4 Home Run Games

A player hitting four home runs in one game has only been achieved 18 times in MLB history. No one has done it twice. In this collection, I try to obtain cards that acknowledge this rare feat with preferably some notation on the front of the card, but if I can't find that I look for some acknowledgement on the back of the card.

1. On Memorial Day May 30, 1894 Bobby Lowe became the first MLB player to hit 4 HRs in one game when his Boston Beaneaters beat the Cincinnati Reds 20 - 11. The HRs were hit consecutively. Although this card pictures Bobby Lowe with Milwaukee of the Western Association, he made it to the majors in 1890 and spent 18 years in the majors. His best season was 1894 when he had 212 hits, 17 HRs, 115 RBIs and a .346 BA.

Bobby Lowe Old Judge Reprint.

2. On July 13, 1896 Ed Delahanty became the 2nd player to hit 4 HRS in one game, 2 of which were inside-the-park. Despite this feat, his Philadelphia Phillies lost to the Chicago Colts 9 - 8. Delahanty hit over .400 THREE times in his MLB career and finished with a .346 lifetime BA (5th highest in MLB history). It's hard to pick his best season, but the Hall of Famer's 1899 season stands out when he had 238 hits, 55 doubles, 9 HRs, 137 RBIs, 30 SBs, .410 BA, and a 1.046 OPS. On the card back it states "Half way through the 1903 season - still batting like a fiend - he fell into the seething rapids above Niagara Falls, bringing a tragic and untimely end to a great career."

1950 B.E. Callahan - tape stains and all.

3. On June 3, 1932 Lou Gehrig became the 3rd person to hit 4 HRs in a game when he led the New York Yankees to a 20 - 13 win over the Philadelphia A's. The HRs were hit consecutively. We're all familiar with Gehrig's many other herculean feats, including triple crown winner (featured here), 2 time MVP, most consecutive games played (2,130 - since bested by Cal Ripkin), all-time AL record of 184 RBIs in a season, and Hall of Fame. His stats are just stunning...

With his physical abilities deteriorating, on May 2, 1939, after his 2,130th consecutive game, Gehrig benched himself. He never played another game. Ultimately, Gehrig was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's disease) on June 19, 1939, which was Gehrig's 36th birthday. On July 4, 1939 Gehrig delivered his famous "The luckiest man on the face of the earth" speech. Gehrig passed away on June 2, 1941.

1989 Pacific card #174.

4. On July 10, 1936, Chuck Klein became the 4th player to hit 4 HRs in a game when his Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 9 - 6 in 10 innings. Like Gehrig, Chuck Klein also won the Triple Crown Award (also featured in the link above) and was elected to the HOF. He also won one MVP award. In 1930, Klein enjoyed one of the best offensive years in baseball history, batting .386 with 250 hits and 158 runs scored, all career highs. He also set career bests and still-standing Phillies records with 59 doubles, 170 RBIs, a .687 slugging percentage and 445 total bases. No player has had as many total bases in a season since. His 107 extra-base hits that year are a National League record, tied by Barry Bonds in 2001.

2014 Panini Classics card #7.

5. On July 18, 1948 Pat Seerey became the 5th player to hit 4 HRs in a game when his Chicago White Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics 12 - 11 in 11 innings. A long-ball hitter, Seerey played 7 seasons, hit 86 HRs, and led the league in strikeouts 4 times. Seerey finished 1948 with a total of 18 HRs. He played in 4 games in 1949 before being sent to the minors, never to return to a ML lineup.

1948 Leaf card #73.

6. On August 31, 1950, Gil Hodges became the 6th player to hit 4 HRs in a game when his Brooklyn Dodgers shellacked the Boston Braves 19 - 3. Hodges is generally considered to be the best defensive first baseman of the 1950s, but he clearly was no slouch with his offense, ending an 18-year career with with a 162 game average of 29 HRs and 100 RBIs. Hodges is the poster child for great players on the outside looking into the HOF.

1961 Nu-Card Baseball Scoops card #441.

7. On July 31, 1954 Joe Adcock became the 7th player to hit 4 HRs in a game led the Milwaukee Braves over the Brooklyn Dodgers 15 - 7 when he hit 4 HRs and a double. With this feat, the former Cincinnati Red set a new record with 18 total bases in a 9-inning game. Adcock played 17-years and amassed 336 career HRs.

1961 Nu-Card Baseball Scoops card #433.

8. On June 10, 1959 Rocky Colavito became the 8th player to hit 4 HRs in a game when he did it consecutively in the Cleveland Indians win over the Baltimore Orioles 11 - 8. Colavito played 14-years and finished with 374 career home runs. His best season was 1961 when he played 163 games, scored 129 runs, 45 HRs, 140 RBIs, 113 walks, .290 BA, with a .402 OBP and .580 SLG. Like Hodges, Colavito is outside looking in to the HOF.

1961 Nu-Card Baseball Scoops card #468.

9. On April 30, 1961 Willie Mays became the 9th player to hit 4 HRs in a game when he led the San Francisco Giants over the Milwaukee Braves 14 - 4. The Hall of Famer won 2 MVP Awards, was selected to 24 All-Star Games, and won 12 Gold Glove Awards. The "Say Hey" kid turned 89 on May 6th of this year!

1992 Upper Deck card #49 of 54. Oddly, this was the most elusive card for me to obtain for this project.

10.  On April 17, 1976 Mike Schmidt became the 10th player to hit 4 HRs in a game when he led the Philadelphia Phillies in a slug-fest over the Chicago Cubs 18 -16 in 10 innings. His HRs were hit consecutively. The Hall of Famer won 3 MVP Awards, was selected to 12 All-Star Games, and won 10 Gold Glove Awards.

1983 The Star Co. card #10.

11. On July 6, 1986 Bob Horner became the 11th player to hit 4 HRs in a game in a Brave's loss to the Montreal Expos 11 - 8. Horner was recently featured in this post  for being one of very few players to go directly to the major leagues and never spending a single day in the minor leagues. Horner played 10-seasons and hit 218 career HRs.

1987 Fleer card #632.

12. On a very dark and dreary September 7, 1993 Mark Whiten became the 12th player to hit 4 HRs in a game when he led the hated St. Louis Cardinals to a 15 - 7 drubbing of my beloved Cincinnati Reds. 1993 turned out to be a career year for the former Syracuse Chief (1st of 3 to hit 4 MLB HRs), as he hit 25 HRs and 99 RBIs (although his OPS after 92 games in the strike-shortened 1994 season was a remarkable .849). He went on to hit 105 career HRs in an 11-year MLB career.

Whiten's 12 RBIs tied a major-league single-game record set by Sunny Jim Bottomley, also a former Syracuse Chief. In 104 games as a Chief in 1990, Whiten hit 14 HRs with 48 RBIs and had an impressive .290/.353/.467 slash line.

1993 Pinnacle/Score card #315.

13. On May 2, 2002 Mike Cameron became the 13th player in MLB history to hit 4 HRs in a game when he led the Seattle Mariners to a 15 - 4 win over the Chicago White Sox. Mike was one of only about 3 others to do it consecutively.

In 1998, Cameron was dealt from the ChiSox to the Reds for Paul Konerko. Then, after a very fine 1999 season with the Reds (helping to lead them to a 1-game play-in loss against the Mets for the last playoff spot), Cameron was part of the blockbuster Ken Griffey, Jr. trade. In 2000, Cameron and Jake Meyer (minors), Antonio Perez, and Brett Tomko went to the Seattle Mariners for Ken Griffey Jr.

2002 Topps card #332 with autograph.

14. On May 23 of the very same 2002, Shawn Green became the 14th MLB player to hit 4 HRs in a game when his Los Angeles Dodgers shellacked the Milwaukee Brewers 16 - 3. Green, also a former Syracuse Chief (2nd of 3), holds or is tied for the following major league records: most home runs in a game (4), most extra base hits in a game (5), most total bases in a game (19), most runs scored in a game (6), most home runs in two consecutive games (5), most home runs in three consecutive games (7), and most consecutive home runs (4). In his 15 MLB years, Green hit 328 HRs, topping off at 49 in 2001.

In 109 games as a Syracuse Chief in 1994, Green hit 13 HRs with 61 RBIs and had an impressive .344/.401/.510 slash line.

2002 Topps event series card #ES2.

15.  On September 25, 2003 Carlos Delgado, another former Syracuse Chief (3rd of 3), became the 15th player to hit 4 HRs in a game when he led the Toronto Blue Jays to a 10 - 8 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Delgado also hit them consecutively. Delgado played 17 years in the bigs and finished with 473 home runs and a .280/.383/.546 slash line. A mighty fine career, but another one on the outside looking into the HOF.

Delgado played most of 1994 (along with Green) and 1995 with the Syracuse Chiefs. In those two years, Delgado hit 41 HRs with 132 RBIs and averaged .319 with a .403 OBP.

2004 Upper Deck Home Run Heroes card #HH-CD.

16. On May 8, 2012, former Cincinnati Red Josh Hamilton became the 16th player in MLB history to hit 4 HRs in a game when he led the Texas Rangers over the Baltimore Orioles 10 - 3. Hamilton won the AL MVP Award in 2010 in a season that included 30 HRs, 100 RBIs, and league leading BA of .359, SLG of .633, and OPS of 1.044.

2009 Topps T206 card #266.

17. Finally a Red! On June 6, 2017, (the still active) Scooter Gennett became the 17th player in MLB history to hit 4 HRs in a game when he led the beloved Cincinnati Reds to a 13 - 1 drubbing of the hated St. Louis Cardinals! Woohoo! What excitement in Reds Country that was! With the Reds in 2017 and 2018, Gennett hit 27 & 23 HRs, 97 & 92 RBIs, and he OPS'd .874 & .847, respectively. Not bad for a waiver pickup from an inter-divisional rival (Milwaukee)!

2017 Topps Now card #222.

18. Last but not least, On September 4 of the same 2017 season, (the also still active) J.D. Martinez became the 18th player in MLB history to hit 4 HRs in a game when he led the Arizona Diamondbacks over the Los Angeles Dodgers 13 - 1. That year, combined between his time with Detroit and Arizona, Martinez hit 45 HRS, 104 RBIs, with a .303/.376/.690 slash line.

2017 Topps Now card #563.

There you have it.

• Hall of Famers: 5 (and at least 5 near misses).
• Two players that hit 4 HRs in a loss (Delahanty & Horner).
• Team with the most players to hit 4 HRs in a game: Braves with 3 players (Lowe, Adcock, & Horner).
• Two number 1 draft picks (Horner & Hamilton).
• Former Syracuse Chiefs: 3 (Whiten, Green, & Delgado).

Speaking of Chiefs, they have had two players hit 4 HRs in a game. The first was former Cincinnati Red, and current artist, Gene Locklear. On July 14, 1977 Locklear did his damage in a 11 - 1 Syracuse win over the Columbus Clippers at Franklin County Stadium in Columbus, OH.

1975 Topps card #13.

Most recently, on May 14, 2011 Michael Aubrey hit 4 HRs in a Syracuse Chiefs victory over the Durham Bulls 11 - 0 at Alliance Bank Stadium in Syracuse.

2011 Syracuse Chiefs Choice SportsCards card #2.

There you have it. Four dingers in ONE game. That's a great WEEK for any player. It is just such a rare feat. I do, and I don't, look forward to it happening again - if you know what I mean (apologies to the folks at Whose Line is it Anyway - if you know what I mean!).

Stay well,
CinciCuse Bill