Danny Jansen becomes the first man in history to play for BOTH teams in an MLB game... and here's how he did it

Daily Mail ^ | 8/26/24 | Ben Nagle

[Libloather]

Former Toronto Blue Jays and current Boston Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen has become the first man to play for two teams in the same game - and he did it all in a single inning.

In a statistical oddity made possible by two of the quirkiest entities on Earth - the baseball rule book and the New England weather - Jansen became the only player ever to appear on both sides of a baseball box score when he took the field for Boston on Monday in the resumption of a rain-delayed game he started for Toronto in June, before he was traded to the Red Sox.

'I was surprised when I found out I was the first one to do it,' Jansen said after going 1 for 4 for Boston - plus part of another at-bat for Toronto - in the Blue Jays' 4-1 victory. 'It's cool, leaving a stamp like that on the game. It's interesting, and it's strange. And I'm grateful for the opportunity to have that.'

Playing for Toronto on June 26, Jansen fouled off the only pitch he saw from Boston starter Kutter Crawford in the second inning before the tarps were called out. On July 27, Jansen was traded from Toronto to Boston for three minor leaguers.

After the possibility of Jansen becoming a baseball first became a cause celebre around the sport, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said last week he would play Jansen when the suspended game resumed, saying 'Let´s make history.'

**SNIP**

The Cooperstown shrine said it requested the scorecard from official scorer Bob Ellis, who also was working the game when it started in June.

[Libloather]

Sportsball story.

[LukeL]

It has happened during a double header when a player’s trade went through during the first game.

[MV=PY]

So what, exactly, does it mean to root for a baseball “team?”

[DarrellZero]

It’s actually not that interesting.

Game got suspended; guy got traded.

[Steve_Seattle]

The asterisk in this story is that the game was postponed midway because of rain and was not completed until two months had passed.

In the past, players have played for two opposing teams on the same day. In a May 30th,1922 double header between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis, outfielders Cliff Heathcote (St. L) and Max Flack (C) were traded between games and played for the opposing team in the second game.

[nwrep]

Is he bisexual?

[grey_whiskers]

Going from the Toronto Blow Jays to Boston...?

Good point.

[outofsalt]

In 2024, Jansen will earn a base salary of $1,817,204, while carrying a total salary of $5,200,000.

[Jeff Chandler]

I was at a Brewer spring training game in Chandler, Arizona once when the opposing team’s pitcher finished the game for them. It was the last game of preseason and most the players had already left for home.

[subterfuge]

That’s kinda cool...

[hole_n_one]

There was the potential for an added twist.

I am not certain on the specifics, but it had something to do with the count to Jansen when the 1st game was suspended.

If I understood it correctly, if instead of the 0-1 count to Jansen at the stoppage, it was 0-2, Jansen would have been the hitter of record for that at bat as well as being the catcher behind the plate for his own at bat.

[xp38]

Well Jerry Seinfeld said one is actually cheering for laundry. In Australia root has an altogether different meaning as in the F word so one can imagine Aussies reaction when they hear Americans are root rooting for a team. :)

[SamAdams76]

Let's say he was a pitcher and threw hitless innings in the first game before it was suspended due to rain.

Then he gets traded to the other team and completes the game without any hits for the remaining innings.

Would that pitcher get credit for a no-hitter?