Hittin’ for the cycle
Last year, while with the Minnesota Twins, Luis Arraez won the 2022 American League batting champion. Last week, as a member of the Miami Marlins, Arraez hit for the cycle.
Last year, while with the Minnesota Twins, Luis Arraez won the 2022 American League batting champion. Last week, as a member of the Miami Marlins, Arraez hit for the cycle.
In the 30-year history of the Miami Marlins, they have won a pair of World Series and had 6 no-hitters pitched But until this past week they have never had a player hit for the cycle.
How rare is the cycle? It is about as rare as no-hitters. 340 players have hit for the cycle since 1876 while 318 no-hitters have been pitched since 1875.
What? What is the cycle? Dang! That anyone would ask that question, well, that is just unAmerican. The cycle is hitting a single, a double, a triple and a home run in the same game. The natural cycle is hitting them in that order. But that is truly rare. It has been accomplished on 14 times in the history of Major League Baseball. Most recently by Gary Matthews, Jr in 2006.1 know this because he was a Texas Ranger.
The cycle. A fine description of the importance of the cycle to a player is contained in Joe Posnanski’s book, written with and about Buck O’Neil, The Soul of Baseball. Buck O’Neil is a personal hero. Buck was committed to assisting other players gain the recognition he believed they deserved, Posnanski recorded Buck’s description of a player who might have hit an inside the park home run, but rather decided to sit down on third base, settling for the triple, in order to secure the cycle.
But Buck might have just been promoting the triple. In another section, Posnanski wrote “You know what play I love?” Buck said. “The triple. That’s my favorite. Someone hits a home run, what happens? Everyone stands around and watches the ball go. Then the guy jogs around the bases. But, man, someone hits a triple. Everyone’s running. The whole field bursts to life, man, best play in baseball.”
I love baseball. Baseball is a game of sudden unexpected explosions.
Baseball is a constant. I enjoy texting my great-grandson messages about Aaron Judge’s game or how the Cardinals did. We can talk about Stan Musial and Paul Goldschmidt as if they are contemporaries. Statistics let us compare and converse. Famed newscaster, Harry Reasoner once said, “Statistics are to baseball what a flaky crust is to Mom’s apple pie.” I’m not certain I understood it at first. I do now.
I was sitting in my green Adirondack chair and watching the squirrels chase each other when it hit me. Has a major league pitcher ever hit for the cycle? I googled it. The answer is no. For years it was possible if improbable. Today? We have Shohei Ohtani, a true baseball marvel. Just think about it.
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games are created equal.
– George Will
Hal McBride writes a column, Just Thinkin’, published each week.
