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More Fun With Baseball Oddities!

Baseball’s Most “Unusual” Trades

And no, I’m not talking about lopsided trades. I’ve got an entire category devoted just to those. That’s a topic for another day. I’m talking about UNUSUAL trades!

(In the featured photo, we see Max Flack with the Cubs before his “unusual” trade to the Cardinals in the middle of a doubleheader. Read the details below.)

Paul Doyle Comes Through for Baseball History Comes Alive!

Thanks to Paul Doyle for calling my attention to possibly the most unusual trade in baseball history. It happened earlier this year (June 26) when — believe it or not! — Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen became the first player in baseball history to play for two different teams in the same game! He actually batted twice in the same inning for two different teams!

How, you might ask, is something like this even possible? Here’s the details according to Paul who actually attended the game and gave me this first-hand account. It’s a bit confusing, so try to stay with it. Here’s what Paul had to say:

I attended the game between the Blue Jays and Red Sox on June 26, 2024, in which the same player played for both sides. It’s never happened before in baseball history. Over 150 years! Blue Jay Danny Jansen was up at bat in the top of the second with one strike when the skies opened and the game was ultimately suspended with a rescheduled date of August 26th. The Red Sox catcher was Reese McGuire. In the interim, Jansen was traded to the Red Sox and McGuire was designated for assignment. With the game resuming two months later, and with Jansen no longer with Toronto, the Blue Jays’ inserted pinch hitter Daulton Varsho into Jansen’s slot in the Blue Jays’ batting order. Jansen, now with the Red Sox, was inserted into McGuire’s spot behind the plate and came to bat – again! – in the resumed second inning. In effect, Jansen switched teams with a 0-1 count (with a two-month delay in between) appearing for two different teams in the same inning of the same game!

Now that’s crazy!

But Wait…There’s More!

 

 

Being the baseball history guy that I am, this got me thinking about other such unusual trades. I recalled a doubleheader played back on May 30, 1922, between the Cubs and the Cardinals in Chicago. This game produced the only time in baseball history in which two teams have swapped players in the middle of a doubleheader! Here’s what happened:

After the Cubs won the opener 4-1, they traded outfielder Max Flack to the Cardinals in exchange for Cliff Heathcote during the interim break between games. The trade was orchestrated by the two managers: Branch Rickey of the Cardinals and Red Killifer of the Cubs.  Both players had been hitless in the first game, but both found new life in the nightcap. Former Cub Max Flack went 1-4 now leading off for the Cards, while Heathcote banged out two hits for his new team, the Cubs, in the Cubs 4-1 sweep of the twin bill.  

This next one is a real doozy…

Joel Youngblood Makes Baseball History!

 This also came to me thanks to Paul Doyle. The trade involved journeyman outfielder Joel Youngblood. On August 4, 1982, Youngblood became the only player in major league history to get hits for two different teams in two different cities on the same day! To make the story even more unbelievable, he got his hits off two future Hall of Famers: Ferggie Jenkins of the Cubs and Steve Carleton of the Phillies! Here’s the unusual details:

In an afternoon game played at Wrigley Field between the Cubs and the Mets, Youngblood entered the game as the starting centerfielder for the Mets. In the third inning facing Jenkins, Youngblood drove in two runs with a single. He was on deck in the next inning when he was called back to the dugout and was informed he had been traded to the Expos. Not only had Youngblood been traded, but the Expos had requested Youngblood make himself available for their game later that evening in Philadelphia.

So after saying goodbye to his Mets teammates and checking out of his hotel room in Chicago, Youngblood boarded a 6:05 PM flight from O’Hare Field and landed in Philadelphia after a ninety-minute flight. He reached Veterans Stadium during the sixth inning where the Expos were playing the Phillies. Expos manager Jim Fanning called on Youngblood to pinch hit shortly after his arrival. Now playing for the Expos, and with Steve Carlton on the mound, Youngblood reached on an infield single. So he played and recorded hits for two different teams in two different cities on the same day! No one has accomplished this feat before or since.

I hope you’re not confused by all this. I think we can safely file these “unusual” trades into our category of “Baseball Oddities!” If you can think of any other “unusual” trades, I’d love to hear about them. 

We’d love to hear what you think about this or any other related baseball history topic. Please leave your comments below.

Gary Livacari 

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Information: Background information supplied by Paul Doyle; Excerpts edited from various Wikipedia pages