Former Blue Jays and Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen didn’t just play for both teams in the same game, a first in major league baseball history. He played for both teams in the same inning. Jansen became the first major leaguer to appear on both sides of a baseball scoreboard when he took the field for Boston Monday in the resumption of a rain-interrupted game he started for Toronto in June — before being traded to the Red Sox. “Danny Jansen’s replacement hitter: Dalton Varsho,” Red Sox media relations coordinator Daveson Perez announced in the press box before first pitch Monday afternoon, which came 65 days, 18 hours and 35 minutes after the game was suspended by rain. “Defensive changes: Danny Jansen now at catcher.” » Playing for Toronto on June 26, Jansen fouled off the only pitch he saw from Kutter Crawford in the second inning before the tarps were flagged. On July 27, Jansen was traded from Toronto to Boston in exchange for three minor league players. With Jansen behind the plate Monday, Nick Pivetta struck out Varsho to complete the at-bat Jansen started. Jansen then came in for Boston with two outs in the bottom half, receiving loud cheers from a sparse crowd in the make-up game, and hit a lazy line drive to first base to end the inning. An authenticator was on hand to label all of Jansen’s equipment, and the Baseball Hall of Fame said it requested the scorecard from official scorekeeper Bob Ellis. Ellis was also working on the game when it started in June. “This scorecard will be a great tool to document and illustrate that history, showing Danny Jansen’s name on both teams,” Hall of Fame spokesman John Shestakofsky said. When the stadium opened to fans, the scoreboards showed Jansen batting for the Blue Jays — with a photo of him wearing his Toronto cap. Before the first pitch, the umpires had a long conversation at home with the coaches who pulled out some of the strangest lineup cards in baseball history. Red Sox manager Alex Cora welcomed the uniqueness of the occasion, putting Jansen in the lineup for the make-up game instead of the usual night game, saying, “Let’s make history.” » (As a backup, Jansen’s main job is to keep No. 1 catcher Connor Wong from overworking himself.) Jansen said he was surprised it had never happened before in the game’s century and a half history, but he also accepted his place in baseball lore. “Any time you can be a part of the history of this great game,” he said, “it’s pretty unique.”
Former Blue Jays-turned-Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen didn’t just play for both teams in the same game — a first in major league history.
He played for both teams in the same round.
Jansen became the first major leaguer to appear on both sides of a baseball scoreboard when he took the field for Boston on Monday in the resumption of a rain-delayed game he started for Toronto in June — before being traded to the Red Sox.
“Danny Jansen’s replacement is Dalton Varsho,” Red Sox media relations coordinator Daveson Perez announced in the press box before first pitch Monday afternoon, which came 65 days, 18 hours and 35 minutes after the game was suspended by rain. “Defensive changes: Danny Jansen is now catcher.”
On June 26, Jansen played for Toronto and fouled off the only pitch he saw from Kutter Crawford in the second inning before the tarps were removed. On July 27, Jansen was traded from Toronto to Boston in exchange for three minor league players.
With Jansen behind the plate Monday, Nick Pivetta struck out Varsho to complete the at-bat Jansen started. Jansen then came in for Boston with two outs in the bottom half, getting a big cheer from a sparse crowd in the catch-and-shoot game, and hit a lazy line drive to first base to end the inning.
An authenticator was on hand to label all of Jansen’s equipment, and the Baseball Hall of Fame said it requested the scorecard from official scorekeeper Bob Ellis. Ellis was also working on the game when it began in June.
“This scorecard will be a great tool to document and illustrate that history, showing Danny Jansen’s name on both teams,” Hall spokesman John Shestakofsky said.
When the stadium opened to spectators, the scoreboards showed Jansen batting for the Blue Jays, with a photo of him wearing his Toronto cap. Before the first pitch, the umpires had a long conversation at home with the coaches who pulled out some of the strangest lineup cards in baseball history.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora took advantage of the novelty of the occasion to put Jansen in the lineup for the make-up game instead of the usual night game, saying, “Let’s make history.” (As a backup, Jansen’s main job is to keep No. 1 catcher Connor Wong from overworking.)
Jansen said he was surprised it had never happened before in the sport’s century and a half history, but he also praised its place in baseball lore.
“Any time you have the opportunity to be a part of the history of this great game, it’s pretty unique,” he said.
