ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Once he finally secured tickets for his famous father, Will Wagner had a major league debut to remember.
The son of former All-Star reliever Billy Wagner got hits in his first three at-bats to help the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 on Monday night.
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Toronto Blue Jays' Will Wagner, right, takes a lead at second base during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Toronto Blue Jays' Will Wagner makes a play at second base during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Toronto Blue Jays' Will Wagner, right, runs to first after hitting an RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Toronto Blue Jays' Will Wagner, right, hits an RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Toronto Blue Jays' Will Wagner runs to first after hitting an RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Toronto Blue Jays' Will Wagner, right, runs to first after hitting an RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
“Just growing up in big league clubhouses, I kind of know what to expect,” the younger 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.”
Toronto acquired the infielder on his 26th birthday in the July 29 trade that sent pitcher Yusei Kikuchi to the Houston Astros, where Wagner's dad spent the first nine of his 16 big league seasons.
Will Wagner was called up Monday from Triple-A Buffalo and started at second base against the Angels, batting sixth. He laced the first pitch he saw into the right-center gap for a second-inning double and finished 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run.
“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.”
His only misstep was forgetting at first 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.”
Billy Wagner made it to the ballpark following a whirlwind journey that first had him in Buffalo last weekend to watch his son play. After flying home to Virginia on Sunday, he learned of Will's promotion and boarded a plane for California.
The seven-time All-Star, a member of the Astros Hall of Fame, was quick to offer advice for the big day.
“He just said to relax and be present and have fun with everything,” Will Wagner said. “It’s just a game and have fun.”
Wagner singled with two outs in a four-run third for his first career RBI and rolled another single into right field in the fifth. All three hits to begin his career came against right-hander Davis Daniel.
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,” Toronto manager John Schneider said.
Wagner is primarily a second baseman, with experience at first and third. He's known as a line-drive hitter, with 25 home runs in 290 minor league games.
“Everyone, when they talk about him they say, ‘OK, he’s just a baseball player,’ and those guys usually find their way to do pretty well,” Schneider said. “A lot of contact, hits the ball hard, really smart in-game decisions.”
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.
To make room on the roster, the last-place Blue Jays optioned infielder Luis De Los Santos to Buffalo.
The move was made after Wagner played just seven games at Buffalo following the trade from Houston. In 77 combined games at Triple-A for Sugar Land and Buffalo, he batted .315 with six home runs and 43 RBIs.
“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. “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.”
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Toronto Blue Jays' Will Wagner, right, takes a lead at second base during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Toronto Blue Jays' Will Wagner makes a play at second base during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Toronto Blue Jays' Will Wagner, right, runs to first after hitting an RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Toronto Blue Jays' Will Wagner, right, hits an RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Toronto Blue Jays' Will Wagner runs to first after hitting an RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Toronto Blue Jays' Will Wagner, right, runs to first after hitting an RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
THE HAGUE (AP) — The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas officials, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the war in Gaza and the October 2023 attacks that triggered Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian territory.
The decision turns Netanyahu and the others into internationally wanted suspects and is likely to further isolate them and complicate efforts to negotiate a cease-fire to end the 13-month conflict. But its practical implications could be limited since Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the court and several of the Hamas officials have been subsequently killed in the conflict.
Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders have condemned ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s request for warrants as disgraceful and antisemitic. U.S. President Joe Biden also blasted the prosecutor and expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas. Hamas also slammed the request.
“The Chamber considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity,” the three-judge panel wrote in its unanimous decision to issue warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant.
The court also issued a warrant for the arrest of Mohammed Deif, one of the leaders of Hamas. The ICC chief prosecutor had also sought warrants for two other senior Hamas figures, Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, but they were both killed in the conflict.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in September that it had submitted two legal briefs challenging the ICC's jurisdiction and arguing that the court did not provide Israel the opportunity to investigate the allegations itself before requesting the warrants.
“No other democracy with an independent and respected legal system like that which exists in Israel has been treated in this prejudicial manner by the Prosecutor,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein wrote on X. He said Israel remained “steadfast in its commitment to the rule of law and justice” and would continue to protect its citizens against militancy.
The ICC is a court of last resort that only prosecutes cases when domestic law enforcement authorities cannot or will not investigate. Israel is not a member state of the court. The country has struggled to investigate itself in the past, rights groups say.
Despite the warrants, none of the suspects is likely to face judges in The Hague any time soon. The court itself has no police to enforce warrants, instead relying on cooperation from its member states.
Even so, the threat of arrest could make it difficult for Netanyahu and Gallant to travel abroad, although Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted on an ICC warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, recently showed he could still visit an ally when he traveled to Mongolia, one of the court’s member states, and was not arrested.
Khan sought warrants in May, accusing Netanyahu and Gallant of crimes including murder, intentionally attacking civilians, and persecution.
In a statement at the time, Khan alleged that Israel “has intentionally and systematically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of objects indispensable to human survival” by closing border crossings into the territory and restricting essential supplies including food and medicine.
At the same time, he accused three Hamas leaders — Sinwar, Deif and Haniyeh — of crimes linked to the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and abducting another 250. The three leaders are accused of crimes including murder, extermination, taking hostages, rape and torture.
“The Chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Deif, born in 1965, the highest commander of the military wing of Hamas (known as the al-Qassam Brigades) at the time of the alleged conduct, is responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder; extermination; torture; and rape and other form of sexual violence; as well as the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, torture,; taking hostages; outrages upon personal dignity; and rape and other forms of sexual violence,” a statement says.
Prosecutors withdrew their request for a warrant for Haniyeh, who was assassinated in what was believed to be an Israeli strike in Iran in July. Israel also claims to have killed Deif, but Hamas hasn’t confirmed his death. Sinwar, who was promoted to succeed Haniyeh as Hamas’ leader, was killed in a chance front-line encounter with Israeli troops in October.
Human rights groups have applauded the decision, which came more than six months after Khan made his initial request.
“The ICC arrest warrants against senior Israeli leaders and a Hamas official break through the perception that certain individuals are beyond the reach of the law," the associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, Balkees Jarrah, said in a statement.
Israel’s opposition leaders fiercely criticized the ICC’s move.
Benny Gantz, a retired general and political rival to Netanyahu, condemned the decision, saying it showed “moral blindness” and was a “shameful stain of historic proportion that will never be forgotten.”
Yair Lapid, another opposition leader, called it a “prize for terror.”
Palestinian kids sort through trash at a landfill in Zawaida, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Israeli Defense Forces soldiers mourn at the grave of Sgt. First Class (res.) Roi Sasson, who was killed in action in the Gaza Strip, during his funeral at Mt. Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
The family of Israeli Defense Forces Sgt. First Class (res.) Roi Sasson, who was killed in action in the Gaza Strip, walk behind his coffin during his funeral at Mt. Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
FILE - Benny Gantz, a key member of Israel's War Cabinet and the top political rival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leaves after a meeting at the State Department, Tuesday, March 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
FILE - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses lawmakers in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem. Monday Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses lawmakers in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem. Monday Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
