Teddy Ballgame leaves the yard for the first time in his Hall of Fame career.

In Ted Williams’ fourth career game on April 23, 1939, the man dubbed ‘The Splendid Splinter’ announced his presence to the rest of the baseball world by hitting the first of 521 homers in his career.

Facing the Athletics’ Bud Thomas in his first at-bat in the first inning, Williams hit a two-out, two-run shot to right field He also doubled, scored twice and drove in three runs, finishing 4-for-5. It would be his first of three four-hit games as a rookie.

After May 30 of that season, Williams essentially was a fully-formed hitting genius. He hit .343/.462/.627 in 117 games, with 23 home runs, 67 extra-base hits and 108 runs batted in. He walked 94 times and struck out just 43 times. By the end of the season, he led the league in RBIs (145) and