Electric might be the best description to describe the reaction to the long-antipated arrival of Elly De La Cruz from the fans at Great American Ball Park on Tuesday night.
Even if you were just watching on television, the excitement in the park jumped off the screen at you.
The best part of his night, of course, was when the 21-year-old crushed a double to right-centerfield and showed his elite speed on the basepaths.
He also walked twice and grounded out on a ball that was hit nearly as hard as the double. He seemed unbothered by the atmosphere and expectations surrounding him..
The first walk, in his first time at bat in a major league game, obviously wasn’t as exciting as his first hit. But it was interesting.
It was interesting because it might have shown he is, or is becoming, more selective about what pitches he swings at – a good thing for any hitter, but especially for a rookie of whom much is expected.
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin threw two low and inside pitches and two more that were really low and really inside and De La Cruz didn’t swing at any of them. It was a small sign, but a good sign.
De La Cruz’s performance in his first game made me wonder how some of the stars of the past and present handled their first major league at bat. Here’s a look at how 20 of them did:
– Ken Griffey Jr. doubled off Dave Stewart in his first major league at bat on April 3, 1989 in a 3-2 loss by the Seattle Mariners in a game at Oakland.
– Tony Gwynn hit a sacrifice fly in his first major league at bat on July 19, 1982 in the San Diego Padres’ 7-6 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. He got the first of his 3,141 career hits and a handshake from Phillies first baseman Pete Rose in the ninth inning.
– Mike Trout hit a fly ball for an out in his first time in the batter’s box in a major league game in a 4-3 win by the California Angels over the Texas Rangers on July 8, 2011. Trout, like De La Cruz, was rated the No. 1 prospect in baseball when he was called up from the minors in July. But by mid-August he was back in the minor leagues after hitting .163 in 12 games.
– Albert Pujols’ major league debut at the plate was a ground out to the third baseman an an 8-0 loss by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Colorado Rockies in the Cardinals’ season opener on April 2, 2001.
– Barry Bonds, playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, popped up to shortstop against Orel Hershiser in a 6-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 30, 1986 in his first at bat in the big leagues.
– The Giants were still in New York when Willie Mays took his first swings in the major leagues for them on May 25, 1951. He struck out looking against the pitches of Bubba Church (36-37 career record) the first time he went to the plate. Mays was 0 for his first 12 at bats and 1 for his first 26 for the Giants.
– Pete Rose drew a walk in his first at bat in the Cincinnati Reds’ 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 8, 1963. He went 0 in his next 11 trips to the plate.
– Miguel Cabrera struck out in his first major league plate appearance in the Florida Marlins’ 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on June 20, 2003 but hit a game-winning 491-foot home run in the bottom of the eleventh inning.
– Jim Thome struck out in his first major league at bat when the then Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins 8-4 in the Metrodome. – Henry Aaron hit into a double play in his first major league at bat and went 0 for 5 when the Cincinnati Reds beat the Milwaukee Braves 9-8 on April 13, 1954. Joe Nuxhall, pitching in relief, got Aaron out three times.
– Derek Jeter hit a fly ball for an out in the New York Yankees’ 8-7 loss to the Seattle Mariners in his first time at the plate in the major leagues on May 29, 1995. Thirteen games later, in two moves thatseem incomphrehensible in retrospect, the Yankees sent Hall of Famers Jeter and Mariano Rivera back to the minor leagues on the same day.
– Johnny Bench’s first major league at bat came in a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies by the Cincinnati Reds on August 28, 1967. He popped up to shortstop.
– Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels singled in his first at bat in the big leagues on March 29, 2018 during a 6-5 loss to the Oakland Athletics.
– Aaron Judge’s first at bat in the major leagues produced a 446-foot home run in an 8-4 New York Yankees’ win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 13, 2006.
– Roberto Clemente beat out an infield single for a hit in his first major league at during the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 10-3 loss to the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 17, 1955.
– Joey Votto struck out while pinch hitting for relief pitcher Gary Majewski during the Cincinnati Reds’ 11-7 loss to the New York Mets in his first at bat in the big leagues on Sept. 4, 2007.
– David Ortiz hit a fly ball for an out in his debut at bat in the major leagues for the Minnesota Twins in a 9-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field on Sept. 2, 1997.
– Albert Belle, known then as Joey Belle, hit a run-scoring single in his first trip to the plate with the Cleveland Guardians, known then as the Indians, on July 15, 1987.
– Frank Robinson. The future MVP in two leagues doubled in his first at bat for the Cincinnati Reds on April 17, 1956 in a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
– Joe Morgan. Morgan’s first trip to the plate in the major leagues was as a pinch hitter in a 4-3 loss by the Houston Colt .45s, now the Astros, to the Philadelphia Phillies. He popped up to shortstop.
