In baseball, a home run is credited to a batter when he hits a fair ball and reaches home safely on the same play, without the benefit of an error. [1] Sixty-one different players have hit two home runs in an inning of a Major League Baseball (MLB) game to date, the most recent being Trea Turner of the Philadelphia Phillies on August 19, 2023. Regarded as a notable achievement, five players have accomplished the feat more than once in their career; no player has ever hit more than two home runs in an inning. Charley Jones was the first player to hit two home runs in one inning, [2] [3] doing so for the Boston Red Stockings against the Buffalo Bisons on June 10, 1880. [4] [5]
These innings have resulted in other single-inning and single-game MLB records being set due to the prodigious offensive performance. Bobby Lowe and Mike Cameron finished their respective games with a total of four home runs, equaling the record for most home runs in one game. [6] Both of the home runs hit by Fernando Tatís in the third inning for the St. Louis Cardinals on April 23, 1999, were grand slams. Not only did he tie the record for most grand slams in one game, [7] Tatís became the only player to hit two grand slams in the same inning and established a new major league record with eight runs batted in (RBI) in a single inning. [8] [9] A decade later, Alex Rodriguez set the single-inning American League record for RBIs with seven when he hit a three-run home run and a grand slam in the sixth inning for the New York Yankees on October 4, 2009. [9] [10]
Bret Boone and Cameron are the only players to each hit two home runs in one inning on the same day (May 2, 2002), in the same game, in the same inning (the first), in a pair of back-to-back at bats, and as teammates (playing for the Seattle Mariners). [3] [11] [12] Carlos Baerga, Mark Bellhorn, and Kendrys Morales hit their home runs from both sides of the plate. [13] [14] Jeff King is the sole player to accomplish the feat in consecutive seasons. [3] Bill Regan has the fewest career home runs among players who have two home runs in one inning with 18, [15] while Alex Rodriguez, with 696, hit more home runs than any other player in this group and amassed the fifth most in major league history. [16] Willie McCovey, Mark McGwire, David Ortiz, Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, and Sammy Sosa are also members of the 500 home run club. [16]
Of the 45 players eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame who have hit two home runs in an inning, eight have been elected, four on the first ballot. [17] Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame if they have played in at least 10 MLB seasons, and have either been retired for five seasons or deceased for at least six months. [18] These requirements leave three players ineligible who are active, three players ineligible who are living and have played in the past five seasons, and six players ineligible who did not play in 10 seasons.
Player(X) | Name of the player and number of two homer innings they had at that point |
---|---|
Date | Date of the game |
Team | The player's team at the time of the game |
Opposing team | The team against whom the player hit two home runs in one inning |
Inning | The inning in which the player hit two home runs |
Career HR | The number of home runs the player hit in his MLB career |
Box | Box score with play by play (if available) |
& | Indicates game in which multiple players each hit two home runs in one inning |
* | Indicates inning in which multiple players each hit two home runs |
† | Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame |
‡ | Player is active |
Baudilio José Díaz Seijas was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1977 to 1989, most prominently with the Cleveland Indians where he rose to prominence as an American League (AL) All-Star player in 1981 and, later with the Philadelphia Phillies where he was a member of the 1983 National League pennant winning team. He earned his second All-Star game berth with the Cincinnati Reds in 1987. Diaz began his career with the Boston Red Sox. He was the first Venezuelan to play regularly as a catcher in Major League Baseball. In 2006, Díaz was posthumously inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame.
Don James Larsen was an American professional baseball pitcher. During a 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he pitched from 1953 to 1967 for seven different teams: the St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees (1955–1959), Kansas City Athletics (1960–1961), Chicago White Sox (1961), San Francisco Giants (1962–1964), Houston Colt .45's / Astros (1964–65), and Chicago Cubs (1967).
Orlando Luis Cabrera Ramírez, nicknamed "O-Cab" and "The OC", is a Colombian-American former baseball infielder.
Anthony John Pierzynski is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports presenter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher with the Minnesota Twins (1998–2003), San Francisco Giants (2004), Chicago White Sox (2005–2012), Texas Rangers (2013), Boston Red Sox (2014), St. Louis Cardinals (2014) and Atlanta Braves (2015–2016). Pierzynski is one of only thirteen catchers in Major League history to reach 2,000 hits in his career.
Aaron Ryan Rowand is an American former professional baseball center fielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and the San Francisco Giants and won two World Series championships. During his playing days, Rowand stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 210 pounds (95 kg). He batted and threw right-handed.
Stanley Wilson Williams, nicknamed "Big Daddy" and "the Big Hurt", was an American baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He stood 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall and weighed 230 pounds (100 kg) during an active career spent with the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox between 1958 and 1972. He batted and threw right-handed and was a two-time World Series champion. After his playing days, Williams was a pitching coach for another 14 seasons for five Major League teams.
Richard William Tidrow was an American professional baseball pitcher and the senior vice president of player personnel and senior advisor to the general manager for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Juan Cespedes Uribe Tena is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He played shortstop, third base and second base during his career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets and Cleveland Indians. He bats and throws right-handed.
Alexei Fernando Ramírez Rodriguez is a Cuban former professional baseball shortstop. He has played for the Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays in MLB and Pinar del Rio of the Cuban National Series. His nickname, given to him by former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén, is "the Cuban Missile" due to his tall, slim physique and combination of speed, power, and strong throwing arm. Ramírez batted and threw right-handed.
The 2008 American League Central tie-breaker game, was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2008 regular season, played between the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins to determine the champion of the American League's (AL) Central Division. It was played at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois, on September 30, 2008. The White Sox won the game, 1–0, on a home run by Jim Thome, the lowest-scoring game in MLB tie-breaker history. The Sox advanced to the 2008 AL Division Series, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 3 games to 1; the Twins failed to qualify for the postseason.
General
Specific