The Toronto Blue Jays reached a new low on Friday night in Kansas City, and it had little to do with the 20–1 scoreline. It was the moment backup catcher Tyler Heineman took the mound, turned a stormy night into an all-time disaster, and gave baseball fans yet another reason to question why MLB continues to allow position players to pitch in the first place.
What unfolded at Kauffman Stadium wasn’t quirky, funny, or even tolerable. It was the definition of humiliating—both for Heineman and for a Toronto club supposedly fighting for a playoff berth.
A Night That Went From Bad to Unwatchable
Max Scherzer set the tone in the worst way possible, surrendering seven earned runs in just two-thirds of an inning before being chased from the game. From there, Toronto burned through relievers until the inevitable moment arrived: the acting manager waved in Heineman, the backup catcher, to eat innings in a hopeless blowout.
The result was one of the ugliest pitching lines ever recorded. Over 1.1 innings, Heineman allowed 13 hits, 10 earned runs, and watched his ERA balloon from 9.00 to an unfathomable 32.40. He threw just 33 pitches, which means a run crossed the plate roughly every three tosses. This wasn’t comic relief; it was baseball malpractice.
Jac Caglianone hammered a 54-mph offering into the seats to push Kansas City’s lead to 14–1, and the hits kept coming in the eighth inning. Heineman allowed eight straight batters to reach before mercifully being replaced by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, another position player, to stop the bleeding.
In a sport obsessed with records, Heineman set an infamous one: the first pitcher in MLB history to allow at least 13 hits and 10 runs in a relief appearance of fewer than two innings.
Why MLB Needs to End the Position Player Pitching Gimmick
Seeing a position player toe the rubber has become an unfortunate trend in recent years. Teams frame it as “saving the bullpen,” but fans know the truth: the game was effectively over four innings earlier. All this does is prolong the agony while stripping the sport of any seriousness.
Friday night’s debacle exposed the absurdity of the rule. Toronto was supposedly fighting to clinch a playoff berth, yet the lasting memory is a backup catcher putting up the worst pitching line anyone’s ever seen.
The league should ask itself what message it wants to send. If the answer is that games can devolve into rec-league comedy skits, then keep allowing it. But if MLB wants fans to treat every inning with legitimacy, then the gimmick has to go.
Yes, blowouts happen. Yes, bullpens need rest. But watching hitters lob 50-mph pitches only to be lit up for double-digit runs doesn’t protect the game—it disrespects it. Heineman’s outing wasn’t just embarrassing for Toronto; it was awkward for Major League Baseball as a whole.
If Friday night proved anything, it’s this: position player pitching has outlived whatever charm it once had. What happened in Kansas City wasn’t funny, and it wasn’t fair. The debacle stained the sport and reminded MLB to end this joke before another player wears the “worst performance in history” label.
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