MLB Player Becomes First to Play on Both Teams in Same Game

Facts

• Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher Danny Jansen of the Boston Red Sox made history on Monday as the first player in the league's history to play for both teams in the same game.^[1]
• The game began on June 26, during which Jansen was the catcher for the Toronto Blue Jays. However, when Jansen was up to bat in the second inning, the game was suspended and postponed due to rain.^[2][3]
• Jansen was later traded to the Red Sox on July 27, weeks before the rescheduled game on Aug. 26. Since the Red Sox's catcher from the original game, Reese McGuire, was taken off the roster, Jansen replaced him, now playing against his former team.^[2][3]
• With Jansen no longer on the team, the Blue Jays put center fielder Daulton Varsho in the lineup to bat where Jansen had left off in the second inning before the rain delay, with Jansen now playing catcher behind the plate during his own at-bat.^[4]
• Due to these historic anomalies, Jansen's name was written into the game's box score under both teams. The National Baseball Hall of Fame is expected to request some of his equipment as well as the game's scorecard.^[2]

Sources: ^[1]BBC News, ^[2]New York Times, ^[3]FOX News and ^[4]MLB.com.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Sportico.com. The magic of major league baseball is still alive, and this time it's thanks to a player whose statistics are nothing to brag about. Thanks to the Blue Jays trading Jansen, this career .200 batting average catcher is going to have his name in the Hall of Fame.
• Narrative B, as provided by Just Baseball. While trading Jansen to the Red Sox did result in some exciting history-making, the Blue Jays were wrong to let go of a catcher whose blocking abilities are in the 98th percentile of the league. While his hitting is far less praiseworthy, he's still capable of hitting for power, not to mention his popularity among fans. This historic day should never have happened.

Predictions