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The longest debut in Yankees’ history

There are just some feats in baseball that we will very rarely, if ever, see happen again. One of them was what Don Johnson did for the Yankees on April 20, 1947.

Johnson had a seven-year career for several teams. He threw just 72 inning across two seasons for the Yankees, but he got his start with them. The Yankees signed Johnson out of high school in 1944. After spending parts of that season in the minors, Johnson joined the army and served through 1947.

After he finished up with his military commitments, he went with the Yankees to spring training ahead of the ‘47 season.