CINCINNATI – Getting that first callup to the Major Leagues is an exquisite dream come true for the vast majority of ballplayers who are fortunate enough to play baseball professionally.
To make an impact or be the hero on the very first day? That's the stuff beyond even dreams.
The Reds have had many players debut in their uniform, but only a select few put together performances that transcended beyond Cincinnati.
With indispensable assistance from the club's media relations coordinator, James Leo, here is a list of 10 of the most memorable MLB debuts – at the plate or on the mound – for the Reds, in no particular order:
Nuxhall's pitching line for his debut at Crosley Field – five runs, two hits and five walks over two-thirds of an inning – wasn't the stuff of legend until one important fact is noted. Nuxhall was only 15!
Specifically, the lefty was 15 years, 10 months and 11 days old, and he remains the youngest player to ever play in a Major League game. A native of nearby Hamilton, Ohio, Nuxhall was called up, in part, because of depleted talent around baseball due to World War II.
Eight years later, in 1952, Nuxhall returned to the big leagues for the Reds and enjoyed a 15-year career that included two All-Star selections. In 1967, he moved to the radio booth and became a beloved radio broadcaster for Cincinnati.
RHP Charles "Bumpus" Jones
Oct. 15, 1892, vs. Pirates
Jones is the only pitcher to throw a no-hitter during his debut as he gave up one unearned run and four walks with three strikeouts over nine innings. Making this feat even more interesting was that the rest of his career was so unremarkable. Jones allowed 37 earned runs on 42 hits and 33 walks over his next seven appearances and was out of the Majors by 1893, which was when the mound was moved to its current distance.
The only other pitchers to throw a no-hitter in their first Major League starts are Ted Breitenstein (1891), Bobo Holloman (1953) and Tyler Gilbert (2021), though each of them made a handful of relief appearances before etching their names into the record books.
Debuting after a dazzling Spring Training, the 22-year-old Cueto gave up one run on one hit with no walks and 10 strikeouts. He had a perfect game until giving up a leadoff homer to Justin Upton in the sixth inning, then retired his final six batters in a row.
Cueto became the first pitcher in modern Major League history (since 1900) to debut with at least 10 strikeouts and no walks, as well as the first Reds pitcher since 1900 to record 10 strikeouts in his MLB debut.
Debuting at 21 years old and at the time, baseball's No. 1 prospect, Bruce went 3-for-3 with a double, two RBIs, two runs scored, two walks and a stolen base. He was the second Red since 1900 to reach base five times in his MLB debut, joining Dan Kerwin on Sept. 27, 1903, vs. Brooklyn.
Bruce would reach base safely in his first six career plate appearances over two games, the longest streak for a Reds player beginning his big league career since 1900.
Only 21 and pitching at Dodger Stadium, Simpson threw a two-hit shutout with two strikeouts. He was the second Reds pitcher since 1900 to work a nine-inning shutout in his big league debut, joining Bob Spade in 1907.
Simpson was the fourth of six MLB pitchers in the Modern Era to throw a nine-inning shutout without a walk in his debut. He opened his career with 15 scoreless innings, a franchise record at the time.
Over six scoreless innings, Abbott allowed one hit with four walks and six strikeouts. He became the only Reds pitcher since the mound was moved in 1893 to produce at least six scoreless innings with fewer than two hits. He didn't allow his lone hit until Joey Wiemer doubled with one out in the top of the fifth.
Abbott snapped Simpson's franchise record by opening his career with 17 2/3 scoreless innings. He was also the first MLB pitcher since 1893 to begin his career with three consecutive scoreless starts of at least five innings.
Acquired one month earlier in a trade from the Twins, Steer reached the big leagues with the Reds and became the fourth player in franchise history to reach safely at least four times in his big league debut and the first since Bruce in 2008. Steer went 2-for-4 with a leadoff homer in the fifth inning, a double, two runs and two walks.
In the bottom of the ninth, Steer scored the winning run on Jonathan India's RBI single for a walk-off victory over Colorado. He was the first Reds player to score the game-ending run in his debut since Otto Bluege on April 12, 1932, vs. the Cubs. Steer also joined Kazuo Matsui (2004) of the Mets as the only two Major Leaguers in 125 years with two or more extra-base hits and two or more walks in his MLB debut.
Sanford allowed one unearned run, two hits and one walk over seven innings with eight strikeouts. In a first for a Reds pitcher in his big league debut, he struck out the side in the first inning. Then he K'd six of the first nine batters he faced.
Since 1900 for the Reds, only Cueto and Sanford debuted with seven-plus innings and two or fewer hits.
It took 34 years after Sanford for Burns to become the second Reds pitcher to strike out the side in his MLB debut during the Live Ball Era. Burns was also the first Major League starting pitcher in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to strike out the first five batters he faced in his Major League debut.
Overall, Burns allowed three earned runs and six hits with no walks and eight strikeouts while also giving up a homer. He joined Wade Davis (Sept. 6, 2009, for Tampa Bay) and Al Leiter (Sept. 15, 1987 for the Yankees) as the only Major League pitchers in the Expansion Era to have each of the first six outs of their Major League debut come via strikeout.
Russell went the distance in his debut while giving up one unearned run, five hits and one walk while striking out seven. He was the seventh and most recent Reds pitcher since 1920 to debut with a nine-inning complete game.
Only two Reds worked nine innings with no earned runs in their debut since it became a stat in 1913: Russell and Simpson. Russell, who held future Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn to a pair of infield singles, also hit a sixth-inning RBI double off John Montefusco to add to his big performance.