Dazzling Debuts: First At-Bat Home Run Highlights – Society for American Baseball Research

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Dazzling Debuts: Home Run Highlights

Every first at-bat home run tells a story. The players who hit a home run in their first at-bat are as diverse and captivating as the game they play.

On this page, find some of the most interesting and unusual stories about these Dazzling Debuts — the very first (or second?) home run recorded in a player’s first at-bat; the veteran star who hit a home run the first time he took the field in the Negro National League; the Hall of Fame pitcher who hit a home run in his first at-bat and then never again in a 21-year career; the players to hit home runs in their first minor-league and first major-league at-bats; the only pair of teammates to go back-to-back with first at-bat home runs; the newest addition to the list; and much more.

— Giselle Stancic

“I didn’t think we were going to play, but when you have 46,000 fans in the stands on Opening Day and you have two feet of snow on the ground … you had to think you were going to play. … I was just thinking, ‘Man, it’s cold up here!’ … Even when I hit it out, I wasn’t thinking about it. I was just running the bases and I was cold. When I got back to the dugout, people mentioned that was my first major-league hit. I didn’t know it was out until I heard the roar of the crowd.”

— Al Woods, Toronto Blue Jays
First home run: April 7, 1977

LISTEN: Al Woods on his first career home run (Interview by Zak Ford, 2019)

Watch: Video of Al Woods’s first home run (MLB.com)

In The Beginning

April 16, 1887: For more than a century, the correct answer to the baseball trivia question “Who was the first player to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat?” was Baltimore Orioles outfielder Mike Griffin. His record-setting blast came in the top of the first inning of an American Association contest against the Philadelphia Athletics.

But long after Griffin was dead and buried, someone spotted that “on the same day no less” Cincinnati Reds rookie George Tebeau had also done it. Tebeau’s maiden home run against the Cleveland Blues not only came on the very same afternoon as Griffin’s, it was also hit in the same top of the first inning.

However, trying to ascertain to whom the distinction of being first rightly belongs is hampered by the long passage of time (and changing time zones.)

Read more: Baltimore’s Mike Griffin becomes first major-league player to homer in his first at-bat — or does he?, by Bill Lamb
Read more: Cincinnati’s George Tebeau stakes a claim to being first, by Bill Lamb

Mike Griffin, left, and George Tebeau, right, each hit home runs on Opening Day 1887 in the American Association, but which major-league player was the first to accomplish the feat? The answer remains elusive. (Photos: Trading Card Database)

Pete Hill, seen here in 1919, was one of the biggest stars in Black baseball when he and the Detroit Stars joined the newly formed Negro National League for their inaugural season in 1920. (SABR-Rucker Archive)

Negro National League

May 15, 1920: Pete Hill was “the first great outfielder in Black baseball history,” a five-tool star with several famed independent teams between 1904 and 1919 before he and the Detroit Stars joined the newly formed Negro National League for its inaugural season in 1920.

On Opening Day in Detroit, the 37-year-old Hill stepped to the plate in the first inning and smashed a home run off José Leblanc of the Cuban Stars in his first at-bat. Detroit won the game 5-2. It’s the only known first at-bat home run in Negro Leagues history, according to Seamheads.com.

Hill continued playing in major Negro Leagues until he was 42. He was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Read more: Pete Hill’s SABR biography, by Phil Williams
Box score: Detroit Free Press, May 16, 1920
Stats: Pete Hill’s Baseball-Reference page

Updating the Record Books

August 8, 1921: Luke Stuart was a long-time minor league infielder who, in the course of a brief three-game sojourn with the St. Louis Browns, established an American League feat that went unrecognized for more than seven decades.

Through the efforts of SABR’s Records Committee in the mid-1990s, Stuart ascended from total obscurity to be accorded official recognition as the first American League player to hit a home run in his first plate appearance. Stuart supplanted Earl Averill, a Hall of Fame outfielder who had previously been recognized as the first.

Stuart’s inside-the-park home run against future Hall of Famer Walter Johnson was the only base hit of his short career. He is one of just three major-leaguers to hit an inside-the-park home run in his first at-bat. The others are Walter Mueller (1922 Pirates) and Johnnie LeMaster (1975 Giants).

Read more: Luke Stuart’s SABR biography, by Charlie Bevis
Game recap: Luke Stuart hits inside-the-park home run in first major-league at-bat, by Mike Huber

Luke Stuart’s first at-bat home run gained public recognition in a 1987 article by SABR member Charlie Bevis in Baseball Quarterly Reviews and it was subsequently recognized by The Sporting News and other sources as the first in American League history. (SABR Pictorial History Committee)

First At-Bat: Only Career Home Run

Name	Team	Date
1. Billy Gumbert	Pittsburgh Alleghenys	1890-06-19
2. Luke Stuart	St. Louis Browns	1921-08-08
3. Eddie Morgan	St. Louis Cardinals	1936-04-14
4. Bill LeFebvre	Boston Red Sox	1938-06-10
5. Hack Miller	Detroit Tigers	1944-04-23
6. Dan Bankhead	Brooklyn Dodgers	1947-08-26
7. Hoyt Wilhelm	New York Giants	1952-04-23
8. Cuno Barragan	Chicago Cubs	1961-09-01
9. Bill Roman	Detroit Tigers	1964-09-30
10. Don Rose	California Angels	1972-05-24
11. José Sosa	Houston Astros	1975-07-30
12. Dave Machemer	California Angels	1978-06-21
13. Andre David	Minnesota Twins	1984-06-29
14. Dave Eiland	San Diego Padres	1992-04-10
15. Mitch Lyden	Florida Marlins	1993-06-16
16. Esteban Yan	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	2000-06-04
17. Gene Stechschulte	St. Louis Cardinals	2001-04-17
18. Dave Matranga	Houston Astros	2003-06-27
19. Mark Worrell	St. Louis Cardinals	2008-06-05
20. Mark Saccomanno	Houston Astros	2008-09-08
21. Eddy Rodríguez	San Diego Padres	2012-08-02

*Stats through 2024 MLB season

Earl Averill patrolled center field and delivered 238 homers during his 13-year career. He earned six All-Star selections and induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975. (SABR-Rucker Archive)

From Cleveland to Cooperstown

April 16, 1929: Through the 2024 season, only three players later inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame began their major-league careers with a home run in the first at-bat. The first to do it in the American League was Cleveland’s Earl Averill. (Hoyt Wilhelm in the National League and Pete Hill in the Negro National League are the others.)

A below-average crowd of about 16,000, attributable to cold weather and threatening clouds, witnessed Opening Day at League Park in Cleveland. Facing the Detroit Tigers and veteran southpaw Earl Whitehill, the left-handed Averill blasted a long fly ball over the right-field fence in the first inning. Averill’s blast “cleared the screen and landed among the frame shacks on the opposite side of the street.”

Cleveland won the game with a dramatic 11th-inning walk-off single. Averill finished his rookie season establishing a club record of 18 home runs while finishing second on the team with a .332 batting average, 43 doubles, 13 triples, and 96 RBIs.

Read more: Earl Averill’s SABR biography, by Joseph Wancho
Game recap: Earl Averill homers in first plate appearance for Cleveland, by Gordon J. Gattie

Integration Pioneer

August 26, 1947: Just four months after Jackie Robinson’s celebrated National League debut, the Brooklyn Dodgers acquired pitcher Dan Bankhead from the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro American League. The 27-year-old made his debut at Ebbets Field on August 26. One reporter estimated that Black fans made up roughly one-third of the day’s crowd of 24,069.

The Pittsburgh Pirates jumped on the Dodgers’ starter early and Bankhead was called in for relief in the second inning. He came to the plate for his first at-bat with the Pirates leading 8-0. Against Fritz Ostermueller, Bankhead fouled off four pitches and then connected for a two-run homer. The liner traveled about 375 feet and landed in the fifth row of the left-field seats.

The rest of Bankhead’s day was a struggle, as he allowed eight runs in 3⅓ innings and the Pirates won in a blowout, 16-3. While Bankhead’s home run was the only one he hit in either the Negro Leagues or the National League, he hit at least two dozen more in his extended international career.

Read more: Dan Bankhead’s SABR biography, by Rory Costello
Game recap: Pitcher Dan Bankhead becomes an integration pioneer, homers in Dodgers debut, by Rory Costello

In 1947, Dan Bankhead of the Brooklyn Dodgers became the fourth pitcher in AL/NL history to hit a home run in his first at-bat. (Trading Card Database)

Pitchers to Hit a First At-Bat Home Run

1. Bill Duggleby

Philadelphia (NL)
April 21, 1898

2. Billy Gumbert

Pittsburgh Alleghenys
June 19, 1890

3. Clise Dudley

Brooklyn Dodgers
April 27, 1929

4. Bill LeFebvre

Boston Red Sox
June 10, 1938

5. Dan Bankhead

Brooklyn Dodgers
August 26, 1947

6. Hoyt Wilhelm

New York Giants
April 23, 1952

7. Buster Narum

Baltimore Orioles
May 3, 1963

8. Don Rose

California Angels
May 24, 1972

9. John Montefusco

San Francisco Giants
September 3, 1974

10. José Sosa

Houston Astros
July 30, 1975

11. Dave Eiland

San Diego Padres
April 10, 1992

12. Jim Bullinger

Chicago Cubs
June 8, 1992

13. Dustin Hermanson

Montreal Expos
April 16, 1997

14. Guillermo Mota

Montreal Expos
June 9, 1999

15. Esteban Yan

Tampa Bay Devil Rays
June 4, 2000

16. Gene Stechschulte

St. Louis Cardinals
April 17, 2001

17. Adam Wainwright

St. Louis Cardinals
May 24, 2006

18. Mark Worrell

St. Louis Cardinals
June 5, 2008

19. Tommy Milone

Washington Nationals
September 3, 2011

20. Daniel Norris

Detroit Tigers
August 19, 2015

*Stats through 2024 MLB season

Knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm pitched for 21 seasons and never hit another home run in 493 career plate appearances. He retired in 1972 at the age of 49 after appearing in a then-record 1,070 games. (Trading Card Database)

Hall of Fame “Slugger”

May 23, 1952: A small crowd of 4,611 braved the “steel gray day” at New York’s Polo Grounds to see history made in a National League game between the hometown Giants and the Boston Braves. In the fourth inning, Boston reliever Dick Hoover faced 29-year-old rookie Hoyt Wilhelm, who “jab[bed] his bat at an outside pitch” and sent the ball into the lower right-field stands, about 270 feet from home plate for a home run. In 5⅓ innings pitched, Wilhelm held the Braves to two runs on six hits and earned the win, his first major-league victory.

Wilhelm went on to finish the season with a 15-3 record, leading the majors in appearances (71) and winning percentage (.833), and he led the NL with his 2.43 earned-run average. Wilhelm placed second in the balloting for the NL Rookie of the Year and fourth for the Most Valuable Player Award.

Read more: Hoyt Wilhelm’s SABR biography, by Mark Armour
Game recap: Giants’ Hoyt Wilhelm hits home run in first career at-bat, then earns first career victory, by Mike Huber

First of Many

September 20, 1981: Before his first game, Minnesota Twins third baseman Gary Gaetti unwrapped a piece of Bazooka bubble gum and found an auspicious fortune on the wrapper: “Something magical will happen today.” And it did. In his first at-bat against knuckleballer Charlie Hough of the Texas Rangers, Gaetti hit a two-run home run.

Gaetti belted a knuckleball that didn’t flutter into the left-field stands for a 2-0 Twins lead in the second inning. “I knew he wasn’t going to try to throw the ball by me, so I just tried to relax and wait for it,” Gaetti said.

Gaetti went on to collect 2,280 hits in a 20-season career in the major leagues. Through the 2024 season, his 360 career homers were the most of any player who went deep in their first at-bat.

Read more: Gary Gaetti’s SABR biography, by Bryan Lake
Game recap: Twins’ Gary Gaetti hits first of 360 home runs in his first at-bat, by Kurt Blumenau

Gary Gaetti was a two-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner at third base with the Minnesota Twins. In 1987, he was the MVP of the AL Championship Series and fielded the final out of the World Series. (Trading Card Database)

First At-Bat: Career Home Run Leaders

Name	Career HR	Name	Career HR
1. Gary Gaetti	360	6. Mike Napoli	267
2. Carlos Lee	358	7. Tim Wallach	260
3. Jermaine Dye	325	8. Earl Averill	238
4. Aaron Judge*	315	9. Bill White	202
5. Will Clark	284	10. Jay Bell	195

*Active player
**Stats through 2024 MLB season

Will Clark had plenty of success while facing Nolan Ryan after his first at-bat. Clark hit six home runs and posted an OPS of 1.274 in 39 career plate appearances against the future Hall of Fame pitcher. (Video: MLB.com)

What a Thrill

April 8, 1986: Playing in front of 35 relatives who made the five-hour trek from New Orleans, Will Clark made his major-league debut on Opening Day in Houston. His first major-league swing, at a letter-high fastball off 39-year-old Astros star Nolan Ryan, produced a home run into the center-field bleachers 420 feet away.

Giants teammate Bob Brenly, who had tagged Clark with the moniker of “Will the Thrill,” gushed with praise afterward. “That is the stuff legends are made of,” Brenly said.

Clark became the fourth known player to hit a home run in his first major-league at-bat after also hitting one in his first professional minor-league at-bat. The others are Ed Sanicki (1949 Phillies), Ted Tappe (1950 Reds), and Bob Tillman (1962 Red Sox).

Read more: Will Clark’s SABR biography, by Richard Cuicchi
Game recap: Will Clark produces a thrill in his major-league debut, by Richard Cuicchi

First At-Bat Home Runs Allowed by Hall of Fame Pitchers

1. Walter Johnson

Hitter: Luke Stuart, St. Louis Browns
August 8, 1921

2. Pete Alexander

Hitter: Walter Mueller, Pittsburgh Pirates
May 7, 1922

3. Warren Spahn

Hitter: Frank Ernaga, Chicago Cubs
May 24, 1957

4. Jim Kaat

Hitter: Bert Campaneris, Kansas City A’s
July 23, 1964

5. Catfish Hunter

Hitter: Reggie Sanders, Detroit Tigers
September 1, 1974

6. Don Sutton

Hitter: Johnnie LeMaster, San Francisco Giants
September 2, 1975

7. Jack Morris

Hitter: Andre David, Cleveland Indians
June 29, 1984

8. Nolan Ryan

Hitter: Will Clark, San Francisco Giants
April 8, 1986

9. Bert Blyleven

Hitter: Jay Bell, Cleveland Indians
September 29, 1986

10. Randy Johnson

Hitter: Marcus Thames, New York Yankees
June 10, 2002

Looking ahead

Two future Hall of Fame pitchers might be added to this list in the coming years.

11. Justin Verlander

Hitters: Mike Napoli, Los Angeles Angels
May 4, 2006

Jasson Domínguez, New York Yankees
September 1, 2023

12. Max Scherzer

Hitter: Luke Hughes, Minnesota Twins
April 28, 2010

*Stats through 2024 MLB season

A Grand Beginning

June 12, 2010: During a radio interview with Daniel Nava before his first game at Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox broadcaster Joe Castiglione told the 27-year-old rookie of something he had learned from Chuck Tanner, who had homered in his first major-league at-bat back in 1955. Castiglione told Nava, “Swing at the first pitch, because you’ll never get it back.”

In the second inning, with the bases loaded, Nava did exactly that. He hit the first pitch from Phillies right-hander Joe Blanton and drove the ball deep into the Red Sox bullpen in right-center field, where it was caught by a leaping Manny Delcarmen. Nava was pummeled by his teammates as he returned to the dugout. He became the fourth major-leaguer to hit a grand slam in his first at-bat. (Bill Duggleby in 1898, Jeremy Hermida in 2005, and Kevin Kouzmanoff in 2006 are the others.)

Read more: Daniel Nava’s SABR biography, by Bill Nowlin
Game recap: Daniel Nava hits a grand slam on the first pitch he sees in major leagues, by Bill Nowlin

Daniel Nava celebrates with teammates after hitting a grand slam in his first major-league at-bat on June 12, 2010, at Fenway Park. (Courtesy of the Boston Red Sox)

“I kind of blacked out and walked up to the plate like, ‘What do I do?’ I know it sounds ridiculous. But then I said a prayer … and (the) first pitch came and I swung, which was very out of character for me. Fortunately, it went out. Rounding the bases, I was in a different headspace. … The ball goes out and everyone in the stadium is losing their mind, myself included, even if I wasn’t showing it. … It’s a day I’ll never forget.”

— Daniel Nava, Boston Red Sox
First home run: June 12, 2010

LISTEN: Daniel Nava on his first career home run (Interview by Bill Nowlin, 2024)

Watch: Video of Daniel Nava’s first home run (MLB/YouTube)

First At-Bat: Home Runs on the First Pitch

Name	Team	Date
1. Billy Gumbert	Pittsburgh Alleghenys	1890-06-19
2. Walter Mueller	Pittsburgh Pirates	1922-05-07
3. Clise Dudley	Brooklyn Dodgers	1929-04-27
4. Eddie Morgan	St. Louis Cardinals	1936-04-14
5. Bill LeFebvre	Boston Red Sox	1938-06-10
6. Clyde Vollmer	Cincinnati Reds	1942-05-31
7. George Vico	Detroit Tigers	1948-04-20
8. Chuck Tanner	Milwaukee Braves	1955-04-12
9. Bert Campaneris	Kansas City Athletics	1964-07-23
10. Brant Alyea	Washington Senators	1965-09-12
11. Don Rose	California Angels	1972-05-24
12. Al Woods	Toronto Blue Jays	1977-04-07
13. Jay Bell	Cleveland Indians	1986-09-29
14. Junior Félix	Toronto Blue Jays	1989-05-04
15. Jim Bullinger	Chicago Cubs	1992-06-08
16. Jay Gainer	Colorado Rockies	1993-05-14
17. Esteban Yan	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	2000-06-04
18. Chris Richard	St. Louis Cardinals	2000-07-17
19. Gene Stechschulte	St. Louis Cardinals	2001-04-17
20. Marcus Thames	New York Yankees	2002-06-10
21. Kazuo Matsui	New York Mets	2004-04-06
22. Andy Phillips	New York Yankees	2004-09-26
23. Adam Wainwright	St. Louis Cardinals	2006-05-24
24. Kevin Kouzmanoff	Cleveland Indians	2006-09-02
25. Mark Saccomanno	Houston Astros	2008-09-08
26. Daniel Nava	Boston Red Sox	2010-06-12
27. J.P. Arencibia	Toronto Blue Jays	2010-08-07
28. Tommy Milone	Washington Nationals	2011-09-03
29. Starling Marte	Pittsburgh Pirates	2012-07-26
30. Eddie Rosario	Minnesota Twins	2015-05-06
31. Willson Contreras	Chicago Cubs	2016-06-19
32. Akil Baddoo	Detroit Tigers	2021-04-04

*Stats through 2024 MLB season. Full pitch-count data available beginning in 1988.

After homering in his first at-bat, Tyler Austin appeared in 209 games over four seasons for the Yankees and three other teams. Aaron Judge had a breakout season in 2017, hitting 52 home runs and winning AL Rookie of the Year honors. (Trading Card Database)

Two For One

August 13, 2016: On a “boiling hot” 95-degree day when the New York Yankees celebrated the 20th anniversary of their 1996 championship team, little did fans know that two young prospects would make their debuts in spectacular fashion.

Tyler Austin came up with two outs in the bottom of the second inning to face Tampa Bay starter Matt Andriese. On the sixth pitch, Austin drilled a home run down the right field line. The 6-foot-7 Judge followed up with a home run deep to center field, into the hallowed spot in Yankee Stadium known as Monument Park.

No two players on the same team ever had hit home runs in their first major-league at-bats in the same game – let alone the same inning or back-to-back.

Game recap: Tyler Austin, Aaron Judge hit back-to-back home runs in first major-league at-bats, by Matt Faltas

Newest Addition

June 26, 2024: Jhonkensy Noel became the fourth player in Cleveland franchise history to homer in his first at-bat and the only MLB player in 2024 to accomplish the feat. On his first swing against Baltimore’s Grayson Rodriguez, the 22-year-old Dominican-born prospect lost his bat and sent it flying toward third base. With a new bat, Noel hit the next pitch 413 feet over the center-field fence.

“It’s always such a celebration when one of your teammates gets his first hit, his first at-bat to be a homer,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt told MLB.com afterward. “I am just so happy for him and he had a great game.”

After homering in his major-league debut on June 26, Jhonkensy Noel appeared in 67 games for the Cleveland Guardians in 2024. He hit 13 home runs and recorded a .774 OPS during his rookie season. (Video: MLB/YouTube)