BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: Josh Hamilton ties major league record with 4 homers in a game

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Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Josh Hamilton ties major league record with 4 homers in a game

Yeah…but did they win the game?

Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton’s torrid 2012 season now includes his first career four-home-run game, all of them two-run shots.

Hamilton, who turns 31 later in May, hit three two-run homers through his first four at-bats during Tuesday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles before adding a fourth in the eighth inning.

It marked the 14th four-home-run game in major league history since 1900. Hamilton is the first to accomplish the feat since Carlos Delgado did so in 2003.

It was Hamilton’s fifth multi-homer game, but the first time he’s hit four home runs in one game. The eights RBIs are a new career high for the slugger and his 18 total bases in the game broke the club record last set by Jose Canseco on June 13, 1994 against Seattle. The 18 total bases set a new American League record and is one shy of the major league record.

Repoz Posted: May 08, 2012 at 09:37 PM | 98 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: rangers

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1. Misirlou is bad, he's nationwide Posted: May 08, 2012 at 09:43 PM (#4126919)

The 18 total bases set a new American League record and is one shy of the major league record.

Was that Shawn Green?

2. UCCF Posted: May 08, 2012 at 09:44 PM (#4126924)

I think it was. I was trying to remember - I think Joe Adcock had 18 TB, and Green got 19.

3. Ok, Griffey's Dunn (Nothing Iffey About Griffey) Posted: May 08, 2012 at 09:44 PM (#4126925)

Was that Shawn Green?

Yes. 6-6, 4hr, 2b, single

4. with Glavinesque control and Madduxian poise Posted: May 08, 2012 at 09:50 PM (#4126929)

No sixth at-bat for Hamilton.

5. puck Posted: May 08, 2012 at 09:54 PM (#4126935)

Geez, and 14 HR total now.

6. Joey B. has ignited his October #Natitude Posted: May 08, 2012 at 09:57 PM (#4126938)

I think only another major choke job will keep the Rangers from winning it all this year. This is the best team we've seen in baseball since the Braves were at their peak in the mid to late nineties.

7. zonk Posted: May 08, 2012 at 09:58 PM (#4126939)

Selling Josh Hamilton to the Reds was a wise move by the Cubs...

8. Srul Itza Posted: May 08, 2012 at 09:58 PM (#4126942)

From Gameday:
1st Josh Hamilton (11) 2 run shot to center off Arrieta, Andrus scored.
3rd Josh Hamilton (12) 2 run shot to left off Arrieta, Andrus scored.
7th Josh Hamilton (13) 2 run shot to center off Arrieta, Andrus scored.
8th Josh Hamilton (14) 2 run shot to center off O´Day, Andrus scored.

Easy day for Elvis -- just get on base and wait for your chance to jog home.

Have any of the other 4 home-run days all been 2 run shots -- with the same guy on base?

Geez, and 14 HR total now.

While hitting .406 with 36 RBI

9. Mefisto Posted: May 08, 2012 at 09:59 PM (#4126943)

His first?

10. RB in NYC (Now Semi-Retired from BBTF) Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:00 PM (#4126944)

This is the best team we've seen in baseball since the Braves were at their peak in the mid to late nineties.

And we all know all the World Series success those Braves' teams had in October!

Anyway, crowning anyone as the best team since whenever on May 8th is pretty silly.

11. Best Regards, L.M. Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:02 PM (#4126946)

I think only another major choke job will keep the Rangers from winning it all this year. This is the best team we've seen in baseball since the Braves were at their peak in the mid to late nineties.

Uh, yeah. Okay.

12. Joey B. has ignited his October #Natitude Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:03 PM (#4126948)

Anyway, crowning anyone as the best team since whenever on May 8th is pretty silly.

Hey smart guy, I'm not just basing my statement on this year so far; I'm basing it on this year so far, and all of last year, and all of the year before that. Get it?

13. Tripon Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:05 PM (#4126950)

Hey, remember when people say sillyball was dead? Hitting 4 homers in a game is pretty damn silly.

14. RB in NYC (Now Semi-Retired from BBTF) Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:08 PM (#4126951)

Hey smart guy, I'm not just basing my statement on this year so far; I'm basing it on this year so far, and all of last year, and all of the year before that. Get it?

That's terrific. Who cares? How good the 2010 Texas Rangers were (or weren't, for that matter) has nothing to do with the chances of the 2012 Rangers. And if you're counting multiple years, and not considering the late '90s Yankees team, that's even sillier.

15. Misirlou is bad, he's nationwide Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:09 PM (#4126953)

Hey smart guy, I'm not just basing my statement on this year so far; I'm basing it on this year so far, and all of last year, and all of the year before that. Get it?

In that case, they're no better than the 2010 Phillies, who, coming off back to back pennants, started out 24-13.

16. Guts

Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:13 PM (#4126960)

Carlos Beltran has 2 homers in 2 at bats at the middle of the second inning. So, half way there!

17. BDC

Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:14 PM (#4126962)

I'm a Ranger fan currently having the time of my life, but seriously, the Rangers have been highly dependent so far this year on Colby Lewis and two other guys who have ten major-league starts between them. I will be happy to celebrate, if it comes to that, in October, but I think I will watch the rest of the year play out before doing much serious Sprite-showering.

That said, yay Josh!

18. Avoid running at all times.-S. Paige Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:15 PM (#4126963)

Carlos Beltran has 2 homers and 6 rbi in his first 2 at bats. They're going into the bottom of the second now.

19. Foghorn Leghorn Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:18 PM (#4126967)

And if you're counting multiple years, and not considering the late '90s Yankees team, that's even sillier.

Man, you got fished in.

20. drone1313 Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:21 PM (#4126969)

I liked the Rotoworld writeup:

It's the first time four-homer game in MLB since Carlos Delgado's big night back in 2033

Josh Hamilton's home runs disrupt the space-time continuum.

21. Best Regards, L.M. Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:21 PM (#4126970)

Man, you got fished in.

Seriously, that's some old-school trolling. He even had "smart guy" in the response to rub it in.

I bit a little, but backed off before getting in too much trouble.

22. RB in NYC (Now Semi-Retired from BBTF) Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:23 PM (#4126973)

Man, you got fished in.

Seriously, that's some old-school trolling. He even had "smart guy" in the response to rub it in.

I bit a little, but backed off before getting in too much trouble.

What can I say? Robertson was loading the bases, I needed something else to think about.

23. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:25 PM (#4126977)

JB's post reads even better if you cram a cigar butt in one corner of your mouth and punctuate the pauses with "nyaaahh"s.

Hamilton's fourth shot was indeed a shot.

24. Walks Clog Up the Bases Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:27 PM (#4126988)

Carlos Beltran has 2 homers and 6 rbi in his first 2 at bats. They're going into the bottom of the second now.

Not that Beltran didn't enjoy a nice bounce back last season after a couple seasons of poor health, but if there was ever a sure bet for him to put up a monster season at this point in his career, it's St. Louis.

25. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:39 PM (#4126997)

Josh Hamilton’s torrid 2012 season now includes his first career four-home-run game

so--you expect MORE of them??

26. Slivers of Maranville (SdeB) Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:49 PM (#4127013)

JB's post reads even better if you cram a cigar butt in one corner of your mouth and punctuate the pauses with "nyaaahh"s.

That's one of those things I've seen endless parodies of, but don't know where it originates. What performance is that based on?

27. Srul Itza Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:49 PM (#4127014)

They may be referring to Edward G. Robinson as Little Caesar.

28. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:51 PM (#4127016)

Edward G. Robinson in general, with a little extra emphasis on "Little Caesar" (1930).

29. Walks Clog Up the Bases Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:52 PM (#4127019)

They may be referring to Edgar G. Robinson as Little Caesar.

Yup.

I was also about to add that the movie contains the line that inspired my favorite BBTF post of 2012. Upon finding it, I realized that it was a post by none other than Srul Itza.

30. bobm Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:52 PM (#4127021)

From B-R PI:

From 1918 to 2012, (requiring HR=4), sorted by most recent date

                                                                                                                                             
Rk           Player          Date  Tm Opp    Rslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS   WPA  RE24   aLI BOP Pos. Summary
1    Carlos Delgado    2003-09-25 TOR TBD  W 10-8  4  4 4 4  0  0  4   6  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 0.724 5.324 1.635   4           1B
2       Shawn Green    2002-05-23 LAD MIL  W 16-3  6  6 6 6  1  0  4   7  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 0.303 7.052  .433   3           RF
3      Mike Cameron    2002-05-02 SEA CHW  W 15-4  6  5 4 4  0  0  4   4  0   0  0   1  0  0   0   0  0  0 0.090 4.064  .132   3           CF
4       Mark Whiten 1993-09-07(2) STL CIN  W 15-2  5  5 4 4  0  0  4  12  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 0.346 9.495  .870   6           CF
5        Bob Horner    1986-07-06 ATL MON L  8-11  5  5 4 4  0  0  4   6  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 0.262 5.204  .718   4           1B
6      Mike Schmidt    1976-04-17 PHI CHC W 18-16  6  6 4 5  0  0  4   8  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 0.455 7.135  .862   6           3B
7       Willie Mays    1961-04-30 SFG MLN  W 14-4  5  5 4 4  0  0  4   8  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 0.363 6.654  .380   3           CF
8    Rocky Colavito    1959-06-10 CLE BAL  W 11-8  5  4 5 4  0  0  4   6  1   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 0.304 5.738  .516   4           RF
9        Joe Adcock    1954-07-31 MLN BRO  W 15-7  5  5 5 5  1  0  4   7  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 0.150 5.445  .308   5           1B
10       Gil Hodges    1950-08-31 BRO BSN  W 19-3  6  6 5 5  0  0  4   9  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 0.251 6.536  .423   6           1B
11       Pat Seerey 1948-07-18(1) CHW PHA W 12-11  7  6 4 4  0  0  4   7  1   0  1   0  0      0   0  0  0 0.000       0.000   4           LF
12      Chuck Klein    1936-07-10 PHI PIT  W  9-6  5  5 4 4  0  0  4   6  0   0  0   0  0      0   0  0  0 0.000       0.000   3           RF
13       Lou Gehrig    1932-06-03 NYY PHA W 20-13  6  6 4 4  0  0  4   6  0   0  0   0  0          0  0  0 0.000       0.000   4           1B

31. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:58 PM (#4127031)

Robinson's performance quickly became so iconic that he began parodying it in films such as "The Whole Town's Talking," "The Little Giant," and "A Slight Case of Murder," as well as on radio.

32. Gamingboy Posted: May 08, 2012 at 11:06 PM (#4127042)

I suggest that, tomorrow, he set a new record for intentional walks in a game.

33. Tulo's Fishy Mullet (mrams) Posted: May 08, 2012 at 11:09 PM (#4127046)

thanks for #30, I knew somebody did it in a loss, though thought it was Seerey for some reason. So is Seerey the outlier? I don't know anything about him other than 4 HRs, looks like he liked to whiff, though this list has a lot of that.

34. Jick Posted: May 08, 2012 at 11:12 PM (#4127049)

Mark Whiten's Cardinals lost their other game 14-13 that day. Whiten was 0-4, meaning he didn't get a hit in the majority of his at-bats the day he hit four home runs.

35. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: May 08, 2012 at 11:12 PM (#4127050)

So is Seerey the outlier? I don't know anything about him other than 4 HRs, looks like he liked to whiff, though this list has a lot of that.

he's an outlier because his was in extras--also he's one of a few who has 3 homers and a triple in one game, as mentioned in this thread

Pat "All-or-nothing" Seerey

36. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: May 08, 2012 at 11:15 PM (#4127053)

as Einstein related in "Willie's Time" Billy Loes was in uniform for all four of the the 4-homer games from 50-61 (Hodges, Adcock, Rocky, Mays). When someone figured that out following the Mays game, they asked Loes "why didn't you say something?" and he said "no one asked me"

37. Tom Nawrocki Posted: May 08, 2012 at 11:22 PM (#4127056)

he's an outlier because his was in extras

Mike Schmidt's was extra innings too. A Saturday afternoon game at Wrigley.

38. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: May 08, 2012 at 11:24 PM (#4127057)

Mike Schmidt's was extra innings too. A Saturday afternoon game at Wrigley.

correct--I should have said..

39. vortex of dissipation Posted: May 08, 2012 at 11:37 PM (#4127063)

1st Josh Hamilton (11) 2 run shot to center off Arrieta, Andrus scored.
3rd Josh Hamilton (12) 2 run shot to left off Arrieta, Andrus scored.
7th Josh Hamilton (13) 2 run shot to center off Arrieta, Andrus scored.
8th Josh Hamilton (14) 2 run shot to center off O´Day, Andrus scored.

Has anyone else ever had a four home run game without pulling the ball even once?

40. The Mohole* of David Wells (* - Piehole)

Posted: May 08, 2012 at 11:55 PM (#4127078)

What's the highest WPA in a single game in history? From #30, Delgado had .724. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's hard to top that.

41. The Mohole* of David Wells (* - Piehole)

Posted: May 08, 2012 at 11:57 PM (#4127081)

I'm totally wrong. ESPN has an article just about World Series games. Freese had .969, Game 6 in 2011.

42. The Mohole* of David Wells (* - Piehole)

Posted: May 08, 2012 at 11:58 PM (#4127082)

The link for anyone who cares.

43. Morty Causa Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:04 AM (#4127084)

Robinson's performance quickly became so iconic that he began parodying it in films such as "The Whole Town's Talking," "The Little Giant," and "A Slight Case of Murder," as well as on radio.

Well, those, yes, but those are not outright caricatures like the Warner Brothers Bugs Bunny Cartoons:

Racketeer Rabbit

44. Sweatpants Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:10 AM (#4127091)

What's the highest WPA in a single game in history? From #30, Delgado had .724. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's hard to top that.

I believe that the record (for games Retrosheet has covered) is held by Art Shamsky from this game.

45. YR Misses Reggie Bars Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:10 AM (#4127093)

Robinson's caricature is so iconic that it actually adds to my enjoyment of "The Ten Commandments". In my mind, I translate to, "It's Moses, see, he's with the Jews, see, nyahh, nyahhh..."

46. The Mohole* of David Wells (* - Piehole)

Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:16 AM (#4127096)

I believe that the record (for games Retrosheet has covered) is held by Art Shamsky from this game.

Wow. Pinch hitter in the 8th and wins it in the 13th. Amazing. Bob Bailey (who? sorry! I was born in 1973) didn't have a bad game either.

47. Dag Nabbit has the talking pillow Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:17 AM (#4127097)

I believe that the record (for games Retrosheet has covered) is held by Art Shamsky from this game.

That's the record for hitters. For pitchers, its Vern Law for a 16-inning complete game. Though, if you go further back, I'm sure it's been topped. Probably Leon Cadore and Joe Oescheger from the 1-1 (26) 1920 marathon game are tied for the all-time one-game high. Both pitched complete games in that one.

48. Dag Nabbit has the talking pillow Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:19 AM (#4127099)

Vern Law went 18 innings in a 19 inning game. here it is

49. Dag Nabbit has the talking pillow Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:21 AM (#4127101)

Wow. Pinch hitter in the 8th and wins it in the 13th.

Actually, Shamsky's team lost the game. But you couldn't blame Shamsky for his homers in the 8th, 10th, and 11th.

50. The Mohole* of David Wells (* - Piehole)

Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:23 AM (#4127102)

That's the record for hitters. For pitchers, its Vern Law for a 16-inning complete game.

That was hard to find. I presume you mean July 19, 1955. 18IP for a WPA of 1.675. Is that it?

51. base ball chick Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:23 AM (#4127103)

Gonfalon Bubble Posted: May 08, 2012 at 10:25 PM (#4126977)
JB's post reads even better if you cram a cigar butt in one corner of your mouth and punctuate the pauses with "nyaaahh"s.

- that's from bugs bunny - rocky sez that in bugs n thugs. or is it buggsy and muggsy

rocky's gonna rub youse out, see?

52. The Mohole* of David Wells (* - Piehole)

Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:24 AM (#4127104)

Actually, Shamsky's team lost the game. But you couldn't blame Shamsky for his homers in the 8th, 10th, and 11th.

Ha! Missed that.

53. Eric J can SABER all he wants to Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:24 AM (#4127107)

It's not Shamsky, but Ryne Sandberg also had a notable game that topped Delgado's effort by some distance.

54. Morty Causa Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:25 AM (#4127108)

Robinson's caricature is so iconic that it actually adds to my enjoyment of "The Ten Commandments". In my mind, I translate to, "It's Moses, see, he's with the Jews, see, nyahh, nyahhh..."

Sort of falls in line with Chief Wiggum's (who was based on Edward G.) taunt to Flanders: "Where's your Messiah now, Flanders, nyah."

"Where's your Messiah ..."

55. Sweatpants Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:28 AM (#4127109)

That's the record for hitters. For pitchers, its Vern Law for a 16-inning complete game. Though, if you go further back, I'm sure it's been topped. Probably Leon Cadore and Joe Oescheger from the 1-1 (26) 1920 marathon game are tied for the all-time one-game high. Both pitched complete games in that one.

Oooh, didn't even think of pitchers. Good call.

56. Eric J can SABER all he wants to Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:31 AM (#4127111)

Vern Law went 18 innings in a 19 inning game. here it is

If the Pirates hadn't rallied in the bottom of the 19th, the single-game records for both batting and pitching WPA would have come in losing efforts. That would have been awesome.

57. bobm Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:35 AM (#4127114)

From B-R PI:

From 1918 to 2012, sorted by greatest wpa_bat

                                                                                                                                             
Rk           Player          Date  Tm Opp    Rslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS   WPA  RE24   aLI BOP Pos. Summary
1       Art Shamsky    1966-08-12 CIN PIT L 11-14  3  3 3 3  0  0  3   5  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 1.503 4.614 2.510   9           LF
2    Jim Pagliaroni    1965-09-21 PIT NYM  W  6-5  5  4 2 3  0  0  1   3  1   0  1   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 1.284 3.915 2.128   7            C
3     Brian Daubach    2000-08-21 BOS ANA  W  7-6  5  5 1 3  0  0  1   4  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 1.251 3.473 2.802   8           1B
4       Bobby Grich    1979-07-15 CAL NYY  W  5-4  5  5 1 4  1  0  1   5  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 1.211 4.687 1.886   2           2B
5          Mel Hall    1984-06-27 CLE MIN  W  6-4  5  5 1 3  1  0  1   5  0   0  1   0  0  0   0   0  1  0 1.206 4.505 2.448   5           LF
6       Willie Mays    1962-05-26 SFG NYM  W  7-6  5  4 3 3  0  1  2   3  1   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 1.204 3.686 1.858   3           CF
7        Carlos May 1973-09-03(1) CHW TEX  W  8-7  6  5 2 4  1  0  1   5  1   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 1.201 5.942 2.405   5           DH
8         Del Ennis    1949-04-26 PHI NYG W 12-11  6  6 1 3  0  0  1   4  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 1.197 2.814 2.752   4           LF
9       Jim Hickman    1970-05-28 CHC PIT  W  8-7  5  4 2 3  0  0  2   4  1   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 1.181 4.424 2.294   4           1B
10       Hank Aaron    1971-09-10 ATL SFG  W  7-5  6  6 3 3  2  0  1   4  0   0  0   0  0  0   1   0  0  0 1.159 4.080 2.536   3           1B

From 1918 to 2012, sorted by greatest wpa_def

                                                                                             
Rk             Player          Date  Tm Opp   Rslt  AppDec   IP  H R ER BB SO HR GSc BF   WPA
1            Vern Law    1955-07-19 PIT MLN W  4-3   GS-18 18.0  9 2  1  2 12  1 118 64 1.675
2       Jack Harshman    1954-08-13 CHW DET W  1-0 SHO16 W 16.0  9 0  0  7 12  0 109 65 1.612
3       Gaylord Perry    1967-09-01 SFG CIN W  1-0   GS-16 16.0 10 0  0  2 12  0 112 59 1.601
4        Jerry Walker 1959-09-11(2) BAL CHW W  1-0 SHO16 W 16.0  6 0  0  3  4  0 111 55 1.591
5    Mickey McDermott    1951-07-13 BOS CHW L  4-5   GS-17 17.0  8 2  2  9  9  0 103 68 1.536
6       Juan Marichal    1963-07-02 SFG MLN W  1-0 SHO16 W 16.0  8 0  0  4 10  0 112 59 1.470
7    Johnny Antonelli    1955-05-01 NYG CIN W  2-1 CG 16 W 16.0  6 1  1  5 11  0 112 57 1.446
8          Tom Cheney    1962-09-12 WSA BAL W  2-1 CG 16 W 16.0 10 1  1  4 21  0 115 62 1.430
9        Ellis Kinder 1951-07-12(2) BOS CHW W  5-4  8-17fW 10.0  5 0  0  5  5      0 40 1.419
10        Whitey Ford    1959-04-22 NYY WSH W  1-0 SHO14 W 14.0  7 0  0  7 15  0 106 54 1.413

58. The Mohole* of David Wells (* - Piehole)

Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:38 AM (#4127116)

Thank you bobm, Thank you PI. Awesome. Not a single pitcher game after 1962 cracks the top 10, and only Brian Daubach is more recent than 1984. Great stuff. There's an article to be written about these games.

59. Rennie's Tenet Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:50 AM (#4127120)

Shamsky also pinch hit one the next day.

60. Voros McCracken of Pinkus Posted: May 09, 2012 at 01:39 AM (#4127135)

Seerey hit over 7% of the White Sox' home runs on the season on that day. Seerey hit 18 that year for the Sox in less than 400 at bats, the rest of the team hit 37 total.

61. zachtoma Posted: May 09, 2012 at 03:24 AM (#4127142)

Did anybody else find that this game was blacked out on MLB Network? It was scheduled to show here and I turned it on but I got a blackout message (from DirecTV). I'm in Southern California, what's the deal? What a huge bummer that turned out to be...

62. Harry Caray Posted: May 09, 2012 at 04:03 AM (#4127145)

I live in Phoenix area and we got the NYY/TB game on MLB Network.

63. Walt Davis Posted: May 09, 2012 at 06:08 AM (#4127149)

WPA of 1.675

Wow, he gave 168%!

I'm guessing Rennie Stennett's 7-for-7 in a 22-0 win is the lowest WPA for a great game. WPA of .082, wasn't even tops on his team.

Hmmm ... Cubs' starter that day was HoMer Rick Reuschel.

64. Hack Wilson Posted: May 09, 2012 at 07:22 AM (#4127162)

Yesterday on ESPN there was the short list of others hitting 4 homers including Joe Adcock. With the discussion of intentionally throwing at batters recently this:

On August 1, 1954, Milwaukee Braves first-baseman Joe Adcock was beaned in the head by Clem Labine in the fourth inning of a game at Ebbets Field. Adcock had hit four home runs the day before, and was brushed back in the third inning. He was carried off the field on a stretcher, but was not seriously injured. The Chicago Tribune reports that his "metal head protector" that "he wore under his cap" took all the damage; the dent in it was visible. The New York Times, however, describes it as a "plastic helmet".

Realyy horrifying image try this

65. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: May 09, 2012 at 08:38 AM (#4127172)

I'm totally wrong. ESPN has an article just about World Series games. Freese had .969, Game 6 in 2011.

Perfect example of the silliness of WPA as a concept. Gibson had .870 WPA for his 2-run home run to win the game. Meanwhile, Mickey Hatcher hits a two-run homer in the first inning and it's only worth .170 WPA. They're both two-run homers in a game the team won by one run, both off of good pitchers (Stewart and Eck), not that WPA takes that into account. There's no reason for one to be worth 5 times as much as the other.

66. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: May 09, 2012 at 08:47 AM (#4127174)

I'm guessing Rennie Stennett's 7-for-7 in a 22-0 win is the lowest WPA for a great game. WPA of .082, wasn't even tops on his team.

In this game, Gil Hodges went 5-6, hit for the cycle and had two home runs, 14 total bases, for a WPA of 0.79.

67. Slivers of Maranville (SdeB) Posted: May 09, 2012 at 09:04 AM (#4127179)

There's no reason for one to be worth 5 times as much as the other.

I bet more than five times as many people remember who hit the home run that won the game than remember who hit the home run in the first.

68. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: May 09, 2012 at 09:25 AM (#4127184)

In this game, Gil Hodges went 5-6, hit for the cycle and had two home runs, 14 total bases, for a WPA of 0.79.

D'oh! That is supposed to be .079.

69. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: May 09, 2012 at 09:49 AM (#4127200)

I bet more than five times as many people remember who hit the home run that won the game than remember who hit the home run in the first.

No doubt. Kind of like how people tend to remember the batting champion over the OPS+ champion. Not that Gibson's home run was less valuable than Hatcher's, and it was certainly more exciting, but Hatcher's home run enabled Gibson's home run to have as much value as it did. That sort of conditional probability is not captured in WPA.

Anyway, a few other notable games:

Jose Bautista, 3 HR, .040 WPA

Edwin Encarnacion, 3 HR, .042 WPA

Bobby Doerr, 3 HR, .046 WPA

Torii Hunter, 3 HR, .066 WPA

Drew Stubbs, 3 HR, .067 WPA

70. Russ Posted: May 09, 2012 at 09:50 AM (#4127202)

In this game, Gil Hodges went 5-6, hit for the cycle and had two home runs, 14 total bases, for a WPA of 0.79.

Thinking about how to search to get something that corresponds to this list.... what about restricting yourself to games where the players produced a win's amount of batting runs (or RAR or RE or whatever) and then sorting in decreasing order of WPA?

71. DA Baracus is gritty and hits with RISP Posted: May 09, 2012 at 10:02 AM (#4127215)

Hamilton hit a HR in his last at bat in the previous game, so that's 5 HRs in his last 6 PAs.

72. vortex of dissipation Posted: May 09, 2012 at 10:03 AM (#4127218)

Hamilton hit a HR in his last at bat in the previous game, so that's 5 HRs in his last 6 PAs.

...and a double.

73. Mefisto Posted: May 09, 2012 at 10:07 AM (#4127222)

Not a single pitcher game after 1962 cracks the top 10

Marichal and Perry both did it after 1962.

I'm surprised Carl Hubbell's 18 inning 1-0 win didn't make it.

74. plim Posted: May 09, 2012 at 10:09 AM (#4127228)

Have any of the other 4 home-run days all been 2 run shots -- with the same guy on base?

they said on espn radio this morning (courtesy of elias sports bureau) that Mark Whiten's game - he drove in Gerald Perry on all 4 of his homers, but clearly, by his 12 rbi, he drove in others as well.
Actually, Whiten drove in Todd Zeile 3 times as well. He was close to driving in both Perry and Zeile 4 times each.

And the Cardinals that day - 28 runs scored, and they still split the double header!

Gil Hodges drove in Carl Furillo 4 times, but one of his homers was a 3 run homer where he also drove in Jackie Robinson.

Mays drove in Davenport 3 times in his 4 hr bid.

So 3 times has the same guy trotted home 4 times, but Hamilton is the only guy to have *only* driven in the same guy all 4 times.

Poor Mike Cameron - 4 solo shots.

75. DA Baracus is gritty and hits with RISP Posted: May 09, 2012 at 10:11 AM (#4127230)

...and a double.

What a slacker.

76. The Essex Snead Posted: May 09, 2012 at 10:12 AM (#4127231)

And now, a moment of silence for those that had to face Josh Hamilton in their head-to-head fantasy match-up. Special shout-out to those that also started Jake Arietta. (If you also had Mitch Moreland going 0-5, then you are me, and you need to clean my apartment ASAP.)

77. Don't want the truth; just wanna see some dingers Posted: May 09, 2012 at 10:32 AM (#4127255)

Poor Mike Cameron - 4 solo shots.

On a day when his team scored 15 runs!

78. SoSH U at work Posted: May 09, 2012 at 10:45 AM (#4127263)

Poor Mike Cameron - 4 solo shots.

On a day when his team scored 15 runs!

Hitting directly behind a guy who also hit two home runs in the same inning as you did will keep your RBI count down.

79. Randy Jones

Posted: May 09, 2012 at 10:51 AM (#4127269)

What's the highest WPA in a single game in history? From #30, Delgado had .724. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's hard to top that.

Who cares? WPA is totally and absolutely useless as a value measure. STOP USING IT THIS WAY. It is a predictive stat, it ignores events that come after the event being measured. This means that if the game is over WPA IGNORES INFORMATION WE HAVE. STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP trying to use it as a retrospective value measure.

80. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: May 09, 2012 at 10:59 AM (#4127279)

#79, yes.

81. haggard Posted: May 09, 2012 at 11:01 AM (#4127282)

Actually, Shamsky's team lost the game. But you couldn't blame Shamsky for his homers in the 8th, 10th, and 11th.

Ha! Missed that.

Another twist is that Shamsky was actually put in as a late-inning defensive replacement to help preserve the Reds lead, not as a pinch hitter.

82. BDC

Posted: May 09, 2012 at 11:04 AM (#4127284)

more than five times as many people remember who hit the home run that won the game

For the good reason that (as often noted here) you can easily come back from a 2-run deficit in the first (as the A's actually did), but a 2-run walkoff is an absolute nail in the coffin. As Randy notes, this has ####-all to do with the value of two runs. It's an attempt to quantify something far more variable: the likelihood of winning from that point forward, which is interesting partly as a curiosity and partly as a measure of the psychology of someone following a game.

83. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 09, 2012 at 11:26 AM (#4127310)

Who cares? WPA is totally and absolutely useless as a value measure. STOP USING IT THIS WAY. It is a predictive stat, it ignores events that come after the event being measured. This means that if the game is over WPA IGNORES INFORMATION WE HAVE. STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP trying to use it as a retrospective value measure.

I find the only use of WPA is as a retrospective emotional impact stat.

It's a completely and utterly useless stat for any type of analysis that doesn't involve detailing the emotional impact of the play on the fans. It's not predictive(because WPA assumes automatically that the rest of the game is composed of average hitters), it's not a value stat because as mentioned it treats 2 run homeruns in the same game vastly different.

It's the rbi of the stat community, while managing to be even sillier.

84. Perry Posted: May 09, 2012 at 11:37 AM (#4127321)

Have any of the other 4 home-run days all been 2 run shots -- with the same guy on base?

Don't know, but Joe Torre once erased Felix Millan on 4 straight GIDPs.

85. The Mohole* of David Wells (* - Piehole)

Posted: May 09, 2012 at 11:39 AM (#4127323)

Who cares? WPA is totally and absolutely useless as a value measure. STOP USING IT THIS WAY. It is a predictive stat, it ignores events that come after the event being measured. This means that if the game is over WPA IGNORES INFORMATION WE HAVE. STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP trying to use it as a retrospective value measure.

Settle down, Beavis. It was pure curiosity, that's all. WPA is just a fun stat. FUN. Remember when baseball used to be fun? It's like Neyer's "Beane count" or James's "HOF Monitor." They're just toys to play with.

86. Slivers of Maranville (SdeB) Posted: May 09, 2012 at 11:39 AM (#4127324)

Who cares? WPA is totally and absolutely useless as a value measure. STOP USING IT THIS WAY. It is a predictive stat, it ignores events that come after the event being measured. This means that if the game is over WPA IGNORES INFORMATION WE HAVE. STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP trying to use it as a retrospective value measure.

Has anybody on this thread used it as a value measure? Heck, has anybody anywhere on BBTF used it as a value measure?

87. Yeaarrgghhhh Posted: May 09, 2012 at 11:40 AM (#4127328)

Isn't WPA a value measure and *not* a predictive stat? I thought it measured the value of what actually happened, but doesn't tell you anything about what that player is likely to do in the future.

EDIT: Or maybe "value" isn't the right word. Maybe "significance" is better.

88. Randy Jones

Posted: May 09, 2012 at 11:51 AM (#4127339)

Isn't WPA a value measure and *not* a predictive stat? I thought it measured the value of what actually happened, but doesn't tell you anything about what that player is likely to do in the future.

And this is why WPA should never be used, because even people here are confused about it. It does not measure anything about the player, it only measures the change in likelihood of the team winning the game from before to after an event. IT MEASURES NOTHING ABOUT THE PLAYER AND NOTHING ABOUT VALUE.

EDIT: The all caps sentence above is my response to post #85. Saying that so and so produced .xxx WPA in a game is a total and absolute misuse of the stat. It is nothing at all like looking at Beane Count or the HoF Monitor.

89. zack Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:01 PM (#4127346)

Don't know, but Joe Torre once erased Felix Millan on 4 straight GIDPs.

Vin Scully mentioned that on the Dodgers broadcast last night. He quoted Torre, after the game when a reporter asked him about the feat, "I couldn't have done it without Millan". Heh.

90. Yeaarrgghhhh Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:08 PM (#4127349)

Like I said, I think it measures the significance of what a player did, and that can be a fun thing to keep track of. No one is suggesting that that's a repeatable skill or that WPA play a role in MVP or HOF discussions.

91. Randy Jones

Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:16 PM (#4127362)

Like I said, I think it measures the significance of what a player did

Except that this is incorrect. It attempts to predict the significance of an event AT THE TIME OF THE EVENT. When the rest of the events of the game are unknown. After the game is over, we know the actual significance of that event and WPA is utterly and totally useless beyond maybe as a rough measure of the emotional impact of an event on the fans, as cfb said in #83.

EDIT: reworded a little bit to make my point more clear.

92. PepTech Posted: May 09, 2012 at 01:24 PM (#4127428)

moment of silence for those that had to face Josh Hamilton in their head-to-head fantasy match-up. Special shout-out to those that also started Jake Arietta

Didn't start Arietta, but I will claim those bonus points as my opponent has both Hamilton and Beltran. Sigh. 10 HR/25 RBI by Tuesday?

93. Pat Rapper's Delight Posted: May 09, 2012 at 01:34 PM (#4127438)

moment of silence for those that had to face Josh Hamilton in their head-to-head fantasy match-up.

Eh. My opponent last week had Ryan Braun's 3-HR game and I still won the week 8-2 including a sweep of the hitting categories. I'm up against the best team in our league right now (including Hamilton) and am still sitting at 4-5-1 entering today. I'll take that at this point.

94. Blastin Posted: May 09, 2012 at 03:02 PM (#4127523)

Edit: Wrong thread!

95. Zach Posted: May 09, 2012 at 05:54 PM (#4127676)

96. Eric J can SABER all he wants to Posted: May 09, 2012 at 06:35 PM (#4127697)

Let's not underrate WPA, either. It's fantastic as a narrative stat. A guy with a WPA of 0.5 had a fantastic performance at a clutch time. Big WPA events are always big moments in the game. It's not predictive, but it's a lot of fun to mess around with.

This, exactly. It's not a great measure of a player's value contributed, but it is a very good measure of his dramatic contribution, if you will.

97. BDC

Posted: May 10, 2012 at 07:30 PM (#4128697)

And after a day of rain and a homerless Game One today, Hamilton hits his 15th HR in the first inning of Game Two at Baltimore: naturally, a two-run homer that drives in Andrus ...

98. Yeaarrgghhhh Posted: May 10, 2012 at 07:34 PM (#4128702)

I have nothing against Hamilton personally and enjoy watching him play, but I think I speak for all Orioles fans when I say that I wish he would just go away.

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