Giants Hoyt Wilhelm Hits Home Run in First At Bat

Hoyt Wilhelm is remembered for being the first true reliever to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. While he was not known for his bat, the New York Giants pitcher hit a home run in his first major league at bat on this day in 1952.

Hoyt Wilhelm waited quite a while to reach the major leagues. He had signed with the Mooresville Moors after high school in 1942, returning to the team in 1946 after a three year stint in the military. His contract was sold to the New York Giants in 1947, and he spent the next four years in their minor league system. Finally, at age 29, Wilhelm found his way to the major leagues, pitching in long relief.

In his third major league outing, Wilhelm entered in the third inning with the Giants holding a 3-2 lead. Starting pitcher Roger Bowman had struggled, and after the Braves put runners on first and second with one out, Wilhelm was summoned. He pitched 5.1 solid innings, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks as he earned his first major league victory.

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That game was also notable for Wilhelm for another reason. In his first career at bat, Wilhelm became the 27th player in major league history to hit a home run, taking Dick Hoover deep. As it would turn out, that would be Wilhelm’s only major league home run despite a 21 year career. Of the 115 players to hit a home run in their first at bat, 22 of them had that homer as the only one they would hit in their career.

Wilhelm was far more of a successful pitcher than he was a hitter. Pitching in a then record 1070 games, Wilhelm saved 228 games and made the Hall of Fame, riding his knuckleball to success. With a bat in his hand, Wilhelm was only a .088/.139/.106 hitter. Interestingly enough, in his second career at bat, Wilhelm hit his only career triple.

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Hoyt Wilhelm may not have done much damage with a bat throughout his career, but in his first major league at bat, the Giants pitcher looked he would be a star.