1969 National 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)
National League Debuts

1969

4 Bob Didier 1969 Atlanta Braves 04-07-1969 20
18 Bill Russell 1969 Los Angeles Dodgers 04-07-1969 20
41 Ted Sizemore 1969 Los Angeles Dodgers 04-07-1969 23
17 Rod Gaspar 1969 New York Mets 04-08-1969 23
43 Don Hahn 1969 Montreal Expos 04-08-1969 20
39 Coco Laboy 1969 Montreal Expos 04-08-1969 29
34 Barry Lersch 1969 Philadelphia Phillies 04-08-1969 24
27 Jerry Robertson 1969 Montreal Expos 04-08-1969 25
35 Rafael Robles 1969 San Diego Padres 04-08-1969 21
24 Bill Wilson 1969 Philadelphia Phillies 04-08-1969 26
28 Luis Peraza 1969 Philadelphia Phillies 04-09-1969 26
2 Dave Watkins 1969 Philadelphia Phillies 04-09-1969 25
24 Mike Wegener 1969 Montreal Expos 04-09-1969 22
39 Gary Gentry 1969 New York Mets 04-10-1969 22
38 Tom Griffin 1969 Houston Astros 04-10-1969 21
42 Jim Qualls 1969 Chicago Cubs 04-10-1969 22
12 Darrel Chaney 1969 Cincinnati Reds 04-11-1969 21
36 Jerry DaVanon 1969 San Diego Padres 04-11-1969 23
43 Clay Kirby 1969 San Diego Padres 04-11-1969 20
44 Carl Morton 1969 Montreal Expos 04-11-1969 25
11 Wayne Garrett 1969 New York Mets 04-12-1969 21
31 Gary Neibauer 1969 Atlanta Braves 04-12-1969 24
34 Cesar Geronimo 1969 Houston Astros 04-16-1969 21
45 Alec Distaso 1969 Chicago Cubs 04-20-1969 20
2, 11 Darrell Evans 1969 Atlanta Braves 04-20-1969 21
8 Ken Rudolph 1969 Chicago Cubs 04-20-1969 22
31 Leon Everitt 1969 San Diego Padres 04-21-1969 22
1 Billy Grabarkewitz 1969 Los Angeles Dodgers 04-22-1969 23
25 Al Raffo 1969 Philadelphia Phillies 04-29-1969 27
44 John Noriega 1969 Cincinnati Reds 05-01-1969 25
23 Leroy Reams 1969 Philadelphia Phillies 05-07-1969 25
10 Gene Stone 1969 Philadelphia Phillies 05-13-1969 25
31 Jack DiLauro 1969 New York Mets 05-15-1969 26
2 John Sipin 1969 San Diego Padres 05-24-1969 22
10 Sonny Ruberto 1969 San Diego Padres 05-25-1969 23
42 Chuck Taylor 1969 St. Louis Cardinals 05-27-1969 27
45 Paul Doyle 1969 Atlanta Braves 05-28-1969 29
29 Lou Marone 1969 Pittsburgh Pirates 05-30-1969 23
34 Jose Pena 1969 Cincinnati Reds 06-01-1969 26
31 Bill Champion 1969 Philadelphia Phillies 06-04-1969 21
22 Garry Hill 1969 Atlanta Braves 06-12-1969 22
14, 36 Van Kelly 1969 San Diego Padres 06-13-1969 23
14 Johnny Jeter 1969 Pittsburgh Pirates 06-14-1969 24
20 Rick Bladt 1969 Chicago Cubs 06-15-1969 22
11 Boots Day 1969 St. Louis Cardinals 06-15-1969 21
44 Steve Arlin 1969 San Diego Padres 06-17-1969 23
24 Gene Garber 1969 Pittsburgh Pirates 06-17-1969 21
15 Jose Martinez 1969 Pittsburgh Pirates 06-18-1969 26
26 Lowell Palmer 1969 Philadelphia Phillies 06-21-1969 21
1 Bobby Pfeil 1969 New York Mets 06-26-1969 25
18 Steve Renko 1969 Montreal Expos 06-27-1969 24
48 Dave Lemonds 1969 Chicago Cubs 06-30-1969 20
23 Rich Barry 1969 Philadelphia Phillies 07-04-1969 28
15 Dave Roberts 1969 San Diego Padres 07-06-1969 24
21 Clyde Mashore 1969 Cincinnati Reds 07-11-1969 24
48 Jim Colborn 1969 Chicago Cubs 07-13-1969 23
8 Danny Breeden 1969 Cincinnati Reds 07-24-1969 27
42 Ray Lamb 1969 Los Angeles Dodgers 08-01-1969 24
30 Sal Campisi 1969 St. Louis Cardinals 08-15-1969 27
19 Tom Hilgendorf 1969 St. Louis Cardinals 08-15-1969 27
20 Oscar Gamble 1969 Chicago Cubs 08-27-1969 19
23 Larry Maxie 1969 Atlanta Braves 08-30-1969 28
6 Steve Garvey 1969 Los Angeles Dodgers 09-01-1969 20
25 Bernie Carbo 1969 Cincinnati Reds 09-02-1969 22
12 Von Joshua 1969 Los Angeles Dodgers 09-02-1969 21
2 Bobby Valentine 1969 Los Angeles Dodgers 09-02-1969 19
36 Oscar Brown 1969 Atlanta Braves 09-03-1969 23
35 Frankie Libran 1969 San Diego Padres 09-03-1969 21
37 Leron Lee 1969 St. Louis Cardinals 09-05-1969 21
32 Jerry Morales 1969 San Diego Padres 09-05-1969 20
43 Johnny Hairston 1969 Chicago Cubs 09-06-1969 25
47 Bob Watkins 1969 Houston Astros 09-06-1969 21
30 Mike Corkins 1969 San Diego Padres 09-08-1969 23
36 Fred Kendall 1969 San Diego Padres 09-08-1969 20
12 Ron Slocum 1969 San Diego Padres 09-08-1969 24
39 Jim Williams 1969 San Diego Padres 09-08-1969 22
45 Frank Brosseau 1969 Pittsburgh Pirates 09-10-1969 25
14 George Foster 1969 San Francisco Giants 09-10-1969 20
40 Scott Reid 1969 Philadelphia Phillies 09-10-1969 22
2 Jim Breazeale 1969 Atlanta Braves 09-13-1969 19
30 Dave Cash 1969 Pittsburgh Pirates 09-13-1969 21
26 Keith Lampard 1969 Houston Astros 09-15-1969 23
31 Angel Mangual 1969 Pittsburgh Pirates 09-15-1969 22
37 Scipio Spinks 1969 Houston Astros 09-16-1969 22
41 Garry Jestadt 1969 Montreal Expos 09-17-1969 22
35 Chip Coulter 1969 St. Louis Cardinals 09-18-1969 24
36 Joe Decker 1969 Chicago Cubs 09-18-1969 22
38 Jesse Hudson 1969 New York Mets 09-19-1969 21
29 Bob Johnson 1969 New York Mets 09-19-1969 26
42 Bob Reynolds 1969 Montreal Expos 09-19-1969 22
38 Bill Buckner 1969 Los Angeles Dodgers 09-21-1969 19
8 Bob Stinson 1969 Los Angeles Dodgers 09-23-1969 23
49 Jerry Reuss 1969 St. Louis Cardinals 09-27-1969 20
36 Santiago Guzman 1969 St. Louis Cardinals 09-30-1969 20
22 Reggie Cleveland 1969 St. Louis Cardinals 10-01-1969 21
41 Mike Davison 1969 San Francisco Giants 10-01-1969 24
32 John Harrell 1969 San Francisco Giants 10-01-1969 21
22 Mike McQueen 1969 Atlanta Braves 10-02-1969 19
1969 National League Debuts


 

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the National League during the 1969 season as this group of players made their Major League debut!

Did you know that on September 27, 1963 the Houston Colt .45s fielded an all-rookie lineup that included future stars Joe Morgan, Jerry Grote, and Rusty Staub?

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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