what is cycle in baseball

What Is Cycle In Baseball? I Bet You Didn’t Know These.

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Last Updated on April 13, 2022

If you are a baseball fan watching a Cycle live could be your lifelong dream. And if you are not a die-hard baseball fan, you might be finding the answer to “What is Cycle in Baseball.” Don’t worry, I will explain in detail. But first, let me tell you about my first Cycle seeing experience.

It was the best season for David Bell of the Philadelphia Phillies. It was the 2004 season, and bell scored over 40 points above his career average. But who would have imagined he would hit a cycle!

But he did that in that season against the Montreal Expos at Citizens Bank Park. 4-4, 1 1B, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 2 R.  I was just baffled to see that. For the first few moments, I could not believe my eyes of what had just happened in front of me. And when I realized it, I told myself, “I just gathered a story to tell to my grandkids!”

Here is the Twitter link of the cycle that bell hit

I can’t stop myself from sharing another Cycle seeing experience of mine that happened in a postseason game. It happened in 2015 between Boston Red Sox vs. Atlanta Braves. Watching a cycle in a major league postseason game was another experience  I will never forget. Because that was the first time, it happened!

For a non-baseball fan, this could be a game about hitting and catching. But my friend, that is what you see, but if you watch, you will find many more interesting things in Baseball. In fact, I have the bad reputation Of making a soccer lover convert into a die-hard baseball fan.

Baseball players need to be great athletes, and sometimes their athleticism in taking a catch or making a base is applauded by the spectators, and that’s the reason they go to the field. A cycle may be rare, but that is also another reason that makes people come and watch baseball.

But what does “Hitting for a cycle in Baseball” mean? It means when a batter hits a single, a triple, a home run, and all in the same game. In major league baseball, you will not see a cycle happening regularly.

The cycle does not depend on the player’s skill only. It also depends on luck. That’s why achieving a cycle and seeing it happening both are rare in Baseball.  

What is a Cycle in Baseball?

I know all the new baseball lovers are at the end of their patience. Because I did not tell you yet what is a cycle in Baseball. I was just telling you my experiences and how blessed a person has to be to watch a Cycle live! Okay, your patience ends here.

Here is the definition of a cycle in Baseball,

Simply put, when a batter hits all four types of shots in the same game of baseball, that is called a cycle in baseball.

So, what are the four types of shots? You should know that, but if you are a new baseball enthusiast, let me tell you that also. There are four types of shots a player can play in a match. Single, double, triple, and a home run.

I hope now you understand why making a cycle in baseball is considered so hard? And why did I tell that a player needs a good amount of luck to hit a cycle.

Therefore, many baseball experts and players consider hitting for the cycle is one of the hardest things in Major League Baseball. But every major league player dreams of hitting a cycle at least once in his lifetime.

There are many tough achievements in baseball, such as a grand slam, four home runs, a perfect game, etc. But among them, the cycle is one of the toughest feats a player can achieve because you also need a fair amount of luck.

Let me clear that with the stat. From 1880 to the time when I was writing this article, there had been only 330 plus recorded cycles.

If we use math, there is less than a 1% chance for a batter to hit a cycle in a baseball game. How many chances a player gets in a single baseball game? A player gets nine innings to play, and he has to hit a single, double, triple, and a home run in that nine innings to complete the cycle.

27 MLB players in MLB history have ever hit a cycle. In the entire MLB history, no more than one player ever hit a cycle in the same game. That’s why the cycle is considered one of the rare incidents in MLB history.

How did the Phrase “Hitting for Cycle” Arrive?

Now you know what the term a cycle in baseball means, but when do people start calling it a cycle?

To know this, you have to dig into The Dickson Baseball Dictionary. The first printed form of the word “Cycle” was found back in 1933 on The Washington Post. Philadelphia’s Jimmie Foxx hit a cycle, and they described this on their sports news on 27th September of 1933.

Jimmie Foxx was the sixth player to achieve this feat, but they did not list the other five. However, the word “Cycle” appeared in context 12 years earlier. Tennessean reported  George Sisler’s achievement on their August 21st edition 1921.

What is “Natural Cycle” in Baseball

As you become familiar with the term cycle in baseball, let me introduce the advanced version of it. The advanced version of a cycle is a natural cycle.

A natural cycle means when a batter hits a cycle in order. That means if the player plays the shot in order, single, double, triple, and a home run, that is called the natural cycle.

What is a Reverse Cycle in Baseball?

In the previous section, you learned about the natural cycle. I hope you can guess what a reverse cycle is. A reverse cycle means when a player all the four shots in reverse order. Suppose a player hits a home run first, then triple, double, and single in order. This kind of cycle is called the reverse cycle.

I actually got a link where you can see which players are in the MLB hit cycle. Please go to this link to find which players hit the cycle in Major League Baseball.

What makes hitting for the Cycle a Rare Feat?

If you have any experience playing baseball, even in your backyard, you should know hitting 4 shots is difficult. And hitting a shot for a home run is an absolutely challenging task. But if you are lucky and a good hitter, you can even hit multiple home runs. That could happen.

But hitting all 4 types of shots in 9 innings! That is something you can achieve when you have a date with Goddes of luck.  

The major league is the highest form of baseball. All players in the MLB are extremely skilled. Therefore, hitting is a difficult task there. Pitchers are extremely talented, and the fielders are the best in the world. That’s why hitting for the cycle is one of the rarest incidents in major league baseball.

Hitting for the Cycle is one of the rarest feat in baseball

I stated earlier the chance of hitting a cycle in a game is lesser than 1% and seeing multiple cycles in the same game is something you just can dream of. And that’s why it never happened in MLB history.

You can hit a single or a double; that is easy. In fact, in recent years, players have been hitting many single and doubles.

Home Runs and Triples

Now let’s discuss the next two shots to fill up a cycle. Hitting a home run in baseball is an extremely tough shot to play. But if you are a new baseball fan, you will be surprised to hear that hitting for a cycle is tougher than a home run.

In fact, the percentage of hitting home runs has been increasing in baseball. But the percentage of triples is very low in MLB. In 2015, 2% of shots resulted in a triple, and since then, the percentage has not improved.

But the scenario was not like this always. Here I found an interesting research paper. This research paper tells the percentage of triples made by the batters were double of home runs between the years 1901 to 1929. That is an interesting statistic.

But the scenario has changed in the modern era. Now MLB players hit five times more home runs than triples. Can you guess the reason? The baseball field has changed. Consequently, it became very tough for a hitter to run three bases before an outfielder picked the ball and threw it to the baseman.

So, the only chance a batter can get a triple is any fumble from the outfielder, which is a rare case in the MLB as that is the highest form of baseball and outfielders are extremely efficient.

Who Hit the First Cycle in Major League Baseball History

Now we are getting into one of the most controversial parts of this article. Earlier in this article, I have provided evidence of when the term “Hitting the cycle” was first used.

But there nobody mentioned the first person who achieved this. That’s why there is a huge debate between baseball scholars.

Most scholar agrees that Curry Foley hit the first official cycle in baseball history in 1882. The exact date of this incident was on May 25, 1882.
Curry Foley - the man who hit first cycle in baseball
Curry Foley – the man who hit the first cycle in baseball

There is another surprise. The first recorded cycle in baseball history was a natural one. It means Curry Foley hit the four shots single, double, triple, and the home run in exact order.

But what is the reason behind the argument? Many people say that there was not a culture of keeping a record of cycles before that. Therefore someone might have hit a cycle, but that was not recorded at that time. However, most scholars deny this argument and agree that Curry Foley was the first person who hit the first cycle in major league baseball history.

I have found another claim on this discussion. Some historians claim that George Hall of the Athletic Club of Philadelphia was the first man who hit a cycle on the 4th June of 1876. Most newspapers published that he hit two triples. 

In addition one of the top major leagues’ baseball historian John Thorn does not believe that Hall was the first man to hit a cycle in the MLB.

However, most historians do not agree with him. Therefore, though most people agree that Curry Foley is the first person to hit a cycle in the MLB, the record is a debated one. 

Players with Most Cycles in their career.

When a batter hits a cycle, that is a rare incident in baseball. But there are some players who are blessed to hit that more than once. In this section, I will talk about those players who hit for the cycle more than once in their careers. 

The record of hitting the most cycles is 3.

  1. Bob Meusel from the New York Yankees has hit for the cycle three times in his entire career. He did it in 1921, 1922, and 1928. This record is special because he did it for the same team!
  2. Adrian Beltre is another player who hit for the cycle three times but he did it playing for two teams. The first time he did it for Seattle Mariners was in 2008. The next two cycles, he hit for Texas Rangers in 2012 and 2015.
BOB MEUSEL hit 3 cycles in his career

All 3 cycles of  Adrian Beltre have another unique feature that no other player has. He hit all three cycles in the same field, the Rangers’ ballpark, Globe Life Field. 3 cycles in the same field! That is an astonishing record that will be tough for anyone to break.

  • Babe Herman is another player with the most career cycles of three. He hit two for the Brooklyn Robins, and both happened in the year of 1931. Then he hit another two years later when he was playing for the Chicago Cubs
  • Trea Turner is another player with hit multiple cycles in his lifetime. His record is similar to Bob Meusel. He did those in 2017, 2019, and 2021.  All of his cycles came from the same team, the Washington Nationals.

Trea Turner was just 23 years old when he was hitting for the cycle in 2017, making him the second-youngest player to do so in the MLB history. 

  • John Relly is another player who did this rare occurrence of hitting for cycle in his career three times. He hit two cycles in 1883 and one in 1890. He also did it for the same team Cincinnati Red.

He is the only player to hit for the cycle three times before the modern era.

How can you hit 4 types of shots in the same game or hit a for a Cycle?

If you are with me by this time, you understood hitting for a cycle in a baseball match is one of the rarest incidents. Even though Cycles are rare, they happen. Cycles happen in both MLB and the national league.

In addition to skill, you will need the support of luck to hit a cycle. If you get the luck and properly prepare yourself, you can also hit for a cycle in your form of baseball. In this section, I will discuss those things.

You need to be fit physically, so that will be our primary focus. Then we will focus on other aspects. Taking a run in baseball requires two things – physical power and speed. So, you have to be excellent in both departments.

Let’s discuss the topic in brief.  

Power

A batter needs the power to hit the ball. You will need the balance of power and the strength to become a good base hitter if I say precisely.

In this modern era, players have access to modern machines to practice. They can use a pitching machine to practice against any pitch of any velocity.

We have a dedicated article on whether pitching machines are good or not for batting practice.

In addition, players have access to other modern tools to improve their power and implement while batting. Some will say speed is more important, but you have to hit the ball hard in the first place. So, I will go for power first and then the speed.

Speed

Speed is the second aspect if you want to hit a cycle. As a matter of fact, speed is a very crucial skill for a baseball player. You need speed to become a good batter and a good outfielder. Your power will make the ball travel a distance, but you have to run through the bases as fast as you can to get runs.

When I am talking about, I am not talking about how fast you can run. You should also know when to run. And without proper kind of speed such as exit speed, you are not going anywhere.

You can make a single into a double and double into a triple with proper speed and technique. The technique will help you to understand when to stop and satisfy with a single when there is a risk of being out running for a double.

So, it’s all about using your speed correctly and wisely.

Some Additional Tips

Hitting a cycle in baseball is a very rare thing. So, there are no magical tips to achieve that. But when you have a certain level of skill set, you have a higher chance of hitting a cycle. Most baseball coaches look for players with more power and high speed. So, you should put most of your attention into improving those skills.

How to adopt both qualities? Well, there is no alternative to practice. You have to practice both batting and running. Building muscles won’t help you if you don’t inherit the technique of using your power and speed.

If you can achieve both skills, you can follow the pieces of advice I am going to give you here. Remember, those tips are not guaranteed to hit for a cycle as it is a rare incident on a baseball field. But those will make you better, and you have a better chance to hit a cycle when you are ‘better.’

The tips I am going to share are relatively simple. But those tips will improve your game. When you know how to bat and how to run, that will make you a better batter. As a result, coaches will prefer you, and you will have an aggregate over your competitors.

When you become better at hitting the ball and running the bases, you will be a better baseball player.

Higher Bat Contact

Telling a batter to improve his average is a simple thing to do, but implementing is a tough thing to do. But when you can remember all the tips, do vigorous practice, and implement everything on the actual match, that will make you a better batter.

As a result, you will have a higher chance of hitting home runs and doubles. And who knows, a sloppy piece of fielding can help you to take triple. Hurray, you will become a cycle hitter.

Increasing your bat contact is not that tough, especially when you are tender. Making contact is all about reflex and young players have the greater reflex. But what a baseball coach wants to see is the power. So, try to import more power when you swing the bat.

Hitting the ball with extreme power is not all about muscle strength. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. You have to hit the ball with the middle of the barrel. If I tell more technically, you have to hit the ball with the bat’s sweet spot. If you hit other parts of the barrel, all of your muscle power will just bring disaster for you.

The next thing is the batter should learn to identify the bad pitches. The best quality a good batter has is to leave the ball. When you know which one to leave and which one to hit, 50% job is done. The rest 50% is making contact and hit with the sweet spot of the barrel.

Excellent Exit Speed

Making contact is the beginning of the job. You have to swing the bat hard and make the ball goes quite a distance flying. To achieve the extra swing, you have to maximize your hip movement.

The first task is to hit the ball with the sweet spot, but your swing speed makes the ball fly. With an additional swing, speed batters can make single into double.

Suppose you have done both right, but without an excellent exit speed, you can not capitalize your shot. The more exit speed you have, the more base you will be able to pass.

Discipline is the Key

Discipline is necessary for every profession. But in sports, discipline is everything. When you make contact with an excellent swing, it’s your duty to make that count. Moreover, batters should watch the pitcher closely even off the field to make a good decision.

Again, all these tips NEVER GUARANTEE to hit a cycle in a baseball game of any form. But these will certainly make you a better batter. And when you become a better batter, you have a better chance to hit for a cycle.

More Exciting Facts on Hitting a cycle in Baseball

1.   Who is the last player to hit for the cycle?

Though hit for the cycle is a rare incident in baseball, we have witnessed another one in recent times.

The most recent incident (At the time when I am writing this article, 2022) of a hit for the cycle happened on August 18th, 2021. Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves hit for the cycle in only six innings!

Here is the video link of Freddie Freeman’s cycle

There is another recent incident of a hit for the cycle—Jake Cronenworth of the San Diego Padres against the Washington Nationals did it in 2021.

2.   Hall of Fame players who Hit for the Cycle

From the beginning of Major league baseball, 65 players have hit for the cycle. I have listed some of the famous names here. There are players like Adrian Beltre, Shohei Ohtani,  Nolan Arenado, Mike Trout, and more that has hit for the cycle, and I hope someday they will also be on the Hall of fame.

  • Bid McPhee
  • Sam Thompson
  • Honus Wagner
  • Jimmie Foxx
  • Roger Connor
  • Jim O’Rourke
  • Carl Ripken Jr.
  • Ted Williams
  • Vladimir Guerrero
  • Kirby Puckett
  • Joe DiMaggio
  • Mickey Mantle
  • Lou Gehrig

3.   Is there any Record of hitting for the cycle in a Post Season Game?

Yes, it happened only once in the postseason game. In the ninth innings of game 3 of the 2018 American League Division Series, Brock Holt of the Boston Red Sox has done it. The opposite team was the New York Yankees.

Here is the video clip of that incident.

4.   Is there any Incident of a hit for the cycle in an All-star Game?

No, unfortunately, no player has hit for the cycle in an all-star Game of MLB yet.

Conclusion

What is a cycle in Baseball? I hope you have found the answer. I tried to provide as much information as possible regarding the topic. This is a very rare incident in baseball, but this happens. You might also be interested to know FPS, WHIP, ERA, DFA these terms also.

Now you know what hit for the cycle is. Now take your bat, go to practice, and hit for the cycle for yourself.

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