1916 American League Baseball Debuts / Rookies by Baseball Almanac

1916 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."

"Always be cautious about rookie performances in September. They don't indicate what will happen in April." - Texas Rangers General Manager Tom Grieve

1916 American League Debuts 1916 A.L. Rookies \| 1916 N.L. Rookies \| Baseball Firsts (All Years)
#	Name (sort)	Team (sort)	Debut (sort)	Age (sort)
n/a	Joe Fautsch	1916 Chicago White Sox	04-24-1916	29
n/a	Ziggy Hasbrouck	1916 Chicago White Sox	09-06-1916	22
n/a	Ted Jourdan	1916 Chicago White Sox	09-18-1916	21
n/a	Byrd Lynn	1916 Chicago White Sox	04-16-1916	27
n/a	Ray Shook	1916 Chicago White Sox	04-16-1916	26
n/a	Zeb Terry	1916 Chicago White Sox	04-12-1916	24
n/a	Cy Wright	1916 Chicago White Sox	06-30-1916	22
n/a	Al Bergman	1916 Cleveland Indians	08-29-1916	26
n/a	Jack Bradley	1916 Cleveland Indians	06-18-1916	22
n/a	Hank DeBerry	1916 Cleveland Indians	09-12-1916	21
n/a	Shorty Des Jardien	1916 Cleveland Indians	05-20-1916	22
n/a	Al Gould	1916 Cleveland Indians	07-11-1916	23
n/a	Lou Guisto	1916 Cleveland Indians	09-10-1916	21
n/a	Red Gunkel	1916 Cleveland Indians	06-18-1916	22
n/a	Otis Lambeth	1916 Cleveland Indians	07-16-1916	26
n/a	Ken Penner	1916 Cleveland Indians	09-11-1916	20
n/a	Ollie Welf	1916 Cleveland Indians	08-30-1916	27
n/a	George Cunningham	1916 Detroit Tigers	04-14-1916	21
n/a	Babe Ellison	1916 Detroit Tigers	09-18-1916	19
n/a	George Harper	1916 Detroit Tigers	04-15-1916	23
n/a	Deacon Jones	1916 Detroit Tigers	09-23-1916	23
n/a	Jess Buckles	1916 New York Yankees	09-17-1916	26
n/a	Mike Cantwell	1916 New York Yankees	08-17-1916	22
n/a	Urban Shocker	1916 New York Yankees	04-24-1916	25
n/a	Doc Carroll	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	06-27-1916	24
n/a	Moxie Divis	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	08-04-1916	22
n/a	Michael Driscoll	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	07-06-1916	23
n/a	Charlie Grimm	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	07-30-1916	17
n/a	Roy Grover	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	09-13-1916	24
n/a	George Hesselbacher	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	06-29-1916	21
n/a	Bill Johnson	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	09-22-1916	23
n/a	Jing Johnson	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	06-27-1916	21
n/a	Lee King	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	06-24-1916	22
n/a	Red Lanning	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	06-20-1916	21
n/a	Otis Lawry	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	06-28-1916	22
n/a	Axel Lindstrom	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	10-03-1916	21
n/a	Lee McElwee	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	07-03-1916	22
n/a	Ralph Mitterling	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	07-07-1916	26
n/a	Rube Parnham	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	09-20-1916	22
n/a	Val Picinich	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	07-25-1916	19
n/a	Harland Rowe	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	06-23-1916	20
n/a	Bill Stellbauer	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	04-12-1916	22
n/a	Buck Thrasher	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	09-27-1916	27
n/a	Walt Whittaker	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	07-06-1916	22
n/a	Marsh Williams	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	07-07-1916	23
n/a	Whitey Witt	1916 Philadelphia Athletics	04-12-1916	20
n/a	Verne Clemons	1916 St. Louis Browns	04-22-1916	24
n/a	Bill Fincher	1916 St. Louis Browns	04-23-1916	21
n/a	Ray Kennedy	1916 St. Louis Browns	09-08-1916	21
n/a	Molly Craft	1916 Washington Senators	08-08-1916	20
n/a	Patsy Gharrity	1916 Washington Senators	05-16-1916	24
n/a	Marv Goodwin	1916 Washington Senators	09-07-1916	25
n/a	Claude Thomas	1916 Washington Senators	09-14-1916	26
#	Name (sort)	Team (sort)	Debut (sort)	Age (sort)
1916 American League Debuts

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the American League during the 1916 season as this group of players made their Major League debut!

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

When Christy Mathewson made his Major League debut the newspaper wrote, "The untried semi-professional possessed great speed and plenty of confidence in himself, but could not control his curves."

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