When the script is eventually written on the career of Tyler Andrew Heineman, this may not be among his career accolades, but Blue Jays historians and baseball trivia sickos alike can stick this feather in their cap. Heineman is the king of position player-pitcher appearances in Blue Jays history, a record that may never be broken.

A few weeks ago, Heineman rattled off his second pitching appearance of the season, twice in the span of only six games. He was called upon to close out the Blue Jays’ 14-5 loss to the Colorado Rockies on March 30, and then was thrown back into the fire against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a 14-2 blowout on April 6.

That was the Blue Jays catcher’s sixth relief appearance dating back to 2024, and he has seven total appearances under his belt, one coming as a member of the San Francisco Giants in 2020.

In six total appearances, Heineman’s ERA has ballooned up to 20.86, which is to be expected for a “reliever” who is simply there to stop the bleeding in a blowout. On the season, his ERA is 15.00, which is over half of his 32.40 ERA in three pitching appearances last season.

Heineman’s appearance during a winning effort last season against the Texas Rangers ranked 5th on the list of BJN’s most memorable Blue Jays pitching appearances of all-time. He remains the only Blue Jays position player to pitch in relief during a winning effort for his team; all others have been lopsided losses.

The next closest to Heineman in career appearances are Bob Bailor and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who both have three apiece. Bailor made all three of his appearances during the 1980 campaign, while IKF made his over two seasons with the Blue Jays, through 2024 and 2025.

According to Baseball Savant, Heineman’s repertoire is exclusively eephus pitches this season, with a velocity ranging from 38.7 MPH to 77.7 MPH. I’m fairly sure batting practice pitches break 40 MPH, which is why this 38.7 MPH pitch to Santiago Espinal looks like it’s floating to the plate like a butterfly.

The 77.7 MPH pitch was from the same game against the Dodgers, and it looks like a speeding bullet by comparison. At this point, Heineman ratcheted things up to a mid-70s heater, just so he get himself off the mound. This one to Teoscar Hernandez was labelled as another eephus pitch, but it technically veers into “fastball” territory.

For those masochists who want to relive all the games Heineman pitched in, below are all six of his games, via Stathead. He finished the game in five of six appearances, had scoreless outings in two of six games, but the capper was that 10-earned-run performance on the road against Kansas City last season. 13 hits, 10 earned runs, 17 batters faced.

With it being so early in the season, there’s still the possibility Heineman might even rack up a few more games before the year is through. However, I don’t think we’ll see Heineman on the mound again for a while, as he fills in as the starting catcher for an ailing Alejandro Kirk.

A reminder that Heineman is under Blue Jays team control through 2028, so there are likely many more games we’ll see the 34-year-old toeing the rubber once again.

Again, it’s not a record a player wants to scream from the mountaintops, but if you ever want a neat party trick, tell people you know the Blue Jays’ all-time leader in position player pitching appearances. Then you’ll wonder why you blurted that out in the first place, and those pals will consider revoking your friendship.

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