Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury just made major-league history in a pretty odd category. It's only July 19, and he already broke the record for single-season ...

Catcher interference!

He's already had nine instances of catcher interference at the plate this season, and his previous career high was four. The record was formerly held by Roberto Kelly, who had eight CI in 1992.

So is this a skill? I'd say no. There's no way a hitter could concentrate on the ball and his swing while also trying to hit the catcher's glove. Some swings are just more conducive than others. Interestingly enough, Ellsbury is second all-time in CI with 23. The leader? Pete Rose with 29. No one else in baseball history has more than 18.

More on Ellsbury's CI exploits: He's tied with Ben Geraghty (1936), Pat Corrales (1965, twice), Dan Meyer (1977), Bob Stinson (1979) and David Murphy (2010) as the only players in history to record two different CI in the same game. Ellsbury did it last season and he's the only player ever to have it happen with two different catchers in the same game (via baseball-reference.com).

It's a feather in his cap, I think. Just a really weird feather.