NEW YORK -- In the summer of 2016, there was more in the air around Yankee Stadium than heat and humidity. Change was coming.
On Aug. 13, the Yankees were hours removed from bidding farewell to Alex Rodriguez, marking the slugger’s star-crossed pinstripes tenure with a pregame sendoff interrupted by a deafening thunderstorm.
Now, Aaron Judge stood in the on-deck circle, waiting for a chance. No one knew that day he’d become the franchise’s first captain since Derek Jeter -- least of all Judge, who had the best seat in the house as teammate Tyler Austin hooked a homer over the right-field wall in his first at-bat.
“I was ecstatic on deck,” Judge said, recalling that he thought: "I’ve just got to make contact now.’”
Did he ever. Judge’s introduction to Yankee Stadium leads our list, 10 of the top debuts in franchise history:
1. Tyler Austin & Aaron Judge, Aug. 13, 2016
Years later, Austin would close a conversation about Judge with these winking words: “Remember, I went first.” Moments after Austin poked a Matt Andriese offering into the Stadium’s short porch, Judge launched a 446-foot blast to center field, clearing the glass panels above Monument Park.
“That thing,” Austin said, “was hit a ton.”
It was one of the longest home runs yet seen at the 9-year-old ballpark, and a hint of what was to come from the future captain. Austin and Judge were the first teammates to homer in their first big league at-bats in the same game, and the fourth and fifth Yankees to homer in their first career at-bat or plate appearance.
2. Russ Van Atta, April 25, 1933
The 26-year-old Van Atta took the ball from manager Joe McCarthy on a Tuesday afternoon at Griffith Stadium, assigned to take on a Washington Senators team that would go on to win the pennant. But this was Van Atta’s day.
Pitching with Babe Ruth patrolling right field and Lou Gehrig manning first base, Van Atta’s debut was a dream, a five-hit shutout. At the plate, he was 4-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI in the Yankees’ 16-0 rout.
Yet, Van Atta’s performance was overshadowed by a fourth-inning brawl, sparked by a second-base collision between the Yanks’ Ben Chapman and Washington’s Buddy Myer. Fists flew and some 300 fans rushed the field, according to one newspaper account, with police arresting five.
Van Atta finished the season 12-4 with a 4.18 ERA in 26 games (22 starts), but he was never the same after injuries sustained escaping a house fire that December.
3. Joe DiMaggio, May 3, 1936
The New York Daily News described “the sensational silent rookie” DiMaggio to the public on April 7, 1936, in this fashion: “Jake Ruppert pays $75,000 for this here DiMaggio to fill Babe Ruth’s shoes. And now Jake discovers Joe can’t fill his own brogans with that sore foot he got in Florida.”
So expectations were high when DiMaggio made his long-awaited debut a month later, going 3-for-6 with three runs scored, a triple and an RBI in the Yankees’ 14-5 win over the Browns. A crowd of 25,430 braved rainy conditions to witness the first swings of a legendary Hall of Fame career.
4. Yogi Berra, Sept. 22, 1946
Described by the next morning’s Daily News as “a 24-year-old ex-sailor who resembles Charley (sic) Keller in stature and at bat,” Berra went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs in the first game of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Athletics, helping the Yankees to a 4-3 victory.
Berra’s homer off Jesse Flores landed in the lower bleachers in right field, the first of his 358 in the big leagues. Berra’s batterymate that afternoon was Spud Chandler, who went the distance while scattering 10 hits.
5. Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, June 3, 1998
Brian Cashman has frequently referred to the signing of Hernandez, a Cuban defector, as among his best moves as Yankees general manager. “El Duque” made a terrific first impression, dazzling with his signature high-kick delivery as he held the Devil Rays to one run over seven innings in the Bombers’ 7-1 victory.
Hernandez struck out seven, a debut pushed up after David Cone was bit by a dog on his pitching hand. In a postgame interview, Hernandez said: “It was a long time since I pitched before so many fans. After warming up, my eyes got teary. It was very emotional, but then later it gave me strength.”
6. Masahiro Tanaka, April 4, 2014
After going 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA for Japan’s Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, Tanaka landed a seven-year, $155 million contract from the Yankees, who handed the 25-year-old the ball in the season’s fourth game.
Facing the Blue Jays in their home opener at Rogers Centre, Tanaka delivered. Melky Cabrera homered on his third pitch, but Tanaka settled down, permitting three runs (two earned) and six hits, while striking out eight, over seven innings in the Yankees’ 7-3 victory. He’d continue dominating into July, when a right elbow injury dented his stuff.
7. Marcus Thames, June 10, 2002
Each Randy Johnson start for the Diamondbacks was an event in the summer of 2002, especially a rare Interleague assignment against the Yankees, just months removed from their World Series showdown. Johnson was a perennial Cy Young Award winner, a snarling and intimidating force with long limbs and hair.
Promoted from the Minors following an injury to outfielder Juan Rivera, Thames imprinted his name on the game, homering off the Big Unit on the first pitch he saw in a big league game. Thames’ two-run shot landed on the netting over Monument Park in left-center, prompting a curtain call.
8. Jasson Domínguez, Sept. 1, 2023
After years of hype, “The Martian” landed in Houston sporting a boyish grin and tailed by impossible hype, already compared to some of the sport’s greatest outfielders before setting foot in the batter’s box. The first impression couldn’t have been better.
In what he described as “my dream coming true,” Domínguez homered on his first swing in a big league game, an opposite-field, two-run shot off likely future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander in the Yankees’ 6-2 win. He was the youngest Yankee to homer since Bobby Murcer in 1965.
9. Thurman Munson, Aug. 8, 1969
It was the second game of a doubleheader against the Athletics, and Munson had nearly debuted as a pinch-hitter in the first game, left waiting in the on-deck circle. He delivered in the nightcap, guiding Al Downing to a complete-game shutout while going 2-for-3 with a run scored, two RBIs and a walk in the Yankees’ 5-0 win. Munson’s first hit came off future Hall of Famer (and eventual teammate) Catfish Hunter.
“I always liked the Yankees,” Munson said that day, “because they were a cocky ballclub. Not overbearing, but they exuded confidence. I like to think I have a lot of that confidence.”
Manager Ralph Houk raved that day about Munson’s catching, comparing him to Birdie Tebbetts, then adding: “I hope he hits better than Birdie.” Munson would.
10. Sam Militello, Aug. 9, 1992
There wasn’t much to get excited about through the first 110 games of the Yankees’ 1992 season, so it was easy to dream about Militello’s promise after a brilliant debut in which the 22-year-old held the Red Sox to just a Tony Pena single over seven innings, striking out five in a 6-0 Yankees win.
Militello retired 15 consecutive batters during one stretch in a start interrupted by a rain delay that ended his outing. Afterward, Militello expressed relief to “get this out of the way,” while the Yanks tamped down expectations, wary of setting the bar too high after seeing other prospects flame out.
“It’s nice, but I think we should leave him alone,” Don Mattingly said then. “I think we should let him pitch the rest of the year without making him a God or a savior. ... It’d be great for him to do that every time out. But to expect that after only one start is not really fair.”