1988 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."
"There is no Major League record held by a rookie. It's revealing to see just how far the rookie marks are below the single season marks. This is a testament to how difficult the game is to learn and play." - Luke Salisbury in The Answer is Baseball (1989)
National League Debuts

1988

50 Kevin Blankenship 1988 Atlanta Braves 09-20-1988 25
48 Gary Eave 1988 Atlanta Braves 04-12-1988 24
49 German Jimenez 1988 Atlanta Braves 06-28-1988 25
17 Mark Lemke 1988 Atlanta Braves 09-17-1988 23
29 John Smoltz 1988 Atlanta Braves 07-23-1988 21
38 Mike Capel 1988 Chicago Cubs 05-07-1988 26
29 Doug Dascenzo 1988 Chicago Cubs 09-02-1988 24
17, 28 Mark Grace 1988 Chicago Cubs 05-02-1988 23
48 Mike Harkey 1988 Chicago Cubs 09-05-1988 21
41 Jeff Pico 1988 Chicago Cubs 05-31-1988 22
27 Rolando Roomes 1988 Chicago Cubs 04-12-1988 26
24 Gary Varsho 1988 Chicago Cubs 07-06-1988 27
1 Rick Wrona 1988 Chicago Cubs 09-03-1988 24
40 Jack Armstrong 1988 Cincinnati Reds 06-21-1988 23
38 Keith Brown 1988 Cincinnati Reds 08-25-1988 24
51 Marty Brown 1988 Cincinnati Reds 09-04-1988 25
37 Norm Charlton 1988 Cincinnati Reds 08-19-1988 25
49 Rob Dibble 1988 Cincinnati Reds 06-29-1988 24
43 Jeff Gray 1988 Cincinnati Reds 06-21-1988 25
56 Lenny Harris 1988 Cincinnati Reds 09-07-1988 23
17 Chris Sabo 1988 Cincinnati Reds 04-04-1988 26
57 Van Snider 1988 Cincinnati Reds 09-02-1988 25
4 Craig Biggio 1988 Houston Astros 06-26-1988 22
3 Cameron Drew 1988 Houston Astros 09-09-1988 24
18 John Fishel 1988 Houston Astros 07-14-1988 25
35 Brian Meyer 1988 Houston Astros 09-03-1988 25
29 Craig Smajstrla 1988 Houston Astros 09-06-1988 26
46 William Brennan 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers 07-19-1988 25
48 Ramon Martinez 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers 08-13-1988 20
50 Tim Barrett 1988 Montreal Expos 07-18-1988 27
59 Brian Holman 1988 Montreal Expos 06-25-1988 23
15 Jeff Huson 1988 Montreal Expos 09-02-1988 24
51 Randy Johnson 1988 Montreal Expos 09-15-1988 25
5 Johnny Paredes 1988 Montreal Expos 04-29-1988 25
46 David West 1988 New York Mets 09-24-1988 24
14 Tommy Barrett 1988 Philadelphia Phillies 07-02-1988 28
35 Danny Clay 1988 Philadelphia Phillies 05-01-1988 26
26 Ron Jones 1988 Philadelphia Phillies 08-26-1988 24
17 Ricky Jordan 1988 Philadelphia Phillies 07-17-1988 23
11 Keith Miller 1988 Philadelphia Phillies 04-23-1988 25
37 Brad Moore 1988 Philadelphia Phillies 06-14-1988 23
39 Scott Service 1988 Philadelphia Phillies 09-05-1988 21
25 Shane Turner 1988 Philadelphia Phillies 08-19-1988 25
60 Randy Kramer 1988 Pittsburgh Pirates 09-11-1988 27
55 Scott Medvin 1988 Pittsburgh Pirates 05-09-1988 26
34 Rick Reed 1988 Pittsburgh Pirates 08-08-1988 23
12 Roberto Alomar 1988 San Diego Padres 04-22-1988 20
17 Sandy Alomar, Jr. 1988 San Diego Padres 09-30-1988 22
24 Jerald Clark 1988 San Diego Padres 09-19-1988 25
46 Greg Harris 1988 San Diego Padres 09-19-1988 24
53 Candy Sierra 1988 San Diego Padres 04-06-1988 21
49 Jeff Brantley 1988 San Francisco Giants 08-05-1988 24
31 Dennis Cook 1988 San Francisco Giants 09-12-1988 25
54 Angel Escobar 1988 San Francisco Giants 05-17-1988 23
26 Charlie Hayes 1988 San Francisco Giants 09-11-1988 23
16 Tony Perezchica 1988 San Francisco Giants 09-07-1988 22
58 Roger Samuels 1988 San Francisco Giants 07-20-1988 27
41 Trevor Wilson 1988 San Francisco Giants 09-05-1988 22
61, 47 Gibson Alba 1988 St. Louis Cardinals 05-03-1988 28
18 Luis Alicea 1988 St. Louis Cardinals 04-23-1988 22
41 Scott Arnold 1988 St. Louis Cardinals 04-07-1988 25
44 Cris Carpenter 1988 St. Louis Cardinals 05-14-1988 23
50 John Costello 1988 St. Louis Cardinals 06-02-1988 27
47 Mike Fitzgerald 1988 St. Louis Cardinals 06-23-1988 24
56, 43 Ken Hill 1988 St. Louis Cardinals 09-03-1988 22
22 Tim Jones 1988 St. Louis Cardinals 07-26-1988 25
1988 National League Debuts


 

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the National League during the 1988 season as this group of players made their Major League debut!

Rich Amaral spent nine seasons in the Minor Leagues and upon his callup he commented, "I've been to every baseball park in America, except those in the American and National League."

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.
     

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