Chris Parmelee joined some elite company on Wednesday night in his first start with the Yankees.
As promised from last night … Parmelee and Roger Maris (1960) are only players w/ at least 2 HR in 1st start with Yankees in last 100 yrs.
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) June 9, 2016
Parmelee was very productive in his first start in pinstripes, going 3-5 with two home runs and three runs scored in the win over the Los Angeles Angels. With his two home runs, the 28-year-old became only the second Yankee player over the last 100 years to hit two homers in their first start with the team.
The only other player in Yankees history to accomplish the feat was the great Roger Maris, who also had a fantastic debut with the Bronx Bombers. He went 4-5 with two home runs and four RBIs in a 8-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on April 18, 1960.
With Mark Teixeira being sidelined due to injury, the Yankees are hopeful that Parmelee can help fill the void until he returns to the everyday lineup. It’s likely that Parmelee will continue to split time at first base with Rob Refsnyder, but it definitely wouldn’t be a surprise to see manager Joe Girardi try to find ways to get Parmelee’s bat in the lineup more often in the near future.
