The sheer volume of statistics tracked for every Major League Baseball player has led some to call it the most well-documented activity in the history of mankind.
That sheer volume occasionally elicits some hilarious quirks. Monday’s game between the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays has already produced several.
Danny Jansen, who was traded by the Blue Jays to the Red Sox in July, was behind the plate for Toronto when the game began on June 26 and was suspended in the second inning. When the game resumed Monday morning at Boston’s Fenway Park, Jansen was behind the plate for the Red Sox. That made him the first MLB player ever to play for both teams in the same game.
Read more: Red Sox Catcher Will Play For Both Teams In Monday’s Game Against Blue Jays
But there’s more.
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Two Blue Jays players, second baseman Will Wagner and shortstop Leo Jimenez, had yet to make their major league debuts on June 26 when the game began. Both were on the field for Toronto when the game resumed Monday.
Since the game is associated with the start date in baseball’s record books, it poses an interesting philosophical question: when did Wagner and Jimenez actually make their major league debuts?
On June 26, both were playing in the minor leagues: Jimenez for the Buffalo Bisons, the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate, and Wagner for the Triple-A Sugar Land Skeeters, an Astros affiliate. Toronto acquired Wagner as part of the Yusei Kikuchi trade in July.
Wagner’s debut (for now) is listed as Aug. 12. Jimenez’s is listed as July 4.
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Although Wagner didn’t play for both teams in the same game like Jansen, the 26-year-old achieved an arguably more remarkable feat: he played two games for two different organizations, at two different levels of professional baseball, that began on the same day.
Blue Jays pitcher Ryan Yarbrough, who struck out four batters over 3.1 innings of relief, was on the Los Angeles Dodgers roster when the game began. He was credited with the victory as Toronto won 4-1. At least June 26 was an off-day for Yarbrough.
According to MLB.com, it would not be surprising to see an artifact or two from Monday’s game feature in a future exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Jansen told MLB.com’s Ian Browne that he’s “never really been a crazy box-score guy” but would be interested in peeking at Monday’s box score. It’s a sight to behold.
