Oakland Athletics pitcher Hogan Harris Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports

A's pitcher makes unfortunate history in MLB debut vs. Mets

By Colum Dell | Last updated 4/15/23

Oakland Athletics reliever Hogan Harris began his MLB career with a historically poor performance in Friday's 17-6 loss to the New York Mets.

Harris, who has a 3.26 career ERA in the minors, entered the game in the top of the fifth inning as Oakland trailed 6-3. He got his first batter, DH Daniel Vogelbach, to ground out in what ended up being the only out he recorded.

The 26-year-old then issued walks to the next three batters he faced before hitting center fielder Brandon Nimmo with a fastball to drive in a run. Harris then walked the next batter—right fielder Starling Marte—scoring another run before shortstop Francisco Lindor doubled to clear the bases.

GET YOU A MAN WHO CAN HIT FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE PLATE.

7 RBIs FOR FRANCISCO LINDOR. pic.twitter.com/qr2tl4OITN
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 15, 2023

Harris walked first baseman Pete Alonso during the next at-bat, causing Oakland manager Mark Kotsay to pull him from the game. Right-hander Chad Smith closed out the top half of the frame, with Harris getting charged with another run allowed after Lindor scored on a fielder's choice.

Ultimately, Harris gave up six earned runs and walked five batters in his 0.1 innings of work, giving him a 162 ERA. According to Stats Perform, he's the first pitcher to allow at least five walks and runs in less than an inning during his MLB debut since 1944.

In that instance, Cincinnati's Joe Nuxhall issued five walks and allowed five earned runs in 0.2 IP. Interestingly, during this outing, Nuxhall became the youngest player ever to make a major league appearance (15 years, 316 days).

Hogan Harris is the first pitcher to allow 5+ walks and 5+ runs while pitching less than an inning in his MLB debut since June 10, 1944, when the Reds' Joe Nuxhall did so while becoming the youngest player to appear in an MLB game (15 years, 316 days).
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) April 15, 2023

Following his debut, Nuxhall was assigned to the minors and briefly retired to finish high school. Once he graduated, he played five seasons in the minors before being recalled to the majors in 1952.

Nuxhall spent 15 more seasons in the majors and enjoyed a solid career, making two All-Star teams and posting a career 3.90 ERA. After his second retirement from the sport, he became a radio broadcaster for the Reds from 1967 through 2004.

Like Nuxhall, Harris was sent to the minors after his dreadful debut, with Oakland optioning him to Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday. Hopefully, Harris can get back on track and become a serviceable MLB reliever in the near future.

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