At the age of 27, he would make his debut the following season with the Yankees on April 25, 1933 in a game against the Washington Senators. Van Atta's debut was historic—both in his pitching performance shutting out the Senators with a score of 16–0 and for going 4-for-4 in batting performance. To date, he is the only American League (AL) pitcher to get four hits in his major league debut, and one of only seven players in AL history to do so in a nine-inning game.