We'll start with the obvious: 14 players have hit four home runs in a game since the start of the 1913 season, with Josh Hamilton being the most recent, with the Texas Rangers in 2012. (In addition, he had a double in the game.) However, no one has ever reached five. The record is four, set by Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Al Kaline and Dave Kingman all for the Detroit Tigers in 1961.
It's possible that someone could hit four homers in a game tomorrow night. The Chicago Cubs are one of several teams who could potentially do so if Jake Arrieta and Jorge Soler each hit two bombs. The other teams who could have this opportunity include the Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays.
However, it's not likely to happen. There are only 26 days left in the regular season, which means there are only six games remaining where a hitter could hit four homers. By the time all is said and done, we may know who holds the record for most home runs in a single season, but it won't be anyone you've never heard of before 2014 comes to an end.
A look at every four-homer game in Major League Baseball history. There are presently 18 players in MLB history who have hit four home runs in a single game. There are presently 18 players in MLB history who have hit four home runs in a single game.
Chief Wilson of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1912 is the only player in major league history to have hit at least one triple in five consecutive games!
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 31, 1955.
During World War II, Musial played baseball for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) while serving as a pilot in the Pacific Theater. After the war ended, he returned to St. Louis and joined the St. Louis Cardinals as their star third baseman. In 1951, the Cardinals traded Musial to the Yankees for Eddie McCarthy and Johnny Schmitz. He stayed with the Yankees until he retired after the 1956 season. During that time, he was considered by many to be the best hitter in baseball.
In 1957, Musial was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is the only player who has been elected while still active in the major leagues. Today, he is the greatest third baseman in MLB history.
With 762 home runs, Barry Bonds owns the major league baseball home run record. On August 7, 2007, he surpassed Hank Aaron, who had reached 755. Babe Ruth, with 714 home runs, is the only other player to have hit 700 or more.
Bonds' record will be hard to beat since his former teammate Alex Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers has 684 home runs. Other notable players who have hit 600 or more are Pete Rose (895), Willie Mays ( 660), and Frank Robinson (658).
In addition to these three great hitters, several other players have hit 500 or more home runs including Ken Boyer (551), Jim Clark (542), Charlie Gehringer (541), George Kell (540), Harry Walker (529), and Al Rosen (517).
Some players such as Albert Pujols (651) and Josh Hamilton (621) are still in their early 20's and have a lot of homeruns left in them. Others such as Rafael Palmeiro (523) and Mark McGwire (527) have been out of baseball for some time now due to steroid abuse issues. They will not be able to play again until they officially retire from baseball.
Bonds, Barry With 762 home runs, Barry Bonds owns the major league baseball home run record.
In 2011, it was reported that Aaron had died of cancer age 54-55.
Bonds will be able to keep hitting home runs until some younger player hits number 800. That will not happen before Bonds' record falls in April 2015. By then, he will have 31 years old.
The earliest any player has ever reached 800 home runs is 43 years old - Jeff Bagwell in 2002. The youngest player to hit 500 home runs is just 28 years old - Mike Trout of the Angels. He played in 152 games this year, which is the most ever by a rookie. Another young player who may be able to break this record is Bryce Harper, who is only 25 years old and plays for the Nationals. If he continues to play 150 games per season, he will reach 500 home runs before he turns 30 in 2017.
Harper and Trout are the only two players to have hit four hundred home runs. Both of them are great hitters and will remain so for many years to come. It is unlikely that anyone else will be able to match their achievements.
Players hit 40 home runs just 13 times in the 1980s, the fewest of any decade since Babe Ruth changed the game. The absence of power is only one of the many reasons why the 1980s are still seen as a bygone period. Another reason is that nobody remembers what happened during those 10 years.
The 1980s saw baseball abandon its small town roots for the big city life of New York and Los Angeles. The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers moved to Colorado and Virginia respectively while the San Francisco Giants relocated from New York to California. Players began to change their names for marketing purposes instead of because they wanted to be famous like Joe DiMaggio or Mickey Mantle. There were even rumors that Mark McGuire, who played first base for the New York Yankees in 1989, had an actual man inside him playing ball games all day long. He died the following year at age 30 after blowing up on the field during an exhibition game.
During World War II, baseball enjoyed huge popularity increases due to military service men being able to watch games on television. When they returned from war, they wanted to see more offense than the old school batting practice pitches used by most teams. The 1980s-era hitter benefited from this new mindset by having better pitches to hit and cars parked near the stadium with scoreboards attached to them. This allowed hitters to work into powerful swings when the pitch was delivered.
That year, Sosa blasted 64 home runs. He is the only player in history to have hit 60 home runs three times. Because all three players were engaged in the PED crisis of the 1990s, many baseball fans and media questioned the validity of the home run records after 1998. The time now is 14:58. This page was last modified on April 23, 2014, at 14:58.
Read about other big hitters here. See our article on five more amazing power hitters who each had six seasons with 50 or more homers.
And don't forget about Aaron's brother Roy who also was a great hitter - he won the AL MVP award in 1975 when Aaron was out due to injury. Roy also has a place in baseball history as the first player to hit into a double play from the left side of the plate. He accomplished this rare feat on August 10, 1972, while playing for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Aaron himself came up through the minors as a second baseman but was converted to center field because of his powerful arm. He made an immediate impact for the Chicago White Sox by hitting 31 home runs his rookie season. In 1999, he became the first player to hit 500 home runs. He played his final game in 2004 at age 40 due to leg injuries sustained during the previous season.
Sosa had two of the most memorable seasons in MLB history. In 1996, he finished first in MVP voting after hitting 69 home runs.
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