1984 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."
"Always be cautious about rookie performances in September. They don't indicate what will happen in April." - Texas Rangers General Manager Tom Grieve
National League Debuts

1984

47 Mike Payne 1984 Atlanta Braves 08-22-1984 22
34 Zane Smith 1984 Atlanta Braves 09-10-1984 23
30 Milt Thompson 1984 Atlanta Braves 09-04-1984 25
28 Henry Cotto 1984 Chicago Cubs 04-05-1984 23
22 Billy Hatcher 1984 Chicago Cubs 09-10-1984 23
38 Ron Meridith 1984 Chicago Cubs 09-16-1984 27
54 Tom Browning 1984 Cincinnati Reds 09-09-1984 24
44 Eric Davis 1984 Cincinnati Reds 05-19-1984 21
31, 52 John Franco 1984 Cincinnati Reds 04-24-1984 23
33 Ron Robinson 1984 Cincinnati Reds 08-14-1984 22
56 Wade Rowdon 1984 Cincinnati Reds 09-08-1984 24
37 Mike Smith 1984 Cincinnati Reds 04-06-1984 23
38 Jay Tibbs 1984 Cincinnati Reds 07-15-1984 22
59 Freddie Toliver 1984 Cincinnati Reds 09-15-1984 23
6 Mark Bailey 1984 Houston Astros 04-27-1984 22
49 Jeff Calhoun 1984 Houston Astros 09-02-1984 26
27 Glenn Davis 1984 Houston Astros 09-02-1984 23
20 Jim Pankovits 1984 Houston Astros 05-27-1984 28
17 Ed Amelung 1984 Los Angeles Dodgers 07-28-1984 25
50 Tony Brewer 1984 Los Angeles Dodgers 08-01-1984 26
43 Ken Howell 1984 Los Angeles Dodgers 06-25-1984 23
51 Lemmie Miller 1984 Los Angeles Dodgers 05-22-1984 23
22 Franklin Stubbs 1984 Los Angeles Dodgers 04-28-1984 23
19 Rene Gonzales 1984 Montreal Expos 07-27-1984 23
38 Joe Hesketh 1984 Montreal Expos 08-07-1984 25
51 Randy St. Claire 1984 Montreal Expos 09-11-1984 24
35 Billy Beane 1984 New York Mets 09-13-1984 22
35 John Christensen 1984 New York Mets 09-13-1984 24
27 Wes Gardner 1984 New York Mets 07-29-1984 23
8 John Gibbons 1984 New York Mets 04-11-1984 21
16 Dwight Gooden 1984 New York Mets 04-07-1984 19
21 Ross Jones 1984 New York Mets 04-02-1984 24
32 Kevin Mitchell 1984 New York Mets 09-04-1984 22
40 Calvin Schiraldi 1984 New York Mets 09-01-1984 22
21, 3 Herm Winningham 1984 New York Mets 09-01-1984 22
10 Mike LaValliere 1984 Philadelphia Phillies 09-09-1984 24
52 Francisco Melendez 1984 Philadelphia Phillies 08-26-1984 20
29 John Russell 1984 Philadelphia Phillies 06-22-1984 23
53 Rick Schu 1984 Philadelphia Phillies 09-01-1984 22
34 Mike Bielecki 1984 Pittsburgh Pirates 09-14-1984 25
10 Benny Distefano 1984 Pittsburgh Pirates 05-18-1984 22
28 Denny Gonzalez 1984 Pittsburgh Pirates 08-06-1984 21
35 Chris Green 1984 Pittsburgh Pirates 04-17-1984 23
34 Ray Krawczyk 1984 Pittsburgh Pirates 06-29-1984 24
44 Jeff Zaske 1984 Pittsburgh Pirates 07-21-1984 23
35 Chris Brown 1984 San Francisco Giants 09-03-1984 23
31, 45 Jeff Cornell 1984 San Francisco Giants 06-02-1984 27
45 Rob Deer 1984 San Francisco Giants 09-04-1984 23
37 Randy Gomez 1984 San Francisco Giants 08-21-1984 27
34 Mark Grant 1984 San Francisco Giants 04-27-1984 20
49 Jeff Robinson 1984 San Francisco Giants 04-07-1984 23
47 Frank Williams 1984 San Francisco Giants 04-05-1984 26
49 Ricky Horton 1984 St. Louis Cardinals 04-07-1984 24
50 Kurt Kepshire 1984 St. Louis Cardinals 07-04-1984 25
23 Tom Nieto 1984 St. Louis Cardinals 05-10-1984 23
9 Terry Pendleton 1984 St. Louis Cardinals 07-18-1984 24
10 Mark Salas 1984 St. Louis Cardinals 06-19-1984 23
5 Jose Uribe 1984 St. Louis Cardinals 09-13-1984 25
1984 National League Debuts


 

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the National League during the 1984 season as this group of players made their Major League debut!

Ted Cox made his Major League debut in 1977 with the Boston Red Sox and over two games on September 18 and 19, Cox went six for six before he made an out.

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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