1971 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

1971

33 Bill Bonham 1971 Chicago Cubs 04-07-1971 22
25 Hal Breeden 1971 Chicago Cubs 04-07-1971 26
35 Chris Speier 1971 San Francisco Giants 04-07-1971 20
37 Earl Stephenson 1971 Chicago Cubs 04-07-1971 23
43 Jimmy Rosario 1971 San Francisco Giants 04-08-1971 25
33 Steve Stone 1971 San Francisco Giants 04-08-1971 23
21 Ernie McAnally 1971 Montreal Expos 04-11-1971 24
50 Bob O'Brien 1971 Los Angeles Dodgers 04-11-1971 21
11 Enzo Hernandez 1971 San Diego Padres 04-17-1971 22
29 Rich Chiles 1971 Houston Astros 04-20-1971 21
35 Charlie Williams 1971 New York Mets 04-23-1971 23
48 Ross Grimsley 1971 Cincinnati Reds 05-16-1971 21
45 Ray Newman 1971 Chicago Cubs 05-16-1971 25
43 Rudy Arroyo 1971 St. Louis Cardinals 06-01-1971 20
44 Burt Hooton 1971 Chicago Cubs 06-17-1971 21
17 Jay Schlueter 1971 Houston Astros 06-18-1971 21
39 Tom House 1971 Atlanta Braves 06-23-1971 24
37 Stan Swanson 1971 Montreal Expos 06-23-1971 27
48 Doyle Alexander 1971 Los Angeles Dodgers 06-26-1971 20
20 Rich Hacker 1971 Montreal Expos 07-02-1971 23
25 Bruce Kison 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates 07-04-1971 21
14 Leo Foster 1971 Atlanta Braves 07-09-1971 20
6 Rennie Stennett 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates 07-10-1971 20
32 Jon Matlack 1971 New York Mets 07-11-1971 21
44 Bill Greif 1971 Houston Astros 07-19-1971 21
16 Ray Busse 1971 Houston Astros 07-24-1971 22
45 Dave Kingman 1971 San Francisco Giants 07-30-1971 22
33 Jim Barr 1971 San Francisco Giants 07-31-1971 23
16 Gene Hiser 1971 Chicago Cubs 08-20-1971 22
40 Mike Anderson 1971 Philadelphia Phillies 09-02-1971 20
10 Ron Cey 1971 Los Angeles Dodgers 09-03-1971 23
29 Manny Muniz 1971 Philadelphia Phillies 09-03-1971 23
25 Billy North 1971 Chicago Cubs 09-03-1971 23
23 Mike Caldwell 1971 San Diego Padres 09-04-1971 22
29 Jay Franklin 1971 San Diego Padres 09-04-1971 18
28 Mike Ivie 1971 San Diego Padres 09-04-1971 19
37 Jim Howarth 1971 San Francisco Giants 09-05-1971 24
22 Terry Humphrey 1971 Montreal Expos 09-05-1971 22
8 Dave Rader 1971 San Francisco Giants 09-05-1971 22
50 J.R. Richard 1971 Houston Astros 09-05-1971 21
19 Jim Willoughby 1971 San Francisco Giants 09-05-1971 22
19 Pat Bourque 1971 Chicago Cubs 09-06-1971 24
31 Chris Arnold 1971 San Francisco Giants 09-07-1971 23
10 Richie Zisk 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates 09-08-1971 22
48 Rimp Lanier 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates 09-11-1971 22
5 Frank Estrada 1971 New York Mets 09-14-1971 23
19 Derrel Thomas 1971 Houston Astros 09-14-1971 20
38 Buzz Capra 1971 New York Mets 09-15-1971 23
28 John Milner 1971 New York Mets 09-15-1971 21
31 Don Rose 1971 New York Mets 09-15-1971 24
31 Larry Yount 1971 Houston Astros 09-15-1971 21
42 Steve Blateric 1971 Cincinnati Reds 09-17-1971 27
10 Frank Taveras 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates 09-25-1971 21
1971 National League Debuts


 

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the National League during the 1971 season as this group of players made their Major League debut!

On the final day of the 1930 season, Dizzy Dean was called up and pitched a three-hitter. In Spring Training the following year, Dean had a fight with catcher Gabby Street and the franchise left him in the Minor Leagues all season long.

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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