BOSTON — Blue Jays-turned-Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen didn't just play for both teams in the same game — a first in major league baseball history.
He played for both teams in the same inning. Jansen became the first major leaguer 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 making history became a cause for celebration 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.» «It was a very cool moment, just to be part of it,» Cora said Monday. «I don't know if it's going to happen again.