On Saturday against the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox catcher Seby Zavala became the first player in American and National League history to hit his first three home runs in the same game. Zavala, 27, drove in six runs with home runs in the third, fourth, and seventh innings. The last player to do this was Dave Kingman of the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 14, 1978.
Zavala's three homers are also a White Sox record; no other team has had more than two players hit three homers in a game. The only other team to have two hitters go deep multiple times is the 1906 Chicago Cubs, who had Larry Doyle and George Kelly each hit three homers against the Cincinnati Reds on May 25, 1906. The White Sox joined an elite group of teams that have had three players hit three homers in a game: the 1906 Chicago Cubs, the 2007 Tampa Bay Rays, and the 2017 Chicago White Sox.
In addition to being the first player to hit three homers in a game, Zavala also holds the White Sox record for most RBIs by a catcher (24) and he is the only player in MLB history with at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases from 2013-17. He finished with 26 hits in Saturday's win over Cleveland, giving him 3,063 for his career, which is the most among active players.
Musial became the first player in history to hit five home runs in a single game on May 2, 1954. Musial homered three times in Game 1 of the Sunday doubleheader at Busch Stadium against the New York Giants, then added two more in the nightcap. The last player to do this was Duke Snider with the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 21, 1955.
In addition to Musial, the only other player to hit five homers in one game is Joe DiMaggio with $10,000 on the line in 1941. DiMaggio hit four homers as the New York Yankees took on the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The game was played during World War II and neither team had a run score during their first meeting.
Musial's teammate Johnny Schmitz has the most home runs in a single game with six. Schmitz hit five homers as part of a blowout victory for the St. Louis Cardinals over the Cincinnati Reds on June 15, 1947. The only other time this has happened is by Alex Rodriguez et al. vs. the Seattle Mariners on September 3, 2004. That game ended up being one of the highest-scoring games ever completed with a final tally of 14-3 Seattle.
The last player to hit five homers in a game was Mark McGwire in 1998. The only other time this has happened is by Roger Maris in 1961.
Tony Gwynn became the most recent player to drive in three runs in a game without reaching first base in 1989, courtesy to a sac fly and a pair of RBI groundouts in a 5-1 Padres win over the Reds—a game in which Gwynn, the NL batting champion at the time, went 0-for-4 at the plate. The previous year, Mark McGwire had driven in three runs in a game without getting on base when he hit for the cycle (all singles) vs. the Cubs.
Gwynn's teammate Joe Carter would go on to become the only other MLB player to do so until 2012, when David Freese accomplished this feat against the Cardinals. Before that, no one had reached third base without getting there first since 1914, when Sam Thompson of the Pirates drove in three runs by walking four times.
The last player to drive in three or more runs without hitting an out-of-zone pitch was George Foster of the Dodgers, who did it six times between 1960 and 1969. Foster's teammate Pee Wee Reese is the all-time leader with 10 such games played.
Other players to drive in three or more runs without reaching first base include: John McDonald (1991), Eric Davis (1992), Mike Cameron (2003), and Vladimir Guerrero (2004).
The last player to drive in three or more runs while standing on second base was Johnny Egan in 1884.
Tobin became the first (and only) pitcher to hit three home runs in a game two years before homering in a no-hitter. In the bottom of the eighth inning, his third blast of the day broke a 4-4 tie with the Cubs, and he completed the game in the next half-inning. The Yankees lost, 5-4.
Tobin's three homers are the most ever by a Yankee pitcher and second most in MLB history behind three hits by Frank Bertainio of the Cincinnati Redlegs on May 26, 1950. The Yankees had nine hits off Charlie Robertson of the Browns/Indians that day, five from their lineup and four from Tobin. He also has the highest batting average of any Yankee hitter who has batted in a game this season (1 for 3).
Tobin was a left-handed hitter who played first base and left field. He made his major league debut on April 17, 1884, at age 21 years and 10 months old! His last game was on September 30, 1885. He died at the age of 36 in New York City after falling down some stairs. According to baseball-reference.com, he had 2,966 career hits including 93 home runs when he died.
The first no-hitter in World Series history was thrown by Christy Mathewson of the Giants against the Reds at San Francisco's Recreation Park on October 1, 1905.
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