1983 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

1983

31 Jim Acker 1983 Toronto Blue Jays 04-07-1983 24
20 Jamie Allen 1983 Seattle Mariners 05-01-1983 24
18 Rod Allen 1983 Seattle Mariners 04-07-1983 23
55 Keith Atherton 1983 Oakland Athletics 07-14-1983 24
26 Andy Beene 1983 Milwaukee Brewers 09-22-1983 26
39 Karl Best 1983 Seattle Mariners 08-19-1983 24
53 Bert Bradley 1983 Oakland Athletics 09-03-1983 26
29 Phil Bradley 1983 Seattle Mariners 09-02-1983 24
48 Curt Brown 1983 California Angels 06-10-1983 23
37 Mike Brown 1983 California Angels 07-21-1983 23
36 Steve Brown 1983 California Angels 08-01-1983 26
48 Ben Callahan 1983 Oakland Athletics 06-22-1983 26
49 Tom Candiotti 1983 Milwaukee Brewers 08-08-1983 25
47 Al Chambers 1983 Seattle Mariners 07-23-1983 22
9 Darryl Cias 1983 Oakland Athletics 04-27-1983 26
34 Stan Clarke 1983 Toronto Blue Jays 06-07-1983 22
47 Jaime Cocanower 1983 Milwaukee Brewers 09-07-1983 26
11 Darnell Coles 1983 Seattle Mariners 09-04-1983 21
25 Wil Culmer 1983 Cleveland Indians 04-12-1983 25
33 Butch Davis 1983 Kansas City Royals 08-23-1983 25
62 Brian Dayett 1983 New York Yankees 09-11-1983 26
13 Tommy Dunbar 1983 Texas Rangers 09-07-1983 23
1 Tony Fernandez 1983 Toronto Blue Jays 09-02-1983 21
47, 57 Ray Fontenot 1983 New York Yankees 06-30-1983 25
31 Greg Gagne 1983 Minnesota Twins 06-05-1983 21
40 Bob Gibson 1983 Milwaukee Brewers 04-13-1983 25
12 Lee Graham 1983 Boston Red Sox 09-03-1983 23
41 Jackie Gutierrez 1983 Boston Red Sox 09-06-1983 23
13 Gorman Heimueller 1983 Oakland Athletics 07-12-1983 27
25 Donnie Hill 1983 Oakland Athletics 07-25-1983 22
51 Dave Hudgens 1983 Oakland Athletics 09-04-1983 26
38 Mark Huismann 1983 Kansas City Royals 08-16-1983 25
32 Tim Hulett 1983 Chicago White Sox 09-15-1983 23
18 Dave Huppert 1983 Baltimore Orioles 09-15-1983 26
45 Danny Jackson 1983 Kansas City Royals 09-11-1983 21
14 Dion James 1983 Milwaukee Brewers 09-16-1983 20
54 Mike Jeffcoat 1983 Cleveland Indians 08-21-1983 24
1 Houston Jimenez 1983 Minnesota Twins 06-13-1983 25
49 Al Jones 1983 Chicago White Sox 08-06-1983 24
32 Bill Krueger 1983 Oakland Athletics 04-10-1983 24
51 Al Lachowicz 1983 Texas Rangers 09-13-1983 23
47 Rusty McNealy 1983 Oakland Athletics 09-04-1983 25
20 Bob Meacham 1983 New York Yankees 06-30-1983 22
21 Dan Morogiello 1983 Baltimore Orioles 05-20-1983 28
6 Jamie Nelson 1983 Seattle Mariners 07-21-1983 23
10 Ricky Nelson 1983 Seattle Mariners 05-17-1983 24
49 Al Nipper 1983 Boston Red Sox 09-06-1983 24
39 Otis Nixon 1983 New York Yankees 09-09-1983 24
17 Bryan Oelkers 1983 Minnesota Twins 04-09-1983 22
7 Spike Owen 1983 Seattle Mariners 06-25-1983 22
3 Cliff Pastornicky 1983 Kansas City Royals 06-14-1983 24
35 Jay Pettibone 1983 Minnesota Twins 09-11-1983 26
52 Luis Quinones 1983 Oakland Athletics 05-27-1983 21
36 Allan Ramirez 1983 Baltimore Orioles 06-08-1983 26
2 Randy Ready 1983 Milwaukee Brewers 09-04-1983 23
18 Harold Reynolds 1983 Seattle Mariners 09-02-1983 22
30 Dick Schofield 1983 California Angels 09-08-1983 20
21 Bill Schroeder 1983 Milwaukee Brewers 07-13-1983 24
43 Donnie Scott 1983 Texas Rangers 09-30-1983 22
12 Joel Skinner 1983 Chicago White Sox 06-12-1983 22
49 Mark Smith 1983 Oakland Athletics 08-12-1983 27
9 John Stefero 1983 Baltimore Orioles 06-24-1983 23
32 Bill Swaggerty 1983 Baltimore Orioles 08-13-1983 26
11 Tim Teufel 1983 Minnesota Twins 09-03-1983 25
7 Scott Ullger 1983 Minnesota Twins 04-17-1983 27
30 Mike Walters 1983 Minnesota Twins 07-08-1983 25
43 Mike Warren 1983 Oakland Athletics 06-12-1983 22
23 Mitch Webster 1983 Toronto Blue Jays 09-02-1983 24
19 Curtis Wilkerson 1983 Texas Rangers 09-10-1983 22
45 Matt Williams 1983 Toronto Blue Jays 08-02-1983 24
19 Frank Wills 1983 Kansas City Royals 07-31-1983 24
12 Tack Wilson 1983 Minnesota Twins 04-09-1983 27
29 Curt Young 1983 Oakland Athletics 06-24-1983 23
40 Matt Young 1983 Seattle Mariners 04-06-1983 24
1983 American League Debuts


 

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the American League during the 1983 season as this group of players made their Major League debut!

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.

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?
     

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