A bit of MLB history could be in play next Monday when the Red Sox and Blue complete a game that started on June 26 and had to be suspended due to the weather.
While a game having to restart due to the weather is nothing earth-shattering, the possibility that Danny Jansen could end up in the box score for both teams would be a first at the major league level.
Jansen had originally been catching for the Blue Jays and at bat when rain forced the suspension of play between the Sox and Jays at Fenway nearly two months ago.
While a date was set to complete the game, Jenson was dealt to the Red Sox at the trade deadline late last month creating the possibility of a rare occurrence next week when the two teams pick up where they left off.
“Oh, man,” Jansen told The Athletic. “It’s going to be nuts.”
When the game resumes next Monday, Jensn will technically be at the plate in the scoreless game, which means the Blue Jays will have to have a pinch hitter come into the game for Jansen.
Things could get “nuts” if Red Sox manager Alex Cora decides to put Jansen into the game, which is a possibility thanks to the fact that the Boston catcher on June 26, Reese McGuire, is now back in Triple-A.
The baseball oddity is made possible thanks to MLB’s suspended game rule that allows for a player who was not with the club when the game was suspended to be used as a substitute.
Jansen admitted to The Athletic that he had not been familiar with the potential history that he could be a part of when he first arrived in Boston after the trade.
“I didn’t know [much about this] at first,” Jansen said. “I was like, ‘What — am I going to have to go on the other team?’ I didn’t know what was going to happen. It just kind of caught me off guard about the whole situation. Because when I got traded, it was just a whirlwind at first, and I didn’t think about it. But then, once that stuff settled, I heard about [the suspended-game scenario]. And I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool. That’s a unique thing that’s going to happen.’”
The catcher has hit .286 in 11 games with the Red Sox since the trade.