MLB: A Hall of Famer’s home run debut

It’s MLB opening week, a time when – among other things – a lot of prospects are getting their first taste of life in the big leagues. One or two may even experience the ultimate thrill, hitting a home run in their first major league at bat.

Throughout history 120 big leaguers, dating back to 1895, have had that thrill. In fact, three did so just last season: Cincinnati’s Tyler Stephenson on July 27, the Dodgers’ Kelbert Ruiz on Aug. 17, and Detroit’s Sergio Alcantara on Sept. 6.

For the record, the first known MLB player to have homered in his debut at bat was a fellow named Joe Harrington. An infielder for the Boston Beaneaters, Harrington would last only two seasons, batting just .217 with three home runs. The first of those three came in his debut on Sept. 10, 1895. Facing the St. Louis Browns at Boston’s South End Grounds, Harrington homered off Browns rookie Bill Kissinger in a game Boston eventually won 7-4.

But perhaps strangely, only one future Hall of Famer has done so. Considering that there are 331 figures enshrined in the Hall, that’s a strikingly singular accomplishment.

Even more striking is the identity of the immortal in question. In fact, it says here that if I gave you a list of the 331 plus 330 guesses, you still might not identify the one who did.

But just for the fun of it, let’s play a game of 10 questions with the goal of uncovering the identity of that singular and most unlikely player.

Question 1: May we rule out that the player was enshrined more for his executive or managerial accomplishments than for his on-field skills?

Answer: Yes, you may. The Hall is largely, but not exclusively, a shrine for MLB players. Throughout the game’s history, individuals have been recognized for their accomplishments to the game both on and off the field.

This includes 34 persons honored for their executive contributions. A handful – Cum Posey, Clark Griffith – also had substantial playing careers, but were not enshrined for that reason. The only female Hall of Famer – Negro Leagues team owner Effa Manley – also fits in this category.

Another 23 were recognized for their record as managers. Again the group is littered with fellows who had good – in some cases very good – playing careers, but not good enough to get them elected on that basis. John McGraw and Joe Torre are examples.

Ten more have been enshrined as umpires. A couple of arbiters – Hank O’Day and Jocko Conlan – had brief, unremarkable on-field careers, but as a group, these 10 tried to be inconspicuous on the field.

And a final two – Henry Chadwick and Alexander Cartwright – were enshrined for their pioneering role in the game’s development. Chadwick was a sports writer largely credited with developing the concept of a “box score.” Cartwright was one of the chief architects of baseball in its infancy.

That eliminates 69 possibilities and reduces the field of candidates substantially. But there remain 262 immortals to be considered. So let’s moved on to question 2.

Question 2: Was the person known as a great home run hitter…did he hit more than 500 home runs during the course of his career?

Answer: No. There are 27 current members of the 500 home run club, 18 of whom have a plaque in Cooperstown. (The exceptions are Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, and Gary Sheffield.)

The remaining 18 include many of the game’s consensus immortals. That group is topped by Henry Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Ken Griffey Jr. Jim Thome, Frank Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, Reggie Jackson, and Mike Schmidt are included, as are Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, Willie McCovey, Frank Thomas, Ted Williams, Ernie Banks, Eddie Mathews, Mel Ott, and Eddie Murray.

Some had impressive debuts. In Robinson’s April 17, 1956 debut against the Cardinals at Crosley Field, he sent a second inning Vinegar Bend Mizell pitch one-hopping into the seats for a ground rule double.

In his July 30, 1959 debut against the Philadelphia Phillies at Seals Stadium, McCovey singled. He later tripled twice and added a single for a four-hit, two-RBI introduction.

But none of them debuted with a home run. Not even the Bambino, whose first at bat came in a July 11, 1914 game against the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park. The Babe, Boston’s starting pitcher, was hitless in two at bats. On the other hand, he survived seven innings, long enough to pick up a 4-3 victory.

Eliminating those great home run hitters still leaves us with nearly 250 possibilities. Next question.

Question 3: If not a slugger, was he known as a great hitter, perhaps someone with at least 2,500 career base hits?

Answer: As of the current moment, 101 major leaguers have accumulated at least 2,500 career base hits. That includes the MLB all-time leader, the unenshrined Pete Rose, and descends to Jimmy Ryan, a 19th century star who had 2,513.

A few, like Rose and tarnished White Sox star Shoeless Joe Jackson have not been honored. Some, notably Adrian Beltre (3,166 hits) retired only recently or, like Albert Pujols, remain active. They await their turn.

Still, the correct answer is no, our subject did not accumulate 2,500 base hits during the course of his illustrious career. That response strikes nearly 90 possibilities not already eliminated from consideration, among them:

• Rickey Henderson, June 24, 1979, versus the Texas Rangers at Oakland Alameda County Coliseum, double to right off John Henry Johnson.
• Tony Gwynn, July 19, 1982, versus the Philadelphia Phillies at Jack Murphy Stadium, run-producing sacrifice fly to center off Mike Krukow.
• George Brett, Aug. 2, 1973, vs. the Chicago White Sox at White Sox Park,  line drive caught by pitcher Stan Bahnsen.
• Stan Musial, Sept. 17, 1941, versus the Boston Braves at Sportsman’s Park, routine pop up to third base.
• Dave Winfield, July 19, 1973, versus the Houston Astros at Jack Murphy Stadium, groundout shortstop to first.
• Al Kaline, July 25, 1953, versus the Philadelphia Athletics at Connie Mack Stadium, fly ball to center field.

Question 4: Was the player in question active during what is referred to as the live ball era, that is, since 1920?

Yes.

Aside from those previously eliminated, 65 Hall of Famers completed their careers prior to 1920. That number includes some great – for their era – sluggers.

Sam Thompson hit 126 home runs for the Phillies and Detroit Nationals between 1885 and 1898, twice leading the league.

Roger Connor was the pre-eminent 19th Century slugger, hitting 138 home runs – almost all of them for the Giants — between 1880 and 1897. That, by the way, was the MLB career record prior to the arrival of Babe Ruth.

It also eliminates some early Negro Leagues stars, notably Oscar Charleston. He debuted with the Indianapolis ABCs as an 18-year-old in 1915, and within a few years was recognized as the best player not involved in what at the time were the recognized major leagues.

Historians have since credited Charleston with 211 official home runs, although as with many Negro League players his actual totals may never be known.

Finally, it eliminates John Henry “Pop” Lloyd, a pre-Negro League Black Baseball star voted into the Hall of Fame in 1977. Between 1903 and World War I, Lloyd played with many teams that made their collective living barnstorming the country. But given the scarcity of records of such teams, we really do not know how many home runs he hit.

Question 5: You mentioned the Negro Leagues…can we assume that the honoree spent his career in either the American or National League – or both – as opposed to having been recognized for his contribution to the Negro Leagues or other leagues.

Answer: Yes, you may. And that answer eliminates 17 more greats of the game, among them Josh Gibson, who many consider to be the greatest home run hitter of all time, Babe Ruth not excluded.

Gibson debuted with the Homestead Grays as an 18-year phenom out of the Pittsburgh colored sandlots during the summer of 1930. In his July 25 debut against the Kansas City Monarchs, he earned recognition more for his catching abilities than his offense, going hitless in two at bats.

This answer also eliminates such noted threats as Buck Leonard, Cool Papa Bell, Willie Wells, and Monte Irvin. The honest reality, though, is that in numerous instances the record books are not clear on what Negro League players did on at-bat by at-bat basis. In this respect, then, we are operating on a combination of data and presumption.

For the same reason, this response eliminates Martin Dihigo, a multi-skill performer in both the Negro and Latin leagues during the 1920s and 1930s. Finally, it eliminates possibly the best known Negro Leaguer of all, Satchel Paige.

It still, however, leaves, more than 100 Hall of Famers. We know this much about them: They played in the American or National League during the live ball era, and they neither hit 500 home runs nor 2,500 base hits.

Question 7: An answer or two back, you mentioned Satchel Paige. Once we eliminate those 25 Hall of Fame hitters from consideration, most of what remains share a single attribute: they were enshrined for their pitching capabilities. May we eliminate players who were predominantly known as pitchers?

Answer: Absolutely and unequivocally not…which means by extension you can eliminate non-pitchers. In fact, our MLB hero was a pitcher.

That answer casts aside another large group of immortals, essentially every position player not already eliminated. Off the boards are such prominent names as Alan Trammell, Bill Mazeroski, Bobby Doerr, Ernie Lombardi, Joe Gordon, Lou Boudreau, Phil Rizzuto, and PeeWee Reese.

And this might be an appropriate place to note that when Phil Rizzuto and PeeWee Reese are eliminated as possibilities from a home-run related question, we are getting into especially funky territory.

We are left with 44 pitchers who we know spent their entire careers in the live ball era. I’ll make it easier for you: you can eliminate anybody who pitched prior to the advent of television as a common means for people to watch a game…that is, prior to 1950. That eliminates Dizzy Dean, Lefty Grove, Lefty Gomez, Red Ruffing, and a slew of other 1920s and 1930s mound stars.

That further reduces the field to just 32 names. Three questions left; the list is beginning to look manageable.

Question 8: Did he pitch exclusively or primarily in the National League?

No, but there’s a catch to this response. The player pitched more seasons in the American League than the National.  But he would have been a recognized figure in both leagues; in fact, he hit his debut home run as a National Leaguer.

That response eliminates 18 of the 32, and gets you down to just 14 candidates. The 14 are Bert Blyleven, Catfish Hunter, Dennis Eckersley, Hoyt Wilhelm, Jack Morris, Jim Bunning, Jim Palmer, Mariano Rivera, Mike Mussina, Pedro Martinez, Rich Gossage, Rollie Fingers, Roy Halladay, and Whitey Ford.

Some of the eliminations are close calls. Nolan Ryan, Ferguson Jenkins, and Randy Johnson basically split their careers between the two leagues.

And since we’re talking now about an American League pitcher, I’ll save you the trouble of asking the obvious question: Yes, you can eliminate DH-era pitchers. That strikes Blyleven, Hunter, Eckersley, Morris, Palmer, Rivera, Mussina, Martinez, Gossage, Fingers, and Halladay.

Now you’re down to Wilhelm, Bunning, or Ford. And since I’ve already stipulated that the player had substantial careers in both leagues, Ford can obviously be eliminated. That gets it down to Bunning or Wilhelm. Want to guess?

Question 9: Since it has already been established that the player homered as a National Leaguer – and since Bunning came up with the Detroit Tigers – the answer must be Wilhelm. Is it Hoyt Wilhelm?

Answer: Correct. The singular hit came on April 23, 1952 at Braves Field in Boston. Wilhelm was a 29-year-old minor league veteran finally given a chance by Leo Durocher’s defending National League champion Giants that spring. He had already made two brief relief appearances when the Giants, 5-3, sent prospect Roger Bowman out to face the Braves. Bowman had little, lasting only into the third before Durocher summoned Wilhelm to protect a 3-2 New York lead.

Wilhelm couldn’t do it, giving up a game-tying single to the second batter he faced, Willard Marshall.

But in the fourth inning, Giants bats exploded. With one out, Don Mueller slammed Gene Conley’s first pitch into the right field seats for a home run that put New York on top 4-3. After Conley hit Al Dark, Wes Westrum made Conley pay, homering over the wall in left and knocking the Braves starter from the mound.

The new pitcher, Dick Hoover, looked in to find Wilhelm in the box against him. Knowing this rookie pitcher had never batted in the majors, Hoover grooved a first-pitch get-ahead fastball. Wilhelm swung and made solid contact, the ball landing in Braves Field’s famous ‘Jury Box’ bleachers in deep right.

Wilhelm lasted five innings before giving way to Dave Koslo, eventually getting credit for New York’s 9-5 victory. In the broad context of Wilhelm’s Hall of Fame career, that’s the noteworthy aspect. The singular aspect, however, was that fourth inning monster shot. For the record, Wilhelm would come to the plate nearly 500 more times in an MLB career that lasted into the 1970s without ever hitting another homer.

He would, however, become one of MLB’s first relief specialists, riding his knuckleball to 228 saves. Despite that and his longevity – Wilhelm pitched until he was 49 – he played on only one championship team, the 1954 Giants. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985, receiving 85 percent of the vote.