The Toronto Blue Jays had a new batboy for Saturday’s spring training opener — veteran pitcher Tim Mayza. The 32-year-old donned a helmet as punishment for a last-place finish in his fantasy football league.
Part of the deal required Mayza to sport a custom “4-10” jersey displacing his losing fantasy football record.
“‘4-10’ Mayza, he’s going to be 4-10 the rest of the season,” Blue Jays’ broadcaster Buck Martinez said on Saturday.
The reliever picked up bats for the first three innings of Saturday’s game, a 14-13 loss for Toronto.
After the game, Mayza said injuries decimated his fantasy football team. Tyreek Hill, who led the NFL in receiving yards last season, couldn’t carry the team alone.
“It was a culmination of things, Baseball being an analytics game these days, I like to think that my team was better than a last-place team, but the record tells the story,” the 2013 draft pick told MLB.com. “I did finish seventh in points scored, so it’s tough. Some of it is bad luck. In fantasy football, luck has a lot to do with it.”
The pitcher-turned-batboy had a career year on the mound in 2023, posting a 1.52 ERA in 69 appearances. Mayza issued a warning to his fellow fantasy managers on Saturday — his 2024 squad would look for retribution.
“I’m coming for these guys.”
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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