BOSTON (Reuters) – Former Blue Jays and current Red Sox player Danny Jansen not only played for the Boston Celtics in the same game – a first in Major League Baseball history.
He played for both teams in the same round.
In a statistical oddity made possible by two of the strangest 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 scoreboard when he took the field for Boston on Monday in the resumption of a rain-delayed game he started with Toronto in June, before being 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-in-4 for Boston — plus part of another strikeout for Toronto — in the game. Blue Jays win 4-1. “It’s cold, Leave a mark like this on the game.“It’s interesting and strange. I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
On June 26, while playing for Toronto, Jansen fouled out on the only ball he saw from Boston starter Cotter Crawford in the second inning before the covers were lifted. On July 27, Jansen was traded from Toronto to Boston. For three little league players.
After Jansen’s potential as a baseball player became a celebrity issue in the sport, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said last week that he would play Jansen when the suspended games resumed, saying, “Let’s make history.”
“It was such an amazing moment, just to be a part of it,” Cora said Monday. “I don’t know if that’s going to happen again. It would have to be like the perfect storm for that to happen — starting with the storm. And I’m glad everyone enjoyed it.”
Before the game resumed at 2:06 p.m. Monday — a delay of 65 days, 18 hours and 35 minutes — Red Sox media relations coordinator Davison Perez announced the changes in the Fenway Park press box: “Replacement for Danny Jansen: Dalton Varsho. Defensive changes: Danny Jansen is now at catcher.”
With Jansen behind the plate, Nick Pivata struck out Varsho to complete Jansen’s inning. Jansen then came on for the Red Sox with two outs in the bottom half of the inning, got a nice cheer from a small crowd of make-up players, and hit a lazy line drive to first base to end the inning.
“It was probably a bit strange preparing for that moment,” Jansen said. “Once I got into the box and the game started, I was just trying to stay present and centered.”
Jansen’s wife, children and some friends were there to see him take his place in the baseball record books – or at least in the footnotes. When they arrived, they saw his picture on the scoreboard wearing a Blue Jays cap.
“When I walked out there today, yeah, I saw myself there, definitely,” Jansen said. “It was like, ‘OK, this is where we are.’”
Before the first pitch, the umpires had a long chat at home with the coaches, who pulled out some of the strangest lineup cards in baseball history. Blue Jays manager John Schneider said he was happy to see his former player, a lifelong backup and .222 career batsman, get some attention.
“I think it’s cool for him to go down in the record books as the first player to do it,” Schneider said. “I’ve known Jano for a long time, and it’s cool for him to always be able to say he was the first player to do it, and he’s good at weird things. It’s cool for him.”
Jansen hit a single in the fifth inning—Boston’s first hit of the game. He hit a flyout in the seventh and then came up with two outs in the ninth and a runner on second base, but he was out after an unintentional hit to end the game.
The 29-year-old right-hander said he wore two jerseys to the game (three, if you count the one he wore in Toronto in June). He’ll keep one for himself and send another to the Baseball Hall of Fame; a notary was on hand to tag all of Jansen’s gear.
The Cooperstown Shrine said it requested the scorecard from official scorer Bob Ellis, who also worked the game when it began in June.
“This card will be a great tool to document and illustrate that history, and showcase Danny Jansen’s name on both teams,” said Hull spokesman John Shestakowski.
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