Domingo German’s first career start on Sunday afternoon was beyond impressive. Where does it rank in recent New York Yankees history?
Domingo German was simply scintillating for the New York Yankees in his first career start against the Cleveland Indians on Sunday afternoon. While he didn’t get the win, he certainly met the goal he set for himself before toeing the rubber.
“The way I look at it is to focus on doing my job,’’ German told the New York Post‘s Dan Martin through an interpreter. “I want to do my job so I can create a bigger opportunity and hopefully stay in the rotation.”
With Jordan Montgomery expected to miss six-to-eight weeks with a strained left elbow, German will get more opportunities to prove that he belongs.
Considering how good German looked, it begs the question: Was his performance the best first start we’ve seen from a Yankees pitcher over the past 30 years?
Let’s find out as we start with No. 5 on the list of greatest New York Yankees starting pitcher debuts:
5. Hideki Irabu: July 10, 1997
Hideki Irabu was supposed to not just fortify the defending World Champions’ rotation in 1997, he was expected to transform it. “He’s a world-class pitcher,” former New York Mets skipper Bobby Valentine, who managed Irabu in Japan in 1995, remarked to the Associated Press (via ESPN).
The Yankees ultimately went on to deliver baseball’s last dynasty in spite of Irabu, not because of his efforts.
But he was impressive the first time he toed the rubber in pinstripes.
Facing the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium, Irabu struck out nine batters—including a pair of whiffs against current Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin—over 6.2 innings of work, allowing two earned runs and five hits, which was good enough to earn the win.
The only real blemish on Irabu’s debut was the four walks he issued, but they were ultimately irrelevant in a 10-3 drubbing by the home team.
While he’d have his moments over the next two seasons, Irabu ultimately pitched his way out of the Bronx, but not before owner George Steinbrenner famously labeled him a “fat, pussy toad.”
Traded to Montreal following the 1999 season, Irabu pitched to a combined 6.31 ERA with the Expos and Texas Rangers before heading back to Japan. Sadly, he took his own life in 2011 at the age of 42.
4. Mark Hutton: July 23, 1993
Signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1998, Mark Hutton was a hulking six-foot-six, 240-pound right-hander who, on July 23, 1993, became the first Australian-born pitcher to start an MLB game.
Armed with a fastball that reached 97 MPH on the radar gun, Hutton overpowered and befuddled the then-California Angels in the Bronx. The hulking Aussie would toss eight innings of three-hit ball, allowing two runs (one earned) with five strikeouts. Like Irabu, however, his command was an issue, as he walked four.
Still, Hutton did enough to limit the damage for the Yankees to pick up a 5-2 victory at home.
After the game, Hutton explained the odd feeling of being a rookie in the big leagues. “I can’t believe what’s happening to me,” he told Richard Weekes of the Independent. “I’ve won my first major league game and I’ve got to go back to the hotel now with no one to share it with.”
He’d appear in just 20 more games for the Yankees before being traded to the then-Florida Marlins at the 1996 trade deadline for reliever David Weathers.
3. Masahiro Tanaka: April 4, 2014
Masahiro Tanaka continues to befuddle Yankees fans, mixing flat-out dominant performances with outings that make you wonder how he’s in the majors. But he was more dominant than deflating the first time the Yankees saw him in a real MLB game.
Facing the Toronto Blue Jays on the road, things didn’t start off well. The first batter he saw—former Yankees outfielder Melky Cabrera—took him deep in the bottom of the first to cut the Yanks lead in half, 2-1.
But Tanaka mostly silenced the Rogers Centre crowd after that, finishing the game having allowed three runs (two earned) and six hits over seven innings, walking nobody while striking out eight. The Yanks won, 7-3.
He’s since delivered six other outings in which he went at least seven innings, struck out at least eight and allowed no more than two earned runs, most recently in the second game of a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox on July 16, 2017.
2. Sam Militello: Aug. 9, 1992
A sixth-round pick out of the University of Tampa in 1990, Sam Militello laid waste to minor league bats as he flew through the system, reaching the big leagues in only his second full season as a professional.
His first opponent—the Boston Red Sox—at Yankee Stadium.
This wasn’t the modern-day Red Sox, mind you. Take a look at the lineup that the visitors from Beantown trotted out.
- 3B Wade Boggs
- 2B Jody Reed
- LF Bob Zupcic
- RF Tom Brunansky
- 1B Mo Vaughn
- DH Jack Clark
- CF Herm Winningham
- C Tony Peña
- SS John Valentin
Still, it was a lineup of (mostly) major leaguers, including a future Yankee and Hall of Famer in Wade Boggs and a former Yankee in Jack Clark.
But not even Boggs could get a hit off of the 22-year-old righty. Peña, who would go on to be a key Yankees coach under both Joe Torre and Joe Girardi, was the only Red Sox player to muster a hit against Militello. The Yanks would go on to win 6-0.
Militello’s final line: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K
Unfortunately, this was as good as it got for him in the majors.
Without a big-time fastball, Militello relied heavily on an arsenal of breaking balls, which ultimately led to significant arm injuries. He’d make his last MLB appearance less than a year later on April 22, 1993, tossing five innings of one-run ball in a win over Oakland.
1. Domingo German: May 6, 2018
When you accomplish a feat that MLB hasn’t seen in over 100 years, well, you deserve the top spot.
So does tossing six innings of no-hit ball with two walks and nine strikeouts.