Tuesday night, one Cincinnati Reds player put on the greatest home run show in franchise history. Scooter Gennett blasted four homers—only the 17th to do so in major league history. He matched Cincinnati’s record by driving in 10 runs during a 13-1 victory over the shell-shocked St. Louis Cardinals.
“I was kind of laughing, to be honest with you,” Gennett said. “For a guy like me to do that is crazy.”
How crazy? Until last night, Scooter was hitting 0–19.
No major leaguer had ever gotten five hits, four homers, and 10 RBIs in a game. Gennett’s 17 total bases also were a club record.
Baseball’s Hall of Fame called. They wanted his uniform from the historic night. His clothes were still wet from a celebratory on-field soaking by teammates.
“I’m truly blessed,” Gennett said, wearing backup clothes after the others were whisked away. “I’m from here, born here. Watching all those guys play when I was little. And to do something that’s never been done—I can’t put words on it.”
He was the most unlikely player on the roster to power his way into history.
Gennett has been in the MLB for four years. Some seasons, he barely hit four homers at all—he reached double-digits only once and had 38 career homers heading into the game.
Tuesday’s feat puts Gennett in good company. He’s the seventh player to hit homers in four at-bats in a row. Also on that list—Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig.
(AP Photo: Scooter Gennett hits a two-run home run and his fourth overall in the eighth inning.)
