A Man Named Scooter
I had the Cubs and Marlins on Tuesday night when I decided to check Twitter to see what was happening in the world. Rather quickly I saw Scooter Gennett's name mentioned a bunch and my immediate thought was that something bad happened: hit in head by pitch, some kind of accident, I'm not real sure but I wasn't thinking it'd be because he homered 4 times.
But as sure can be that was the case.
Scooter Gennett, who only calls himself Scooter because he didn't want to get in trouble with the police when he was 5, hit 4 home runs in a single Major League Baseball game.
One of my favorite things about baseball is undoubtedly that you can watch 100,000 games and you'll see something unique in every single one of them.
But, for as long as I live I don't think I'll be able to fully process that Scooter Gennett went yard 4 times tonight.
Scoots just became the 17th player to accomplish the feat in the entire history of Major League Baseball. For comparison sake there have been 23 perfect games in baseball history, or 26.1% more than 4 home run games.
And Scooter Gennett.
All 5'10'' and 185 pounds of him.
Scooter entered Tuesday hitting .270 for the Reds in what has been mostly a platoon role.
He'd been 1 for his last 20 and had 38 home runs in his 1754 career plate appearances, or one every 46 or so times he stepped in the batters box.
Furthermore he was facing Adam Wainwright, who won't be in any discussion for even an All-Star Game appearance but who had looked like he was starting to turn a corner his last few starts.
And despite all that Scooter Gennett joins the likes of Willie Mays, Mike Schmidt, Lou Gehrig and Chuck Klein as just some of those who have accomplished the insane feat.
Then again, there are plenty of guys on that list that won't ever be in the baseball museum in Cooperstown without a ticket in Mark Whiten, Bob Horner and Mike Cameron as well, but Scooter Gennett is the most insane on the list.
Of the 17 to now do it, only Bobby Lowe also had fewer than 75 career home runs, finishing with 71 in the heart of the dead-ball era.
Now Gennett joins the 4 home run club and sits with a career total of 42 bombs.
Maybe it's a change in a swing or approach but I'm taking the under on Gennett ever getting by 71 career home runs.
I can't help but think back to the spring of 2012 when Phillip Humber pitched a perfect game in Seattle. Not a career full of highlights but for one day to be as good as anyone.
Then after looking I realized Humber only compiled 6.25% of his career wins the day he was perfect.
Scooter Gennett just hit 9.5% of his career home runs on one evening, at the age of 27.
Even though Scooter feels like a name to me that should require you to wear a propeller hat, I can't help but he thrilled for a man that makes myself look big.
Scooter Gennett just turned into Babe Ruth for an evening, except even the Bambino himself never went yard 4 times in one game.
To me I feel like this will have the same feeling when we look back on Tuffy Rhodes once hitting 3 home runs on Opening Day.
Except for a single day, this was even more impressive.
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