1918 American League Baseball Debuts / Rookies by Baseball Almanac

1918 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."

"You never forget your first hit in the Major Leagues. It was in my third at bat. That was kind of a relief. You could start off 0-for-34." - Ralph Kiner

American League Debuts 1918
#	Name (sort)	Team (sort)	Debut (sort)	Age (sort)
n/a	Red Bluhm	1918 Boston Red Sox	07-03-1918	24
n/a	George Cochran	1918 Boston Red Sox	07-29-1918	29
n/a	Eusebio Gonzalez	1918 Boston Red Sox	07-26-1918	26
n/a	Walt Kinney	1918 Boston Red Sox	07-26-1918	24
n/a	Dick McCabe	1918 Boston Red Sox	05-30-1918	22
n/a	Bill Pertica	1918 Boston Red Sox	08-07-1918	19
n/a	Jack Stansbury	1918 Boston Red Sox	06-30-1918	32
n/a	Fred Thomas	1918 Boston Red Sox	04-22-1918	25
n/a	Ed Corey	1918 Chicago White Sox	07-02-1918	23
n/a	Al DeVormer	1918 Chicago White Sox	08-04-1918	26
n/a	Pat Hardgrove	1918 Chicago White Sox	06-08-1918	23
n/a	Otto Jacobs	1918 Chicago White Sox	06-13-1918	29
n/a	Johnny Mostil	1918 Chicago White Sox	06-20-1918	22
n/a	Babe Pinelli	1918 Chicago White Sox	08-03-1918	22
n/a	Frank Shellenback	1918 Chicago White Sox	05-08-1918	19
n/a	Kid Willson	1918 Chicago White Sox	07-02-1918	22
n/a	Roy Wilkinson	1918 Cleveland Indians	04-29-1918	24
n/a	Joe Cobb	1918 Detroit Tigers	04-25-1918	23
n/a	Herb Hall	1918 Detroit Tigers	04-25-1918	24
n/a	Rudy Kallio	1918 Detroit Tigers	04-25-1918	25
n/a	Walter Bernhardt	1918 New York Yankees	07-16-1918	25
n/a	Alex Ferguson	1918 New York Yankees	08-16-1918	21
n/a	Truck Hannah	1918 New York Yankees	04-15-1918	28
n/a	Roy Sanders	1918 New York Yankees	08-06-1918	24
n/a	Lou Bauer	1918 Philadelphia Athletics	08-13-1918	19
n/a	Claude Davidson	1918 Philadelphia Athletics	04-25-1918	21
n/a	Jimmy Dykes	1918 Philadelphia Athletics	05-06-1918	21
n/a	Frank Fahey	1918 Philadelphia Athletics	04-25-1918	22
n/a	Bob Geary	1918 Philadelphia Athletics	04-25-1918	26
n/a	Chick Holmes	1918 Philadelphia Athletics	06-27-1918	22
n/a	Roy Johnson	1918 Philadelphia Athletics	08-07-1918	22
n/a	Vic Keen	1918 Philadelphia Athletics	08-13-1918	19
n/a	Jake Munch	1918 Philadelphia Athletics	05-27-1918	27
n/a	William Pierson	1918 Philadelphia Athletics	07-04-1918	19
n/a	Red Shea	1918 Philadelphia Athletics	05-06-1918	19
n/a	Mule Watson	1918 Philadelphia Athletics	07-04-1918	21
n/a	Tom Zachary	1918 Philadelphia Athletics	07-11-1918	22
n/a	Bugs Morris	1918 St. Louis Browns	07-20-1918	26
n/a	Bob Berman	1918 Washington Senators	06-04-1918	19
n/a	Garland Buckeye	1918 Washington Senators	06-19-1918	20
n/a	Roy Hansen	1918 Washington Senators	05-28-1918	20
n/a	Ed Hovlik	1918 Washington Senators	07-14-1918	26
n/a	Stan Rees	1918 Washington Senators	06-12-1918	19
#	Name (sort)	Team (sort)	Debut (sort)	Age (sort)
1918 American League Debuts

1918 N.L. Debuts

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the American League during the 1918 season as this group of players made their Major League debut!

Five-for-five debuts? Believe it or not it has happened twice: On June 30, 1894 Fred Clarke of the Louisville Colonels and on May 16, 1933, Cecil Travis of the Washington Senators made their Major League debuts and both went five-for-five at the plate.

Ray Jansen (four for five in his first game), Aubrey Epps (three for four in his first game) and Ed Irvin (two for three in his first game) all finished their career with lifetime batting averages which were greater than their career fielding percentages.

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