USA’s Major League Baseball catcher, Danny Jansen, registered a never-seen-before feat in the sporting world, as he went on to play for two teams in the same match. It all started when Jansen was batting for the Toronto Blue Jays on 26 June against Boston Red Sox, but the game was soon suspended due to rain. A month later, on July 27, Jansen was traded to the Red Sox, putting him in line to play against his own team in the rain-suspended match. Though Jansen didn’t feature in quite a few games fro Red Sox since his move, he found a spot in the team when the rain-suspended match resumed on Monday.
“I don’t even know how this works,” Jansen said to The Athletic after being traded to Boston. “I’ve heard about it a couple times. That’d be funky.”
Jansen found himself a spot in the Blue Jays’ lineup when the rain-affected game was rescheduled, and was announced as a split doubleheader for Aug. 26.
“I’m just going to put my head down and play,” Jansen had said before the game resumed following the rain disruption. “It’s definitely a cool thing.”
“Definitely grateful,” he said. “Honestly, when I heard about it, I didn’t think I would be the first. The game has been around for so long. It’s one of those oddities that happen in this sport. It’s extremely rare and cool,” he added.
The first player in @MLB HISTORY to play for both teams in the same game: Danny Jansen pic.twitter.com/rQHjp5dZyn
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 26, 2024
So far in his career, Jansen has featured in 13 games for the Red Sox, batting .257 with a .794 OPS, two home runs and five RBI. While playing for his former side Toronto, he featured in a total of 61 games, compiling a .212 batting average, .671 OPS, 13 doubles, six home runs and 18 RBI.
Jansen revealed that he will give a jersey to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, as well as the lineup card from the Blue Jays-Red Sox matchup that etched his name in history.
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