Josh Gibson has long been credited with being the only player to hit a home run out of Yankee Stadium, although the claim is debatable. A closer examination of the facts suggests that he did not. Even if we know that some of the tales are less than 100 percent "real," the anecdotal evidence becomes overpowering at some point. In this case, that point is when we learn that Gibson's career batting average in New York was just.200.
In fact, there are several players who have hit home runs in both Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. But because they did so during different periods of time, no single player can be credited with hitting a ball out of both parks.
For example, Ted Williams hit one out of each park during separate trips to New York in 1939. Although many people believe that it was his regular-season finale against the Yankees, research shows that he actually played in another game that day against the Boston Bees. After that game, Williams went on vacation to Florida where he spent most of his time in the ocean. When he returned to play another game two weeks later, he had lost weight and was in great shape.
During World War II, neither Fenway Park nor Yankee Stadium were used for baseball games. Instead, they were converted into military training facilities. When baseball resumed after the war, both parks had new names: Red Sox Park for Boston and The Stadium for New York.
Every player in baseball history who has hit both a lead-off home run and a walk-off home run in the same game is listed below by the Baseball Almanac. The unusual sellout audience that came to witness Luis Gonzalez yelled when the veil was lifted off his No. 20 and replays of his most famous hit were shown on the video board at least a dozen times throughout the game. Before he drove in all the runs with his hits, however, Gonzalez struck out looking four times.
The lead-off home run was hit by Gonzalez (of course) on April 17, 2004. It was the first game played after the death of Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente and it happened to be against San Diego Padres right-hander Randy Jones. With one swing, Gonzalez made sure there would be no shortage of excitement in the opening inning of his finale as he sent a 0-1 pitch over the left field wall for a double down the line to start the game. It was the first lead-off home run allowed by Jones this season and it proved to be the winning blow as the Mets defeated the Padres 4-3.
Gonzalez's teammate, David Wright, followed with a solo shot of his own later in the inning to give the Mets an early 2-0 lead they would not relinquish.
The walk-off home run was hit by Gonzalez (again, obviously) on August 11, 2008. It was the second game of a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs and it happened to be on National League ground.
On May 8, 1973, Stargell blasted his second home run out of Dodger Stadium, the shorter of the two. Stargell hit a 470-foot home run off Andy Messersmith, sending the ball past the right-field bleachers and into the street beyond.
In that game, Yankees first baseman Henry Louis Gehrig became only the third player in MLB history to blast four home runs in a single game. He blasted four home runs in his first four at-bats, but his best day was overshadowed by John McGraw's retirement announcement.
Warren Spahn, the lone Hall of Fame pitcher faced during a four-homer game, threw the ball that Gil Hodges hit for the first of his four home runs. Only Hodges, Adcock, and Martinez have hit home runs against four different pitchers in the same game. The others who have done so include Pete Rose (five total), Hank Aaron (four), Joe DiMaggio (four), and Al Simmons (three).
Spahn's four-homer game took place on August 14, 1960, at Milwaukee County Stadium. It is possible to be part of such a rare event and not know anything about it until now. This is because no film or videotape evidence of the game exists due to an electrical short circuit that occurred during play which erased all home run hits from the tape recorders monitoring the game broadcast.
The New York Mets' Gil Hodges hit four homers in one game against the Atlanta Braves on May 31, 1963. However, this was also a five-hitter as Hodges struck out once. So, this means that Hodges has hit two homers every time he has stepped up to the plate. He is one of three players (Adcock and Maisel) who have hit four homers twice without walking any batters otherwise tied with two other players (Aaron and Simmons).
William Holbert, 1876–1918, has the most at-bats in a career without hitting a home run (2,335) Yes, the game's pre-Ruthian era was known as the dead-ball age. Still, William Holbert has no excuse.
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.
Bret Boone and Cameron are the only players to smash two home runs in the same inning on the same day (May 2, 2002), in the same game, in the same inning (the first), in consecutive at bats, and as teammates (playing for the Seattle Mariners).
On October 4, 2009, Alex Rodriguez established the single-inning American League record for RBIs with seven when he hit a three-run home run and a grand slam for the New York Yankees.
Did you know that Harold Baines held the record for most home runs hit by a designated hitter in a career with 225 until Edgar Martinez passed him in 2004 and concluded his career with 233, the same amount attained by Frank Thomas in 2007? The most home runs hit by a DH in a single season is 42, which Mark McGwire accomplished in 1998.
Baines played in 1795 games over 15 seasons, batting.275 with 2370 hits, 105 doubles, 38 triples, 547 walks, and 1093 RBIs. He also finished with 365 homers after making him one of the most powerful hitters in baseball history. Baines' average fell below.300 only five times during his career. He had three straight years between 1994 and 1996 where he reached at least 30 HRs and 100 RBIs, finishing with 39 or more HRs four times. Baines won two Gold Gloves while playing first base for the Texas Rangers.
Thomas played in 1604 games over 14 seasons, batting.277 with 2338 hits, 102 doubles, 41 triples, 459 walks, and 966 RBIs. He also finished with 373 homers after making him one of the most powerful hitters in baseball history. Thomas had six straight years between 1999 and 2004 where he reached 40 or more HRs and 100 RBIs, concluding with 46 HRs and 107 RBIs in 2007.
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