1988 American League Baseball Debuts / Rookies by Baseball Almanac

1988 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."

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

American League Debuts 1988
#	Name (sort)	Team (sort)	Debut (sort)	Age (sort)
48	Jose Bautista	1988 Baltimore Orioles	04-09-1988	23
43	Gordon Dillard	1988 Baltimore Orioles	08-12-1988	24
42	Pete Harnisch	1988 Baltimore Orioles	09-13-1988	21
52	Bob Milacki	1988 Baltimore Orioles	09-18-1988	24
30	Gregg Olson	1988 Baltimore Orioles	09-02-1988	21
23	Oswaldo Peraza	1988 Baltimore Orioles	04-04-1988	25
43	Curt Schilling	1988 Baltimore Orioles	09-07-1988	21
3	Craig Worthington	1988 Baltimore Orioles	04-26-1988	23
5	Brady Anderson	1988 Boston Red Sox	04-04-1988	24
56	Zach Crouch	1988 Boston Red Sox	06-04-1988	22
53	Steve Curry	1988 Boston Red Sox	07-10-1988	22
28	Steve Ellsworth	1988 Boston Red Sox	04-07-1988	27
18	Carlos Quintana	1988 Boston Red Sox	09-16-1988	23
54	Mike Rochford	1988 Boston Red Sox	09-03-1988	25
42	John Trautwein	1988 Boston Red Sox	04-07-1988	25
11	Dante Bichette	1988 California Angels	09-05-1988	24
42	Terry Clark	1988 California Angels	07-07-1988	27
36	Sherman Corbett	1988 California Angels	05-29-1988	25
6	Doug Davis	1988 California Angels	07-08-1988	25
48	Frank Dimichele	1988 California Angels	04-08-1988	23
45	Vance Lovelace	1988 California Angels	09-10-1988	25
6	Joe Redfield	1988 California Angels	06-04-1988	27
56	Ravelo Manzanillo	1988 Chicago White Sox	09-25-1988	24
24	Carlos Martinez	1988 Chicago White Sox	09-02-1988	23
25	Donn Pall	1988 Chicago White Sox	08-01-1988	26
34	Ken Patterson	1988 Chicago White Sox	07-08-1988	24
30	Sap Randall	1988 Chicago White Sox	08-02-1988	27
46	Steve Rosenberg	1988 Chicago White Sox	06-04-1988	23
36	Jose Segura	1988 Chicago White Sox	04-10-1988	25
68	Scott Jordan	1988 Cleveland Indians	09-02-1988	25
17	Tom Lampkin	1988 Cleveland Indians	09-10-1988	24
69	Luis Medina	1988 Cleveland Indians	09-02-1988	25
57	Rod Nichols	1988 Cleveland Indians	07-30-1988	23
75	Mike Walker	1988 Cleveland Indians	09-09-1988	21
48	Paul Gibson	1988 Detroit Tigers	04-08-1988	28
17	Don Heinkel	1988 Detroit Tigers	04-07-1988	28
23	Torey Lovullo	1988 Detroit Tigers	09-10-1988	23
49	Steve Searcy	1988 Detroit Tigers	08-29-1988	24
51	Luis de los Santos	1988 Kansas City Royals	09-07-1988	21
54	Jose DeJesus	1988 Kansas City Royals	09-09-1988	23
36	Tom Gordon	1988 Kansas City Royals	09-08-1988	20
35	Mark Lee	1988 Kansas City Royals	09-08-1988	24
29	Rey Palacios	1988 Kansas City Royals	09-08-1988	25
31	Israel Sanchez	1988 Kansas City Royals	07-07-1988	24
38	Don August	1988 Milwaukee Brewers	06-02-1988	24
18	Darryl Hamilton	1988 Milwaukee Brewers	06-03-1988	23
23	Joey Meyer	1988 Milwaukee Brewers	04-04-1988	25
1	Gary Sheffield	1988 Milwaukee Brewers	09-03-1988	19
46	German Gonzalez	1988 Minnesota Twins	08-05-1988	26
18	Kelvin Torve	1988 Minnesota Twins	06-25-1988	28
52	Dave Eiland	1988 New York Yankees	08-03-1988	22
57, 58	Bob Geren	1988 New York Yankees	05-17-1988	26
62	Hal Morris	1988 New York Yankees	07-29-1988	23
30	Lance Blankenship	1988 Oakland Athletics	09-04-1988	24
54	Todd Burns	1988 Oakland Athletics	05-31-1988	24
41	Jim Corsi	1988 Oakland Athletics	06-28-1988	26
21	Doug Jennings	1988 Oakland Athletics	04-08-1988	23
6	Felix Jose	1988 Oakland Athletics	09-02-1988	23
52	Jeff Shaver	1988 Oakland Athletics	07-06-1988	24
8	Greg Briley	1988 Seattle Mariners	06-27-1988	23
39	Erik Hanson	1988 Seattle Mariners	09-05-1988	23
35	Bill McGuire	1988 Seattle Mariners	08-02-1988	24
40	Mike Schooler	1988 Seattle Mariners	06-10-1988	25
44	Terry Taylor	1988 Seattle Mariners	08-19-1988	24
37	Jose Cecena	1988 Texas Rangers	04-06-1988	24
46	Tony Fossas	1988 Texas Rangers	05-15-1988	30
7	Chad Kreuter	1988 Texas Rangers	09-14-1988	24
48	Scott May	1988 Texas Rangers	09-02-1988	26
47	Kevin Reimer	1988 Texas Rangers	09-13-1988	24
54	De Wayne Vaughn	1988 Texas Rangers	04-17-1988	28
34	Steve Wilson	1988 Texas Rangers	09-16-1988	23
10	Pat Borders	1988 Toronto Blue Jays	04-06-1988	24
6	Sil Campusano	1988 Toronto Blue Jays	04-04-1988	22
27	Tony Castillo	1988 Toronto Blue Jays	08-14-1988	25
16	Todd Stottlemyre	1988 Toronto Blue Jays	04-06-1988	22
#	Name (sort)	Team (sort)	Debut (sort)	Age (sort)
1988 American League Debuts

1988 N.L. Debuts

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the American League during the 1988 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.

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.

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