Brennan Boesch: Detroit Tigers RF Wins AL Best of the Night Award

An impostor was in right field for the Detroit Tigers during their 8-4 win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night. And I have to say, this impostor turned out to be pretty damn good at the game of baseball.

But you know what the weird part was? This impostor looked exactly like Brennan Boesch, Detroit's regular right fielder.

There's no way the guy in right field on Wednesday night could have actually been Boesch, of course. Boesch is having a disastrous season both at the plate and in the field. FanGraphs has his WAR calculated at minus-0.8, making him one of the absolute worst players in Major League Baseball.

No, it couldn't have been Boesch. This other guy was simply too good.

The Boesch impostor collected four hits in five trips to the plate on Wednesday night, including a key home run in the seventh inning and an RBI single that gave the Tigers their eighth and final run in the eighth inning. 

That's not all. The Boesch impostor also made a nifty diving catch in right-center field to conclude the bottom of the seventh inning. Had the ball gotten past him, the Cubs would have been in business with a runner in scoring position, so it suffices to say that it was a clutch grab.

MLB.com has the video highlight if you want to see it for yourself. You'll see that the Boesch impostor moved with speed and grace and that his dive was remarkably well-timed.

Yeah, he nearly blew his Boesch act.

The large contingent of Tigers fans that was packed into Wrigley Field greatly appreciated the efforts of the Boesch impostor. Not knowing they had been duped, the media sought the impostor out after the game, and he let them know the appreciation was mutual.

Via the Detroit Free Press:

"

I think that’s a tribute to Detroit fans. The road fans are my favorite fans and most of the players’ favorite fans because they come and they bring the noise, bring the passion. They’re die-hard Tigers fans.

"

Hmmm...this sounds like something the real Brennan Boesch, a man with over 300 big league games under his belt, might say. 

Very curious, don't you think?

There's clearly some sort of foul plot afoot here. The Boesch impostor looks like Brennan Boesch and talks like Brennan Boesch, but he doesn't play like him. 

...And that's not a bad thing.

As long as the Boesch impostor keeps playing like this, nobody will be in a position to complain. The Tigers will gladly take his production and his energy, even if he is the product of some sort of twisted wizardry.

For my part, I am bestowing today's American League "Best of the Night" award on the Boesch impostor. I'm highly skeptical of his origins, but he did more than enough to earn it. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go seek out Special Agents Mulder and Scully. If they're looking for work, this case should interest them.

If they take it, the conclusion of their investigation will surely turn up a scene similar to this one:

If you ever want to nominate somebody for American League "Best of the Night" honors, hit me up on Twitter.