Danny Jansen will make MLB history in Monday's Red Sox-Blue Jays game
By Jimmy Golen, AP Sports Writer
BOSTON — Boston Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen is enjoying his odd slice of baseball history as he prepares to become the first major league player to appear in the same game for both teams.
Jansen was in the lineup for the Toronto Blue Jays when they faced Boston on June 26, a game that was suspended because of rain and scheduled to be made up on Monday. In the meantime, he was traded to Boston, and Red Sox manager Alex Cora has said he will put Jansen in the lineup when the game resumes.
"Baseball has been around for so long, there's so many things that's happened in the game. So I was surprised when I found out I was the first," Jansen said in the Red Sox clubhouse this weekend. "Any time you can be a part of this great game's history, it's pretty unique."
Who is Danny Jansen?
A right-handed catcher who has spent his career as a backup, Jansen has never gotten enough plate appearances to even qualify for a batting title (though his .222 lifetime average is surely the bigger obstacle). Since the Red Sox acquired him on July 27 for three minor leaguers, he is batting .231 with two homers and five RBIs in 14 games.
But he could be on his way to the Hall of Fame — if only as a footnote — with an authenticator expected to be on hand on Monday to grab an artifact for the museum from the historic game.
"It's a bit strange," Jansen said. "But it's one of those oddities of the game and it's pretty cool. I'm still surprised that it hasn't happened, but it's a cool thing."
Jansen was at the plate with a runner on first and one strike in the count when the umpires called out the tarps for the finale of Boston's series against the Blue Jays in June. The game will be resumed at that point as part of a day-night doubleheader on Monday afternoon, Toronto's first trip back to Fenway Park since then.
The Blue Jays will have to hit for Jansen to start things off. The Red Sox also need to replace Reese McGuire, who started at catcher for them on June 26; he was sent to Triple-A Worcester to make room for Jansen.
Cora announced Friday that Jansen will be behind the place for the first game of the doubleheader. He spoke a little more of the historical aspect of Jansen playing for both teams in one game, though he said making history did not go into his decision.
"I wasn't aware of it until you guys brought it up," Cora said Sunday. "From all the pressure I felt from all your peers, I felt obligated for him to play [Monday].
"It worked out because Reese was catching, and [Connor] Wong is going to catch the second game," Cora explained. "It's something cool. It's not that we're trying to make history, it's just like -- he needs to play [Monday]."
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