1938 American League 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 League Debuts

1938

23 Johnny Lucadello 1938 St. Louis Browns 09-24-1938 19
17 Jim Bagby 1938 Boston Red Sox 04-18-1938 21
34 Lou Boudreau 1938 Cleveland Indians 09-09-1938 21
47 Johnny Gerlach 1938 Chicago White Sox 09-03-1938 21
7 Dario Lodigiani 1938 Philadelphia Athletics 04-18-1938 21
36 Norm Schlueter 1938 Chicago White Sox 05-28-1938 21
26 Jim Tabor 1938 Boston Red Sox 08-02-1938 21
14 Sam Chapman 1938 Philadelphia Athletics 05-16-1938 22
21 Johnny Humphries 1938 Cleveland Indians 05-08-1938 22
1 Bill Lefebvre 1938 Boston Red Sox 06-10-1938 22
36 Ray Mack 1938 Cleveland Indians 09-09-1938 22
24 Benny McCoy 1938 Detroit Tigers 09-14-1938 22
- Rene Monteagudo 1938 Washington Senators 09-06-1938 22
6 Joe Gordon 1938 New York Yankees 04-18-1938 23
31 Oscar Grimes 1938 Cleveland Indians 09-28-1938 23
- Sig Gryska 1938 St. Louis Browns 09-28-1938 23
14 Bob Harris 1938 Detroit Tigers 09-19-1938 23
21 Mickey Livingston 1938 Washington Senators 09-17-1938 23
4 Glenn McQuillen 1938 St. Louis Browns 06-16-1938 23
27 Dick Midkiff 1938 Boston Red Sox 04-24-1938 23
30 Jim Reninger 1938 Philadelphia Athletics 09-17-1938 23
6 Don Ross 1938 Detroit Tigers 04-19-1938 23
11 Dave Smith 1938 Philadelphia Athletics 06-16-1938 23
- Charley Suche 1938 Cleveland Indians 09-18-1938 23
33 Chuck Workman 1938 Cleveland Indians 09-18-1938 23
35 George Archie 1938 Detroit Tigers 09-14-1938 24
- Irv Bartling 1938 Philadelphia Athletics 09-08-1938 24
26 Harry Boyles 1938 Chicago White Sox 08-03-1938 24
- Ralph Buxton 1938 Philadelphia Athletics 09-11-1938 24
20 Mark Christman 1938 Detroit Tigers 04-20-1938 24
19 Roy Cullenbine 1938 Detroit Tigers 04-19-1938 24
- Nick Etten 1938 Philadelphia Athletics 09-08-1938 24
30 Joe Grace 1938 St. Louis Browns 09-24-1938 24
10 Hank Helf 1938 Cleveland Indians 05-05-1938 24
15 Lee Rogers 1938 Boston Red Sox 04-27-1938 24
30 Clay Smith 1938 Cleveland Indians 09-13-1938 24
15 Mike Tresh 1938 Chicago White Sox 09-04-1938 24
47 Bob Uhl 1938 Chicago White Sox 05-08-1938 24
35 Woody Davis 1938 Detroit Tigers 05-02-1938 25
32 Tommy Irwin 1938 Cleveland Indians 10-01-1938 25
28 Jesse Landrum 1938 Chicago White Sox 04-26-1938 25
35 Lloyd Russell 1938 Cleveland Indians 04-26-1938 25
11 Charlie Wagner 1938 Boston Red Sox 04-19-1938 25
19 Bill Humphrey 1938 Boston Red Sox 04-24-1938 26
34 Joe Rogalski 1938 Detroit Tigers 09-14-1938 26
23 Taffy Wright 1938 Washington Senators 04-18-1938 26
22 Joe Beggs 1938 New York Yankees 04-19-1938 27
28 Atley Donald 1938 New York Yankees 04-21-1938 27
26 Ed Cole 1938 St. Louis Browns 04-22-1938 29
17 George Meyer 1938 Chicago White Sox 09-03-1938 29
15 Al Baker 1938 Boston Red Sox 08-20-1938 32
1938 American League Debuts


 

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the American League during the 1938 season as this group of players made their Major League debut!

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."

Rich Amaral spent nine seasons in the Minor Leagues and upon his callup he commented, "I've been to every baseball park in America, except those in the American and National League."
     

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