How Rare Was This?

 


Monday night at Comerica Park in Detroit, baseball fans witnessed something very, very rare.

The catchers on both teams -- Brian McCann for the Yankees and James McCann for the Tigers -- not only had the same last name... but wore the same number (34).

I did some checking after the game, which Detroit won 2 - 1, and have yet to find whether this ever happened before.

Think of the odds -- opposing players with the same name. Now, narrow it by restricting that to the same position. And to thin the ranks even more, those similarly named and positioned opponents are wearing the same number!

I can't recall it ever happening... can you?

About the only tangible difference was that New York's McCann hits left-handed, while his Detroit counterpart swings from the right side.

I'm sure the experts at the Elias Sports Bureau will come up with whether or not this was a "famous first" in baseball... But you have to admit, it again proves that if you come to a baseball game, you might see something you'd never seen before.


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