David Wright – one of seven Mets to go deep yesterday.
Yesterday (August 24), as the Mets trounced the Phillies 16-7 (in Philadelphia), the two teams tied the NL record for combined home runs in a game at eleven – thanks in most part to the Mets’ franchise-high eight round trippers. In the process, the two teams set a new MLB record for the most players hitting a home run in a game at ten – seven Mets and (with “a little help from my friends”) three Phillies. The eleven home runs were just one short of the MLB record for a game – accomplished twice, both times in a White Sox/Tigers contest – more on that later.
Ryan Howard, hit the games first home run,
The Mets/Phillies game featured home runs by the hitters in the one-through-seven spots in the Mets line-up – including two home runs by 2B Wilmer Flores and single shots by C Travis d’Arnaud, 1B Daniel Murphy, 3B David Wright, LF Yeonis Cespedes, CF Juan Lagares, and RF Michael Cuddyer. Chipping in one each on the Phillies’ side of the long-ball ledger were C Cameron Rupp, 1B Ryan Howard and RF Dominic Brown.
Two Twelve Home Run Games
There have been two MLB games featuring a record 12 home runs – May 28, 1995 (White Sox at Tigers) and July 2, 2002 (Tigers at White Sox).
The White Sox won the first of those games by a 14-12 score (after the Tigers had jumped out to an early 7-1 lead), despite being out-homered 7-5. Going yard for Chicago were C Ron Karkovice (two home runs), 1B Frank Thomas, 2B Ray Durham and SS Craig Grebeck. The losing Tigers got two home runs each from CF Chad Curtis, 1B Cecil Fielder and DH Kirk Gibson, as well as one round tripper from 2B Lou Whitaker. It was quite a show for the fans. The Tigers were up 7-1 after two innings; still led 11-10 after six; saw the game tied 11-11 in the seventh; and fell behind by the final 14-12 score in the eighth.
On July 2, 2002, the two teams put on their own offensive fireworks display again – this time in Chicago. The White Sox again prevailed, topping the Tigers 17-9 – with the home runs even at six apiece. The Sox got two round trippers each from C Sandy Alomar and RF Magglio Ordonez and one each from CF Kenny Lofton and 3B Jose Valentin. On the Tigers’ side, DH Dmitri Young hit a pair of long balls, while 2B Damion Easely, LF George Lombard, CF Wendell Magee and RF Robert Fick had one each. For trivia buffs, the White Sox’ Frank Thomas and Ray Durham were the only players to appear in both games.
Home Run Hitters Seeing Red(s)
The fact that both twelve-homer games have featured the White Sox and Tigers is one of those baseball coincidences that appeal to BBRT. Here’s another. Only five times has an MLB team hit five home runs in an inning. Once in the American League (the Minnesota Twins on June 9, 1966) and four times in the National League. If you are looking for a reason NL teams have achieved this power feat so many times, you have to look no further than Cincinnati. Turns out that the Reds have been the victims of ALL FOUR five-homer NL innings (June 6, 1939 – by the Giants; June 2, 1949 – by the Phillies; August 23, 1961 – the Giants again; April 22, 2006 – by the Brewers). For more details on these five-homer innings, click here.
Eight Players on One Team Go Deep
The Mets home run barrage fell one short of the record for the most different players on one team hitting a home run in a game. That goes to the Reds, who had eight players go deep in a 22-3 win at Philadelphia on September 4, 1999. Homering for the Reds were C Ed Taubensee (twice), C Brian Johnson, 2B Pokey Reese, 3B Aaron Boone, 3B Mark Lewis, Greg Vaughn, CF Jeffrey Hammonds, RF Dmitri Young.
Blue Jays Clear the Fences Ten Times in One Game
As far as total home runs by one team in a game – that goes to the Toronto Blue Jays, who had ten players go yard in an 18-3 home win over the Orioles on September 14, 1987. Catcher Ernie Whitt did the most damage with three home runs, 3B Rance Mulliniks and LF George Bell chipped in two apiece, DH Fred McGriff added one HR the Jays got two homers out of the CF spot (Lloyd Moseby and Rob Ducey).
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