Like Andrew Vaughn, these Brewers homered in their first at-bat with the team

Andrew Vaughn accomplished something pretty rare in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, homering in his first at-bat with the team.

The blast against Los Angeles Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto on July 7 scored three runs and played a huge role in the Brewers knocking Yamamoto out of the game before he could get three outs.

Vaughn, a former No. 3 overall pick in the MLB draft by the Chicago White Sox, came to the organization in the trade that sent Aaron Civale to Chicago earlier this year. Vaughn had been playing at Class AAA Nashville and was recalled when the team put first baseman Rhys Hoskins on the injured list.

The other five guys to hit homers in their first Brewers at-bats? It's quite the list:

Gabe Gross (2006)

Gross had 250 big-league plate appearances when he came to the Brewers in an offseason trade before the 2006 season, a deal that brought Dave Bush and prospect Zach Jackson to Milwaukee from Toronto in exchange for Lyle Overbay and minor-leaguer Ty Taubenheim.

Gross technically appeared in the April 3 opener that year against Pittsburgh, inserted into the game as a pinch hitter for the pitcher. But when the Pirates summoned left-hander Damaso Marte, then-manager Ned Yost switched to Jeff Cirillo instead, and Gross was out of the game before swinging a bat. Cirillo, by the way, hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the seventh, and the Brewers won the game.

The lefty-swinging Gross was allowed to bat for real in the sixth inning the next game, pinch hitting for the pitcher again, and his towering two-run homer off Ryan Vogelsong turned a 3-2 lead into a 5-2 lead.

Gross had belted only one homer in 92 at-bats with the Blue Jays the previous season, and he only hit 16 in his three seasons with the Brewers.

Royce Clayton (2003)

When the 33-year-old Clayton came to Milwaukee as a free agent in late 2002, it was primarily for his defense at shortstop. But he did hit 11 home runs in 146 games, although he struggled to a .634 OPS at a time when offense was booming.

He had a whale of a debut on March 31, 2003, at St. Louis, where Clayton had spent two-plus seasons. He doubled, homered and drove in three runs, although the Brewers still lost, 11-9, en route to an 0-6 start to the season.

Clayton's three-run homer to left in the second inning against Matt Morris spotted the Brewers a 3-0 lead in the season opener, with Ben Sheets on the mound, no less, though the Cardinals grabbed the lead by the sixth and scored six runs in the eighth to pull away.

Glendon Rusch (2002)

A reserve outfielder and a shortstop are surprises enough. But a pitcher?

Glendon Rusch gave Brewers fans a memorable home opener in 2002, the second season at Miller Park, when he pitched a complete game that sent the Brewers past the Arizona Diamondbacks and hit his first career home run — and first career extra-base hit.

Rusch, a miserable .058 hitter through his first two years of National League baseball with the New York Mets, already had one plate appearance in the game, a sacrifice bunt in the third that didn't count as an official at-bat.

But facing Rick Helling in the fifth with Milwaukee ahead, 1-0, he hit a homer to right that scored José Hernández and gave himself a 3-0 advantage.

Rusch kept going from there, allowing two runs — both on solo homers — on three hits in nine innings as the Brewers won, 6-2. He also made a big defensive play in the game to rob future Brewers shortstop and manager Craig Counsell of a hit.

"It was a total storybook-type night for me," Rusch said. "To go out and have a great game and win here at home for the first time and to give our team a boost, that was great."

Rob Deer (1986)

OK, this is more like it — a player known for hitting homers.

Deer came to the Brewers in a trade from the San Francisco Giants after the 1985 season, a maneuver that sent minor-leaguers Dean Freeland and Eric Pilkington to the west. Deer went on to hit 137 homers for the Brewers in his five seasons, including an unforgettable one Easter Sunday in 1987.

But before that, he had the 1986 opener in Chicago against the White Sox, when he took future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver deep in the second inning and kickstarted a 5-3 Brewers victory. It wasn't a cheapie, either; the ball landed on top of the left-field roof at Comiskey Park and bounded out of the stadium into the parking lot. It was believed to be the longest home run at the park since future Brewers player Sal Bando launched one in 1977.

"I don't think I've hit one that far before," Deer said afterward.

Mike Hegan (1969)

This one requires another caveat; Hegan was playing for the Seattle Pilots at the time, which technically counts in franchise history. Hegan became a fixture in Milwaukee though, playing with the Brewers over two stints (1970-71 and then again from 1974 through 77) and becoming a TV announcer, covering the Brewers for 12 years.

Facing the host California Angels on April 8, Hegan batted second and launched a two-run homer off Jim McGlothlin, scoring Tommy Harper, who had doubled to lead off the season. The Pilots added two more runs in the inning, McGlothin only got one out and Harper batted again before the Angels finally got out of the mess. The Pilots still had to hold on for a 4-3 win.

Hegan, who had been purchased by the Pilots from the New York Yankees, only had eight homers that season. It was a much better start for the Pilots than the Brewers the following year; Milwaukee got shut out on opening day, 12-0, then scored just one run in another loss (also to California) before opening the year 0-3.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: These Milwaukee Brewers homered in their first at-bat with the team