A history of home debuts by Twins greats, in honor of Byron Buxton

Byron Buxton, weather willing, will make his Twins home debut Wednesday in what has to be considered one of the most anticipated games in recent franchise history.

It also sparked a question: Not that Buxton is necessarily destined for greatness, but how did some of the Twins' all-time great hitters fare in their first full home games?

Let's take a look in chronological order (note: this list only includes players who made their debuts while with the Twins, not the Senators, hence the lack of Harmon Killebrew, Bob Allison and others).

Tony Oliva: Sept. 14, 1962: Oliva made his home debut in style, batting third and playing right field. He ended the game 2-for-3 with three runs batted in and two runs scored. He walked in his first plate appearance, scoring later in the inning, and hit a two-run double in the second in his first official at-bat, helping the Twins win in a rout.

Rod Carew: April 14, 1967. Batting fifth and playing second base, Carew had an RBI single in the first inning in his first-ever home at-bat. It turned out to be his only hit in a 1-for-4 effort, but it helped the Twins to a 5-3 win over Detroit.

Kent Hrbek: Sept. 8, 1981. Hrbek played parts of three home games before getting his first full home contest on that date. He batted fifth and was the DH, going 0-for-3 and striking out in his first at-bat. His overall debut — on the road at Yankee Stadium that year on Aug. 24 — was far more memorable, of course. He cracked the game-winning home run in the top of the 12th in a 3-2 victory.

Kirby Puckett: May 15, 1984. After collecting 12 hits in his first five career starts — all on the road — Puckett kept right on rolling with a 2-for-5 game in his home debut. He batted leadoff and played center field, getting a single in his first career home at bat. Also, an oddity: Dave Stieb of Toronto, who was pitching for Toronto in Hrbek's first full home game with the Twins, was also the starter for Puckett's first home game. Also of note: Puckett started his career 36 for his first 93 (.387 average), though all but two hits were singles.

Justin Morneau: June 10, 2003. Morneau batted cleanup as the DH in his home debut against Colorado, as clear a sign as could be given that he was in Minnesota to boost the offense. He did his part, going 2-for-4 — including a single in his first-ever home at-bat — but the Twins lost 5-0 to Colorado.