Watch: High Schooler Accomplishes Stunning Home Run Feat That No MLB Player Has Done Before
Hitting four home runs in a baseball game is a rare and treasured feat, having happened just eight times in Major League Baseball history.
Driving in 10 runs in a ballgame is slightly less rare but has still happened just 16 times in MLB, an average of once every nine years since the National League began play in 1876.
Combining the feats? Almost never, but it did happen in 2017 when Scooter Gennett of the Cincinnati Reds got an RBI single in the first inning before blasting a grand slam in the third, a two-run bomb in the fourth, a solo shot in the sixth and another two-run homer in the eighth inning.
It also happened in 1993 when Mark Whiten of the St. Louis Cardinals hit a grand slam in the first inning, a pair of three-run jacks in the sixth and seventh, and a two-run blast in the ninth to finish with 12 RBIs and tie a major league record.
But there is one accomplishment so elusive that in 143 years of MLB, it has never been done: a “home run cycle,” featuring a solo homer, a two-run bomb, a three-run long ball and the big salami to cap it off.
Monday night in Ohio, Perrysburg High School junior Luke Borer hit the first home run of his high school career — and then hit the second, third and fourth in the manner prescribed for getting your name in the national news.
Perrysburg HS Junior, Luke Borer, hit for a home run cycle tonight against AW.
1st AB: Solo HR
2nd AB: 3-Run HR
3rd AB: 2-Run HR
4th AB: Grand SlamHe finished 4-5 with 4 HR & 10 RBI’s. The 4-HR in a single game is 2nd best in OHSAA history. The 10-RBI is 10th best ever. pic.twitter.com/HniPadRdaK
— Jordan Strack (@JordanStrack) April 16, 2019
The Toledo Blade reported that Borer had five at-bats to get his four jacks, as the ballgame against Anthony Wayne High ended with a 22-14 score as if it was being played in a Lake Michigan gale blowing out at Wrigley Field.
The home run cycle has never happened in the majors, but it has happened in minor league pro ball, Tyrone Horne having done it in Double-A in 1998.
It’s also happened in college ball, as men and women alike — Danielle Gibson of Arkansas hit a homer cycle in a softball game in February of this year, and Marshall McDougal of Florida State did it while setting the NCAA record for homers in a game with six in 1999 — have flexed their muscles and given the ball a ride.
“Those balls coming off the bat was definitely a pretty surreal feeling,” Borer said in a video shared by WTOL-TV’s Jordan Strack. “Just watching all four go over the fence was definitely something I’ll remember forever.”
Here’s the full story…
Perrysburg baseball has gone viral after Luke Borer hit a home run cycle. Hear from the team right here: pic.twitter.com/05tHS5ZNvi
— Jordan Strack (@JordanStrack) April 17, 2019
And oh by the way, Borer’s home run cycle wasn’t even the only piece of history made that day.
Borer’s teammate, Nate Ball, was the real Big Baller Brand out there, going 6 for 6 — the first time that’s been done by a high school player in the history of the Buckeye State.
Some days, you walk out your front door, see the weather, feel the breeze, and think of the words of legendary Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks:
“It’s a great day for baseball. Let’s play two.”
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