Danny Jansen officially made MLB history on Monday as the first player to play for both teams in the same game, and things only got weirder from there.
Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora had previously confirmed that Jansen would play for the Red Sox in the resumption of a suspended game against Toronto. Jansen had been playing for Toronto at the time of the game’s suspension on June 26, but was traded to the Red Sox in July.
This was already weird in theory. In practice, it got even sillier. Jansen had actually been batting at the time the game was suspended, which meant his first action came with his own pinch-hitter, Daulton Varsho, at the plate. Jansen immediately was tested by Davis Schneider, who stole second off Jansen — a runner that, two months ago, Jansen would have been trying to advance or even drive in.
With this at-bat, Danny Jansen officially becomes the first player in MLB history to play for two different teams in the same game. 😮 pic.twitter.com/tO6dCtyQYd
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 26, 2024
Fortunately, this initial setup was always likely to be the most confusing part. The runner did not end up scoring, so no harm done from Jansen’s present point of view.
Jansen went on to line out softly in his first plate appearance.
