BOSTON — Blue Jays-turned-Crimson Sox catcher Danny Jansen didn’t simply play for each groups in the identical sport — a primary in main league baseball historical past.
He performed for each groups in the identical inning.
Jansen turned the primary main leaguer ever to seem on each side of a baseball field rating when he took the sector for Boston on Monday within the resumption of a rain-delayed sport he began for Toronto in June — earlier than he was traded to the Crimson Sox.
“Pinch-hitting for Danny Jansen: Dalton Varsho,” Crimson Sox media relations coordinator Daveson Perez introduced within the press field earlier than the primary pitch on Monday afternoon, which got here 65 days, 18 hours and 35 minutes after the sport was suspended by rain. “Defensive modifications: Danny Jansen now at catcher.”
Enjoying for Toronto on June 26, Jansen fouled off the one pitch he noticed from Kutter Crawford within the second inning earlier than the tarps have been referred to as out.
On July 27, Jansen was traded from Toronto to Boston for 3 minor leaguers.
With Jansen behind the plate on Monday, Nick Pivetta struck Varsho out to finish the at-bat Jansen began.
Then Jansen got here up for Boston with two outs within the backside half, getting a pleasant cheer from a sparse make-up sport crowd, and hit a lazy liner to first base to finish the inning.
Jansen ended the sport — a 4-1 win for the Blue Jays — 1-for-4, singling to middle within the fifth inning.
An authenticator was readily available to tag all of Jansen’s tools, and the Baseball Corridor of Fame stated it requested the scorecard from official scorer Bob Ellis.
Ellis was additionally working the sport when it began in June.
“This scorecard shall be a fantastic device to doc and illustrate this historical past, exhibiting Danny Jansen’s identify on each groups,” Corridor spokesman John Shestakofsky stated.
When the ballpark opened to followers, the scoreboards have been exhibiting Jansen at bat for the Blue Jays — full with an image of him in his Toronto cap.
Earlier than the primary pitch, the umpires held an prolonged dialog at residence with the coaches who introduced out a number of the weirdest lineup playing cards in baseball historical past.
Crimson Sox supervisor Alex Cora embraced the quirkiness of the event, placing Jansen within the lineup for the make-up sport as a substitute of the commonly scheduled evening sport, saying, “Let’s make historical past.” (Because the backup, Jansen’s main job is to maintain No. 1 catcher Connor Wong from overwork).
Jansen stated he was shocked it had by no means occurred earlier than within the sport’s century and a half of historical past but additionally embraced his spot in baseball lore.
“Any time you might be part of this nice sport’s historical past,” he stated, “it’s fairly distinctive.”
