Will Wagner got hits in the first three at-bats of his major league debut as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 on Monday night.
The son of former left-handed pitcher Billy Wagner, a seven-time All-Star and a member of the Houston Astros Hall of Fame, the younger Wagner hit the first pitch he saw into right-center field for a second-inning double.
“I was nervous on the on-deck circle, but once I was walking to the plate, I just started to gain a little bit more confidence,” Wagner said. “Just go up there and know I’m here for a reason and I was just trying to be aggressive.”
Wagner then singled with two outs in the third for his first career RBI and a 2-0 lead.
In his third at-bat, Wagner rolled a single into right field in the fifth. All three hits to begin his career came against right-hander Davis Daniel, who gave up four runs and eight hits in five innings with two walks and five strikeouts.
“Just growing up in big league clubhouses, I kind of know what to expect,” Wagner said. “It was a nerve-wracking day for sure, but once you get that first at-bat out of the way it’s all good.”
Wagner became the fourth player in Blue Jays history to have three hits in his major league debut. He finally made his first out on a fly to center in the seventh.
“It’s pretty cool when you have a debut like that. It kind of gives guys some energy,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.
Billy Wagner was in attendance while on a whirlwind adventure that first had him at Triple-A Buffalo over the weekend to watch his son play. After flying home to Virginia on Sunday, he learned of his son’s promotion and boarded a plane for California.
The only hiccup Will Wagner had on the day was forgetting to leave tickets for his fiancé and his father.
“My dad texted me and was like, ‘Hey, we still can’t get in,'” Will Wagner said. “I was like, ‘Oh gosh, I’ve got to get them tickets.’ But we got it all figured out.”
The Blue Jays acquired the younger Wagner in the July 29 trade that sent left-hander Yusei Kikuchi to the Astros, where his father spent nine seasons. He was called up to the Blue Jays from Triple-A Buffalo, while infielder Luis De Los Santos was optioned.
“When I was at Houston, in big league camp, we had (Alex) Bregman, (Jeremy) Peña and (Jose) Altuve and I would talk to them every day,” Will Wagner said before the game. “And I was like, ‘These guys are going to be Hall of Famers.’ Now I’m here and I have (Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) and Bo (Bichette) to talk to, too. And there is a mix of guys who are younger that I can fit in with, too. So I’m excited.”
Wagner is primarily a second baseman with experience at first and third base. Offensively, he is known as a line-drive hitter with 25 home runs in 290 minor league games.
Schneider plans to use Wagner primarily at second base, with some opportunities to play third, and have him in the lineup regularly for the remainder of the season.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
