Danny Jansen makes MLB history by playing for both teams in same game

Danny Jansen of the Boston Red Sox has made MLB history as the first player in the league’s 148-year history to play for both teams in a single game. Jansen, known to domestic fans as the ‘dedicated catcher’ for Ryu Hyun-jin, who played for the Toronto Blue Jays, achieved this unique feat.

On Tuesday, Jansen was named the starting catcher for Toronto in the first game of the home series. After confirming‎ that Dalton Bashaw would come in as a pinch hitter during his at-bat, Jansen then took his position as Boston’s replacement catcher and played the rest of the game.

This occurred because the game began on June 27. Jansen, Toronto's seventh batter, came to the plate at the top of the second inning with one out and a runner on first base, with the score tied 0-0. After fouling off the first pitch, heavy rain began. The umpires waited 1 hour and 48 minutes before declaring the game suspended.

Sixty-six days later, the game was replayed. In a suspended game, play continues from where it left off. The issue was that Jansen had been traded to Boston the day after the suspension.

There was no way Jansen, who had played 14 games in a Boston uniform, could return as a Toronto player. Consequently, Toronto used Basho as a pinch hitter when Jansen was scheduled to bat. Boston also made a substitution, replacing the starting catcher for this game, Reese McGuire, who had been sent down to Triple-A, with Jansen.


Bo-Mi Im bom@donga.com