Close your eyes for a moment and imagine stepping up to the plate for the first time ever in your Major League career. The pitcher, knowing you are a rookie just brought up, delivers and you immediately get to hear the cheers (or boos) of the crowd as the announcer calls it out of here on the first pitched ball you have ever seen in a Major League ball game. Research by Baseball Almanac.
"When he (Kaz Matsui) hit that first ball, I wish you were in the dugout. For him to get off to that kind of start (a home run with his first pitch ever) is a fairy tale." - Howe, Art. Manager. First things first: Kaz hits HR. Czerwinski, Kevin T. MLB Staff Writer. 6 April 2004.
Home Run With First Pitch EverA.L. Batters | Chronological Order | HR in First At-Bat |
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AL # | ML # | Name (Career HRs) | Age | Date | Box | Team | Roster | INN | ROB | POS |
1. | 4. | Bill LeFebvre (1) | 22.211 | 06-10-1938 | Boston | 8 | 0 | LHP |
2. | 6. | George Vico (12) | 24.255 | 04-20-1948 | Detroit | 3 | 0 | 1B |
3. | 8. | Bert Campaneris (79) | 22.136 | 07-23-1964 | Kansas City | 1 | 0 | SS |
4. | 9. | Brant Alyea (38) | 24.278 | 09-12-1965 | Washington | 6 | 2 | PH |
5. | 10. | Don Rose (1) | 25.066 | 05-24-1972 | California | 3 | 0 | RHP |
6. | 11. | Al Woods (35) | 23.242 | 04-07-1977 | Toronto | 5 | 1 | PH-RF |
7. | 12. | Jay Bell (195) | 20.292 | 09-29-1986 | Cleveland | 3 | 0 | 2B |
8. | 13. | Junior Felix (55) | 21.213 | 05-04-1989 | Toronto | 3 | 0 | RF |
9. | 16. | Esteban Yan (1) | 24.348 | 06-04-2000 | Tampa Bay | 2 | 0 | RHP |
10. | 19. | Marcus Thames (115) | 25.096 | 06-10-2002 | New York | 3 | 1 | RF |
11. | 21. | Andy Phillips (14) | 27.173 | 09-26-2004 | New York | 8 | 1 | PH-3B |
12. | 23. | Kevin Kouzmanoff (87) | 25.039 | 09-02-2006 | Cleveland | 1 | 3 | DH |
13. | 25. | Daniel Nava (29) | 27.110 | 06-12-2010 | Boston | 2 | 3 | LF |
14. | 26. | J.P. Arencibia (80) | 24.214 | 08-07-2010 | Toronto | 2 | 1 | C |
15. | 29. | Eddie Rosario (Active) | 23.220 | 05-06-2015 | Minnesota | 3 | 0 | RF |
16. | 31. | Akil Baddoo (Active) | 22.231 | 04-04-2021 | Detroit | 3 | 0 | LF |
AL # | ML # | Name (Career HRs) | Age | Date | Box | Team | Roster | INN | ROB | POS |
Home Run With First Pitch EverN.L. Batters | Chronological Order | First At Bat |
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NL # | ML # | Name (Career HRs) | Age | Date | Box | Team | Roster | INN | ROB | POS |
1. | 1. | Walter Mueller (2) | 27.152 | 05-07-1922 | Pittsburgh | 1 | 2 | RF |
2. | 2. | Clise Dudley (3) | 25.262 | 04-27-1929 | Brooklyn | 3 | 0 | RHP |
3. | 3. | Eddie Morgan (1) | 21.147 | 04-14-1936 | St. Louis | 7 | 1 | PH |
4. | 5. | Clyde Vollmer (69) | 20.249 | 05-31-1942 | Cincinnati | 3 | 0 | LF |
5. | 7. | Chuck Tanner (21) | 26.282 | 04-12-1955 | Milwaukee | 8 | 0 | PH |
6. | 14. | Jim Bullinger (4) | 26.292 | 06-08-1992 | Chicago | 6 | 0 | RHP |
7. | 15. | Jay Gainer (3) | 26.218 | 05-14-1993 | Colorado | 2 | 0 | 1B |
8. | 17. | Chris Richard (34) | 26.040 | 07-17-2000 | St. Louis | 2 | 0 | LF |
9. | 18. | Gene Stechschulte (1) | 27.248 | 04-17-2001 | St. Louis | 6 | 1 | PH |
10. | 20. | Kaz Matsui (32) | 28.166 | 04-06-2004 | New York | 1 | 0 | SS |
11. | 22. | Adam Wainwright (Active) | 24.267 | 05-24-2006 | St. Louis | 5 | 0 | RHP |
12. | 24. | Mark Saccomanno (1) | 28.131 | 09-08-2008 | Houston | 5 | 0 | PH |
13. | 27. | Tommy Milone (Active) | 24.199 | 09-03-2011 | Washington | 2 | 2 | LHP |
14. | 28. | Starling Marte (Active) | 23.291 | 07-26-2012 | Pittsburgh | 1 | 0 | LF |
15. | 30. | Willson Contreras (Active) | 24.037 | 06-19-2016 | Chicago | 6 | 1 | PH |
NL # | ML # | Name (Career HRs) | Age | Date | Box | Team | Roster | INN | ROB | POS |
MLB Home Run With First Pitch Ever | Research by Baseball Almanac |
Only thirty-one instances in the history of Major League baseball and sixteen are in the American League, fifteen are in the National League. Eight of the home runs hit with the first pitch ever were accomplished by big league pitchers (seven are identified above as pitchers, the eighth was Gene Stechschulte, a right-handed pitcher, who was in the lineup as a pinch hitter that historic day).
On September 8, 1965, Bert Campaneris, who hit a home run in his first pitch ever seen on July 23, 1964, became the first record setting American League player to field all nine positions during a single game.
Chuck Tanner, who hit a home run in his first pitch ever seen, became a much better manager, and is one of the few members of the 1,000 Wins Club — in 1972, Tanner even won the Manager of the Year Award.