Some days, a player just feels like they are on — only eighteen players in Major League history have been this "on" during a ballgame! Each of these sluggers did what seemed impossible, they hit four home runs in one game. Yes, FOUR!
Surprisingly, only one New York Yankee (Lou Gehrig) and no Boston Red Sox (Bobby Lowe was a National League Boston Beaneater) has reached this pinnacle. Philadelphia, however, has seen the feat three times already! In 2002, two players joined the "club" marking the first year in baseball history it was achieved twice during the same season.
Some Four Home Runs in A Game Trivia:
Both Ed Delahanty (Philadelphia) and Bob Horner (Atlanta) hit four home runs in a game, but did not see their team win that historic day.
The American League went forty-three years without a batter hitting four home runs in a game (from 1959 to 2002).
Six-of-the-eighteen men to hit four home runs in a game are in the Hall of Fame (Lou Gehrig, Gil Hodges, Ed Delahanty, Willie Mays, Chuck Klein, and Mike Schmidt).
The RBIs received during a four homer game range from a low of four (Mike Cameron) to as many as twelve (Hard-Hittin' Whiten).
Every team needs a leader. These players proved to be the leaders of their teams, in a particularly difficult – even fabulous – way. Without further delay, every player in baseball history who has hit four home runs in the same game, as researched by Baseball Almanac.
"It was just one of those days. If I could compare it to anything, it was like MJ (Michael Jordan) when he hit the six three's against Portland and he just shrugged his shoulders. That's what I told guys on the bench, I don't know. I'm just putting a good swing on the ball." - Cameron, Mike. Seattle Mariners Center Fielder. Baseball high-fives for Cinco de Mayo. Chuck, Bill. MLB Staff Writer. 5 May 2010.
Four Home Runs In One GameAmerican League Players Who Hit Four Home Runs in a Game / In Chronological Order |
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AL# | ML# | Name (Career HRs) | Bats | Age | 4-Home Run Game Specific Details | ||||
Team (Opponent) | POS | Date | Box | H/A | Score | |||||
1. | 3. | Lou Gehrig (493) | L | 28.350 | Yankees (Athletics) | 1B | 06-03-1932 | A | 20 – 13 |
2. | 5. | Pat Seerey (86) | R | 25.123 | White Sox (Athletics) | LF | 07-18-1948 | A | 12 – 11 |
3. | 8. | Rocky Colavito (374) | R | 25.304 | Indians (Orioles) | RF | 06-10-1959 | A | 11 – 8 |
4. | 13. | Mike Cameron (278) | R | 29.114 | Mariners (White Sox) | CF | 05-02-2002 | A | 15 – 4 |
5. | 15. | Carlos Delgado (473) | L | 31.092 | Blue Jays (Devil Rays) | 1B | 09-25-2003 | H | 10 – 8 |
6. | 16. | Josh Hamilton (200) | L | 30.353 | Rangers (Orioles) | CF | 05-08-2012 | A | 10 – 3 |
AL# | ML# | Name (Career HRs) | Bats | Age | Team (Opponent) | POS | Date | Box | H/A | Score |
Four Home Runs In One GameNational League Players Who Hit Four Home Runs in a Game / In Chronological Order |
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NL# | ML# | Name (Career HRs) | Bats | Age | 4-Home Run Game Specific Details | ||||
Team (Opponent) | POS | Date | Box | H/A | Score | |||||
1. | 1. | Bobby Lowe (71) | R | 28.324 | Beaneaters (Reds) | 2B | 05-30-1894 | H | 20 – 11 |
2. | 2. | Ed Delahanty (101) | R | 28.257 | Phillies (Colts) | 1B | 07-13-1896 | A | 8 – 9 |
3. | 4. | Chuck Klein (300) | L | 31.277 | Phillies (Pirates) | RF | 07-10-1936 | A | 9 – 6 |
4. | 6. | Gil Hodges (370) | R | 26.149 | Dodgers (Braves) | 1B | 08-31-1950 | H | 19 – 3 |
5. | 7. | Joe Adcock (336) | R | 26.274 | Braves (Dodgers) | 1B | 07-31-1954 | A | 15 – 7 |
6. | 9. | Willie Mays (660) | R | 29.359 | Giants (Braves) | CF | 04-30-1961 | A | 14 – 4 |
7. | 10. | Mike Schmidt (548) | R | 26.203 | Phillies (Cubs) | 3B | 04-17-1976 | A | 18 – 16 |
8. | 11. | Bob Horner (218) | R | 28.334 | Braves (Expos) | 1B | 07-06-1986 | H | 8 – 11 |
9. | 12. | Mark Whiten (105) | B | 26.286 | Cardinals (Reds) | RF | 09-07-1993 | A | 15 – 2 |
10. | 14. | Shawn Green (328) | L | 29.194 | Dodgers (Brewers) | RF | 05-23-2002 | A | 16 – 3 |
11. | 17. | Scooter Gennett (87) | L | 27.036 | Reds (Cardinals) | LF | 06-06-2017 | H | 13 – 1 |
12. | 18. | J.D. Martinez (Active) | R | 30.014 | Diamondbacks (Dodgers) | RF | 09-04-2017 | A | 13 – 0 |
NL# | ML# | Name (Career HRs) | Bats | Age | Team (Opponent) | POS | Date | Box | H/A | Score |
4 HRs In 1 Game | Bold = HOF | Research by Baseball Almanac | HRs in a Game Records |
Mike Cameron, Rocky Colavito, Carlos Delgado, Scooter Gennett, Lou Gehrig, Bobby Lowe, J.D. Martinez, and Mike Schmidt hit each of their four home runs in consecutive order!
Chuck Klein, Pat Seerey and Mike Schmidt each needed extra innings to get four home runs. The remaining players all did it during a nine inning game! One player, and only one player, hit all four home runs in four plate appearances — who was it? [Answer]
Did you know that box scores for EVERY four home run game is baseball history is in the Baseball Almanac? Use the box scores from these games to make countless (additional) trivia questions about this amazing set of home run hitters AND please consider supporting our efforts to bring this one-of-a-kind research to the Internet.