1989 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."
"There is a certain amount of fascination to the big league debut of any athlete. Sometimes they are incredible successes. Sometimes they are frenetic failures." - Sportswriter Arthur Daley
American League Debuts

1989

10 Steve Finley 1989 Baltimore Orioles 04-03-1989 24
24 Ken Griffey, Jr. 1989 Seattle Mariners 04-03-1989 19
13 Omar Vizquel 1989 Seattle Mariners 04-03-1989 21
37 Kenny Rogers 1989 Texas Rangers 04-06-1989 24
11 La Vel Freeman 1989 Milwaukee Brewers 04-07-1989 26
15 Jeff Schaefer 1989 Chicago White Sox 04-07-1989 28
6 Bill Spiers 1989 Milwaukee Brewers 04-07-1989 22
47 Gary Wayne 1989 Minnesota Twins 04-07-1989 26
25 Jim Abbott 1989 California Angels 04-08-1989 21
27 Joe Skalski 1989 Cleveland Indians 04-10-1989 24
7 Matt Merullo 1989 Chicago White Sox 04-12-1989 23
7 Kent Anderson 1989 California Angels 04-15-1989 25
8 Brian Brady 1989 California Angels 04-16-1989 26
11, 17 Chris Hoiles 1989 Baltimore Orioles 04-25-1989 24
18 Ramon Pena 1989 Detroit Tigers 04-27-1989 26
54 Junior Felix 1989 Toronto Blue Jays 05-03-1989 21
30 Francisco Oliveras 1989 Minnesota Twins 05-03-1989 26
3 Dick Scott 1989 Oakland Athletics 05-19-1989 26
27, 54 Jack Hardy 1989 Chicago White Sox 05-23-1989 29
33 Alex Sanchez 1989 Toronto Blue Jays 05-23-1989 23
37 Randy Nosek 1989 Detroit Tigers 05-27-1989 22
46 Mike Schwabe 1989 Detroit Tigers 05-27-1989 24
17 Matt Winters 1989 Kansas City Royals 05-30-1989 29
27, 52 Greg Hibbard 1989 Chicago White Sox 05-31-1989 24
24 Deion Sanders 1989 New York Yankees 05-31-1989 21
41 Clint Zavaras 1989 Seattle Mariners 06-03-1989 22
55 Kevin Appier 1989 Kansas City Royals 06-04-1989 21
42 Xavier Hernandez 1989 Toronto Blue Jays 06-04-1989 23
30 Larry Arndt 1989 Oakland Athletics 06-06-1989 26
40 Rick Luecken 1989 Kansas City Royals 06-06-1989 28
34 Kevin Batiste 1989 Toronto Blue Jays 06-13-1989 22
17 Sammy Sosa 1989 Texas Rangers 06-16-1989 20
34 Mickey Weston 1989 Baltimore Orioles 06-18-1989 28
19, 20 Dana Williams 1989 Boston Red Sox 06-19-1989 26
31 Jaime Navarro 1989 Milwaukee Brewers 06-20-1989 22
32 Steve Cummings 1989 Toronto Blue Jays 06-24-1989 24
11 Greg Olson 1989 Minnesota Twins 06-27-1989 28
39 Mike Dyer 1989 Minnesota Twins 06-29-1989 22
41 Mike Smith 1989 Baltimore Orioles 06-30-1989 25
31 Eric Hetzel 1989 Boston Red Sox 07-01-1989 25
43 Randy Veres 1989 Milwaukee Brewers 07-01-1989 23
31 Pete Dalena 1989 Cleveland Indians 07-07-1989 29
20 Doug Strange 1989 Detroit Tigers 07-13-1989 25
36 Albert Belle 1989 Cleveland Indians 07-15-1989 22
34 Bobby Davidson 1989 New York Yankees 07-15-1989 26
31 Kevin Ritz 1989 Detroit Tigers 07-15-1989 24
43 Wilson Alvarez 1989 Texas Rangers 07-24-1989 19
21 Francisco Cabrera 1989 Toronto Blue Jays 07-24-1989 22
53 Mark Guthrie 1989 Minnesota Twins 07-25-1989 23
54 Paul Wilmet 1989 Texas Rangers 07-25-1989 30
50 Steve Olin 1989 Cleveland Indians 07-29-1989 23
29 Glenallen Hill 1989 Toronto Blue Jays 07-31-1989 24
47 Mauro Gozzo 1989 Toronto Blue Jays 08-08-1989 23
25 Greg Vaughn 1989 Milwaukee Brewers 08-10-1989 24
53 Kevin Wickander 1989 Cleveland Indians 08-10-1989 24
24 Marcus Lawton 1989 New York Yankees 08-11-1989 23
6 Bobby Rose 1989 California Angels 08-12-1989 22
28 Jeff Peterek 1989 Milwaukee Brewers 08-14-1989 25
34 Billy Bates 1989 Milwaukee Brewers 08-17-1989 25
16 Brian DuBois 1989 Detroit Tigers 08-17-1989 22
10 Rob Richie 1989 Detroit Tigers 08-19-1989 23
14 John Orton 1989 California Angels 08-20-1989 23
57 Hensley Meulens 1989 New York Yankees 08-23-1989 22
58 Chip Hale 1989 Minnesota Twins 08-27-1989 24
13 Mike Blowers 1989 New York Yankees 09-01-1989 24
48 Mike Fetters 1989 California Angels 09-01-1989 24
13, 19 Juan Gonzalez 1989 Texas Rangers 09-01-1989 19
16 Dean Palmer 1989 Texas Rangers 09-01-1989 20
52 Lenny Webster 1989 Minnesota Twins 09-01-1989 24
42 Scott Coolbaugh 1989 Texas Rangers 09-02-1989 23
24 Jeff Schulz 1989 Kansas City Royals 09-02-1989 28
33 George Canale 1989 Milwaukee Brewers 09-03-1989 24
9 John Olerud 1989 Toronto Blue Jays 09-03-1989 21
43 Jeff Datz 1989 Detroit Tigers 09-05-1989 29
38 Shawn Holman 1989 Detroit Tigers 09-05-1989 24
11 Juan Bell 1989 Baltimore Orioles 09-06-1989 21
23 Ben McDonald 1989 Baltimore Orioles 09-06-1989 21
55 Beau Allred 1989 Cleveland Indians 09-07-1989 24
27 John Barfield 1989 Texas Rangers 09-07-1989 24
66 Mark Higgins 1989 Cleveland Indians 09-07-1989 26
76 Tom Magrann 1989 Cleveland Indians 09-07-1989 25
64 Rudy Seanez 1989 Cleveland Indians 09-07-1989 20
55 Paul Sorrento 1989 Minnesota Twins 09-08-1989 23
31 Scott Hemond 1989 Oakland Athletics 09-09-1989 23
45 Kevin Mmahat 1989 New York Yankees 09-09-1989 24
56 Terry Jorgensen 1989 Minnesota Twins 09-10-1989 23
56 Wayne Edwards 1989 Chicago White Sox 09-11-1989 25
21 Robin Ventura 1989 Chicago White Sox 09-12-1989 22
51 Dann Howitt 1989 Oakland Athletics 09-15-1989 25
4 Gary DiSarcina 1989 California Angels 09-23-1989 21
1989 American League Debuts


 

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the American League during the 1989 season as this group of players made their Major League debut!

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?

Did you know that Future hall of famer Addie Joss made his Major League pitching debut on April 26, 1902 and tossed a one hitter?
     

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