Today is the 12th anniversary of Josh Hamilton's 2012 4-HR (and one ground-rule double) game -- one of only 18 times in the entire history of ML baseball that that 4 HRs have been hit by a single player in a ML game. Hamilton also tied an AL record for most total bases in a single game with that performance.

A review and detail of the game, with old favorites Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre, Michel Young, David Murphy, Nelson Cruz, Mike Napoli and Mitch Moreland, as well as Hamilton. Plus there's a jump-cite to an MLB.com short video for just Hamilton's ABs.


May 8, 2012
Josh Hamilton's 4-HR Game

On Tuesday evening, May 8, 2012, at 7:07 pm (ET), The Texas Rangers played a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, during which Josh Hamilton became the 16th player in ML history to hit 4 HRs in 1 game, tying an AL record. All four came with a man on base, giving Hamilton 8 RBI on the day. He also hit a ground-rule double that bounded over the wall, giving him an AL record 18 total bases and 5 fair-ball out-of-the-park hits. (OK, I just made that last one up, but it seems right.)

The series started the previous night, May 7, with a Texas rout of Baltimore 14-3, behind Matt Harrion's pitching -- the score being driven up in part by a 9th inning Hamilton HR that gave Hamilton an AL-leading 10 HRs at the time. Texas was, of course, the reigning ALCS champion with an 18-10 record at the start of the series. Baltimore had a 19-9 record at the start of the series. Both teams were leading their respective divisions at the time.

The May 8th game featured Baltimore's Jake Arrieta against Texas' newly converted SP Neftali Feliz, who was 3rd in the Rangers rotation at that time behind Yu Darvish and Harrison, and ahead of Colby Lewis and Derek Holland. Hamilton was slashing .376/.435/.703/1.138, going into the game. He batted 3rd in the Rangers order that night, behind Ian Kinsler (who had a seriously down year in 2012, but was slashing .287/.376/.508/.884 at the time) and Elvis Andrus (who had perhaps his best year in 2012, and was slashing .313/.386/.429/.814 going into the game). Hamilton batted ahead of Adrian Beltre (who was phenomenal in 2012, with a slash line of .315/.354/.562/.916 going into the game), Michel Young (who had a good start to what would ultimately be a bad 2012, with a .322/.347/.443/.791 slash line going into the game), and David Murphy (who had a very good 2012, and a .276/.329/.434/.764 slash line), The bottom of the order that night was Nelson Cruz (who had a thoroughly disappointing 2012, and had a slash line at the time of only .235/.290/.348/.638), Mike Napoli (who regressed throughout 2012, and had a slash line at that time of .247/.330/.494/.824), and Mitch Moreland (with a slash line of .279/.355/.471/.826 going inro the game). Hamilton's slash line after the game would be .406/.458/.840/1.298.

In the top of the 1st inning, Kinsler grounded out, and Elvis walked. Arrieta opened the pitching against Hamilton with a curveball, but left it up over the plate. Hamilton turned the first pitch to him into a towering HR over the left-CF wall, landing a couple of rows up in the seats. The Baltimore fielder jumped up to the top of the wall and stretched his arm over into the seats in one hell of an attempt to catch the ball, but it was just out of his reach. The HR gave the Rangers a quick 2-0 lead. Beltre and Young both grounded out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the 1st inning, Feliz allowed a double and a walk, but got out of the inning on a strikeout, ground out and pop fly. In the top of the 2nd inning, the Rangers went 1-2-3, with a strikeout, single and double-play grounder. In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Feliz got a 1-2-3 inning, with a strikeout, pop fly and groundout.

In the top of the 3rd inning, both Moreland and Kinsler grounded out to start the inning, but Elvis got on with a short bunt down the 3rd base-line. With the count 2-0 to Hamilton, Arrieta threw him a fastball, and Hamilton launched his 2nd homerun to almost the same same spot as his 1st one, but a few rows deeper. Beltre followed Hamilton, hitting another Arrieta fastball to deep RF, making it a 5-0 Rangers lead. It was the 4th time that Hamilton and Beltre hit back-to-back HRs in the young season. Both Young and Murphy then also got on base, before Cruz grounded out.

In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Feliz pitched another 1-2-3 inning, with 2 strikeouts and a pop fly. In the top of the 4th inning, the Rangers bottom of the order again went quietly 1-2-3, with a 3 ground outs. In the bottom of the 4th inning, Feliz allowed a single, but then got out of the inning with a ground out and 2 pop flies.

In the top of the 5th inning, Elvis started the inning with a deep fly-ball out down the RF foul line. Hamilton's 3rd at-bat against Arrieta was hit for a line-drive double that cleared the wall on one bounce. Unfortunately, Beltre struck out and Yound grounded out, leaving Hamilton stranded.

Feliz tossed a very nice 1-2-3 bottom of the 5th inning, with 3 strikeouts. In the top of the 6th inning, the Rangers bottom of the order went relatively quietly once again, on 2 fly balls and a groundout, although Cruz managed a single. In the bottom of the 6th inning, Feliz finally began to tire, and allowed 1 Baltimore run in a 6-batter inning, on a double and a single, making it a 5-1 ballgame.

In the top of the 7th inning, Arrietta struck out Kinsler, but allowed a line-drive single by Elvis to RF. Arrietta was then lifted for Zach Phillips, who had just been called up from AAA. Hamilton hit a Phillips' 78-mph changeup for his 3rfd HR of the night, making it a 7-1 game. The middle part of the Texas lineup then beat up on Phillips. Beltre hit a single, Murphy worked a walk, and Cruz drove Beltre home with a fly-ball double down the RF foul line. After the 9-batter half-inning, Texas led 8-1.

Koji Uehara replaced Feliz in the bottom of a 7th inning, retiring the Orioles with 2 fly-ball outs to the OF and a pop-fly, while allowing a hard single.

In the top of the 8th inning, Darren O'Day, who had left the Rangers for the Orioles during the off-season, replaced Phillips, allowing a single to Kinsler and a single force-out at 2nd by Elvis. Hamilton took 2 strikes from O’Day, before connecting with a sinker left out over the plate, striking his longest hit of the day, a 4th HR clearing the CF wall at Camden Yards. The Texas players poured out of the dugout onto the field cheering. Hamilton later said that "[c]oming around second base and looking in your dugout and seeing how excited your teammates are and then touching home plate and going into a reception like that from them was the best part of it all." [SABR below] But not just the Texas dugout applauded Hamilton -- all of the Orioles fans at Camden Yards gave Hamilton a standing ovation as he rounded the bases and celebrated at home plate. The 4th home run made it a 10-1 ballgame.

The rest of the top of the top of the 8th inning went quickly and quietly, with a ground out and a strikeout. In the bottom of the 8th inning, Robbie Ross replaced Koji Uehara and immediately gave up 2 anti-climatic back-to-back HRs to the Orioles, before struggling to retire the side with 2 singles, a ground out and a ground double play, making the game a 10-3 contest. Troy Patton replaced O'Day in the top of the 9th, and Texas went relatively quietly, with a single, 2 strikeouts and ground out. Scott Feldman replaced Robbie Ross for Texas in the bottom of the 9th inning, and struggled a bit, giving up 2 initial singles, but then got a ground out, a fly out, and a pop fly to end the game.

Per SABR [below]: "As he 'rounded the bases in the eighth inning, those who remained of the 11,263 on hand at Oriole Park offered their appreciation by giving Hamilton a standing ovation. The crowd gave another ovation when Hamilton took his spot in center field for the bottom of the eighth.' Hamilton tipped his cap to them, saying, 'When I came out after the fourth one, the crowd and appreciation lets you know that they are true baseball fans. They're not only fans of their own team, but they love the game and appreciate it when someone does something of that caliber.' ... I’d never hit three in a game before. What a blessing that was, and then to hit four was just an awesome feeling to see how excited my teammates got. It reminds you of when you’re in Little League and a little kid. Just the excitement and why we play the game."

Again per SABR [below]: "O’Day told reporters that the 0-and-2 sinker on Hamilton's fourth home run was 'the worst pitch of my career,' adding, 'The guy's already got three bombs and I had him 0-and-2 and I throw it right over the middle. I couldn't have soft-tossed it any better to him. I'd like that pitch back for sure.'" Ranger fans might recall several other pitches by O'Day while he was with Texas that were just as "bad", if not as memorable for the general baseball public.

As of today, 18 players have hit 4 HRs in a single ML regular-season baseball game, a feat which Sporting News describes as "baseball's greatest single-game accomplishment". No one has ever hit 4 HRs in a ML post-season game. The most recent player to accomplish the feat is JD Martinez with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who did it against LAD on Sep 4, 2017. The first player to hit 4 HRs in a single ML game was Bobby Lowe, on May 30, 1894, for the Boston Beaneaters (later the "Braves") against Cincinnati -- "Fans were reportedly so excited that they threw $160 in silver coins ($5,600 today) onto the field after his fourth home run." [Wikipedia below] Among the more famous 4-HR hitters are Lou Gehrig (NYY 1932) and Willie Mays (SFG 1961). Hamilton's 18 total-bases in a single ML game is the most recent among all 7 AL players sharing that record, including Ty Cobb (Detroit 1925) and Lou Gehrig (NYY 1932). One NL Player, Shawn Green (LAD 2002) got 19 total bases in his 4-HR game, and 2 other NL players also had 18 total bases in a single game, both prior to Hamilton's May 8, 2012, game.


Texas Rangers vs Baltimore Orioles Box Score: May 8, 2012 (BR)
Thomas Brown, Rangers' Josh Hamilton hits four homers in one game (SABR 2012)
Total Bases Records (BB Almanac)
List of Major League Baseball single-game home run leaders (Wikipedia)

Hamilton's huge game (MLB.com 2012) (free video w initial ad; 2:31)