List of Major League Baseball single-game home run leaders

Bobby Lowe was the first MLB player to hit four home runs in a single game, doing so in 1894.

Writers of Sporting News described hitting four home runs in a single Major League Baseball (MLB) game as "baseball's greatest single-game accomplishment".^[1] Eighteen players have accomplished the feat to date, the most recent being J. D. Martinez—then with the Arizona Diamondbacks—against the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 4, 2017. No player has done this more than once in his career and no player has ever hit more than four in a game. Bobby Lowe was the first to hit four home runs in a single game, doing so on May 30, 1894. Fans were reportedly so excited that they threw $160 in silver coins ($4,500 today) onto the field after his fourth home run.^[1][2][3]

These games have resulted in other MLB single-game records due to the extreme offensive performance. Mark Whiten, for example, tied Jim Bottomley for the most runs batted in in a single game with 12 in his four-homer game.^[4] Shawn Green hit a double and a single along with his four home runs for 19 total bases, an MLB record. It surpassed Joe Adcock's mark of 18, which also came from a four-homer game.^[5][6]

Chuck Klein, Pat Seerey, and Mike Schmidt each hit their four in a game that went into extra innings. Scooter Gennett and Mark Whiten hit a grand slam as one of their four homers. Four home runs generate significant offense that generally allows a team to win, although Ed Delahanty's and Bob Horner's teams lost their respective milestone games.

Carlos Delgado is the only player to hit four home runs in a game in which he made only four plate appearances.^[7] No player has ever hit four home runs in a postseason game; that record is three, first accomplished by Babe Ruth in Game 4 of the 1926 World Series.^[8]

Warren Spahn pitched the ball which Gil Hodges hit for the first of his four, the only Hall of Fame pitcher faced during a four-home-run game.^[1] Hodges, Adcock, and Martinez are the only players to hit home runs against four different pitchers in one game. Lowe and Delahanty, on the other hand, are the only players to hit four home runs in one game against just one pitcher: Ice Box Chamberlain and Adonis Terry, respectively.

Mike Cameron hit his four on May 2, 2002, and Green matched the total 21 days later on May 23, 2002, the shortest span between such games. Lowe and Seerey each hit fewer than 100 career home runs, while Willie Mays, with 660, hit more than any other player in this group. Both Mays and Schmidt are also members of the 500 home run club.

Of the 14 players eligible for the Hall of Fame who have hit four home runs in a game, five have been elected. Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame if they have played in at least 10 major league seasons and have been either retired for five seasons or deceased for at least six months.^[9] These requirements leave three players ineligible who are living and have played in the past five seasons and one (Seerey) who did not play 10 seasons in MLB.

Key

Player	Name of the player
Date	Date of the four home run game
Team	The player's team at the time of the game
Opposing team	The team against whom the player hit four home runs
Score	Final score of the game, with the player's team score listed first
Career HR	The number of home runs the player hit in his MLB career
º	Indicates that the home runs were in consecutive plate appearances
	Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
*	Denotes player who is still active
	Indicates the player's team lost the game

Players

Shawn Green was one of two players to hit four home runs in a game in May 2002. Green also hit a double and a single in the game for 19 total bases, an MLB record.

J. D. Martinez is the most recent MLB player to hit four home runs in a game.

Stats updated as of August 13, 2018.

Players who have hit four home runs in a single game

Player	Date	Team	Opposing team	Score	Career HR	Ref(s)
Bobby Loweº	May 30, 1894	Boston Beaneaters	Cincinnati Reds	20–11	71	[10]
Ed Delahanty	July 13, 1896	Philadelphia Phillies	Chicago Colts	8–9	101	[11]
Lou Gehrigº	June 3, 1932	New York Yankees	Philadelphia Athletics	20–13	493	[12]
Chuck Klein	July 10, 1936	Philadelphia Phillies	Pittsburgh Pirates	9–6	300	[13]
Pat Seerey	July 18, 1948	Chicago White Sox	Philadelphia Athletics	12–11	86	[14]
Gil Hodges	August 31, 1950	Brooklyn Dodgers	Boston Braves	19–3	370	[15]
Joe Adcock	July 31, 1954	Milwaukee Braves	Brooklyn Dodgers	15–7	336	[16][17]
Rocky Colavitoº	June 10, 1959	Cleveland Indians	Baltimore Orioles	11–8	374	[18][19]
Willie Mays	April 30, 1961	San Francisco Giants	Milwaukee Braves	14–4	660	[20][21]
Mike Schmidtº	April 17, 1976	Philadelphia Phillies	Chicago Cubs	18–16	548	[22][23]
Bob Horner	July 6, 1986	Atlanta Braves	Montreal Expos	8–11	218	[24][25]
Mark Whiten	September 7, 1993	St. Louis Cardinals	Cincinnati Reds	15–2	105	[26][27]
Mike Cameronº	May 2, 2002	Seattle Mariners	Chicago White Sox	15–4	278	[28][29]
Shawn Green	May 23, 2002	Los Angeles Dodgers	Milwaukee Brewers	16–3	328	[30][31]
Carlos Delgadoº	September 25, 2003	Toronto Blue Jays	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	10–8	473	[32][33]
Josh Hamilton	May 8, 2012	Texas Rangers	Baltimore Orioles	10–3	200	[34][35]
Scooter Gennettº*	June 6, 2017	Cincinnati Reds	St. Louis Cardinals	13–1	80	[36][37]
J. D. Martinezº*	September 4, 2017	Arizona Diamondbacks	Los Angeles Dodgers	13–0	189	[38][39]

See also

• Nig Clarke, who in 1902 reportedly hit eight home runs in a minor league game

References

General

• Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) (2007). The SABR Baseball List and Record Book: Baseball's Most Fascinating Records and Unusual Statistics. Scribner. p. 65.
• "Four home runs in a game – Rare Feats | MLB.com: History". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 9, 2012.

Specific