The Dodgers have a long track record of producing excellent young players, with the most Rookie of the Year Awards (18) among Major League franchises to show for it. Of those 18 outstanding rookies, how many wowed from the first time they took the big league field?
From the one-hit wonders to the ones who went on to become greats, let's take a look at 10 of the best Major League debut games in Dodgers history:
1. Jackie Robinson (April 15, 1947 vs. Boston Braves)
Baseball commemorates Robinson's monumental debut every year, so it's only right that it leads this list. When Robinson took the field on Opening Day 1947, he changed the game before even making a play by breaking baseball's color barrier and blazing the trail to AL/NL play for his fellow Black ballplayers. Robinson started at first base and went 0-for-3 at the plate -- but scored the go-ahead run -- in a 5-3 Dodgers win at Ebbets Field. It was a debut game that ended up being much more notable for its place in history than the contents of its box score.
2. Karl Spooner (Sept. 22, 1954 vs. New York Giants)
Far from a household name, Spooner appeared in only two big league seasons. But his debut was something to remember. The 23-year-old southpaw faced the Dodgers' crosstown rivals late in the season and twirled a shutout with 15 strikeouts, which still holds as the record in a Major League debut (Astros righty J.R. Richard matched it in 1971). Spooner allowed just three walks and three hits, including a single to the great Willie Mays -- who, like several regulars for a Giants team that had already clinched the NL pennant, was pulled midway through the Dodgers' 3-0 win.
3. Pedro Astacio (July 3, 1992 vs. Philadelphia Phillies)
Making his first Major League start in the second game of a doubleheader, Astacio shut out the Phillies across nine innings in a 2-0 victory. He struck out 10 batters, becoming the third Dodger to reach the double-digit strikeout mark in his big league debut (and the first since the team moved to Los Angeles in 1958).
4. Kenta Maeda (April 6, 2016 at San Diego Padres)
Two years before Shohei Ohtani became a sensation in the Majors, Maeda put on a two-way show of his own. After beginning his professional career in Nippon Professional Baseball, Maeda came stateside with the Dodgers and tossed six scoreless innings in his Major League debut, a 7-0 win in San Diego. He also went deep in his second career at-bat -- which ended up being his only homer in nine big league seasons before a return to NPB.
5. Ernie Koy (April 19, 1938 at Phillies)
Not many Dodgers have collected three or more hits in a big league debut, and an exclusive group of three have gone deep in a three-hit debut -- and incidentally, all three went yard in their first career at-bat. We'll get to the other two shortly, but Koy was the first to accomplish the feat in a season-opening 12-5 win in Philadelphia. He finished a triple shy of the cycle, and his seven total bases are tied for the most by a Dodger in an MLB debut since 1901.
6. Jose Offerman (Aug. 19, 1990 vs. Montreal Expos)
The second Dodger to debut with three hits, including a homer in his first at-bat, was Offerman. The 21-year-old shortstop's career-opening long ball represented the Dodgers' lone run in a 2-1 loss to the Expos, but that early pop wasn't exactly a sign of things to come. Offerman went deep only seven more times in six seasons as a Dodger, and overall, he hit 57 homers in total across parts of 15 seasons in the Majors.
7. James Outman (July 31, 2022 at Colorado Rockies)
Closing out the trio, Outman introduced himself to the Major Leagues by homering in his first at-bat and finishing a triple shy of the cycle in a 7-3 Dodgers win, tying Koy with seven total bases. The debut at Coors Field was the beginning of an impressive four-game cup of coffee in the Majors in 2022, followed by a '23 that saw him finish third in NL Rookie of the Year Award voting, but Outman could not reach those same heights in the years that followed and was traded to the Twins in '25.
8. Eric Gagne (Sept. 7, 1999 at Florida Marlins)
Years before Gagne won the NL Cy Young Award as the Dodgers' closer in 2003, he got his feet wet in the big leagues as a starter. Gagne struck out eight batters across six scoreless innings, scattering just two hits and a walk before his team ultimately fell 2-1. After that promising beginning to his career, he didn't hit his stride in the Major Leagues until he became a full-time reliever ahead of the 2002 season -- and the rest is history.
9. Mike Piazza (Sept. 1, 1992 at Cubs)
Piazza began his Hall of Fame career by going 3-for-3 with a walk, doubling for his first hit. He also caught the first seven frames of what ended up being a 5-4 Dodgers win in 13 innings on the North Side. Piazza became the third Dodger to pick up three hits in his big league debut since the team's move to the West Coast. Chris Gwynn (1987) and Offerman were the only L.A.-era Dodgers to accomplish the feat before him.
10. Yasiel Puig (June 3, 2013 vs. Padres)
Showing off his electric style of play from the beginning, Puig notched a pair of hits in a debut that was more memorable for his game-ending double play. The Dodgers were two outs away from a 2-1 win, but the Padres brought the tying run on base and had the go-ahead run at the plate. Playing in right field, Puig retired the batter by chasing down a fly ball to the warning track, then uncorked a perfect throw to first base to double off the runner and close out the victory.