New York (AFP) – Boston Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen carved out a unique piece of baseball history on Monday after becoming the first player to officially appear for two teams in the same game. The 29-year-old’s unprecedented stint of double-duty arose due to a freak confluence of events stemming from Boston’s abandoned game against the Toronto Blue Jays two months ago.
At the time the June 26 match was halted due to rain, Jansen was a Toronto player and was in the middle of an at-bat when the game was called off in the second inning. A month later on July 27, Jansen was traded to the Red Sox in exchange for three prospects. That deal paved the way for Jansen to line up against former club Toronto on Monday when the June 26 abandoned game resumed at Fenway Park as part of a double-header.
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Jansen was brought into the Boston line-up by Red Sox manager Alex Cora, taking his place behind the plate before later lining out during an at-bat for the Red Sox. Speaking before the game, Jansen said he hadn’t realised that a place in baseball history was beckoning following his trade from Toronto.
“When I got traded, I didn’t really think of it, but I do remember having a tweet maybe sent to me earlier on,” Jansen told MLB.com. “Everybody keeps saying history is being made. 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.”
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