Josh Hamilton Hits 4 Home Runs: Ranking Every 4-Homer Game in MLB History

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Josh Hamilton has already had an impressive career, but one of his best nights came on Tuesday when he became only the 16th player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a game.

The accomplishment is one of the rarest feats in baseball, even rarer than a perfect game.

He is now in the company of historic figures such as Lou Gehrig and Willie Mays on a list ranging as far back as 1894.

Each four-home run game has been impressive for their own reasons, aside from the obvious.

Some players have broken other records in the same game, some have involved legendary players, while others have included players who have only hit 71 career home runs.

All the games are impressive, but some more so than others.

16. Carlos Delgado (2003)

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Carlos Delgado became the third player in a year and a half to hit four home runs in a game when he completed the accomplishment on September 25, 2003.

Delgado helped lead the Toronto Blue Jays over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 10-8 with his home runs.

Delgado hit his home runs in consecutive at-bats and is the only player to hit four home runs with only four at-bats in a game.

15. Rocky Colavito (1959)

Rocky Colavito of the Cleveland Indians was the third player to hit his home runs in consecutive at-bats.

The Indians right fielder added another run and finished with six RBI in the game.

14. Mike Cameron (2002)

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Seattle Mariners' Mike Cameron smashed his first two home runs of his historic day in the first inning. 

All four of Cameron's home runs were solo shots and the Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox 15-4.

Despite all the home runs being solo shots, Cameron blasted two homers in one inning which is pretty impressive.

13. Bob Horner (1986)

Bob Horner became only the second player to ever hit four home runs in a game and be on the losing team.

On July 6, 1986, Horner launched four home runs and collected six RBI in the clean-up spot for the Atlanta Braves.

The Braves lost to the Montreal Expos 11-8 despite Horner's best efforts.

12. Chuck Klein (1936)

Chuck Klein led the Phillies to victory in extra innings with his fourth home run of the game.

The right fielder had six RBI in the game, including the game-winning home run.

11. Pat Seerey (1948)

In 1948, Pat Seerey was the first American League player to complete the feat in extra innings. 

The home run came in the 11th inning and won the game for the Chicago White Sox, 12-11.

Seerey had seven RBI to go along with the four bombs.

10. Mike Schmidt (1976)

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Mike Schmidt contributed four of the nine total home runs hit between the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs on April 17, 1976.

Schmidt hit the final home run in the 10th inning and finished the game going 5-for-6 with four consecutive home runs and eight RBI.

9. Bobby Lowe (1894)

Bobby Lowe was the second baseman for the Boston Beaneaters. In 1894, he became the first player in baseball history to hit four home runs in a game. 

He spent 18 years in the major leagues, but his history was written on May 30, 1894.

He ended his career with 71 home runs.

8. Willie Mays (1961)

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Willie Mays had quite the game on April 30, 1961 when the San Francisco Giants defeated the Milwaukee Braves, 14-4.

Mays collected eight RBI to go along with his four homers in the game.

Mays hit 660 home runs in his career, the most of any of the 16 players in the four-home run club.

7. Gil Hodges (1950)

Gil Hodges of the Brooklyn Dodgers completed the feat on August 21, 1950 when he hit four home runs off four different pitchers in a game.

He picked up 17 total bases in the game as well, which is tied for third in MLB history.

Hodges went 5-for-6 with five runs and nine RBI in the game.

6. Joe Adcock (1954)

Joe Adcock of the Milwaukee Braves hit his home runs off four different pitchers and had a total of 18 total bases when all the dust settled at Ebbets Field on July 31, 1954.

Adcock finished the game with four home runs, a double, five runs and seven RBI.

Adcock finished his career with 336 home runs.

5. Lou Gehrig (1932)

In 1932, the New York Yankees' Lou Gehrig became the third player to hit four home runs in a game. He was the first American League player to complete the feat and the first modern-era player to do so.

He nearly became the only player in baseball history to hit five home runs in a game but was denied in the ninth inning on a ball hit to deep center field. Philadelphia Athletics center fielder Al Simmons made a jumping catch at the wall to keep Gehrig in the park.

Gehrig was 4-for-6 in the game with six RBI.

4. Ed Delahanty (1896)

Ed Delahanty, the first baseman in 1896 for the Phillies, not only holds one of the most impressive four-home run games, he also has one of the most controversial ones as well.

For years it was believed that Delahanty's four home runs were of the inside-the-park variety. Baseball-Almanac.com suggests that Delahanty only hit two inside-the-park home runs.

Either way, he is the only player in MLB history to have an inside-the-park home run in a four-home run game and that is an impressive accomplishment.

He also is one of only two men to have been on the losing team in their four-home run game.

Delahanty was the second player in history to hit four home runs in a game.

He had 101 home runs in his career and hit over .400 three times.

3. Josh Hamilton (2012)

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Josh Hamilton set an American League record with 18 total bases in his four-home run game. He was only a couple batters away from batting in the ninth inning. 

The way Hamilton was swinging, it would have been very interesting to see if he would have set a record if he came to the plate.

Nonetheless, Hamilton still had a memorable, historic night in Baltimore.

The most impressive part of his home runs was that Elvis Andrus was on base for each of the blasts resulting in four, two-run shots by Hamilton. 

It has never been done before but it would not be surprising if Hamilton does this again in his career or has a game in which he does one home run better.

2. Mark Whiten (1993)

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Mark Whiten finished his career with 105 home runs; four of them coming on September 7, 1993.

There was plenty to marvel about in Whiten's performance on this day.

To begin, it was the second game of a double header and Whiten was hitless in the first game. He not only hit four impressive home runs but he also knocked in 12 RBI, tying the major league record.

Tying two records in one game is a pretty good day at the ballpark.

1. Shawn Green (2002)

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Just three weeks after Mike Cameron launched four home runs out of the park in a game, Shawn Green achieved the feat.

On May 23, 2002, Green had the game of his life going 6-for-6 with four blasts, a double, six runs and seven RBI.

He set a major league record with an astonishing 19 total bases in the game.

This was one of the most impressive games in MLB history.

 

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