Ex-Jay Danny Jansen becomes 1st in MLB history to play in same game for both teams

Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen became the first player in major league history to appear in the same game for both teams when he took the field for Boston on Monday in the resumption of a rain-delayed game he started for Toronto in June.

Jansen was in the Blue Jays’ lineup at catcher and batting in the second inning on June 26 when the game was suspended. He was traded to the Red Sox last month, and on Monday he took his position behind the plate as a pinch-hitter Daulton Varsho struck out to complete the at-bat that Jansen started.

An authenticator was on hand to tag all of Jansen’s equipment, and the Baseball Hall of Fame said it requested the scorecard from official scorer Bob Ellis. Ellis was also working the game when it started in June.

“This scorecard will be a great tool to document and illustrate this history, showing Danny Jansen’s name on both teams,” Hall spokesman John Shestakofsky said.

When the ballpark opened to fans, the scoreboards were showing Jansen at bat for the Blue Jays — complete with a picture of him in his Toronto cap. Before the first pitch, the umpires held an extended conversation at home with the coaches who brought out some of the weirdest lineup cards in baseball history.