Dylan Bundy, Mickey Mantle, Johnny Bench and teen MLB debuts

BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com

The Baltimore Orioles said last month they would not bring up phenom Dylan Bundy to the majors in September, preferring to send him to their Florida instructional league team instead of injecting the 19-year-old into the thick of a pennant race.

Wednesday morning, a night after Baltimore used  eight pitchers in an 18-inning win over Seattle, the Orioles relented and called Bundy to the majors, according to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.

Bundy was 9-3 with a 2.08 ERA across three levels this year, rising from Class A Delmarva to high-A Frederick to Double-A Bowie.

Bundy is still nearly two months away from his 20th birthday. If he makes his debut this season, he’d become the 19th Oklahoman to debut in the big leagues before their 20th birthday, according to a search on Baseball-Reference.com.

Here’s a list of the youngest players from Oklahoman to make their debuts. When Bundy debuts, he’ll fall just above Ed Baecht on the list.

17: Roy Jarvis. Born June 7, 1926. Debuted April 30, 1944 for Brooklyn Dodgers. Born in Shawnee and attended Oklahoma City Central High School.

18: Bud Swartz. Born June 13, 1929. Debuted July 12, 1947 for St. Louis Browns. Born in Tulsa.

18: Von McDaniel. Born April 18, 1939. Debuted June 13, 1957 for St. Louis Cardinals. Attended Arnett (Hollis) High School.

18: Jerry Walker. Born Feb. 12, 1939. Debuted July 6, 1957 for Baltimore. Attended Byng HS

18: Cal McLish. Born Dec. 1, 1925. Debuted May 13, 1944 for Brooklyn Dodgers. Born in Anadarko. Attended Oklahoma City Central High School.

18: Jim Baumer. Born Jan. 29, 1931. Debuted Sept. 14, 1949 for Chicago White Sox. Born in Tulsa. Attended Broken Arrow High School.

19: Jerry Hinsley. Born April 9, 1945. Debuted April 18, 1964 for New York Mets. Born in Hugo.

19: Mike McQueen. Born Aug. 30, 1950. Debuted Oct. 2, 1969 for Atlanta Braves. Born in Oklahoma City.

19: Bobby Murcer. Born May 20, 1946. Debuted Sept. 8, 1965 for New York Yankees. Born in Oklahoma City. Attended Southeast High School.