The elusive cycle

One of the rarest occurances in baseball hitting for the cycle. Hitting for the cycle is simply one player hitting a single, a double, a triple and a home run all in one game. Hitting for the cycle has only occurred 307 times in the history of Major Legue baseball since the first recorded in 1882. A feat more rare than a cycle is a no hitter. A no hitter is a pitcher completing a full 9 innings without the opposing team achieving a single hit which has only occurred  289 times in MLB history. The perfect game (no hitter ever even reaches a base)  has only been achieved 23 times in MLB history with the rarest occurance being hitting for the cycle in perfect order only happening 14 times.

This happened Tuesday:

Wil Myers landed The Padres their second cycle in Padres history. He hit a single, a double, a home run and finally, at his 8th inning fourth at bat, a triple. The triple is that hardest one out of the four to get.

I love baseball. I love the ability for a player to have a fresh start each and every time a bat is picked up.

The cycle is quite the achievement. Think about it. In most games a player only gets 4 at bats or 5 tops. Many games a player will have not even achieve one hit in a game much less four. Consider that in 140 years of Major Legue baseball more than 210,000 games have been played with  at least 9 hitters (more than 1,890,00 total) getting an average of 4 at bats…that’s more than 7,560,000 at bats.

Congratulations Wil Myers on cycle #308.

Baseball truly is a field of dreams. One must dream the dream first and then it will come. It will.