He could have been called for traveling

Former Angels reliever Darren O’Day had just become a former Met, being waived by New York, and was sitting at home Wednesday when the call came from his agent.

The Texas Rangers had just claimed O’Day on waivers and wanted him to join the club in Toronto ASAP. That started a frenetic day of flying to Memphis, transferring to a flight to Toronto and arriving at his destination around 9:45 p.m. -- with the Rangers game in the eighth inning.

“The travel secretary was texting me back and forth,” O’Day told MLB.com. “The original plan was to go to the hotel, but he said, ‘Go to the field, we might need you.’ ” By the time O’Day reached the Rogers Centre, the game was in the 10th inning. The depleted Rangers pitching staff was in need of some help, so O’Day dressed quickly -- without a jersey with his name on it.

The Rangers keep a few jerseys on hand for potential minor-league call-ups, but O’Day was not on that list. So he wore the No. 30 jersey of Kason Gabbard, who had been with Triple-A Oklahoma City and has since been traded to Boston.

“Yeah, that’s a first,” O’Day said. O’Day’s incognito outing didn’t last long. The first Toronto hitter he faced, Kevin Millar, singled to left center field, giving the Blue Jays an 8-7 walk off victory.

“I’ll remember the day,” O’Day said, “not the outing.”

Trivia time

Who was the first major league baseball player traded for himself?

The horror, the horror

As you might have already heard, the NFL draft will be held Saturday and Sunday. The draft has become so big, if it weren’t held on a weekend, football fans would petition to declare the two days American holidays.

What would happen if there were no NFL draft? Besides the crumbling of the republic?

“I’d hate it. I think it would put us into the haves and have-nots as fast as you can be,” Tom Modrak, Buffalo’s vice president of college scouting, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “There would be more cheating, and I think it would put us into maybe like baseball where some teams just can’t get above water.”

Gil Brandt, an NFL.com analyst, said, “Instead of having a system, you’d have a free-for-all,” Brandt said. “It would be good for five, six, eight players, but like a housewife on a budget, they can spread it out and eat good for a week or go hog-wild and have a good steak Saturday night and then macaroni and cheese the rest of the week.”

Dictionaries for everyone

The Toronto Maple Leafs finished 12th in the Eastern Conference, prompting General Manager Brian Burke to address what the team needs most for next season.

“We require, as a team, proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence,” Burke told the Toronto Sun.

Quipped Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “Sounds like somebody went to a hockey game and an English Lit class broke out.”

Trivia answer

Harry Chiti. The Mets acquired him from the Chicago Cubs in 1962 for a player to be named later. Later, Chiti was sent back to the Cubs as that player to be named later. (Question and answer provided by reader John Stalberg of Santa Monica.)

And finally

From Jay Leno: “Inflatable fitness balls are being recalled because they might burst.

“How fat are we getting in this country when we are crushing exercise equipment?”

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mike.penner@latimes.com