Althouse: "I was kind of laughing, to be honest with you. For a guy like me to do that is crazy

June 7, 2017

"I was kind of laughing, to be honest with you. For a guy like me to do that is crazy — a little short of a miracle."

"It's surreal, man, it really is... I'm truly blessed. I'm from here, born here. Watching all those guys play when I was little. And to do something that's never been done — I can't put words on it."

26 comments:

rehajm said...: That's fun. I'm sorry to have missed it.

Baseball needs more old school nicknames like 'Scooter'.; 6/7/17, 8:17 AM
Tom said...: Brandon Phillips said the Reds giving away "his" #4 jersey was a "slap in the face" after being traded to the Braves in the off season. Well, Scooter slapped 4 home runs, one of which was a grand salami, 10 RBIs, and went 5 for 5 on the night, making him the first MLB player in history to do so. Mr, Gennett, this 4's for you.

Btw, the Reds paid Atlanta $14m of Brandon's $15m contract so they'd take him. Can't think of a better way to say, "it's not us, it's you."; 6/7/17, 8:17 AM
AllenS said...: While I'm quite pleased with the Brewers present lineup, why they got rid of Gennett is beyond me.; 6/7/17, 8:19 AM
traditionalguy said...: Nice swings. All four of them were chest high, level and made from a balanced stance. Ah, to be young again.; 6/7/17, 8:21 AM
Michael K said...: What a great night !; 6/7/17, 8:27 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: I like the way he said "a little short" of a miracle. I'll bet he's smart, too.; 6/7/17, 8:36 AM
mockturtle said...: Didn't see the game but caught the post-game interview on tape. Likeable guy! Good for him.; 6/7/17, 9:11 AM
Wilbur said...: Four taters in one game. Damn.

And against the River Rats makes it extra sweet for this Cub fan.; 6/7/17, 9:20 AM
Static Ping said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/7/17, 9:28 AM
Static Ping said...: AllenS said... While I'm quite pleased with the Brewers present lineup, why they got rid of Gennett is beyond me.

According to the advanced metrics, Scooter has produced very little value over the past two years. Baseball-Reference has him as a below average starter during that time while Fangraphs pegs him basically at replacement level, the sort of production you would expect from a warehoused minor leaguer who is called up solely to plug short-term roster holes caused by injuries and is getting paid the league minimum. As a rookie Scooter hit very well but he has regressed significantly since then. His skill set requires him to be an above average hitter to be a decent major league starter. They probably just did not want to pay him a couple of million dollars to take up space when they could have paid someone else less money to take up space.

That said, his replacements in the Brewers middle infield have been significantly worse so far, so you may have a point.; 6/7/17, 9:30 AM
Curious George said...: "rehajm said...
Baseball needs more old school nicknames like 'Scooter'."

His real name is Ryan.; 6/7/17, 9:48 AM
Static Ping said...: At the moment, Scooter has the lowest home run total (42) of any major leaguer with a four home run game.

Next up is Bobby Lowe with 71, a total that Scooter could conceivably reach. Bobby was the first player to hit four homers in 1894. There is a bit of an asterisk there as the game was played at the Congress Street Grounds in Boston which was the temporary home of the Boston Beaneaters (now Atlanta Braves). (Their regular stadium had burned down mid-season and was being rebuilt.) We do not have exact dimensions for the ballpark, but it is believed to have a very short distance to the left field fence. For the couple of months it was used it gave up a lot of dingers. According to the newspaper article, all four of Bobby's blasts were legitimate home runs that cleared the left field field fence by plenty, but then again who can say.

My favorite four home run feat is Ed Delanhanty, the second player to accomplish the feat. Two of his home runs were inside-the-park and, somehow, his team lost.; 6/7/17, 10:05 AM
Bob Ellison said...: They kept pitching strikes, belt-high, because they figured "this guy's no slugger". That's why known sluggers don't get four homers in a single game. Pitchers, catchers, and managers require a few games to figure out the threat and how to pitch to him.; 6/7/17, 10:23 AM
Bill Peschel said...: Wow. I never thought I could uncritically enjoy a baseball story ever again.

That's part of the fun of this sport; that a player could have a moment in the sun under improbable circumstances. Even if he sinks without a trace -- as the above commenters noted -- he'll always have this day.

And that's more than some of us get in a lifetime. Good on him.; 6/7/17, 10:26 AM
Curious George said...: "Static Ping said...
My favorite four home run feat is Ed Delanhanty, the second player to accomplish the feat. Two of his home runs were inside-the-park and, somehow, his team lost."

The other team scored more runs. That's how. ;-); 6/7/17, 10:57 AM
mccullough said...: Josh Hamilton was the last player to do it and he was a known slugger. Pitchers miss their spots all the time. There are maybe 10 pitchers in the league who are elite aces. Just like there are about 10 elite hitters.; 6/7/17, 11:00 AM
Curious George said...: My favorite 4 home runner was Rocky Colavito. I was two when he did it but he was my favorite Indian when I was six. Because he had a great name. Scooter is a singles hitters name. Rocky is a sluggers name. Rocky Colavito.; 6/7/17, 11:09 AM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: "Next up is Bobby Lowe with 71, a total that Scooter could conceivably reach. Bobby was the first player to hit four homers in 1894."

Since that was in the pre-Babe Ruth "dead ball era" hitting 4 HRs in 1894 was an even more considerable achievement.

But Scooter's is quite impressive, especially since he's small for a mlb player. I always liked the guy and was sorry to see him leave the Brewers.

It's surprising to me that neither Babe Ruth nor Ted Williams ever hit 4 HRs in a game.; 6/7/17, 11:31 AM
Yancey Ward said...: It surprised me to find this has been done 16 times in Major League history. I remember Schmidt's four homer day and I remember Cameron's, but I missed Hamilton's. Of course, I knew about Gehrig's, but I don't ever remember reading about the rest of them.; 6/7/17, 11:41 AM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Scooter is a singles hitters name. Rocky is a sluggers name. Rocky Colavito.

6/7/17, 11:09 AM

Yep. Which makes it more impressive, don't you think? If Albert Pujols did it, it would still be a rare accomplishment but not many would be saying "Gee, who thought that Pujols was capable of that?"

The best baseball name of a current player is Buster Posey.; 6/7/17, 11:55 AM
Static Ping said...: exiledonmainstreet said... Since that was in the pre-Babe Ruth "dead ball era" hitting 4 HRs in 1894 was an even more considerable achievement.

Actually, that's before the dead-ball era. The dead-ball era is 1901-1919 (or 1900-1920, depending who you ask). There were not a lot of home runs in the 19th century, but the run scoring was generally a lot higher than in the two decades of the 20th. It is still an impressive achievement, albeit watered down by a dubious ballpark. That said, no one else hit four home runs in the same game in that ballpark.

As for Ted Williams, he didn't even reach 3,000 hits. That's almost certainly because of lost time due to military service, but also because he took a ridiculous number of walks. It's hard to hit four homers in a game when you also walk twice.

Babe Ruth never had a four home run game, but he holds the record for the most two home run games with 70 over his career. In addition, had two three home run games in the World Series which no one else has ever done.; 6/7/17, 12:40 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: "As for Ted Williams, he didn't even reach 3,000 hits. That's almost certainly because of lost time due to military service, but also because he took a ridiculous number of walks. It's hard to hit four homers in a game when you also walk twice."

No great cleanup hitter behind him I guess. A pitcher facing Ruth had quite a problem when Gehrig was the next guy up.; 6/7/17, 12:59 PM
Titus said...: Don't the Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks tend to always suck? My mom has been watching the brewers lately, but I expect they will fall apart soon.

Boston sports teams are kind of amazing you know...for a faggy blue city we do good sports.

What is up with the Reds costumes?; 6/7/17, 1:22 PM
Wilbur said...: Somewhat fittingly for a player who played in the shadow of others. the day Lou Gehrig hit four homeruns, it wasn't the lead story on the New York sports pages.

It was the same day long-time Giants manager John McGraw announced he was stepping down.; 6/7/17, 2:02 PM
Curious George said...: "exiledonmainstreet said...
The best baseball name of a current player is Buster Posey."

Nah, that's a cowboy name.; 6/7/17, 2:31 PM
Earnest Prole said...: Four home runs in a single game is more a statement on the pitching than the hitting.; 6/7/17, 7:31 PM