List of Major League Baseball single-game home run leaders

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Bobby Lowe was the first MLB player to ever hit four home runs in a single game, doing so in 1894.

Writers of Sporting News described hitting four home runs in a single Major League Baseball (MLB) game as "baseball's greatest single-game accomplishment".[1] 16 players have accomplished the feat to date, the most recent being Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers on May 8, 2012. No player has done this more than once in his career and no player has ever hit more than four in a game. Bobby Lowe was the first to hit four home runs in a single game, doing so on May 30, 1894. Fans were reportedly so excited that they threw $160 in silver coins ($4,400 today) onto the field after his fourth home run.[1][2][3]

These games have resulted in other MLB single-game records due to the extreme offensive performance. Mark Whiten, for example, tied Jim Bottomley for the most runs batted in in a single game with 12 in his four-homer game.[4] Shawn Green hit a double and a single along with his four home runs for 19 total bases, an MLB record. It surpassed Joe Adcock's mark of 18, which also came from a four-homer game.[5][6]

Chuck Klein, Pat Seerey, and Mike Schmidt each hit their four in a game that went into extra innings. Four home runs generate significant offense which generally allows a team to win, although Ed Delahanty's and Bob Horner's teams lost their respective milestone games.

Carlos Delgado was the only one who hit his four home runs in a game in which he made only four plate appearances.[7]

Warren Spahn pitched the ball which Gil Hodges hit for the first of his four, the only Hall of Fame pitcher faced during a four-home-run game.[1] Hodges and Adcock are the only players to hit home runs against four different pitchers in one game. Lowe and Delahanty, on the other hand, are the only players to hit four home runs in one game against just one pitcher: Ice Box Chamberlain and Adonis Terry respectively.

Mike Cameron hit his four on May 2, 2002, and Green matched the total 21 days later on May 23, 2002, the shortest span between such games. Lowe and Seerey each hit fewer than 100 home runs over the length of their career while Willie Mays, with 660, hit more than any other player in this group. Both Mays and Schmidt are also members of the 500 home run club.

Of the 11 players eligible for the Hall of Fame who have hit four home runs in a game, five have been elected. Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame if they have played in at least 10 major league seasons, and have either been retired for five seasons or deceased for at least six months.[8] These requirements leave four players ineligible who are living and have played in the past five seasons, and one (Seerey) who did not play 10 seasons in MLB. No player has ever hit four home runs in a postseason game (the record is three).

Key

Player Name of the player
Date Date of the four home run game
Team The player's team at the time of the game
Opposing team The team against whom the player hit four home runs
Score Final score of the game, with the player's team score listed first
Career HR The number of home runs the player hit in his MLB career
º Indicates that the home runs were in consecutive plate appearances
dagger Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
* Denotes player who is still active
double-dagger Indicates the player's team lost the game

Players

A man in a blue baseball jersey with "METS" on the chest, blue batting helmet, and light-colored pants with a glove on his right hand.
Shawn Green was one of two players to hit four home runs in a game in May 2002. Green also hit a double and a single in the game for 19 total bases, a MLB record.
Player Date Team Opposing team Score Career HR Ref(s)
Bobby Loweº May 30, 1894 Boston Beaneaters Cincinnati Reds 20–11 71 [9]
Ed Delahantydagger July 13, 1896 Philadelphia Phillies Chicago Colts 8–9double-dagger 101 [10]
Lou Gehrigºdagger June 3, 1932 New York Yankees Philadelphia Athletics 20–13 493 [11]
Chuck Kleindagger July 10, 1936 Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates 9–6 300 [12]
Pat Seerey July 18, 1948 Chicago White Sox Philadelphia Athletics 12–11 86 [13]
Gil Hodges August 31, 1950 Brooklyn Dodgers Boston Braves 19–3 370 [14]
Joe Adcock July 31, 1954 Milwaukee Braves Brooklyn Dodgers 15–7 336 [15][16]
Rocky Colavitoº June 10, 1959 Cleveland Indians Baltimore Orioles 11–8 374 [17][18]
Willie Maysdagger April 30, 1961 San Francisco Giants Milwaukee Braves 14–4 660 [19][20]
Mike Schmidtºdagger April 17, 1976 Philadelphia Phillies Chicago Cubs 18–16 548 [21][22]
Bob Horner July 6, 1986 Atlanta Braves Montreal Expos 8–11double-dagger 218 [23][24]
Mark Whiten September 7, 1993 St. Louis Cardinals Cincinnati Reds 15–2 105 [25][26]
Mike Cameronº May 2, 2002 Seattle Mariners Chicago White Sox 15–4 278 [27][28]
Shawn Green May 23, 2002 Los Angeles Dodgers Milwaukee Brewers 16–3 328 [29][30]
Carlos Delgadoº September 25, 2003 Toronto Blue Jays Tampa Bay Devil Rays 10–8 473 [31][32]
Josh Hamilton* May 8, 2012 Texas Rangers Baltimore Orioles 10–3 195 [33][34]

See also

References

General
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Specific
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Suehsdorf, A. D. (1978). The Great American Baseball Scrapbook, p. 14. Random House. ISBN 0-394-50253-1.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (subscription required)
  4. ↑ SABR, pg. 69
  5. ↑ SABR, pg. 70
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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