1976 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."
"You never forget your first hit in the Major Leagues. It was in my third at bat. That was kind of a relief. You could start off 0-for-34." - Ralph Kiner
American League Debuts

1976

44 Rich Dauer 1976 Baltimore Orioles 09-11-1976 24
40 Kiko Garcia 1976 Baltimore Orioles 09-11-1976 22
61 Dennis Martinez 1976 Baltimore Orioles 09-14-1976 21
39 Scott McGregor 1976 Baltimore Orioles 09-19-1976 22
27, 52 Andres Mora 1976 Baltimore Orioles 04-13-1976 20
41 Jack Baker 1976 Boston Red Sox 09-11-1976 26
46 Rick Jones 1976 Boston Red Sox 04-18-1976 21
22 Ernie Whitt 1976 Boston Red Sox 09-12-1976 24
45 Paul Hartzell 1976 California Angels 04-10-1976 22
15, 32 Carlos Lopez 1976 California Angels 09-17-1976 27
44 Mike Overy 1976 California Angels 08-14-1976 25
48 John Verhoeven 1976 California Angels 07-06-1976 23
52 Gary Wheelock 1976 California Angels 09-17-1976 24
8 Kevin Bell 1976 Chicago White Sox 06-16-1976 20
29 George Enright 1976 Chicago White Sox 08-08-1976 22
41 Larry Monroe 1976 Chicago White Sox 08-23-1976 20
15 Wayne Nordhagen 1976 Chicago White Sox 07-16-1976 28
12 Orlando Gonzalez 1976 Cleveland Indians 06-07-1976 24
16 Alfredo Griffin 1976 Cleveland Indians 09-04-1976 18
20 Mark Fidrych 1976 Detroit Tigers 04-20-1976 21
46 Bruce Kimm 1976 Detroit Tigers 05-04-1976 24
29 Frank MacCormack 1976 Detroit Tigers 06-14-1976 21
2 Phil Mankowski 1976 Detroit Tigers 08-30-1976 23
30 Jason Thompson 1976 Detroit Tigers 04-23-1976 21
5 Mark Wagner 1976 Detroit Tigers 08-20-1976 22
35 Tom Bruno 1976 Kansas City Royals 08-01-1976 23
30 Ruppert Jones 1976 Kansas City Royals 08-01-1976 21
12 John Wathan 1976 Kansas City Royals 05-26-1976 26
19 Willie Wilson 1976 Kansas City Royals 09-04-1976 21
27 Gary Beare 1976 Milwaukee Brewers 09-07-1976 24
17 Steve Bowling 1976 Milwaukee Brewers 09-07-1976 24
11 Jim Gantner 1976 Milwaukee Brewers 09-03-1976 23
30 Moose Haas 1976 Milwaukee Brewers 09-08-1976 20
39 Dan Thomas 1976 Milwaukee Brewers 09-02-1976 25
32 Bob Randall 1976 Minnesota Twins 04-13-1976 27
17 Pete Redfern 1976 Minnesota Twins 05-15-1976 21
16 Butch Wynegar 1976 Minnesota Twins 04-09-1976 20
26 Juan Bernhardt 1976 New York Yankees 07-10-1976 22
20 Mickey Klutts 1976 New York Yankees 07-07-1976 21
32 Chris Batton 1976 Oakland Athletics 09-19-1976 22
10 Wayne Gross 1976 Oakland Athletics 08-21-1976 24
5 Jeff Newman 1976 Oakland Athletics 06-30-1976 27
33 Gary Woods 1976 Oakland Athletics 09-14-1976 22
22 Doug Ault 1976 Texas Rangers 09-09-1976 26
39 Len Barker 1976 Texas Rangers 09-14-1976 21
38 Tommy Boggs 1976 Texas Rangers 07-19-1976 20
5 Ken Pape 1976 Texas Rangers 05-17-1976 24
15 Greg Pryor 1976 Texas Rangers 06-04-1976 26
1976 American League Debuts


 

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the American League during the 1976 season as this group of players made their Major League debut!

Did you know that Future hall of famer Addie Joss made his Major League pitching debut on April 26, 1902 and tossed a one hitter?

Ray Jansen (four for five in his first game), Aubrey Epps (three for four in his first game) and Ed Irvin (two for three in his first game) all finished their career with lifetime batting averages which were greater than their career fielding percentages.
     

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