Greatest debut games in Rangers history

ARLINGTON -- An MLB debut has a certain aura to it. Whether it’s a breaking camp with your big league club or debuting as a September callup, or even as an injury replacement, every player dreams of that day.

Despite having their fair share of rookie stars over the years, the Rangers have only won two American League Rookie of the Year Awards: Neftali Feliz in 2010 and Mike Hargrove in 1974.

Obviously, not every rookie turns into a superstar, not even ones with electric MLB debuts. But the Rangers’ debut games have been exciting as ever.

In no particular order, let’s look at the best debut games in franchise history, limiting it to a player’s first Major League game, not their Texas debut -- eliminating franchise legends like Nolan Ryan and Josh Hamilton.

Joey Gallo
June 2, 2015, vs. CWS
Final line: 3-for-4, BB, 2B, HR, 4 RBIs

The Rangers selected Gallo in the first round (39th overall) of the 2012 MLB Draft. Gallo, then the club’s top prospect, finished a triple shy of the cycle in his MLB debut at 21 years old back in 2015. In true Gallo fashion, he added a walk and four RBIs, with a towering 444-foot homer to foreshadow his eventual 208 big league home runs.

David Clyde
June 27, 1973, vs. MIN
Final line: 5 IP, 1 H, 2 ERs, 7 BBs, 8 K’s

On June 5, 1973, the Rangers selected Clyde at No. 1 overall in the MLB Draft. Just 22 days later, he made his MLB debut, facing off against future Hall of Famer Jim Kaat and the Minnesota Twins. At just 18 years old, Clyde held his own and secured a 4-3 victory for Texas.

Clyde remains the Rangers’ only No. 1 overall pick in the MLB Draft since relocating to Arlington.

Ivan Rodriguez
June 20, 1991, vs. CWS
Final line: 1-for-4, 2 RBIs

The story of Pudge’s MLB debut on the field is fine. He had a two-run single during a ninth-inning rally that led to a 7-3 Rangers win. At catcher, he threw out a pair of runners. That’s all good and fun for a 19-year-old making his debut, but Rodriguez actually had to postpone his wedding for his debut.

“The day they called me up, I was supposed to get married on the field down in Tulsa where I was playing Double-A ball,” Rodriguez wrote in the Players Tribune. “The night before, we had done some rehearsals with all the players out on the field, and it went great.

“Then the next day, my manager at the time, Bobby Jones, calls me into his office and says, ‘Hey kid, I think we have a problem. You’re getting called up, so you have two choices. You can either get married here tonight, or you’re going to Chicago with the Rangers. But you can’t do both. If you’re headed to the big leagues, we’re going to have to delay the wedding.’

“So I went to Chicago. It was difficult to tell my fiancée that we couldn’t get married just yet. We ended up getting married the next year, in the spring, down in Port Charlotte. But not at the Ponderosa.”

Josh Jung
Sept. 9, 2022, vs. TOR
Final line: 2-for-4, HR

The Rangers’ current third baseman had his MLB debut delayed by a series of injuries between 2021 and early 2022, and when he finally touched dirt at Globe Life Field, he didn’t waste any time. Jung launched his first career home run a Statcast-projected 388 feet over the left-center-field wall off Toronto’s Ross Stripling in his first career plate appearance, becoming just the second player in Rangers history (since 1972) to hit a home run in his first Major League at-bat, joining Jurickson Profar, who did it on Sept. 2, 2012, at Cleveland.

Jung also joined Anderson Tejeda in 2020 as the only Rangers to hit a homer and steal a base in a Major League debut. He’s the 12th player in American League/National League history to accomplish the feat.

Jurickson Profar
Sept. 2, 2012, at CLE
Final line: 2-for-4, HR, RBI

Speaking of Profar, MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall prospect in 2012 made an obvious splash of his own in his debut 10 years prior to Jung’s. At the time of his debut, Profar was the first player born in 1993 to play in the Majors and the youngest active player. Filling in for an injured Ian Kinsler, the 19-year-old belted his first home run in his first career plate appearance and doubled in his next at-bat.

Grant Anderson
May 30, 2023, at DET
Final line: 2 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K’s

The name doesn’t fly off the page for fans that weren't locked into Texas’ 2023 bullpen, but Anderson delivered a debut for the ages during a foggy night in Detroit. The 25-year-old retired eight of the nine Tigers batters he faced, picking up four consecutive strikeouts to open his outing and finishing with seven K’s in 2 2/3 innings out of the ‘pen. Anderson’s appearance was the first time in Rangers history that a player has struck out seven batters while coming out of the bullpen in his Major League debut.

By pitching more than two scoreless innings, striking out seven hitters and getting the win as a reliever in his MLB debut, he became just the fourth player to accomplish the feat -- joining the Cubs’ Hayden Wesneski (2022), the Pirates' Barry Jones (1986) and the Dodgers' Pete Richert ('62).

Nomar Mazara
April 10, 2016, vs LAA
Final line: 3-for-4, HR, RBI

Mazara collected hits in each of his first three plate appearances in his MLB debut, the third of which was a solo homer off of Jered Weaver. At the time, Mazara became the fifth Rangers player to have three hits in his Major League debut, and the eighth to hit a home run on his first day in the big leagues.

Ruben Sierra
June 1, 1986, at KC
Final line: 2-for-3, 3 RBI, 1 BB

Sierra quietly had a more than solid MLB debut, hitting his first big league homer off Royals starter Charlie Leibrandt. Sierra’s three RBIs would account for all of Texas’ runs in the 5-3 loss to the Royals at Royals Stadium.

Evan Carter
Sept. 8, 2023, vs. OAK
Final line: 1-for-3, 1 BB

Carter’s MLB debut was the epitome of what made him such an elite-level prospect. The outfielder was called up when All-Star Adolis Garcia’s right patellar tendon strain landed him on the injured list in the midst of a postseason push. Just 21 years old at the time, Carter collected his first big league hit in his first at-bat and a walk in his last plate appearance. Though it ended in a 6-3 Rangers loss, Carter would go on to be a vital part of the postseason run en route to Texas’ first World Series championship.