An MLB first! Jansen plays for both teams in same game

BOSTON -- The start of Monday’s continuation of a suspended game between the Red Sox and Blue Jays at Fenway Park was history making.

The Blue Jays sent up center fielder Daulton Varsho to pinch-hit for Danny Jansen, who had an 0-1 count when play was stopped due to rain with one out in the top of the second inning on June 26. Varsho fouled the first pitch he saw from Nick Pivetta, then struck out during the at-bat in an eventual 4-1 defeat to the Blue Jays.

And at the same time Jansen was replaced in Toronto’s lineup, Red Sox manager Alex Cora put Jansen behind the plate for his team. Batting for himself in the bottom half, Jansen lined out to first baseman Spencer Horwitz.

Huh?

On July 27, Jansen was traded to the Red Sox for three prospects.

The player Jansen replaced on Boston’s roster -- Reese McGuire, who is now in Triple-A Worcester -- was behind the plate during the stoppage in play on June 26.

What it all added up to was Jansen becoming the first player in MLB history to play in the same game for both teams. Jansen finished 1-for-4 for Boston, with no official at-bat for Toronto.

Jansen’s unique achievement was a bright light in an otherwise frustrating day for the Red Sox, who lost the nightcap of the doubleheader, 7-3, and are 0-5 on this eight-game homestand to fall five games behind the Twins in the AL Wild Card standings.

Between games, Jansen reflected on his quirky first.

“I guess it hasn't fully hit me yet,” Jansen said after the game. “I was surprised when I found out I was the first one to do it. So it's cool. Leaving a stamp like that on the game, it’s strange and it’s interesting. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have that. And at the end of the day, it's a cool thing.”

As you can imagine, Jansen got flooded with text messages in recent days.

“Everybody keeps saying history is being made,” Jansen said. “It’s such a strange thing. I never would have imagined myself in this situation with it being history. I guess I would have assumed it would have happened before. That’s one of the first thoughts that went through my mind.”

The box score or official lineup card will surely be framed somewhere in the Jansen household.

“Sure, I’ll peek at it, because it’s the first [time]. I’ve never really been a crazy box-score guy, but it will be cool to see that,” Jansen said.

You’ll likely see an artifact or two of Jansen’s historic feat at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

“I'm gonna get a jersey [to them] for sure,” said Jansen. “And then I wore two jerseys today to authenticate them. I really haven't figured that one out [entirely], but that's a pretty cool thing too.”

Jansen was asked if he still had the jersey he wore for the Blue Jays on June 26.

“Actually, I don’t think I do,” Jansen said. “Maybe I should try to get it.”

Cora enjoyed the historical aspect of his lineup maneuver.

“It was a very cool moment,” said Cora. “Just to be part of it. I don’t know if it's going to happen again. It has to be a perfect storm for that to happen, starting with a storm. But I’m glad everyone enjoyed it.”

The fact that Jansen was doing something historic took some attention off the fact this was his first game against the franchise he spent his entire professional career. Jansen was a 16th-round selection by the Jays in the 2013 Draft and made his debut with Toronto in ‘18.

While Jansen is the first to play for both teams in the same game at the Major League level, there's at least one example of it happening in the Minor Leagues.

Dale Holman played for both the Syracuse Chiefs and Richmond Braves in the same Triple-A game in 1986.

Holman was with Syracuse (then the Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate) when the game began in June. It was suspended due to rain, and by the time it resumed on Aug. 16, the outfielder had been released by the Blue Jays and had signed on with the Braves. Holman started at Double-A with Atlanta, but he was promoted to Triple-A just in time for the resumed game.

Holman went 1-for-1 with Syracuse when the game started, and 2-for-2 for Richmond when it continued. All in all, a 3-for-3 game … with hits for both teams.

As for Jansen, perhaps he will be the answer to a Trivial Pursuit question at some point.