Home run cycle:
Scooter Gennett had four home runs in a 2017 game, nearly completing a home run cycle.
An offshoot of
hitting for the cycle, a "home run cycle" is when a player hits a solo home run, two-run home run, three-run home run, and grand slam all in one game. This is an extremely rare feat, as it requires the batter not only to hit four home runs in the game, but also to hit the home runs with a specific number of runners already on base. This is largely dependent on circumstances outside of the player's control, such as teammates' ability to get on base, and the order in which the player comes to bat in any particular inning. A further variant of the home run cycle would be the "natural home run cycle", should a batter hit the home runs in the specific order listed above.
A home run cycle has never occurred in MLB, which has only had 18 instances of a player hitting
four home runs in a game. Though multiple home run cycles have been recorded in collegiate baseball, the only known home run cycle in a professional baseball game belongs to
Tyrone Horne, playing for the
Arkansas Travelers in a
Double-A level
Minor League Baseball game against the
San Antonio Missions on July 27, 1998.
Major league players have come close to hitting a home run cycle, a notable example being
Scooter Gennett of the
Cincinnati Reds on June 6, 2017, when he hit four home runs against the
St. Louis Cardinals. He hit a grand slam in the third inning, a two-run home run in the fourth inning, a solo home run in the sixth inning, and a two-run home run in the eighth inning. He had an opportunity for a three-run home run in the first inning, but drove in one run with a single in that at bat."
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