Thanks to Jorge Colón Delgado, SABR member and Official Historian of the Puerto Rico Professional Baseball League, for his valuable contributions in compiling research on first at-bat home runs.
In 1898, the first organized baseball game took place in Puerto Rico, and by 1938, the island’s first professional baseball league was established. The league continued to grow in popularity, thanks to the talented players who filled the stands with enthusiastic fans, establishing baseball as one of Puerto Rico’s most beloved sports.
The Puerto Rico Professional Baseball League, also known as the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (LBPRC), includes six teams entering the 2024-25 season: Criollos de Caguas, Gigantes de Carolina, Indios de Mayagüez, Leones de Ponce, Cangrejeros de Santurce, and RA12. Notably, every team except RA12 (founded in 2020) is represented by at least one player who hit a home run in their first at-bat. Former league teams Lobos de Arecibo and Vaqueros de Bayamón are also represented on the list below.
The roster of players who hit a home run in their first at-bat highlights Puerto Rican-born athletes like Miguel Negrón and Orlando Cruz, both of whom later played in the US minor leagues. The list also includes Major League Baseball stars like Darryl Strawberry, who participated in the LBPRC during the offseason.
Given the Puerto Rico Baseball League’s distinguished history of developing baseball talent, we anticipate more players will join this exclusive list in the years to come. To delve deeper into the rich history of baseball in Puerto Rico, explore the SABR Digital Library publication, Puerto Rico and Baseball: 60 Biographies.
— Giselle Stancic
First At-Bat Home Runs
Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente
Puerto Rico Baseball League
| Player | Date | Team | Opponent | Pitcher | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Howard Easterling | 1940-10-27 | Leones de Ponce | Criollos de Caguas | Billy Byrd |
| 2. | Jack Harshman | 1953-10-10 | Senadores de San Juan | Leones de Ponce | Steve Ridzik |
| 3. | Bubba Phillips | 1955-10-18 | Leones de Ponce | Cangrejeros de Santurce | Bill Greason |
| 4. | Reggie Smith | 1966-10-21 | Senadores de San Juan | Indios de Mayagüez | Fritz Fisher |
| 5. | Dave Duncan | 1967-10-19 | Lobos de Arecibo | Senadores de San Juan | James Gillman |
| 6. | Bill Kelso | 1968-10-17 | Leones de Ponce | Indios de Mayagüez | Les Cain |
| 7. | Miguel Negrón | 1978-10-29 | Criollos de Caguas | Leones de Ponce | Luis de León |
| 8. | Mark Davis | 1988-10-25 | Lobos de Arecibo | Leones de Ponce | Ray Krawczyk |
| 9. | Joseph Calder | 1990-12-30 | Senadores de San Juan | Criollos de Caguas | Juan Roberto Rivera |
| 10. | John Mabry | 1993-11-02 | Senadores de San Juan | Cangrejeros de Santurce | Juan Edwin Correa |
| 11. | Darryl Strawberry | 1995-11-18 | Cangrejeros de Santurce | Senadores de San Juan | Anthony Telford |
| 12. | Preston Wilson | 1998-11-06 | Leones de Ponce | Criollos de Caguas | Derrin Ebbert |
| 13. | Aubrey Huff | 2000-11-10 | Cangrejeros de Santurce | Criollos de Caguas | Ismael Villegas |
| 14. | Travis Hafner | 2000-11-24 | Gigantes de Carolina | Indios de Mayagüez | Enrique Calero |
| 15. | Scott Podsednik | 2001-11-01 | Vaqueros de Bayamón | Criollos de Caguas | Ismael Villegas |
| 16. | Jeff Inglin | 2001-11-09 | Leones de Ponce | Gigantes de Carolina | Dickie González |
| 17. | Adam LaRoche | 2003-11-01 | Indios de Mayagüez | Leones de Ponce | Héctor Mercado |
| 18. | Orlando Cruz | 2005-11-11 | Lobos de Arecibo | Atenienses de Manatí | Kasey Olenberger |
| 19. | Yasiel Puig | 2012-11-17 | Indios de Mayagüez | Atenienses de Manatí | Shinya Kayama |
| 20. | Jim Haley | 2022-01-02 | Indios de Mayagüez | RA12 | Ricardo Vélez |
| 21. | Jerry Downs | 2022-11-05 | Indios de Mayagüez | Criollos de Caguas | Aneuris Rosario |
*Statistics through 2023-24 LBPRC season.
Sources
List provided by Jorge Colón Delgado.
Photo credits: Howard Easterling, SABR-Rucker Archive. Miguel Negrón, John Mabry, Travis Hafner, Trading Card Database. Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, courtesy of Jorge Colón Delgado.