Mr. Baseball
05-18-2012, 06:03 AM
Thought this was an interesting article on the best debuts in Major League history.
Can you remember any other notable performances?
Stephan Strasburg's is one that sticks out in my mind...
Strasburg tossed seven innings and struck out fourteen.
Mark Quinn, 9/14/99: 3-4, 2 HR
Quinn was supposed to be one of the sluggers of the future, and he got off to a great start. With Kansas City trailing Anaheim 4-1, Quinn socked a two-run homer in the sixth. And with Kansas City trailing Anaheim 4-3, Quinn socked a two-run homer in the eighth. Tim Byrdak then blew it in the ninth and Kansas City lost. It was all very Royals, except for the home runs part.
J.P. Arencibia, 8/7/10: 4-5, 1 2B, 2 HR
A John Buck thumb injury opened the door for the Blue Jays to promote Arencibia from triple-A Las Vegas, where he was slugging .626. His debut performance got kind of lost in what ended up a 17-11 contest, but Arencibia homered off James Shields on his first big league pitch, doubled off Shields on his second swing, singled off Dale Thayer on his third swing, and homered off Thayer on his fourth swing. Arencibia finally made an out in the seventh, but by that point the Jays were up by ten.
Willie McCovey, 7/30/59: 4-4, 2 3B
In this game, a 21-year-old McCovey forced a 21-year-old Orlando Cepeda to a different position. Making McCovey's debut extra impressive is that it came against Robin Roberts. There are a lot of Hall of Famers in this paragraph.
Bert Campaneris, 7/23/64: 3-4, 2 HR, 1 BB, 1 SB
I wonder how many people realize that Bert Campaneris' given first name is Dagoberto. Facing Jim Kaat in the top of the first, Campaneris launched the very first Major League pitch he ever saw for a home run. Later, with his A's trailing the Twins 3-1 in the seventh, Campaneris blasted another home run to tie the game. Considering Campaneris only hit 82 total home runs over a 19-year career, he made quite the first impression.
Kazuo Matsui, 4/6/2004: 3-3, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 BB
Matsui made an immediate impression, reaching base all five times he came to the plate. Granted, the Mets were playing the Braves and the Braves' starter was Russ Ortiz, who posted a lifetime OBP against of .956, but Matsui hit the very first pitch he ever saw out of the yard. Interestingly, Matsui was batting in front of Ricky Gutierrez. No one would've guessed at the time that, of the two, Gutierrez would end up having had the better career.
Pitchers
Juan Marichal, 7/19/60: 9 IP, 0 R, 12 K
Facing the Phillies, Marichal took a perfect game into the seventh before a batter reached on an error. Marichal then took a no-hitter into the eighth before Clay Dalrymple came up with a pinch-hit single. Dalrymple also broke up a no-hit bid by Gaylord Perry in the eighth inning of a game in 1966. Clay Dalrymple was a jerk.
Karl Spooner, 9/2/54: 9 IP, 0 R, 15 K
Spooner came up at 23 and dominated the Giants in his debut, throwing 143 pitches. His next time out, in his second and last start of the season, he blanked the Pirates, throwing 127 pitches. He developed arm trouble soon thereafter and was out of the Majors by 1956. Back in the good old days, pitchers were workhorses, God dammit.
Steve Woodard, 7/28/97: 8 IP, 0 R, 12 K
Woodard didn't only shut down the Blue Jays in his Major League debut; he outdueled Roger Clemens, who would go on to win the Cy Young. Woodard posted a lifetime K/9 of 6.3, and he would never again strike out 12 batters in a game. It's worth noting that Woodard allowed one hit - a leadoff double by Otis Nixon.
Jimmy Jones, 9/21/86: 9 IP, 0 R, 5 K
Jones is considered a nobody now, but the Padres drafted him third overall in 1982. He debuted with a stellar performance against the Astros, spinning a complete game, one-hit shutout. That one hit - the Astros' only baserunner of the game - was a triple by Bob Knepper. Bob Knepper was the Astros' starting pitcher, and he posted a career average of .137.
Rudy May, 4/18/65: 9 IP, 1 R, 10 K
May was 20 years old when the Angels brought him up to start against Denny McLain and the Tigers. May responded by allowing one unearned run over nine innings of work and taking a no-hitter into the eighth. Pinch-hitter Jake Wood broke it up with a double, and Wood scored on an error by Bobby Knoop. Because of the error, the game went into extras, and May was not involved in the decision. Fun fact: because of this game, I learned that the Tigers had a reliever named Larry Sherry.
Can you remember any other notable performances?
Stephan Strasburg's is one that sticks out in my mind...
Strasburg tossed seven innings and struck out fourteen.
Mark Quinn, 9/14/99: 3-4, 2 HR
Quinn was supposed to be one of the sluggers of the future, and he got off to a great start. With Kansas City trailing Anaheim 4-1, Quinn socked a two-run homer in the sixth. And with Kansas City trailing Anaheim 4-3, Quinn socked a two-run homer in the eighth. Tim Byrdak then blew it in the ninth and Kansas City lost. It was all very Royals, except for the home runs part.
J.P. Arencibia, 8/7/10: 4-5, 1 2B, 2 HR
A John Buck thumb injury opened the door for the Blue Jays to promote Arencibia from triple-A Las Vegas, where he was slugging .626. His debut performance got kind of lost in what ended up a 17-11 contest, but Arencibia homered off James Shields on his first big league pitch, doubled off Shields on his second swing, singled off Dale Thayer on his third swing, and homered off Thayer on his fourth swing. Arencibia finally made an out in the seventh, but by that point the Jays were up by ten.
Willie McCovey, 7/30/59: 4-4, 2 3B
In this game, a 21-year-old McCovey forced a 21-year-old Orlando Cepeda to a different position. Making McCovey's debut extra impressive is that it came against Robin Roberts. There are a lot of Hall of Famers in this paragraph.
Bert Campaneris, 7/23/64: 3-4, 2 HR, 1 BB, 1 SB
I wonder how many people realize that Bert Campaneris' given first name is Dagoberto. Facing Jim Kaat in the top of the first, Campaneris launched the very first Major League pitch he ever saw for a home run. Later, with his A's trailing the Twins 3-1 in the seventh, Campaneris blasted another home run to tie the game. Considering Campaneris only hit 82 total home runs over a 19-year career, he made quite the first impression.
Kazuo Matsui, 4/6/2004: 3-3, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 BB
Matsui made an immediate impression, reaching base all five times he came to the plate. Granted, the Mets were playing the Braves and the Braves' starter was Russ Ortiz, who posted a lifetime OBP against of .956, but Matsui hit the very first pitch he ever saw out of the yard. Interestingly, Matsui was batting in front of Ricky Gutierrez. No one would've guessed at the time that, of the two, Gutierrez would end up having had the better career.
Pitchers
Juan Marichal, 7/19/60: 9 IP, 0 R, 12 K
Facing the Phillies, Marichal took a perfect game into the seventh before a batter reached on an error. Marichal then took a no-hitter into the eighth before Clay Dalrymple came up with a pinch-hit single. Dalrymple also broke up a no-hit bid by Gaylord Perry in the eighth inning of a game in 1966. Clay Dalrymple was a jerk.
Karl Spooner, 9/2/54: 9 IP, 0 R, 15 K
Spooner came up at 23 and dominated the Giants in his debut, throwing 143 pitches. His next time out, in his second and last start of the season, he blanked the Pirates, throwing 127 pitches. He developed arm trouble soon thereafter and was out of the Majors by 1956. Back in the good old days, pitchers were workhorses, God dammit.
Steve Woodard, 7/28/97: 8 IP, 0 R, 12 K
Woodard didn't only shut down the Blue Jays in his Major League debut; he outdueled Roger Clemens, who would go on to win the Cy Young. Woodard posted a lifetime K/9 of 6.3, and he would never again strike out 12 batters in a game. It's worth noting that Woodard allowed one hit - a leadoff double by Otis Nixon.
Jimmy Jones, 9/21/86: 9 IP, 0 R, 5 K
Jones is considered a nobody now, but the Padres drafted him third overall in 1982. He debuted with a stellar performance against the Astros, spinning a complete game, one-hit shutout. That one hit - the Astros' only baserunner of the game - was a triple by Bob Knepper. Bob Knepper was the Astros' starting pitcher, and he posted a career average of .137.
Rudy May, 4/18/65: 9 IP, 1 R, 10 K
May was 20 years old when the Angels brought him up to start against Denny McLain and the Tigers. May responded by allowing one unearned run over nine innings of work and taking a no-hitter into the eighth. Pinch-hitter Jake Wood broke it up with a double, and Wood scored on an error by Bobby Knoop. Because of the error, the game went into extras, and May was not involved in the decision. Fun fact: because of this game, I learned that the Tigers had a reliever named Larry Sherry.