Imagine, for a minute, that you make it to the major leagues and you’re just 19 years old.
Imagine you hit a grand slam home run in your second game. Imagine you win a starting position as a 20-year old and put together a WAR of 6.5 and only one other player in baseball history — Mike Trout — has accomplished that particular feat.
That’s how Vada Pinson broke in with the Cincinnati Reds. At 19, he was the Reds Opening Day centerfielder on April 17, 1958. He went 1 for 4 that day, getting his first hit off Philadelphia’s Robin Roberts in the third inning.