 17-hour drive apart, it was possible acquaintances of each had mistaken them for each other. We never know; perhaps Brady 1’s parents took a trip to Maryland in the past and could swear they encountered their son, who they left at home in Missouri, or vice versa. 

Overuse injuries are common among baseball players due to the accumulated stress placed on the body from playing numerous games each week and the repetitive nature of the overhead throwing motion. Baseball players frequently endure arm discomfort and are susceptible to overuse injuries if they don’t take breaks or switch sports throughout the season.

Before 2015, when they each went to world-renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews for Tommy John surgery on their elbows, neither player knew the other existed. No, they did not cross each other’s path at the doctor’s office. Instead, the discovery happened because Dr. Andrews’s office called one of the baseball player’s trainers to follow up on his elbow surgery. 

The chances of another person with the same name playing the same sport and getting the same surgery are near impossible. Naturally, right-handed Brady Feigl got curious after the wrong call from Dr. Andrew’s office. Of course, he had to know more!

 Fans of the Harry Potter books and films will likely recall Ron Weasley’s siblings, Fred and George. These two renowned twins, who were bold and memorable, became the Bradys’ calling cards. The baseball players looked eerily like the redheaded twins from the *Harry Potter* movie series. 

After learning of each other’s existence, the Bradys decided to investigate any similarities that would indicate they were related. They began by noting the many ways in which they were alike. Of course, the first things they noticed were the obvious ones—the beard, the height, them wearing the same black-rimmed glasses, and they had a similar humorous outlook on life. 

Even though the two men shared several striking parallels, there were also a few key distinctions between them. One long look at them would make someone see the differences between Brady 1 and Brady 2. When they get their beards shaved, they do have a slightly different appearance, and the Brady 1 is significantly heavier than Brady 2 by more than 30 pounds. 

Even though identical twins (coming from a single egg that separates into two) may differ in height and weight, it almost always happens that they will have the same eye color. This occurs because our genes or the natural world determine most of our eye color when born.

On social media, Texas Rangers beat writer Levi Weaver posted head photographs of the two minor league pitchers who both seem almost identical, stand 6 feet 4 inches tall, and have the name “Brady Feigl.” This is how the similarities between the two Bradys went viral online. Shortly after, the media contacted the duo to feature their unique story. 

As it turned out, *Inside Edition* wasn’t only interested in how the pair discovered they looked alike. They were after something else, an idea that would surely boost their show’s ratings. Although the baseball players met face to face, there was still an issue left unresolved—their relationship. Are they really long-lost brothers or twins?

*Inside Edition* made the decision to defer to the findings of scientific research and requested that both Brady Feigls submit to a DNA test. This will finally give an answer to the question of whether the two are related.

Whether or not two people are biologically connected as siblings can be determined by taking a DNA sibling test. There are testing kits that typically allow for the painless collection of a DNA sample from each participant for analysis. The mouth swab sample is made up of cells, the majority of which are made of the genetic material known as DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid. 

The Bradys eagerly anticipated the return of their DNA genealogy results from the lab. Of course, each felt some apprehension, but they were excited to find the answers.

The Feigls did not believe that they were long-lost twins who were separated at birth, nor did they feel that they were related in any way, despite their similarities. Call it intuition, but both men did not think they were brothers. Indeed, it was a coincidence that the strangers happened to look like one another. 

If there’s one thing that the two Bradys might have considered, it’s that they could possibly be related. They could be half-brothers (one of their parents hid a secret child) or distant cousins. Twins, on the other hand, were completely out of the question. Why? Because Brady Matthew Feigl is five years older than Brady Gregory Feigl. 

Is it a mere coincidence that the two Brady Feigls are lookalikes? Recent studies suggest that the likelihood of having an exact double is lower than you might imagine. So researchers in Australia crunched the figures and looked into the possibility of two strangers having identical facial traits in eight key facial features in a 2015 study. 

The common belief is that everyone has a perfect twin somewhere in the world. This person would have your exact same physical features, including your mother’s eyes, your father’s nose, and that pesky facial mole you’ve been meaning to get rid of. 

The similarities between doppelgängers may not be superficial, according to the findings of a recent study. A new study published in the journal Cell Reports found that people with striking facial similarities also tend to have similar genetic and behavioral traits. Even though it might seem apparent that individuals with similar facial features will also share some DNA, this has never been proven scientifically. 

Thirty-two pairs of Brunelle’s models were requested to provide DNA samples and answer questions about their daily lives researchers. First, the scientists examined headshots of the alleged human doubles using facial recognition software that generated a score to indicate how similar their faces were. They found that the program had given identical twin-like scores to half of the doppelgänger pairings, similar to the scores of actual identical twins. 

Life for the two men has truly changed. The other Feigl’s social media account has unintentionally acquired some followers, and the Maryland southpaw stated he always double-checks any baseball card before signing his autograph. One clue it’s not his if it’s a Perfect Game card. 

The tale of the two Brady Feigls is truly unique, and we can only imagine what they felt going through it all; from finding out, they have a doppelganger to getting a DNA test. The experience surely made the two strangers become friends.