Catcher Danny Jansen will make Major League Baseball history Monday when the Boston Red Sox face off against the Toronto Blue Jays as the first person to play for both teams in the same game.
What Happened: When the Red Sox and Blue Jays played on June 26, the game was suspended due to a downpour at Boston's Fenway Park. At the time, Jansen was up at bat as a Blue Jay.
On June 27, the Blue Jays traded Jansen to the Red Sox for three prospects.
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So, when the delayed game resumes at 2:10 p.m. ET, in the first of a doubleheader, Jansen won't be up to bat. Instead, he’ll be catching against the pinch hitter who takes his place.
That makes Jansen the first MLB player to play for both teams in the same game — something no player in the more than 100-year history of MLB has accomplished.
"(Jansen) will play Game 1 by the way, for all the people that have been looking at history," Red Sox coach Alex Cora said recently. "Yeah, he's catching. Let's make history.
Speculation of this scenario began last month when Jansen was traded.
"I don't even know how this works. I've heard it a couple times. That'd be funky. I'm down 0-1. I don't want to strike out," Jansen said at his Red Sox introductory media conference.
The same scenario has been completed by at least one minor league baseball player with Dale Holman playing for the Syracuse Chiefs and Richmond Braves in the same Triple-A game back in 1986, as reported by MLB.com.
The situation played out in similar fashion due to a weather suspension. Holman was released by the Blue Jays and their affiliate before later signing with the Atlanta Braves and playing in their minor league system. Holman went 1-1 with Syracuse and 2-2 for Richmond in the game, turning in a perfect 3-3 hitting record in the game.
What's Next: Jansen won't be able to get a hit for both teams since he didn’t complete a full at-bat for the Blue Jays back in June.
Given the game already being in play, bettors aren't able to place wagers on Jansen to get a hit for the Red Sox yet. When play resumes, sportsbooks will likely offer live betting odds for the game and player props.
The Red Sox have the better record of the two teams at 67-62 with the Blue Jays trailing at 63-68. The teams have even records for this particular matchup with the Blue Jays 29-35 in Away games and the Red Sox 29-35 in home games.
The Red Sox are favored in the night's doubleheader with odds of -155 at DraftKings Inc DKNG. Jansen is unlikely to play in the night game.
On the season, Jansen has a .215 batting average with eight home runs and 23 RBIs in 75 games played for the Red Sox (14) and Blue Jays (61).
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