On October 6, 1984 – Opening Day of the 35th season of the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico (Mexican Pacific League) – the Mayos of Navojoa hosted the Yaquis of Obregón. Mayos first baseman Larry See homered in his first at-bat against Yaquis pitcher David Franco. Coming to bat again in the fourth inning, See homered in his second at-bat as well. Both were solo home runs and both off Franco. The Mayos beat the Yaquis, 4-3.
That same day, in a strange coincidence, rookie Genaro Rodríguez made his professional debut with the Venados de Mazatlán against the visiting Tomateros de Culiacán. He was called to pinch-hit with the bases loaded, and on the first pitch, Rodríguez hit the ball out of the park for a grand slam and his team beat Culiacán 13-7. The pitcher’s name is not known.
Two days later, on October 8, 1984, Venados de Mazatlán opened a series against Algodoneros de Guasave, Venados manager Jorge Calvo called on Rodríguez to pinch-hit again. Facing Hector Serafin, again he homered on the first pitch and thus became, along with Larry See, the first two players to hit home runs in both of their first two at-bats in the league.
On October 12, 2000, the Yaquis of Obregón visited Los Mayos de Navojoa. Alfredo Amézaga, an Obregón native and a US major leaguer for nine years (2002-2011), made his debut as a shortstop. As the Yaquis’ leadoff hitter, Amézaga hit the first pitch from Juan Manuel Palafox out of the ballpark in right field. The final score was 6-4 in favor of the Yaquis.
Exactly 16 years later, on October 12, 2016, Obregón hosted Los Naranjeros de Hermosillo in their new stadium, Nuevo Estadio Yaquis Ney. Rolando Valdez was the starter for Obregón. The first batter of the game, Eric Young Jr. of Los Naranjeros, hit a home run to open the game in his first at-bat in the league. It was the first home run hit at the brand-new new stadium as well. Hermosillo won the game, 3-2.
— Carlos Fragoso
First At-Bat Home Runs
Liga Mexicana del Pacifico
Mexican Pacific League
| Player | Date | Team | Opponent | Pitcher | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Larry See | 1984-10-06 | Mayos de Navojoa | Yaquis de Obregón | David Franco |
| 2. | Genaro Rodríguez | 1984-10-06 | Venados de Mazatlán | Tomateros de Culiacán | n/a |
| 3. | Alfredo Amézaga | 2000-10-12 | Yaquis de Obregón | Mayos de Navojoa | Juan Manuel Palafox |
| 4. | Eric Young Jr. | 2016-10-12 | Naranjeros de Hermosillo | Yaquis de Obregón | Rolando Valdez |
*Statistics through 2023-24 season.
Sources
List provided by Carlos Fragoso.
Photo credits: Larry See, Alfredo Amézaga, Eric Young Jr., Trading Card Database. Estadio Fernando Valenzuela in Hermosillo, Metamario/Wikimedia (Creative Commons license, CC BY-SA 4.0.)
