Danny Jansen talks about his history-making day
Danny Jansen is headed to the Hall of Fame.
The Red Sox catcher cemented his spot in Cooperstown just by showing up Monday afternoon thanks to a bizarre turn of events over the course of 60 days, 18 hours and 35 minutes.
Jansen became the first player in Major League Baseball history to play for both teams in a single game, aserving as both the hitter and catcher in the same at-bat. It's a bit of history that came to fruition in the continuation of the June 26 Red Sox game against the Blue Jays, which both teams picked up with two outs in the top of the second inning.
At the time the game was halted, Jansen was hitting against Red Sox pitcher Kutter Crawford as a member of the Blue Jays. But thanks to a July 27 deal between the teams, Jansen found himself in the lineup in place of since-departed Reese McGuire, catching his own at-bat while hitting seventh.
Pinch-hitting for Jansen was Dalton Varsho, who ultimately was struck out by Nick Pivetta.
"Everybody keeps saying history is being made. It’s such a strange thing," Jansen said before the game. "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. But that seems to be the theme about the texts. Everybody is excited to tune in."
The moment will be immortalized by MLB thanks to the scorecard of the official scorer, Bob Ellis, being shipped to the Hall of Fame.