A swing into history

Dave Machemer

California Angels second baseman Dave Machemer becomes the first player in history to homer while leading off the game in his major league debut.‍

Machemer’s moment comes 48 years ago today against the Twins’ Geoff Zahn at Metropolitan Stadium, where he deposits Zahn’s 3-2 fastball just inside the left-field foul pole to start the Angels’ 5-2 victory before a Wednesday night crowd of 10,801. ‍

Dave Machemer homering in his first at-bat

“When I hit it, I knew it was gone,” Machemer later says. “I was running to first and I’m watching the ball the whole way, because I want to see if it’s going to stay fair. As I’m looking for the ball and I’m looking for the umpire to make a signal, I run right by first base and never even touch it.‍

“I had to go back three steps and retouch the base.”

Machemer’s milestone homer in 1978 turns out to be the only one in his brief career in the majors, a career that spans 55 plate appearances over two seasons.

Machemer, though, remains in the game to become one of the most successful and popular managers in the minors.

Looking for more to read? More than 3,700 archived posts may be found at Blog 3 — Baseball (and other cool stuff) … Enjoy!