This post updated April 20, 2019.
UPDATE – ADD ANOTHER FIRST-AT BAT HOME RUN
How appropriate. Not long after this post was published, Cardinals’ pinch hitter Lane Thomas joined the list of players with a home run in their first MLB at bat (the stats in the post have been updated to reflect his April 19 blast. ). His long ball was a two-run shot in the bottom of sixth inning of the Redbirds’ 5-4 loss to the Mets. Notably, the homer to right barely cleared the wall. In fact, it took an umpire’s review to confirm that Thomas had indeed joined the first-at bat HR Club. Thomas, of course, is now part of the group of first-at bat home run hitters with only one career round tripper. Given the fact that his is coming off a 2018 Double A season that included 21 homers, that may not last long.
On this date (April 19) in 1938, the Dodgers (of Brooklyn) opened the season against the Phillies in Philadelphia. Yes, that’s right, Opening Day on April 19 (How the times have changed). That day a couple of rookies showed they truly knew how to “get the party started” – hitting home runs in their first MLB at bats on Opening Day.
Batting third for Brooklyn was 28-year-old rookie left fielder Ernie Koy. In his first-ever MLB at bat, he took Phillies’ starter Wayne LaMaster deep to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Leading off for Philadelphia in the bottom of the inning was 25-year-old rookie second baseman Heinie Mueller. In his first MLB at bat, Mueller homered off Dodgers’ starter Van Lingle Mungo to tie the game. It was the first time in MLB history that two players homered in their first MLB at bat in the same game – a feat that would not be matched for nearly 80 years (2016).
The Dodgers, by the way, won 12-5; with Koy going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Mueller went 2-for-3, with two walks, three runs scored and one RBI. In that rookie season, Koy hit .299, with a career-high 11 home runs. He played six MLB seasons (558 games) and put up a .279-36-260 line. Mueller finished 1938 with a .250-4-34 stat line and went .253-17-127 in four MLB seasons.
Aaron Judge. Photo by Keith Allison 
Tyler Austin. Photo by slgckgc
It wasn’t until August 13, 2016, that two players again homered in their first MLB at bat in the same game. This time, they were on the same team – and accomplished the feat back-to-back. It came in the bottom of the second inning, with the Yankees facing the Rays. With two outs and the bases empty, Yankee rookie 1B Tyler Austin took Rays’ starter Matt Andriese deep to right field to give the Bronx Bombers a 1-0 lead. Rookie RF Aaron Judge immediately followed up with a home run of his own (also in his first MLB at bat); this one to straight-away center. Austin ended the season with five home runs in 31 games, while Judge got in just 17 games and hit just .179 with four home runs. Note: By virtue of that limited playing time, Judge kept his rookie status for 2017 – when he went .284-52-114, setting a new MLB rookie record for home runs and leading the AL in runs scored (128), home runs, walks (127) and whiffs (208), while winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award.
Here are a few other first at-bat home run factoids.
- A total of 123 players (AL. NL, AA) have homered in their first MLB at bat.
- Twenty-nine of those players hit their home run on the very first MLB pitch they ever saw.
- Just four players have hit a Grand Slam home run in their first MLB at bat: Bill Duggleby, Phillies, April 21, 1898; Jeremy Hermida, Marlins, August 31, 2005; Kevin Kouzmanoff, Indians, September 2, 2006; and Danial Nava, Red Sox, June 12, 2010. Notably, Kouzmanoff and Nava put a little icing on the cake, hitting their Grand Slams on the first MLB pitch they ever saw.
- Twenty pitchers, including the first player to hit a Grand Slam in his first at bat, homered in their first-ever MLB at bat.
- Only two players have homered in their first two at bats: Bob Nieman, Browns, 1952 and Keith McDonald, Cardinals, July 4, 2000. Note: McDonald collected just three base hits in his MLB career – and they were all home runs. For that story, click here.
- Only three players have hit (run) for an inside-the-park homer in their first MLB at bat: Luke Stuart, Browns, August 8, 1921; Walter Mueller, Pirates, May 7, 1922; and Johnnie LeMaster, Giants, September 2, 1975.
- The first recorded instances of a player homering in their first MLB at bat came on April 16, 1887 – Orioles’ OF Mike Griffin and Red Stockings’ OF George Tebeau (in separate games).
- Twenty-three of the players to homer in their first MLB at bat ever have only one MLB home run on their resumes (three are still active).
Primary Resources: Baseball-Reference.com; Baseball-Almanac.com; MLB.com
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