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

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

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."

On April 13, 1954, Hank Aaron made his Major League debut and went 0-for-5. However, in his own autobiography Aaron wrote that he went 0-for-4.
     

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