5 players with most cycles in MLB history ft Christian Yelich and more
Hitting for a cycle in an MLB game is no simple task. A cycle in a baseball game means a batter hitting a home run, a triple, a double and a single all in the same game. Since, on average, in a game, a hitter gets four to five plate appearances, it becomes difficult to have all of them in one game. That's why there are only 29 modern-day big-league hitters with multiple cycles to their name.
Moreover, six hitters have had the most cycles in MLB history. All six of them achieved three cycles each in their respective MLB careers. John Reilly became the first hitter to hit for three cycles when he achieved that feat on Aug. 6, 1890.
Here's a closer look at the other five players who achieved the most cycles in MLB history.
5 players with the most cycles in MLB history
#1. Bob Meusel
Joining the rare club after John Reilly was Bob Meusel, who registered this feat after hitting it first on May 7, 1921. The next two came on July 3, 1922, and July 26, 1928. All these cycles were recorded with him playing for the New York Yankees.
#2. Babe Herman
In 1933, Herman became the third hitter to have registered three cycles on his resume. His first two came with the Brooklyn Robins (on May 18 and July 24, 1931), while the last one came for the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 30, 1933.
#3. Adrian Beltre
The MLB had to wait almost 83 years before another hitter joined in this rare feat.
Adrian Beltre's first career cycle came with the Seattle Mariners on Sept. 1, 2008. He waited almost four years before registering his second cycle on Aug. 24, 2012, for the Texas Rangers. Three years later, he joined this club on Aug. 3, 2015.
Interestingly, he is the only member of this three-hit cycle club who did it at the same ballpark, Globe Life Field.
#4. Trea Turner
After hitting his first cycle on April 25, 2017, in Coors Field, Trea Turner made history with his second cycle on July 23, 2019, while contributing seven or more RBIs in a game against the Colorado Rockies. He was only the second hitter to ever do so.
His third cycle came against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 30, 2021.
#5. Christian Yelich
The latest inductee in this rare group of players was Christian Yelich, who recorded his third cycle on May 11, 2022, against the Cincinnati Reds. Interestingly, his previous two cycles (on Aug. 29, 2018, and Sept. 17, 2018) also came against the Reds, making him the first and only player to do so.
Yelich and Turner are the only remaining active hitters who can reach the four-cycle hit.