BALTIMORE -- Some of the best players in Orioles history took a bit to get acclimated to the big leagues upon their arrival. Some, on the other hand, made an immediate impact.
Here’s a look at the 10 best debut games in O’s history (since the franchise relocated to Baltimore in 1954).
1. Cedric Mullins: Aug. 10, 2018, vs. Red Sox
Stats: 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs, three runs scored and a walk
Mullins became the first (and only) Oriole to collect three-plus hits in his first MLB game, and the then-23-year-old filled the stat sheet in the process. Starting in center field -- a position he’d eventually stabilize for the O’s for the first half of the 2020s -- Mullins began his career with an RBI double off right-hander Nathan Eovaldi in the second inning.
The do-it-all performance was a sign of what would follow for Mullins in the years to come.
2. Tom Phoebus: Sept. 15, 1966, vs. Angels
Stats: Nine innings pitched, four hits, no runs allowed, two walks and eight strikeouts
Phoebus’ 85 game score is the best recorded by an Orioles pitcher in his big league debut. At the age of 24, the right-hander arrived on the MLB scene with a dominant performance, twirling a four-hit shutout vs. the Angels at Memorial Stadium. He followed it up with a five-hit shutout against the Kansas City A’s five days later.
After recording a 3.06 ERA in 134 games over five seasons in Baltimore, Phoebus went on to have a seven-year big league career. He died on Sept. 5, 2019.
3. Gunnar Henderson: Aug. 31, 2022, at Cleveland
Stats: 2-for-4 with one home run and one RBI
The arrival of Henderson -- ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 overall prospect at the time -- was highly anticipated. The 2019 second-round Draft pick quickly lived up to the hype, as the then-21-year-old went deep in his second plate appearance, opening the fourth inning with a home run off right-hander Triston McKenzie.
Henderson added a leadoff single in the ninth, but his debut will most be remembered for how he lost his helmet during his home run trot around the bases.
4. Jonathan Schoop: Sept. 25, 2013, vs. Blue Jays
Stats: 2-for-3 with one home run, one RBI, three runs scored and a walk
Schoop was called up to the Majors on Sept. 3, 2013, shortly after rosters expanded. But the then-21-year-old didn’t get into a game until a little more than three weeks later. The wait was worth it, as Schoop singled in his first plate appearance in the third and led off the sixth with a home run off right-hander Kyle Drabek.
A 2017 All-Star, Schoop went on to play six seasons for the O’s and had an 11-year MLB career.
5. Dave McNally: Sept. 26, 1962, vs. Kansas City A’s
Stats: Nine innings pitched, two hits, no runs allowed, three walks and four strikeouts
One of the best left-handers in Orioles history was only 19 when he arrived in the big leagues for a late-September spot start in the opener of a doubleheader at Memorial Stadium. McNally tossed a two-hit shutout vs. the A’s, then was a fixture in the rotation the next 12 seasons.
6. Charlie Beamon: Sept. 26, 1956, vs. Yankees
Stats: Nine innings pitched, four hits, no runs allowed, seven walks and nine strikeouts
Although Beamon issued a whopping seven walks, the then-21-year-old still turned in a four-hit shutout in his first MLB outing, at Memorial Stadium. His nine strikeouts are tied for the most by an O’s pitcher in his big league debut, along with Sammy Stewart (Sept. 1, 1978, vs. White Sox) and John Parrish (July 24, 2000, vs. Yankees).
Beamon made only 27 appearances (including five starts) in three MLB seasons, all with Baltimore. He died on May 3, 2016.
7. Larry Haney: July 27, 1966, vs. Cleveland
Stats: 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBIs
Haney went deep in the second plate appearance of his big league debut, belting a two-run homer off left-hander John O'Donoghue in the fifth inning. In doing so, Haney became the first Oriole to hit a home run in his first MLB game -- and he was the only one to do so until Schoop in 2013.
A two-time World Series champion (1966 with the O’s and ‘74 with the A’s), Haney went on to have a 12-year MLB career, though only three of those seasons were spent in Baltimore.
8. Bob Milacki: Sept. 18, 1988, at Tigers
Stats: Eight innings pitched, one hit, no runs allowed, four walks and four strikeouts
Milacki became the first pitcher in Orioles history to give up one hit or fewer while working at least eight innings in his MLB debut. His 109-pitch scoreless gem was the first of three strong outings he had during his first taste of the big leagues late in the 1988 season.
A fixture on Baltimore’s staff from 1989-92, Milacki played five of his eight seasons for the O’s.
9. Chris Waters: Aug. 5, 2008, at Angels
Stats: Eight innings pitched, one hit, no runs allowed, three walks and three strikeouts
Waters made only 16 appearances (12 starts) during a brief two-year MLB career with the Orioles, but his debut was one to remember, as the then-27-year-old left-hander worked eight scoreless innings of one-hit ball while navigating a Halos lineup that featured Mark Teixeira, Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter at Angel Stadium.
Although Waters didn’t stick in the Majors, he also threw a complete-game shutout against the Blue Jays on Sept. 16, 2008, at Rogers Centre.
10. Trey Mancini: Sept. 20, 2016, vs. Red Sox
Stats: 1-for-3 with one home run and one RBI
Amid the Orioles’ quest to reach the postseason (which ended up being successful), Mancini got a taste of the big leagues and flashed his potential. The future slugger went deep in his second plate appearance, blasting a solo shot off left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez in the fifth inning.
Mancini played six of his seven MLB seasons in Baltimore, a run that featured an emotional comeback from Stage 3 colon cancer.