Bill Duggleby Hits a Grand Slam in His First At-Bat

On April 21, 1898, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Bill Duggleby stepped to the plate at the Baker Bowl for his first major league at-bat with the bases loaded in the second inning. He hit a grand slam off Cy Seymour of the New York Giants. No player had ever done it before. No one would do it again for 107 years, until Jeremy Hermida of the Florida Marlins matched the feat in August 2005.

Duggleby was a twenty-four-year-old right-hander from upstate New York making his debut that afternoon. He had come up through the minor leagues without any particular reputation as a hitter. Pitchers in the 1890s were expected to contribute with the bat, but a grand slam on the first swing of a career was unprecedented.

The Phillies won the game 13-4, with Duggleby contributing as both pitcher and batter. He struck out seven Giants in a complete-game performance that was overshadowed by what he had done at the plate.

Duggleby went on to pitch parts of seven seasons in the majors, mostly with the Phillies. His career record was an unremarkable 93-102, and he won no awards or honors. He is remembered almost entirely for that single swing on his first day. Bobby Bonds hit a grand slam in his first game in 1968, though not in his first at-bat. The distinction between "first game" and "first at-bat" is the one that kept Duggleby alone in the record books for more than a century.