Danny Jansen is set to make Major League Baseball history Monday at Fenway Park.
The Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays will resume their June 26 game that was suspended due to rain in the first of a back-to-back on Monday. In June, Jansen, then playing for the Blue Jays, was on the field with one player out and one on the field in the second inning when the game was suspended. After an hour and 48-minute delay, the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays announced that the game would resume where it left off in a back-to-back on Aug. 26.
Jansen was traded to the Red Sox on July 27, opening up the possibility that he could be on the other side of the infield when play resumes on June 26.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora confirmed to reporters Friday that Jansen will come on as a substitute to start the game, which would make him the first player in history to appear in the same game for both sides.
“I don’t even know how it works,” Jansen said when asked about the game being suspended after his move to Boston. “I’ve heard about it a few times. It would be weird.”
The athleteThe Walking Dead’s Jason Stark investigated the issue and unpacked the situation last week:
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Danny Jansen could make history by playing for the Red Sox and Blue Jays in the same game.
In 13 games with the Red Sox since the trade, the right-handed center fielder has a batting average of .257 with an OPS of .794.
The Blue Jays will also see some unconventional developments in the game. Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Friday that Jose Berrios will receive the ball when the game resumes, but because Jariel Rodriguez was the starter before the game was suspended, Berrios will play as a substitute. It will be his first appearance as a substitute since he pitched 1 1/3 innings as a substitute in his final appearance of the season in 2017 — a stretch that spans 166 consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez will start the next day, Tuesday, making it two consecutive days of play — sort of. And while the suspended game will end on August 26, it will officially be recorded as having been played on June 26 in the history books.
(Jansen photo: Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)