In what was, perhaps, the greatest major league debut in history, an 18-year-old outfielder, playing against the New York Mets, got three hits and two walks in five appearances at the plate, scored four runs, batted in three, and was named the Associated Press "Player of the Day." Yet, despite this performance, he never got to play in another major league game.

Another player, a pitcher, had a dismal first appearance in the majors. He gave up a run and couldn't get any batters out before being replaced. He, too, never got into another game and his major-league earned run average, in the record books for all time, is infinity. How does he explain this to his grandchildren today?

The stories of these men, along with those of 38 others who played in one - but only one - major league game, is told in Once Around The Bases, a fascinating new book by East Hills resident Richard Tellis.

"These men lived the dream of almost every American boy by becoming major league ballplayers," Tellis says, "at least for one day. For some, that day was joyous; for some, it was miserable. Then, it was over. I wanted to know what happened to them, what they did in that game, why they never played again and how the experience affected them. I found some of their stories funny, some sad, but all of them intrigued me."

Included among them are a pitcher who had a fist fight with his manager after being relieved, a catcher who played in Babe Ruth's first National league game, a pitcher with an artificial foot and another with only one eye, a collegiate All-American basketball player, the pitcher who gave up Joe DiMaggio's last regular season hit, and a reliever who injured himself on the mound warming up and had to be removed before throwing an official pitch. But having been announced into the game, he, too, is credited with "appearing" in only one major league game.

Tellis, a retired journalist and public relations executive, who has lived in East Hills with his family for 20 years, spent almost two years researching and interviewing former players for the book. One unusual feature of the book is a rare collection of photographs of the players with a one-game major league "career."

Once Around The Bases is published by Triumph Books, Inc., Chicago ($24.95), and will reach book stores around May 1.