Bombers bits

By Bryan Hoch

April 3, 2013

• Left-hander Clay Rapada has been issued his unconditional release. Rapada was sidelined with left shoulder bursitis late this spring and had been designated for assignment to clear room for first baseman Lyle Overbay on the Yankees' 40-man roster.

• With six players (Ben Francisco, Shawn Kelley, Travis Hafner, Overbay, Vernon Wells and Kevin Youkilis) making their Yankees debuts on Monday, it marked the most Yankees debuts in any single game since the franchise's first game -- then known as the Highlanders -- on April 22, 1903.

• On this date in 1919, Yankees outfielder Ping Bodie defeated an ostrich named Percy in a spaghetti-eating competition in Jacksonville, Fla. Bodie won when Percy passed out following his 11th plate of pasta, according to the SABR Baseball Biography Project.

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat.