The Shocking Truth About Jose Fernandez’s Debut That No One Saw Coming
To find the all-time high for an impactful debut, we must go back to 1939, and the Pirates’ Maurice Van Robays. His first game was worth a remarkable +102.2%, mostly due to a walk-off two-run double in the eleventh inning. His lasting contribution to baseball, however, is probably coming up with the name of the “eephus pitch“. But back to Fernandez. His +65.1% would have ranked sixth by any Diamondbacks’ hitter across all 162 games last season. Only one Arizona player has hit for a higher Win Probability during his first fifty career games. In his 42nd appearance, Jeff Salazar came off the bench with two outs in the ninth, for a three-run shot worth +74.0%.
Nine total bases
In addition to his two home-runs, Fernandez got things started with a single in his first major-league at bat. Curiously, of the seven two-homer debutants, Story is the only one who did not record another hit that night: I guess, when you’re hot, you’re hot! But it means that Jose’s nine total bases is tied for third as debuts go. The two who had more were Mark Quinn in 1999, who doubled in addition to his two homers, and J.P. Arencibia, who doubled and singled, so ended the night a triple away from the cycle in his first game. That would have been quite the feat in itself, of course. From what I can see, Elly de la Cruz holds the record there, hitting for the cycle in his fifteenth game.



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