1883 American Association Debuts

Willie Mays played his first Major League game on May 25, 1951, and went 0-for-5 at the plate. He started his career 1-for-25 and told his manager, "I can't do it, Mr. Leo. You better bench me."

Casey Stengel played his first Major League game on July 27, 1912, and went 4-for-4 at the plate. He commented later in his life, "I broke in with four hits and the writers promptly decided they had seen the new Ty Cobb. It took me only a few days to correct that impression."

Both Mays and Stengel would continue their Major League careers down separate paths of greatness, but each still had to appear in that memorable first Major League game. Baseball Almanac is pleased to present what Cubs broadcaster Steve Stone once described as, "His first Major League debut."
"There is no Major League record held by a rookie. It's revealing to see just how far the rookie marks are below the single season marks. This is a testament to how difficult the game is to learn and play." - Luke Salisbury in The Answer is Baseball (1989)
American Association Debuts

1883

n/a George Baker 1883 Baltimore Orioles 05-24-1883 24
n/a Norm Baker 1883 Pittsburgh Alleghenys 05-21-1883 19
n/a Phil Baker 1883 Baltimore Orioles 05-01-1883 26
n/a Jersey Bakley 1883 Philadelphia Athletics 05-11-1883 19
n/a Bob Barr 1883 Pittsburgh Alleghenys 06-23-1883 0
n/a Wes Blogg 1883 Pittsburgh Alleghenys 06-20-1883 0
n/a Steve Brady 1883 New York Metropolitans 07-23-1883 32
n/a Pop Corkhill 1883 Cincinnati Red Stockings 05-01-1883 25
n/a Ren Deagle 1883 Cincinnati Red Stockings 05-17-1883 24
n/a Frank Devin 1883 Baltimore Orioles 05-09-1883 23
n/a Ed Dundon 1883 Columbus Colts 06-02-1883 23
n/a Bob Emslie 1883 Baltimore Orioles 07-25-1883 24
n/a John Ewing 1883 St. Louis Browns 06-18-1883 20
n/a Jim Field 1883 Columbus Colts 06-02-1883 20
n/a Pete Fries 1883 Columbus Colts 08-10-1883 25
n/a Bill Gallagher 1883 Baltimore Orioles 05-02-1883 0
n/a Jack Gorman 1883 St. Louis Browns 07-01-1883 0
n/a Charlie Hodnett 1883 St. Louis Browns 05-03-1883 0
n/a Al Hubbard 1883 Philadelphia Athletics 09-13-1883 22
n/a Charlie Ingraham 1883 Baltimore Orioles 07-04-1883 23
n/a Jack Jones 1883 Louisville Eclipse 08-13-1883 24
n/a Ed Kennedy 1883 New York Metropolitans 05-01-1883 27
n/a Bill Kuehne 1883 Columbus Colts 05-01-1883 24
n/a Charlie Mason 1883 Philadelphia Athletics 07-04-1883 30
n/a Jerry McCormick 1883 Baltimore Orioles 05-01-1883 21
n/a Tom McLaughlin 1883 Louisville Eclipse 07-17-1883 23
n/a Bill Morgan 1883 Pittsburgh Alleghenys 08-06-1883 27
n/a Bill Mountjoy 1883 Cincinnati Red Stockings 09-29-1883 24
n/a Pat O'Loughlin 1883 Baltimore Orioles 05-09-1883 0
n/a Henry Oberbeck 1883 Pittsburgh Alleghenys 05-07-1883 24
n/a Dave Oldfield 1883 Baltimore Orioles 06-28-1883 18
n/a Dave Orr 1883 New York Metropolitans 05-17-1883 23
n/a Walter Prince 1883 Louisville Eclipse 08-07-1883 22
n/a Billy Reid 1883 Baltimore Orioles 05-01-1883 25
n/a Charlie Reipschlager 1883 New York Metropolitans 05-02-1883 27
n/a Bill Schwartz 1883 Columbus Colts 05-03-1883 19
n/a Rooney Sweeney 1883 Baltimore Orioles 07-25-1883 24
n/a John Valentine 1883 Columbus Colts 05-03-1883 27
n/a Podge Weihe 1883 Cincinnati Red Stockings 08-06-1883 20
n/a George Winkleman 1883 Louisville Eclipse 08-04-1883 24
1883 American Association Debuts


 

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the American Association during the 1883 season as this group of players made their Major League debut!

Ted Cox made his Major League debut in 1977 with the Boston Red Sox and over two games on September 18 and 19, Cox went six for six before he made an out.

When Christy Mathewson made his Major League debut the newspaper wrote, "The untried semi-professional possessed great speed and plenty of confidence in himself, but could not control his curves."
     

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