List of Major League Baseball single-game home run leaders

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A black and white baseball card featuring a man in a white baseball jersey and striped cap holding both hands out cupped in front of his chest.
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 ($5,600 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
† Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
* Denotes player who is still active
‡ 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 Delahanty† July 13, 1896 Philadelphia Phillies Chicago Colts 8–9‡ 101 [10]
Lou Gehrigº† June 3, 1932 New York Yankees Philadelphia Athletics 20–13 493 [11]
Chuck Klein† 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 Mays† April 30, 1961 San Francisco Giants Milwaukee Braves 14–4 660 [19][20]
Mike Schmidtº† April 17, 1976 Philadelphia Phillies Chicago Cubs 18–16 548 [21][22]
Bob Horner July 6, 1986 Atlanta Braves Montreal Expos 8–11‡ 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 10–3 187 [33][34]

See also

References

General
  • Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) (2007). The SABR Baseball List and Record Book: Baseball's Most Fascinating Records and Unusual Statistics. Scribner. p. 65.
  • "Four home runs in a game – Rare Feats | MLB.com: History". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
Specific
  1. ^ a b c Jim, Hoppel (August 10, 1999). "Four homers in one game". sportingnews.com. Sporting News. Archived from the original on April 8, 2004. Retrieved September 4, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Suehsdorf, A. D. (1978). The Great American Baseball Scrapbook, p. 14. Random House. ISBN 0-394-50253-1.
  3. ^ "Bobby Lowe Dead; Baseball Star, 83; First Player to Hit Four Home Runs in One Game Spent 18 Years in Major Leagues". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 9, 1951. Retrieved September 5, 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) (subscription required)
  4. ^ SABR, pg. 69
  5. ^ SABR, pg. 70
  6. ^ "Shawn Green slams record four home runs". CBC Sports. May 24, 2002. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  7. ^ "Delgado ties record with four homers". ESPN.com. September 25, 2003. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  8. ^ "Rules for Election". National Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  9. ^ "Bobby Lowe Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  10. ^ "Ed Delahanty Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  11. ^ "Lou Gehrig Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  12. ^ "Chuck Klein Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  13. ^ "Pat Seerey Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  14. ^ "Gil Hodges Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  15. ^ "Joe Adcock Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  16. ^ "Joe Adcock Ties Home Run Mark". The Miami News. Associated Press. July 31, 1954. p. C1. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  17. ^ "Rocky Colavito Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  18. ^ Wilks, Ed (June 10, 1959). "Tribe's Rocky Colavito Ties Record in Majors' Toughest Home Run Park". Evening Independent. Associated Press. p. 6A. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  19. ^ "Willie Mays Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  20. ^ Reichler, Joe (May 1, 1961). "Giants' Slugging Sets or Ties a Flock of Records". The Hour. Associated Press. p. 14. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  21. ^ "Mike Schmidt Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  22. ^ "Mike Schmidt Hits Four Home Runs: Phillies Outslug Chicago,18–16". TimesDaily. United Press International. April 17, 1976. p. 21. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  23. ^ "Bob Horner Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  24. ^ "National League; Horner Ties Mark with 4 Home Runs". New York Times. July 7, 1986. p. C4.
  25. ^ "Mark Whiten Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  26. ^ Allen, Karen (September 8, 1993). "Cards' Whiten: 4 HRs, 12 RBI". USA Today. pp. Sports, 1C.
  27. ^ "Mike Cameron Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  28. ^ Ralph, John (May 2, 2002). "With 4 homers, Cameron crows". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  29. ^ "Shawn Green Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  30. ^ Gurnick, Ken (May 23, 2002). "A day for the ages for Green". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  31. ^ "Carlos Delgado Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  32. ^ Fordin, Spencer (September 25, 2003). "Delgado smashes four homers". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  33. ^ "Josh Hamilton Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  34. ^ "Hamilton makes history with four home runs". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 8, 2012.

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