Luke Keaschall's not the first Minnesota Twins hitter to get everyone all riled up with visions of grandeur in their first major league game. Here are five more debuts that had everyone talking.
Aug. 24, 1981: Hrbie goes bananas in The Big Apple
The best Twins debut of all time, hands down, belongs to Bloomington's Kent Hrbek. At 21 years old (and 95 days), Hrbek hit a go-ahead solo home run at old Yankee Stadium in the 12th inning against future ex-teammate George Frazier to lead his hometown team to a 3-2 victory. If you watch the video, note that Hrbek was wearing uniform No. 26 and not his nombre de Twins with which he typically has been associated: No. 14.
Also note the ball sailing over the head of right fielder Reggie Jackson.
Hrbek earlier drove in another run with an RBI single. He totaled five bases and earned 0.352 win probability added, which means Hrbek's hitting improved Minnesota's chances of winning by 35.2%. It was the 11th-most valuable hitting performance by a Twins player all season using this statistic.
Say, whatever happened to Kent Hrbek?
One of the five or so best players in Twins history, Hrbek helped them win two World Series, and is the all-time leader in Ron Gants
April 5, 2004: Hometown Joe starts like a Hall of Famer
About two weeks before his 21st birthday, St. Paul's Joe Mauer reached base four times, singling twice and drawing two walks, in a 7-4 victory in 11 innings against Cleveland before 49,584 fans on Opening Night at the Metrodome. Mauer also scored twice, including when Shannon Stewart hit a game-ending home run against Chad Durbin.
Mauer's WPA: .313, second-best all-time for a Twins major league debut. His RE24 (a stat you can read about here): 1.85, tying Tim Laudner (8.28.81) for best by a Twins player in their first career game.
Twins fans probably don't need reminding that Mauer's rookie season went brutally because of a knee injury sustained the next day in his second game. The injury was serious enough that the Twins worried it could limit his effectiveness as a player.
Say, whatever happened to Joe Mauer?
Mauer was inducted into Cooperstown in 2024 as the 20th catcher in baseball's Hall of Fame.
April 12, 1965: Hail, César! Tovar comes off the bench to help depose damned Yankees
Another debut on Opening Day on the one hand, another extra-inning defeat of the deeply disliked New Yorkers on the other. César Tovar didn't start but entered in the fourth inning because of an injury to Rich Rollins. He finished 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a two-out, game-winning RBI in the bottom of the 11th inning.
Tovar's 0.283 WPA ranks third all-time for Twins making their major league debut. Funny thing: Tovar didn't play much more in the majors in '65 — the Twins had a deep roster, along with one of the best teams in franchise history — and it wasn't until '66 that Tovar became a regular.
Say, whatever happened to Tovar?
The Twins could have put him in their own Hall of Fame just for his debut, but Tovar made his mark in several ways, and at several positions. Tovar became widely known for playing all nine positions in a game in 1968. He was much more than a gimmick or footnote.
Tovar never made an All-Star team, but he received AL MVP votes with the Twins five times. He led the league in an offensive category eight times, including plate appearances, hits, doubles, triples, hit by pitches, and sacrifice flies. He also scored 120 runs in 1970.
Tovar died in 1994 of pancreatic cancer at age 54.
Sept. 7, 1970: What are you doing, Hal? Raking, that's what!
Nobody accounted for more total bases (six) in their major league debut for the Twins than Harold "Hal" Haydel, who at 26 years old homered and doubled in the second game of a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers, an 8-3 victory. Here's the surprise part, if you didn't know this about Hal: He also got the win in relief of Luis Tiant, who pulled a back muscle in the first inning.
Hal was a relief pitcher! Haydel allowed two runs and five hits (including a home run to Tommy Harper), striking out two over five innings.
It was said that when the Twins told Haydel to warm up, he told a teammate he about pooped his pants.
Enough about pitching — what about the hitting? His extra-base hits came against Al Downing, famous in part for allowing Henry Aaron's record-breaking home run in 1974.
He was a Rule 5 selection, but the Twins had worked out a cash trade with the San Francisco Giants when Haydel didn't make the team in Spring Training. Haydel said he threw a 93 to 95 mph fastball but didn't have the secondary pitches to stick long in the majors.
Haydal pitched in two seasons with the Twins, posting a 4.04 ERA with 33 strikeouts and 24 walks in 49 innings. He finished his big-league career 3-for-6 at the plate.
Originally with the Braves, Haydel had 1,135 strikeouts and a 3.65 ERA in parts of 11 minor-league seasons with five organizations, his last coming in 1972 at age 27.
Say, whatever happened to Harold "Hal" Haydel?
He returned to Houma, La., and sold automobiles as a highly respected person in the community. Haydel was inducted into the Bayou Region Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018, the same year he died.
May 8, 1984: Kirby Puckett goes 4-for-5
Puckett skipped Double-A and only played 21 games for Triple-A Toledo when the Twins promoted him. The Twins planned on playing him May 7 against the Los Angeles Angels, but Puckett found getting to Anaheim in a timely manner to be difficult — even after borrowing $83 for cab fare to the Big "A."
Unable to wait longer, manager Billy Gardner scratched Puckett from the starting lineup. It all worked out because the next night, after grounding out to short in the top of the first, Puckett hit singles in four consecutive at-bats. He added a stolen base and a run scored in Minnesota's 5-0 victory behind left-hander Frank Viola.
Say, whatever happened to Kirby Puckett?
Puckett had 2,304 career hits in just 12 seasons. He made 10 All-Star teams, helped the Twins win two World Series, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001.
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