Re: Cycles
Posted: May 1st, 2009 | Filed under: Baseball | 33 Comments »
A few brilliant readers have been arguing about the value of the cycle in baseball. I love cycles. I should say, though, that I love cycles for many of the reasons that so many people despise them. I love them because they are random, because they don’t really mean anything, because they are mostly pointless. It’s like I love NFL quarterbacks who put up the perfect 158.3 passing rating. I love basketball players who score triple doubles. I love pitchers who strike out four in an inning or retire the side on three pitches. Basically, I like quirky things.
So, here, I’m going to give you every single you would ever want to know about cycles. There have been 139 of them since 1954 … that’s how far we are going back.
Here we go.
– Team record when a player gets a cycle: 117-22 (.841 winning percentage)
– June is the best month for hitting a cycle. Thirty cycles have been hit in June since ‘54. Here’s the month-by-month breakdown.
April: 16 (11.5%)
May: 22 (15.8%)
June: 30 (21.6%)
July: 27 (19.4%)
August: 24 (17.3%)
September: 20 (14.4%)
– Not surprisingly, the more plate appearances the better chance for the cycle. Only 18 pure cycles have been hit — pure meaning, four plate appearances, four hits, single, double, triple, homer. The breakdown.
Four plate appearances: 18 (12.9%)
Five plate appearances: 83 (59.7%)
Six plate appearances: 30 (21.6%)
Seven plate appearances: 5 (3.6%)
Eight plate appearances: 2 (1.4)
Eleven plate appearances: 1 (0.8%)
– In 112 of the 139 cycles — or about 81% of them — the cyclist got exactly four hits. The other 27 broke down like so:
Two singles, double, triple homer: 13 times
Two singles, two doubles, triple, homer: 2 times.
Single, two doubles, triple, homer: 9 times.
Single, double, triple, two homers: 3 times.
No one has ever hit two triples in a cycle game.
– Four players have grounded into a double play on the same day they hit for the cycle. These include two Hall of Famers (George Brett and Carlton Fisk) and one future Hall of Famer (Joe Torre). The other was Jeff Davanon.
– One player — Jeff Moore in 1980 — hit for the cycle and also stole multiple bases (two). Eight other players hit for the cycle and also stole a base.
– Three players hit for the cycle and drove in 7 RBIs. The breakdown:
7 RBIs: 3
6 RBIs: 9
5 RBIs: 16
4 RBIs: 30
3 RBIs: 29
2 RBIs: 37
1 RBI: 15
– Players hit for the cycle 75 times at home, 64 times on the road. I would have expected the split to be a little bit larger than that, for some reason.
– Cycle Parks
Fenway: 8 times.
Coors: 7 times (in many fewer years)
St. Louis: 10 times (but that’s three different parks)
Astrodome: 7 times.
Minute Maid/Enron: 0 times.
Royals Stadium: 6 times.
– Hottest cycle week ever: From July 2 to July 8, 1970 three players — Tony Horton, Tommie Agee and Jim Ray Hart — hit for the cycle.
– Hottest cycle year ever: Six players hit for the cycle in 1976.
– Players with multiple cycles:
Ken Boyer (1961 and 1964)
George Brett (1979 and 1990)
Cesar Cedeno (1972 and 1976)
Jim Fregosi (1964 and 1968)
John Olerud (1997 and 2001)
Chris Speier (1978 and 1988)
Bob Watson (1977 and 1979)
Frank White (1979 and 1982)
Brad Wilkerson (2003 and 2005)
– Most interesting cycle ever … On July 4, 1985, the Mets and Braves played a famous* 19 inning game in Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. The game took six hours and 10 minutes. It ended at something like 2 in the morning. The Mets won the game 16-13.
*Famous in that I remember watching more or less the whole thing.
Each team used seven pitchers. There were five errors, four double plays, five intentional walks, 46 hits, 22 walks, 23 strikeouts, and Keith Hernandez had 20 putouts in the game.
But it’s Hernandez’s performance at the plate that was awesome.
First plate appearance: Double.
Second plate appearance: Flyout to center.
Third plate appearance: Triple
Fourth plate appearance: Lineout to center.
Fifth plate appearance: Home run.
So, remember now, all Hernandez needs is a single for the cycle. Unfortunately for him, the home run came in the eighth inning and put the Mets ahead 7-4. Fortunately for him, Jesse Orosco and Doug Sisk gave up four runs in the bottom of the eighth. The Mets tied the game in the ninth and Hernandez came up again.
Sixth plate appearance: Flyout to left.
So he did not get the cycle. But then he did … the game went to the 12th.
Seventh plate appearance: Single. He got the cycle.
Eighth plate appearance: Intentional walk.
Ninth plate appearance: Groundout to second.
Tenth plate appearance: Flyout to center
Eleventh plate appearance: Groundout to second.
So, all in all, Keith Hernandez went four-for-10 with a walk and, yeah, the cycle.
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I despise Keith Hernandez.
Is it asking too much for the entire list in chronological order? That’s what I was expecting to link to near the end of your pithy summary comments….
On another note…Did you or did you not go see Louis CK while in Cletown?
I remember watching that whole Mets Braves game, you may recall there was also at least one rain delay.
They also shot fireworks off at the end of that game… at 3:30 in the morning.
Joe,
How many of these players hit for, as Harry Caray used to call it, “the scale” which is single, double, triple then home run in order? I don’t think it needs to be consecutive at bats just in that order.
Are in-the-park home runs tallied in the stats? I wonder if anyone has hit for the cycle with an in-the-park home run.
How about a cycle that includes being thrown out at a base? For example, the double in a cycle also included the runner being thrown out at third when trying for a triple.
How devastating (OK, not really) would this be — batter needs a triple for the cycle, crushes one into the gap, but then it bounces over the wall for a ground-rule double? Or is that an automatic double? Perhaps I should look up the rules.
Looks like Brett had the longest amount of years between cycles.
Tarzan Joe the answer is 14. You can find the list on players who did this on wikipedia if you look up natural cycle.
Thanks, Kellyboy.
Wow. I never realized that George Brett is the only Hall of Famer with multiple cycles since 1954.
Of course, if you go back to the very beginning, you include Fred Clarke, Mickey Cochrane, Joe DiMaggio, Bobby Doerr, Lou Gehrig, Chuck Klein, and George Sisler.
The only cycle I saw in person was Cristian Guzman’s cycle last August.
Anyways…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_(baseball)
I remember that 16-13 game extremely well. I had just started my first job out of college, and I worked until after midnight. Got home to my apartment, turned on the TV, and there are the Mets and Braves. It was probably the 12th inning, and there must have been a rain delay. And it was 1985, so it’s not like there was anything else on TV in a little apartment in Springfield, Missouri. I watched.
In the bottom of the 18th, the Braves were down 11-10, made two quick outs and Rick Camp, otherwise forgettable reliever, came up to end the game. Except then he hit a game-tying home run — the only one of his career, of course.
He came out to pitch the 19th inning with this what-just-happened grin on his face. Got clobbered, gave up 5 runs. Game over, right? Not quite. The Braves started a rally thanks to an error and a couple of walks, and they got the game-tying run to bat. And it was Rick Camp again.
This time he struck out. And then they set off the fireworks.
And the thing about Rick Camp is that not only was his HR highly unlikely because he was a relief pitcher – he was a horrible hitter for a pitcher. His career line was .074/.109/.114. (The SLG was only .091 if you leave out that single home run.) He struck out 85 times in 175 at bats in his career or almost 50% of the time. That “clutch” HR was an incredible shock to a long time Braves fan like me.
The thing about that Hernandez cycle is that he got the cycle in the 9th. The umps blew the call horrendously.
I remember it as being to RF, not LF, but it was a sinking liner that the outfielder dove forward for. Replays showed the ball rolling on the ground behind the outfielder. It wasn’t a bang-bang “did he he trap it or catch it” play. The ball was on the ground BEHIND the outfielder. He clearly did not make the catch. Somehow, the ump ruled it a catch.
So when Keith got the cycle in extra innings, it was justice.
How many were in order–Single, Double Triple, Home Run–or in reverse order?
See, there’s much more cycle trivia to be delved into.
Mr. Grammar suggests that: “So, here, I’m going to give you every single you would…” is missing a thing or two.
The only cycle trivia I’d be seeking is how many involved an inside the park home run, especially in the modern era (say, after WWII).
As for bad ump calls, last night in the D’Backs Brewers game, the third base ump clearly blew a call down the left field line. The ball landed foul and kicked up a chunk of dirt, about 2% of which landed on the chalk. Instant replays showed the ball about 8 inches foul. I’ve seen bad calls made on foul balls, but I don’t recall ever seeing one made by this much. Led to three runs and a victory. Why baseball doesn’t instant replay fair and foul calls is beyond me. There sure were a lot of boos in Milwaukee when they showed it on the scoreboard (assuming, I was watching on television).
And you don’t even need extra umps. Simply make the announcers (since every game is televised) responsible for signaling for a foul ball review. One of the two teams is going to request it, if not both (not every announcer can be considered honest, but I think they’ll all work to reward the teams that pay their salaries). Every stadium in baseball has the capacity to show the replay. If a ball really was fair but the play called dead, make it a ground rule double.
Something I’ve always wondered but have never heard the answer to: has any player ever finished the cycle with a walk-off hit?
Since Harry Caray was invoked, I would just like to point out that ‘Posnanski’ backwards is ‘Iksnansop’ which sounds like a pharaoh’s name.
Presumably, Skip Caray did that 19-inning Braves game, so it all comes back around in the end.
Seven players have collected a single, double, triple and grand slam in the same game.
Jason Kubel – Minnesota (April 17, 2009)
Miguel Tejada – Oakland (Sept. 29, 2001)
Jay Buhner – Seattle (June 23, 1993)
Jimmie Foxx – Philadelphia A’s (Aug. 14, 1933)
Tony Lazzeri – New York Yankees (June 3, 1932)
Bill Terry, New York Giants (May 29, 1928)
Nap Lajoie – Philadelphia A’s (July 30, 1901)
In light of the steroid era maybe the word “cycle” should be changed?
Ned, if Camp had struck out in the 18th, he would have finished the season with an ERA of 3.62 rather than 3.95. His career ERA would have been 3.33, not 3.37. He was actually a very good pitcher for several years. Not sure what he was eating for breakfast in 1980 and especially 1981, but I’d like to try it sometime. Two huge years.
Isn’t the cycle kinda limited. I mean, I get single, double, triple, homer, but what about the other good things an offensive player can do?
So, Mr. CycleMan, how many players have hit for the cycle and had both a walk and stolen base, all in the same game?
A little OT, but one of my favorite hockey trivial tidbits is a game where Mario Lemieux scored five goals: An even-strength goal, a powerplay goal, a shorthanded goal, a penalty-shot goal, and, to top it off, an empty netter.
Tough to top that!
How many cigarettes did Keith Hernandez have during that game?
Bob Watson (1977 and 1979)
Wow, I don’t really remember Watson as having the sort of shape one needs to leg out a triple…my memory could be hazy though.
“– Hottest cycle week ever: From July 2 to July 8, 1970 three players — Tony Horton, Tommie Agee and Jim Ray Hart — hit for the cycle.”
Of course, this was matched this past month by April 13-19, which produced cycles by the O-Dog, Kinsler, and Kubel. Kind of cool that matches a record week from the Retrosheet era.
Also interesting to note that of the 139 cycles since 1954, 40 (~29%) of them have occurred in the 2000s.
A quick review of Wikipedia’s list of cycles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitting_for_the_cycle) indicates that the 3 cycle week is the most frequent occurrence in baseball history. There were 3 cycles in a 5-day stretch from June 12-16, 1885. As far as the most cycle-happy year, there’s a tie between 1890 and 1933 with 7 each. August 1933 even featured 4 cycles alone.
The only cycle I was ever present for was Chone Figgins vs. Texas. So that’s my favorite one. It was cool in that a) the Rangers won in a blowout and b) he got the triple as the final hit, which is the most entertaining way to acheive the cycle, IMHO.
How many “natural” (sequential) cycles have there been?
I think it’s amazing the John Olerud had two cycles but only 13 career triples. If you randomly selected a John Olerud game from MLB archives and he hits a triple there’s 15% chance he’ll hit for the cycle in that game. Compare to Bob Watson (mentioned previously as someone who couldn’t leg out a triple – 41 career triples) with quite a few fewer ABs.
I remember reading about Lou Pinella being thrown out for the cycle once. Seems like it was a force out at first, and then tagged out at the rest. I read about it years ago, so I don’t remember any details. For that matter, it may not even be true.
First, gotta think Bob Watson’s triple total is affected by the same thing his HR total is, his home field of the Astrodome for most of his career.
Second, according to what I could find on the web, the last cycle that included an inside the park HR was in 1940, by Harry “The Horse” Danning of the NY Giants (don’t know if it was at the Polo Grounds, but that seems like a Great place for Cycles. Gigantic CF for triples and really short porches down the lines for HRs).
One has to suspect that many more cycles involving inside the park HRs took place prior to 1920.
Bob Watson also scored the 1,000,000th run in MLB history.
http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/archive/index.php/t-18370.html
We should also mention that John Olerud hit for the cycle twice yet only hit 13 career triples. That’s a pretty efficient use of one’s triples…