Disastrous Debuts of MLB Hall of Famers

They’re Hall of Famers. You’d think they’d all bat .300, be Rookie of the Year, and lead the league in multiple categories. Indeed, some of them followed that script exactly.

Jackie Robinson, for example, was Rookie of the Year, led the league in steals, and … oh, I don’t know … integrated baseball? Other great rookie seasons include:

• Frank Robinson – 38 HRs, 122 runs
• Mike Piazza – 35 homers, 112 RBIs, .932 OPS
• Herb Score – 16 wins, 2.85 ERA, 245 K’s
• Tom Seaver – 16 wins, 18 CGs, 2.76 ERA
• Orlando Cepeda – .312 average, 25 homers, league leader in doubles
• Willie McCovey - .354 average, 13 HRs in 52 games

Most have had a little more pedestrian start. And some have been downright awful. These are those.

#8 – Lou Boudreau / Hank Greenberg

These two were both in a single game, with a single at bat, so it’s really hard to say. Who knows what would’ve happened if they’d gotten a second.

Boudreau did at least get on base, drawing a walk (his other at bat was a ground out). He also managed to play 4 innings in the field (at 1B), but was never involved in a play.

Greenberg, who was only 19, made an out (a pop-up to second) in in a pinch-hitting role. He would be 22 before he would get another chance.

#7 – Rollie Fingers

Fingers also got in only one game … but it was really bad. I’m talking a 27.00 ERA and a 3.750 WHIP. Facing 9 batters, he got 4 outs, but gave up 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 HR, and 4 runs. Throw in a hit batsman and a wild pitch, and it was definitely a day to forget.

 

#6 – Carlton Fisk

Pudge actually got in a couple of games, going 0 for 5, with 2 strikeouts. For one of those games, he put in a complete 9 innings behind the plate (the other was as a pinch hitter).

It would be 2 years before he came back. That year, he only had 49 at-bats, but did manage to hit .313. He also managed to keep his rookie eligibility, and the year after was the AL Rookie of the Year.

#5 – Kiki Cuyler

Hazen Shirley Cuyler managed the unique feat of going 0 for 3 with 1 strikeout in 2 games … over his first two seasons. The first game was a full one (though rain shortened), with the second meriting only a pinch-running appearance.

#4 – Lou Brock

Brock’s first year in the bigs included 4 games, 11 at bats, 1 hit, and 3 strikeouts. That, and a walk, resulted in an .091 average and .167 OBP. It wasn’t much better in the field, with Brock making 6 putouts on 8 chances for .750 fielding percentage.

#3 – Tim Raines

Raines is another one who managed some pretty paltry numbers over his first two years. I’m talking 20 at-bats and 1 hit, for a miserable .050 average. Somehow or other, though, he did manage to score 8 runs and steal 7 bases. And that comes from 6 walks and a first year of nothing but pinch-running.

After those 2 years, he managed to keep his rookie eligibility, making quite a splash in the third. In addition to leading the NL in steals with 71, he hit .303 and came in second in RoY voting (losing out to some guy named Valenzuela, or Venezuela, or something).

#2 – Brooks Robinson

Poor Brooksie! It was not pretty. Only 18, he struggled, with 22 at bats, 2 hits, and 10 strikeouts. That’s another .091 average (and a 45% strikeout rate), if you’re counting.

Things would not actually get much better the next two years, with Robinson notching 161 at bats total and barely hitting over the Mendoza line both years. The year after those, though he did become a regular, he also hit only .238, with 3 home runs. Indeed, Robinson may have been the slowest starter of all the Hall of Famers.

#1 – Nolan Ryan

What’s this guy doing here? Arguably one of the most dominating pitchers ever, Ryan didn’t actually start out so hot.

Only 19, he got in 2 games, including 1 start. Facing 17 batters, he walked 4, and gave up 5 hits (including a homer) and 5 runs. He did manage to strike out 6 though, including striking out the side in the 1^st inning of that start. It would be two years before he would get another shot at the majors.