Home Run from Each Side of the Plate in a Game
A switch hitter has the power to change any game he is in. His ability to hit from either the right or left side helps set up favorable pitching match-ups for his team and also makes the opposing teams pitching coach work twice as hard to scout his team. A switch-hitter creates a special problem for position players too; shading a switch-hitter often ends with a hit right up the middle. But it is the switch-hitting slugger that causes the most fear for a pitcher.
Power hitters always have a chance of hitting a home run. To a lesser extent, there is always the possibility of a multi-homer game, too. When a switch-hitting power hitter comes to bat, whether its on the right or left, and hits a home run, a unique situation is created. Following this homer up with another four-bagger from the other side of the plate puts him in an exclusive club with less than a hundred members, those who have hit at least one home run from each side of the plate in one game.
Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a chronological listing of every instance in both leagues where a player has gone deep from both sides of the plate in one game.
|