HOME RUN IN FIRST AT-BAT

MLB Players Who Homered in Their First At-Bat | Baseball Almanac

Being a Major League baseball player is hard, and nothing might be harder than that very first at bat. Coming up to the plate against your first Major League pitcher, you hear the cheers at home or the boos on the road, but most of all you just hear the word in your head: "make it worth it." How many players have come up to bat their first time only to head back to the dugout with a lifetime .000 average? Countless. How many have gone to the plate with doubt in their minds, only to return there four bases later with a perfect career average?

Fifty-seven American League players homered in their first at-bat. Eighty National League players homered in their first at-bat. Two from the defunct American Association, which are listed in the fast facts at the bottom of the page.

Hall of Fame slugger Hank Aaron didn't do it, but Hall of Fame Pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm did homer in his first at-bat! Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Barry Bonds, arguably the game's greatest sluggers didn't either, but virtual unknowns Ace Parker, Dan Bankhead, and Cuno Barragan did dinger to start their big league careers. How does someone hit a home run in his first major league at bat? Is it talent? Poise? Or just beginner's luck? Whatever it is, these ballplayers had it.

Consider the numbers: Thirty-one of these players didn't even have to wait until the second pitch; they hit their dingers on the first major league pitch they ever saw. Twenty-two did not hit another major league home run. Only four men hit their home runs with the bases loaded — Bill Duggleby on April 21, 1898; Jeremy Hermida, one-hundred seven years later, on August 31, 2005; Kevin Kouzmanoff on September 2, 2006; and, finally, Daniel Nava on June 12, 2010. Four of these players made their major league debut with one team and had to wait to have their first at-bat when they played for a different team.

These one-hundred thirty-eight Major League Baseball players stepped up and made themselves memorable (beyond just becoming a big leaguer). Baseball Almanac has researched these fabulous first at-bat home run swatters:

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Power is fine as long as it's consistent." - Lockman, Whitey [Home Run First At-Bat on 5 July 1945]. Christian Science Monitor. 13 March 1974. Page 17.

Home Run in First At-Bat

American League Players With a Home Run in First At-Bat

A.L. Batters | Chronological Order | First Pitch

1. 4. Luke Stuart (1 †) St. Louis 08-08-1921 29.077 9 1
2. 6. Earl Averill (238) Cleveland 04-16-1929 26.330 1 0
3. 10. Pete Susko (2) Washington 08-01-1934 30.030 2 1
4. 12. Ace Parker (2) Philadelphia 04-30-1937 24.348 9 1
5. 13. Gene Hasson (4) Philadelphia 09-09-1937 22.051 1 2
6. 16. Bill LeFebvre (1) Boston 06-10-1938 22.211 8 0
7. 17. Hack Miller (1) Detroit 04-23-1944 31.070 8 2
8. 22. Eddie Pellagrini (20) Boston 04-22-1946 28.040 7 0
9. 24. George Vico (12) Detroit 04-20-1948 24.255 3 0
10. 28. Bob Nieman (125) St. Louis 09-14-1951 24.231 2 0
11. 36. Bob Tillman (79) Boston 05-19-1962 25.056 4 0
12. 37. John Kennedy (32) Washington 09-05-1962 21.099 6 0
13. 38. Buster Narum (3) Baltimore 05-03-1963 24.149 4 1
14. 39. Gates Brown (84) Detroit 06-19-1963 24.048 5 0
15. 40. Bert Campaneris (79) Kansas City 07-23-1964 22.136 1 0
16. 41. Bill Roman (1) Detroit 09-30-1964 25.355 7 0
17. 42. Brant Alyea (38) Washington 09-12-1965 24.278 6 2
18. 43. John Miller (2) New York 09-11-1966 22.181 2 1
19. 44. Rick Renick (20) Minnesota 07-11-1968 24.117 2 0
20. 45. Joe Keough (9) Oakland 08-07-1968 22.213 8 0
21. 46. Gene Lamont (4) Detroit 09-02-1970 23.251 3 0
22. 47. Don Rose (1) California 05-24-1972 25.066 3 0
23. 48. Reggie Sanders (3) Detroit 09-01-1974 24.357 2 0
24. 52. Dave McKay (21) Minnesota 08-22-1975 25.161 3 0
25. 54. Al Woods (35) Toronto 04-07-1977 23.242 5 1
26. 55. Dave Machemer (1) California 06-21-1978 27.028 1 0
27. 57. Gary Gaetti (360) Minnesota 09-20-1981 23.032 2 1
28. 60. Andre David (1) Minnesota 06-29-1984 26.042 2 1
29. 62. Terry Steinbach (162) Oakland 09-12-1986 24.194 7 0
30. 63. Jay Bell (195) Cleveland 09-29-1986 20.292 3 0
31. 65. Junior Felix (55) Toronto 05-04-1989 21.213 3 0
32. 72. Jon Nunnally (42) Kansas City 04-29-1995 23.171 1 0
33. 77. Carlos Lee (358) Chicago 05-07-1999 22.321 2 0
34. 79. Esteban Yan (1) Tampa Bay 06-04-2000 24.348 2 0
35. 84. Marcus Thames (115) New York 06-10-2002 25.096 3 1
36. 85. Miguel Olivo (145) Chicago 09-15-2002 24.062 3 2
37. 89. Greg Dobbs (46) Seattle 09-08-2004 26.068 9 0
38. 90. Andy Phillips (14) New York 09-26-2004 27.173 8 1
39. 93. Mike Napoli (267) Los Angeles 05-04-2006 24.185 3 0
40. 95. Kevin Kouzmanoff (87) Cleveland 09-02-2006 25.039 1 3
41. 97. Josh Fields (34) Chicago 09-18-2006 23.278 9 0
42. 98. Elijah Dukes (31) Tampa Bay 04-02-2007 22.280 5 0
43. 100. Lou Montanez (5) Baltimore 08-06-2008 26.235 3 0
44. 106. Luke Hughes (8) Minnesota 04-28-2010 25.269 3 0
45. 108. Daniel Nava (29) Boston 06-12-2010 27.110 2 3
46. 109. J.P. Arencibia (80) Toronto 08-07-2010 24.214 2 1
47. 110. Brandon Guyer (32) Tampa Bay 05-06-2011 25.098 2 1
48. 115. Jurickson Profar (Active) Texas 09-02-2012 19.195 3 0
49. 117. Eddie Rosario (Active) Minnesota 05-06-2015 23.220 3 0
50. 118. Daniel Norris (Active) Detroit 08-19-2015 22.116 2 1
51. 120. Tyler Austin (Active) New York 08-13-2016 24.342 2 0
52. 121. Aaron Judge (Active) New York 08-13-2016 24.109 2 0
53. 124. Zack Collins (Active) Chicago 06-21-2019 29.135 2 2
54. 127. Sergio Alcantara (Active) Detroit 09-06-2020 24.058 3 0
55. 128. Akil Baddoo (Active) Detroit 04-04-2021 22.231 3 0
56. 135. Josh Jung (Active) Texas 09-09-2022 24.209 3 0
57. 136. Davis Schneider (Active) Toronto 08-04-2023 24.190 2 0
58. 138. Jasson Domínguez (Active) New York 09-01-2023 20.206 1 1
58. -- -- -- xx-xx-xxxx -- -- --

Home Run in First At-Bat

National League Players With a Home Run in First At-Bat

N.L. Batters| Chronological Order | First Pitch

1. 1. Joe Harrington (3) Boston 09-10-1895 25.263 2 0
2. 2. Bill Duggleby (6) Philadelphia 04-21-1898 24.005 2 3
3. 3. Johnny Bates (25) Boston 04-12-1906 23.234 2 0
4. 5. Walter Mueller (2 †) Pittsburgh 05-07-1922 27.152 1 2
5. 7. Clise Dudley (3) Brooklyn 04-27-1929 25.262 3 0
6. 8. Gordon Slade (8) Brooklyn 05-24-1930 25.227 3 0
7. 9. Phil Weintraub (32) New York 09-07-1933 25.331 6 0
8. 11. Eddie Morgan (1) St. Louis 04-14-1936 21.147 7 1
9. 14. Ernie Koy (36) Brooklyn 04-19-1938 28.214 1 0
10. 15. Heinie Mueller (17) Philadelphia 04-19-1938 25.273 1 0
11. 16. Clyde Vollmer (69) Cincinnati 05-31-1942 20.249 3 0
12. 17. Paul Gillespie (6) Chicago 09-11-1942 21.358 2 0
13. 19. Buddy Kerr (31) New York 09-08-1943 20.306 1 0
14. 21. Whitey Lockman (114) New York 07-05-1945 18.345 1 1
15. 23. Dan Bankhead (1) Brooklyn 08-26-1947 27.115 2 1
16. 25. Les Layton (2) New York 05-21-1948 26.185 9 0
17. 26. Ed Sanicki (3) Philadelphia 09-14-1949 26.069 9 2
18. 27. Ted Tappe (5) Cincinnati 09-14-1950 29.224 8 0
19. 29. Hoyt Wilhelm (1) New York 04-23-1952 29.272 4 0
20. 30. Wally Moon (142) St. Louis 04-13-1954 24.010 1 0
21. 31. Chuck Tanner (21) Milwaukee 04-12-1955 26.282 8 0
22. 32. Bill White (202) New York 05-07-1956 22.100 2 0
23. 33. Frank Ernaga (2) Chicago 05-24-1957 26.275 2 0
24. 34. Don Leppert (15) Pittsburgh 06-18-1961 29.242 2 0
25. 35. Cuno Barragan (1) Chicago 09-01-1961 29.073 2 0
26. 48. Benny Ayala (38) New York 08-27-1974 23.201 2 0
27. 49. John Montefusco (4) San Francisco 09-03-1974 24.101 3 1
28. 51. Jose Sosa (1) Houston 07-30-1975 22.214 8 2
29. 53. Johnnie LeMaster (22 †) San Francisco 09-02-1975 21.075 4 1
30. 56. Tim Wallach (260) Montreal 09-06-1980 22.358 8 0
31. 58. Carmelo Martinez (108) Chicago 08-22-1983 23.025 5 0
32. 59. Mike Fitzgerald (48) New York 09-13-1983 23.062 2 0
33. 61. Will Clark (284) San Francisco 04-08-1986 22.026 1 0
34. 64. Ricky Jordan (55) Philadelphia 07-17-1988 23.052 4 2
35. 66. Jose Offerman (57) Los Angeles 08-19-1990 21.284 1 0
36. 67. Dave Eiland (1) San Diego 04-10-1992 25.280 2 1
37. 68. Jim Bullinger (4) Chicago 06-08-1992 26.292 6 0
38. 69. Jay Gainer (3) Colorado 05-14-1993 26.218 2 0
39. 70. Mitch Lyden (1) Florida 06-16-1993 28.184 2 0
40. 71. Garey Ingram (3) Los Angeles 05-19-1994 23.298 8 0
41. 73. Jermaine Dye (325) Atlanta 05-17-1996 22.110 5 0
42. 74. Dustin Hermanson (2) Montreal 04-16-1997 24.116 5 0
43. 75. Brad Fullmer (114) Montreal 09-02-1997 22.228 4 1
44. 76. Marlon Anderson (63) Philadelphia 09-08-1998 24.245 7 1
45. 78. Guillermo Mota (2) Montreal 06-09-1999 25.319 8 2
46. 79. Alex Cabrera (5) Arizona 06-26-2000 28.185 8 1
47. 81. Keith McDonald (3) St. Louis 07-04-2000 27.147 8 0
48. 82. Chris Richard (34) St. Louis 07-17-2000 26.040 2 0
49. 83. Gene Stechschulte (1) St. Louis 04-17-2001 27.248 6 1
50. 86. Dave Matranga (1) Houston 06-27-2003 26.170 5 0
51. 87. Kaz Matsui (32) New York 04-06-2004 28.166 1 0
52. 88. Hector Luna (15) St. Louis 04-08-2004 24.067 3 0
53. 91. Mike Jacobs (100) New York 08-21-2005 24.295 5 2
54. 92. Jeremy Hermida (65) Florida 08-31-2005 21.213 7 3
55. 94. Adam Wainwright (Active) St. Louis 05-24-2006 24.267 5 0
56. 96. Charlton Jimerson (2) Houston 09-04-2006 26.347 6 0
57. 99. Mark Worrell (1) St. Louis 06-05-2008 25.089 6 2
58. 101. Mark Saccomanno (1) Houston 09-08-2008 28.131 5 0
59. 102. Jordan Schafer (12) Atlanta 04-05-2009 22.213 2 0
60. 103. Gerardo Parra (Active) Arizona 05-13-2009 22.007 1 0
61. 104. John Hester (6) Arizona 08-28-2009 25.348 6 1
62. 105. Jason Heyward (Active) Atlanta 04-05-2010 20.239 1 2
63. 107. Starlin Castro (Active) Chicago 05-07-2010 20.044 2 2
64. 111. Tommy Milone (Active) Washington 09-03-2011 24.199 2 2
65. 112. Brett Pill (9) San Francisco 09-06-2011 26.362 2 1
66. 113. Starling Marte (Active) Pittsburgh 07-26-2012 23.291 1 0
67. 114. Eddy Rodriguez (1) San Diego 08-02-2012 26.245 3 0
68. 116. Jorge Soler (Active) Chicago 08-27-2014 22.183 2 0
69. 119. Willson Contreras (Active) Chicago 06-19-2016 24.037 6 1
70. 122. Paul DeJong (Active) St. Louis 05-28-2017 23.299 9 0
71. 123. Lane Thomas (Active) St. Louis 04-19-2019 23.239 6 1
72. 125. Tyler Stephenson (Active) Cincinnati 07-27-2020 23.346 7 0
73. 126. Keibert Ruiz (Active) Los Angeles 08-17-2020 22.027 3 0
74. 129. Seth Beer (Active) Arizona 09-10-2021 24.357 8 0
75. 130. Joe Dunand (Active) Miami 05-07-2022 26.229 3 0
76. 131. Christopher Morel (Active) Chicago 05-17-2022 22.327 8 0
77. 132. James Outman (Active) Los Angeles 07-31-2022 25.078 3 1
78. 133. Brett Baty (Active) New York 08-17-2022 22.277 2 1
79. 134. Spencer Steer (Active) Cincinnati 09-02-2022 24.269 5 0
80. 137. Weston Wilson (Active) Philadelphia 08-09-2023 28.332 2 0
81. -- -- -- xx-xx-xxxx -- -- --
HR in 1st At-Bat | Bold = First Pitch | † = Inside the Park HR | RoB = Runners on Base
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baseball almanac fast facts

Hoyt Wilhelm, a future National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, hit a home run during his first at-bat and then had a twenty-one year career without hitting one more long ball. Too easy? Did you know that both Ernie Koy (Brooklyn Dodgers) and Heinie Mueller (Philadelphia Phillies) hit their home runs on the same exact date in the same game in the same inning (top and bottom of the first inning respectively), and it just happened to be on Opening Day?

The chart above covers every instance where a National League or American League player hit a home run in their first at-bat; however, two players from the American Association (a defunct Major League) are part of the "club" as well: Mike Griffin (Age = 22.027 / Team = Baltimore Orioles) and George Tebeau (Age = 25.111 / Team = Cincinnati Red Stockings), each hit a home run in their first at-bat on the same exact date, April 16, 1887!

On April 21, 1898, Bill Duggleby became the first player on this page whose home run was a grand slam. On June 25, 1968, Bobby Bonds hit a grand slam during his first Major League game (like Duggleby), but it was during his third at-bat. On August 31, 2005, Duggleby'a feat was finally (107 years later) matched by Florida Marlins prospect Jeremy Hermida. On September 2, 2006, Kevin Kouzmanoff of the Cleveland Indians took it one step further when he became the first player ever whose first home run was a grand slam which was hit with the first major league pitch he ever saw. On June 12, 2010, Daniel Nava of the Boston Red Sox did it with the first pitch he ever saw as well, and it happened during an Interleague game!

Bob Nieman, who hit a home run in his first at-bat on September 14, 1951, and Keith McDonald, who hit a home run in his first at-bat on July 4, 2000, are the only two players in Major League history to hit another home run during their second consecutive at-batNieman did it during the same game & McDonald did it during his next game played on July 6, 2000.