What a Day For Texas Rangers Pitcher, Darren O'Day

Last season 25-year-old Darren O’Day was a big piece of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s bullpen that made the playoffs by winning the AL West.

In his rookie season he pitched in 30 games, recorded 43.1 innings, 4.57 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 14 walks, and 29 strikeouts.

During the offseason O’Day was acquired by the New York Mets as part of the Rule 5 Draft.  Basically he has to stay in the Majors all year long, if he does not then the Mets have to offer him back to the Angels.  If they deny he can be designated for assignment in the minors.

Early in the week the Mets did exactly that, attempting to get O’Day threw waivers, not have to send him back to the Angels, and then sending him to Triple-A.  The Mets were attempting to do this to make room for Nelson Figueroa on their 40-man roster.

Reports out of the Angels organization was that they were going to bring O’Day back, but it never got that far.

The Texas Rangers claimed O’Day off of waivers Wednesday morning, and thus began the most bizarre day in O’Day’s life.

At 12:45pm ET (11:45am CT), O’Day received a phone call from his agent telling him that he had just been picked up off waivers by the Texas Rangers.  He was at home in Panama City Beach, FL, when he received the phone call telling him to get his gear, pack real quick, and get his passport your heading to Toronto, where the Rangers and Blue Jays were one game into a three-game series.

Soon O’Day was at the airport, boarding a flight to Memphis and then jumping to another flight that would take him up to Toronto.

Nine hours after hearing the news that he was no longer a Met and now a Ranger, O’Day landed in Toronto and was told by the Rangers director of travel, Chris Lyngos to head over to the hotel to get a goodnights’ sleep and prepare to meet the team and pitch the next day.

Simple enough plan, but this is Rangers’ pitching, it’s never that simple.

Right before heading over to the hotel, O’Day and Lyngos were exchanging text messages in which O’Day was told to change his plans, head over to the field, the team might need you tonight.

O’Day’s flight had landed with the Blue Jays leading the Rangers 7-4 in the eighth inning, but by the time he had gotten his luggage and was heading to the hotel that all changed.  Texas rallied off of Toronto closer B.J. Ryan in the ninth, scoring three runs and tying the game.

O’Day arrived at Rogers Centre in the tenth inning, headed down to the visitors clubhouse to get dressed, stretch, and then make his way to the bullpen.

One problem there.

Rangers equipment manager Zack Minasian always travels with multiple uniforms for the team and also brings along extra uniforms of players that could get the call-up from the minors.  However there was no way he could have known that morning that Mets reliever Darren O’Day could be pitching in relief for the Rangers, in Toronto.

Therefore, O’Day was given Kason Gabbard’s uniform, who at the time was pitching in Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Sure enough, in the bottom of the eleventh inning O’Day, sporting his #30 Gabbard uniform, was seen warming up in the Rangers bullpen.

O’Day is a right-handed, side-winder type pitcher.

After Ranger reliever C.J. Wilson allowed Blue Jays to reach first and third, Ron Washington came to the mound to bring in O’Day.

And in the words of Wilson on the mound, “WHO?”

One of the funniest moments I have ever seen in baseball was Darren O’Day wearing the #30 Gabbard uniform, jogging to the mound, and the entire infield standing there with Washington looking at this mystery man coming toward them.

O’Day walked onto the mound with a huge smile on his face, shaking hands with Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus, Michael Young, Chris Davis, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Ron Washington, his new teammates.

Taking the ball from Washington, O’Day said to him the immortal words, “Let’s Rumble!”

O’Day would eventually give-up a single to Toronto first baseman Kevin Millar that ended up costing the Rangers the game, but can anybody blame him.

That morning he was in Florida dealing with the fact that he was heading back to the minors in the Mets organization, but by the evening he was pitching in the bottom of the 11th for the Texas Rangers in Toronto, Canada.

What a day for Darren O’Day.