One of the Reds dubious honors

[grampahol]

Hitting for the cycle..
We've been horrendous with the cycle. The last Red to have done it was Eric Davis in 1989, but what really stand out is the Reds have only 9 while opponents have 19.. YIKES! Of course the cycle rarely wins games it's still one that certainly can..  Who knows? Maybe our new offense will start turning this honor around.. I'll hold my breath waiting (at least long enough to type the last ) of this) Wheeew! 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_to_hit_for_the_cycle

[guyofthetiger]

Personally, I thought the 4 home run game by Scooter was a much greater accomplishment. The cycle is nice, but 4 dingers is better.

[Yojimbo]

See the HR cycle that softball player from Arkansas had this weekend? She hit a 2R, 3R, GS and then a solo shot.

[grampahol]

I hit for the cycle a few times as a kid even though we often played pitchers hand with right field closed..on an old farm field.. LOL 

[CJD]

The problem with the cycle is the triple.

Triples are relatively rare in the major leagues. Whereas the league leader in HRs is typically in the 40 range and the doubles leader is typically in the 45 to 55 range, the league leader in triples is typically in the 10 to 15 range.

And, among those who reach double digits in triples each year, there are very few players with more than 10 or 15 home runs. Exceptions include Hunter Pence 2014 (29 2B, 10 3B, 20 HR), Evan Gattis 2015 (20 doubles, 11 triples, 27 HR), Nicholas Castellanos 2017 (36 2B, 10 3B, 26 HR), Charlie Blackmon and 2017 (35 2B, 14 3B, 37 HR). Notice, no single player does it consistently. Because Triples have a lot to do with the circumstances of those particular plays (minor misplay by the outfielder, bad bounce off the wall, outfielder diving for the out and missing, that one spot in the park that is significantly deeper etc).

And the reasons for this are pretty simple: it's hard to be fast enough to get a triple consistently and strong enough to hit home runs consistently. Your typical player who can consistently hit triples is a player with Billy Hamilton's speed. Someone who can stretch a double into a triple with a slight error by the outfielder (but not one that would be counted as an error. Something simple like double clutching the ball or not playing the bounce perfectly).

The cycle is one of the rarest events in baseball because having the speed to get a triple, power to get the home run and contact ability to get 4 hits in a single player is incredibly difficult to find, let alone see it all come together in a single game.

It's why I don't particularly care that we don't have many cycles hit haha.

[grampahol]

C'mon folks..it's just one interesting little stat.. It's not as if by not hitting for the cycle any team is doomed nor the other way around, 4 cycles by different players guarantees doodly squat.. It's just one of those oddities I think is interesting., but you're right CD, triples are probably more rare on a consistent basis. What's even more rare is an inside the park bunt homerun! We need a bunch of those this year. Why not? How about an inside the park suicide squeeze bunting grand slam? Gimme 12 of those this season.. 

[guyofthetiger]

I agree a triple is rare and hard to get. However, hitting one in the same game as the cycle is even more rare. I think a player should do his best and not focus just on a stat. In other words, knock a home run each bat.

[grampahol]

(02-26-2019, 01:00 AM)guyofthetiger Wrote: I agree a triple is rare and hard to get. However, hitting one in the same game as the cycle is even more rare. I think a player should do his best and not focus just on a stat. In other words, knock a home run each bat.

How about someone in the leadoff spot who can put the ball in play every time up. Home runs are nice and all, but having guys on base is even better and they rarely get on base without putting the ball in play unless they're a walk machine and that has to rely on pitchers having bad control.. You're not going to win many games relying on the other side not having control..