1987 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."

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"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)

1987 American League Debuts

1987 A.L. Rookies | 1987 N.L. Rookies | Baseball Firsts (All Years)

34 Jeff Ballard 1987 Baltimore Orioles 05-09-1987 23
51 Jose Mesa 1987 Baltimore Orioles 09-10-1987 21
3 Billy Ripken 1987 Baltimore Orioles 07-11-1987 22
12 Pete Stanicek 1987 Baltimore Orioles 09-01-1987 24
32 Mark Williamson 1987 Baltimore Orioles 04-08-1987 27
38 Todd Benzinger 1987 Boston Red Sox 06-21-1987 24
50 Tom Bolton 1987 Boston Red Sox 05-17-1987 25
12 Ellis Burks 1987 Boston Red Sox 04-30-1987 22
30 Sam Horn 1987 Boston Red Sox 07-25-1987 23
22 John Leister 1987 Boston Red Sox 05-28-1987 26
37 John Marzano 1987 Boston Red Sox 07-31-1987 24
52 Jody Reed 1987 Boston Red Sox 09-12-1987 25
29 Danny Sheaffer 1987 Boston Red Sox 04-09-1987 25
41 De Wayne Buice 1987 California Angels 04-25-1987 29
12 Jim Eppard 1987 California Angels 09-08-1987 27
34 Miguel Garcia 1987 California Angels 04-30-1987 20
34 Bryan Harvey 1987 California Angels 05-16-1987 23
20 Bill Lindsey 1987 Chicago White Sox 07-18-1987 27
40 Jack McDowell 1987 Chicago White Sox 09-15-1987 21
48 John Pawlowski 1987 Chicago White Sox 09-19-1987 24
43 Adam Peterson 1987 Chicago White Sox 09-19-1987 21
4 Brian Dorsett 1987 Cleveland Indians 09-08-1987 26
52 John Farrell 1987 Cleveland Indians 08-18-1987 25
15 Dave Gallagher 1987 Cleveland Indians 04-12-1987 26
1 Tommy Hinzo 1987 Cleveland Indians 07-16-1987 23
4 Bill Bean 1987 Detroit Tigers 04-25-1987 22
39 Mike Henneman 1987 Detroit Tigers 05-11-1987 25
24 Scott Lusader 1987 Detroit Tigers 09-01-1987 22
42 Morris Madden 1987 Detroit Tigers 06-11-1987 26
44 Jeff Robinson 1987 Detroit Tigers 04-12-1987 25
32 Jim Walewander 1987 Detroit Tigers 05-31-1987 25
49 John Davis 1987 Kansas City Royals 07-24-1987 24
28 Mike Macfarlane 1987 Kansas City Royals 07-23-1987 23
31 Melido Perez 1987 Kansas City Royals 09-04-1987 21
25 Gary Thurman 1987 Kansas City Royals 08-30-1987 22
33 Jay Aldrich 1987 Milwaukee Brewers 06-05-1987 26
34 Mark Ciardi 1987 Milwaukee Brewers 04-09-1987 25
32 Chuck Crim 1987 Milwaukee Brewers 04-08-1987 25
31 Alex Madrid 1987 Milwaukee Brewers 07-20-1987 24
14 Jim Paciorek 1987 Milwaukee Brewers 04-09-1987 26
22 Steve Stanicek 1987 Milwaukee Brewers 09-16-1987 26
43 Dave Stapleton 1987 Milwaukee Brewers 09-14-1987 25
5 B.J. Surhoff 1987 Milwaukee Brewers 04-08-1987 22
46 Joe Klink 1987 Minnesota Twins 04-09-1987 25
9 Gene Larkin 1987 Minnesota Twins 05-21-1987 24
17 Les Straker 1987 Minnesota Twins 04-11-1987 27
54 Jay Buhner 1987 New York Yankees 09-11-1987 23
53 Orestes Destrade 1987 New York Yankees 09-11-1987 25
64 Bill Fulton 1987 New York Yankees 09-12-1987 23
27 Keith Hughes 1987 New York Yankees 05-19-1987 23
39 Roberto Kelly 1987 New York Yankees 07-29-1987 22
56 Al Leiter 1987 New York Yankees 09-15-1987 21
29 Randy Velarde 1987 New York Yankees 08-20-1987 24
32 Greg Cadaret 1987 Oakland Athletics 07-05-1987 25
38 Dave Otto 1987 Oakland Athletics 09-08-1987 22
22 Luis Polonia 1987 Oakland Athletics 04-24-1987 23
17 Walt Weiss 1987 Oakland Athletics 07-12-1987 23
54 Mike Campbell 1987 Seattle Mariners 07-04-1987 23
5 Mario Diaz 1987 Seattle Mariners 09-12-1987 25
11 Edgar Martinez 1987 Seattle Mariners 09-12-1987 24
19 Rich Monteleone 1987 Seattle Mariners 04-15-1987 24
6 Donell Nixon 1987 Seattle Mariners 04-07-1987 25
27 Clay Parker 1987 Seattle Mariners 09-14-1987 24
35 Brick Smith 1987 Seattle Mariners 09-13-1987 28
48 Scott Anderson 1987 Texas Rangers 04-08-1987 24
39 Paul Kilgus 1987 Texas Rangers 06-07-1987 25
16 Bob Malloy 1987 Texas Rangers 05-26-1987 22
50 Gary Mielke 1987 Texas Rangers 08-19-1987 24
3 Greg Tabor 1987 Texas Rangers 09-10-1987 26
27 Jeff DeWillis 1987 Toronto Blue Jays 04-19-1987 22
40 Rob Ducey 1987 Toronto Blue Jays 05-01-1987 21
14 Alex Infante 1987 Toronto Blue Jays 09-27-1987 25
2 Nelson Liriano 1987 Toronto Blue Jays 08-25-1987 23
52 Greg Myers 1987 Toronto Blue Jays 09-12-1987 21
45 Jose Nunez 1987 Toronto Blue Jays 04-09-1987 23
10 Mike Sharperson 1987 Toronto Blue Jays 04-06-1987 25
47 Matt Stark 1987 Toronto Blue Jays 04-08-1987 22
36 David Wells 1987 Toronto Blue Jays 06-30-1987 24
1987 American League Debuts
baseball almanac flat baseball

baseball almanac fast facts

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the American League during the 1987 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."

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?