 Against the Washington Senators on August 12 , 1896 , Lajoie made his major league debut . He played first base and recorded a single . Ed Delahanty was being considered to play the first base position after Dan Brouthers retired . Delahanty , however , wanted Lajoie to play first so he could return to his natural position of left field . Delahanty said to Lajoie , " Look , <unk> , you tell the boss you ’ re a first baseman and you and me are gonna get along . " Lajoie became the team 's first baseman and by the end of the season , he and Delahanty were roommates . Later in 1898 , new manager George Stallings moved Lajoie to second base , commenting that " [ Lajoie would ] have made good no matter where I positioned him . " 
