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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Daniel Chavkin

Yankees’ Jasson Domínguez Blasts His Way Into Franchise Record Book in MLB Debut

Jasson Domínguez made his MLB debut Friday night after years of hype, and he somehow lived up to it in his very first plate appearance. The 20-year-old hit a two-run homer in his first at-bat, off future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, helping the Yankees to a 6-2 win over the Astros.

While Domínguez was already making history at his age, becoming the youngest Yankees to play in a game since 1984, his home run added to the legend. Domínguez became the sixth Yankee to homer in his first at-bat and the youngest player to pull off that feat in franchise history.

The last Yankee to homer in his first at-bat was Aaron Judge in 2016, going back-to-back with fellow rookie Tyler Austin who coincidentally had just done the same thing.

However, Domínguez homered off the reigning Cy Young winner, a feat matched only by Marcus Thames, who took Randy Johnson deep in his first plate appearance, per ESPN Stats & Info.

New York Yankees outfielder Jasson Domínguez became the youngest player in franchise history to homer in his first career at-bat Friday night.

Erik Williams/USA Today network

Domínguez played in just nine games in Triple A, without a homer, before making it to the big leagues. While playing for Double A Somerset for most of the year, Domínguez hit 15 home runs in 109 games. The Dominican outfielder signed with the Yankees for $5.1 million at age 16 in 2019.

For the rest of the season, Domínguez will get the chance to position himself for a starter’s job next year, and he’s already off to a great start.

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