Hitting a Home Run In Your First MLB At-Bat Is Exciting, Not Indicative of Anything
Two weeks ago, Matt Gorski of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit his first major league home run in his first major league at-bat, on the first pitch he saw. With that swing, Gorski became the 136th member of this not-so-exclusive club – the first MLB at-bat homer club. And he joined an inclusive subset of that club, becoming just the 31st player to do so on the first pitch.
Interestingly, of the 136 times this has happened, 90 have done it in the last 50 years. From 1895–1974, only 46 players hit a home run in their first big league at-bat, with Joe Harrington of the Boston Beaneaters being the first, on September 10, 1895. There is really no rhyme nor reason as to who does this. Aaron Judge did it, but so did James Outman (just called up from Triple-A).
Luke Stuart did the deed in 1921, and that was his only hit in the majors. Keith McDonald did it for the Cardinals on July 4, 2000, and never hit another home run. Hoyt Wilhelm, known for his knuckleball – which was good enough to get him into the Hall of Fame – hit a home run in first at-bat, never hit another, and finished his career with a .088 batting average.
My personal favorite happened on April 8, 1986, when rookie sensation Will Clark took future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan out to dead center in the Astrodome in his first big league at-bat. Historically, the Astrodome was a pitcher’s park, with bad lighting and dead air that did not allow the ball to carry. To hit a dinger to dead center off Nolan Ryan was quite the feat. Clark has discussed how the wily veteran, known for his “Ryan Express” fastball, started him with a curve. “Welcome to the big leagues, rook!”
On June 12, 2010, Daniel Nava made his major league debut with the Boston Red Sox with the bases loaded. He deposited Joe Blanton’s first offering into the bullpen for a grand slam.
This phenomenon is becoming almost old hat. Since the start of the 2020 season, it has happened 16 times. Noted first-timers include:
Akil Badoo (Tigers, 2021). Badoo also did it on the first pitch, and used that as a jumping off point for the best year of his now four-year career.
Christopher Morel (Cubs, 2022). Morel, now with the Rays, has fallen off the last two seasons since his trade to the American League.
Brett Baty (Mets, 2022). Baty has not hit enough to become the everyday third baseman the Mets had hoped for, and after that first dinger, he has hit only 15 more.
Spencer Steer (Reds, 2022). The Reds have high hopes for Steer, who hit 23 home runs in 2023 and then another 20 in 2024. A shoulder injury has slowed him this year.
Josh Jung (Rangers, 2022). Injuries have derailed a strong start to Jung’s career. He played in only 46 games last season, and a finger laceration has sidelined him again this year.
Davis Schneider (Blue Jays, 2023). Schneider came to the big leagues like a house on fire, accumulating 1.8 bWAR in just 35 games, while hitting seven more home runs after that initial blast. Since then, the results have been considerably more muted.
Jasson Domínguez (Yankees, 2023). “The Martian” was supposed to be a savior for the Yankees, but he has not yet lived up to the hype. He has two home runs this season in 98 at-bats, and has only hit seven since his initial shot.
Jhonkensy Noel (Guardians, 2024). “Big Christmas” hit one of the biggest and loudest home runs of the post season last year (see below), which was on top of the inaugural dinger. This year has only hit two, while slashing .164/.186/.269.
Hitting a home run in your first major league at-bat is, more than anything, a fluke. It does not bode anything for the rest of your career. But it does provide an incredible moment for the player and his family if they were able to make it to the yard in time for the game. And really, at the end of the day, aren’t those special moments one of the main reasons why we love the game?
PLAY BALL!
