Scooter Gennett: Eight things to know about the Reds hitter who tied home run history

Gennett matched a big league record by slugging four homers in Cincinnati's 13-1 win over the Cardinals on Tuesday, earning himself a permanent place in baseball lore.

Author:
Ken Rosenthal
Publish date:
Jun 7, 2017

This story originally appeared on FoxSports.com

Here are eight things to know about Scooter Gennett, who was a relatively anonymous major leaguer before Tuesday night, when he became the first player in the Cincinnati Reds' 135-year history to hit four home runs in a game and the first player in MLB history with five hits, four homers and 10 RBIs in a game.

1. Gennett, 27, was born in Cincinnati, but his family moved to Sarasota, Fla., when he was 10 so he could play baseball year-round. He attended Sarasota High School, the same alma mater as Rockies infielder/outfielder Ian Desmond and Royals lefthander Eric Skoglund.

2. Gennett's actual first name is Ryan, but according to a New York Times story from 2014, he told a police officer as a youngster that his name was "Scooter"—after the Muppet—when his mother took him to a police station to scare him after he kept taking off his seat belt.

3. The Brewers drafted Gennett in the 16th round of the 2009 draft, 496th overall. Tim McIlvaine, the son of former Padres and Mets general manager Joe McIlvaine, was the scout who persuaded him to turn down a scholarship to Florida State and instead sign with the Brewers for $260,000.

Scooter Gennett's four-HR game is one of the most impressive—and improbable—ever

4. Gennett always showed an ability to hit. He batted .298 with a .750 OPS in 2,198 minor league plate appearances and .279 with a .738 OPS in three-plus seasons with the Brewers. In 2016 he hit a career-high 14 home runs.

5. The Angels and the Brewers had discussions several years back about a Gennett-for-C.J. Cron trade. Los Angeles needed a second baseman at the time, Milwaukee a first baseman. But the teams could not complete the deal.

6. The Brewers signed Gennett to a one-year, $2.525 million deal that avoided arbitration but cut him at the end of spring training, unwilling to pay that kind of money for a backup. Milwaukee, after acquiring Travis Shaw to play third base in a trade with the Red Sox last December, moved Jonathan Villar to second, which had been Gennett's spot. The Reds claimed Gennett on March 28.

7. Gennett started in leftfield on Tuesday night, a position he had not played before this season. His previous outfield experience consisted of one inning in right in 2014, but the Reds have used him this year at second, third, leftfield and rightfield.

8. Prior to last season, the lefthanded-hitting Gennett had a paltry .297 OPS in 119 plate appearances against lefthanded pitching. But he improved to .708 in 2016 and hit a go-ahead, two-run double off Cardinals lefty Kevin Siegrist on Monday night, foreshadowing his even greater heroics 24 hours later.

Four-Home Run Games

J.D. Martinez, Arizona Diamondbacks

Martinez hit home runs off four different Dodgers pitchers and hit a longball in each of the last three innings as part of a 4-for-5 day with six RBIs in Arizona's 13-0 win.

Scooter Gennett — June 6, 2017

Gennett's 5-for-5 night didn't begin with a power surge. His first at-bat ended in an RBI single, but he followed that with four dingers, including a grand slam. Gennett finished with 10 RBIs and 17 total bases.

Josh Hamilton — May 9, 2012

Hamilton went 5-for-5 with four home runs and a double, recording a career-high eight RBI and an American League record 18 total bases in the Texas Rangers' 10-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

Carlos Delgado — Sept. 25, 2003

Delgado is the only man to hit a home run in his only four plate appearances in a game, doing so in the Toronto Blue Jays' 10-8 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Some call it the only perfect hitting game in MLB history.

Shawn Green — May 23, 2002

Green went 6-for-6 with an MLB record 19 total bases in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 16-3 rout of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Mike Cameron — May 2, 2002

Cameron went 4-for-5 with a hit by pitch and made extra history in a 10-run Seattle Mariners first inning against the Chicago White Sox. He and Bret Boone became the first teammates to each hit two home runs in the same inning. Seattle won the game 15-4.

Mark Whiten — Sept. 7, 1993

Whiten's performance came in game two of a doubleheader, a 15-2 Cardinals win over the Cincinnati Reds. But Whiten was a big reason why St. Louis lost the opener, misplaying a Reggie Sanders ninth-inning line drive in a 14-13 game. Whiten matched Jim Bottomley for the most RBI in one game — 12.

Bob Horner — July 6, 1986

Ronald C. Modra/Sports Imagery/Getty Images

The Atlanta Braves lost 11-8 to the Montreal Expos despite Horner's four home runs. "I had a good week today," Horner told the Associated Press.

Mike Schmidt — April 17, 1976

The Philadelphia Phillies needed all of Schmidt's four home runs. They rallied from an 11-run deficit to beat the Chicago Cubs 18-16 in 10 innings. Schmidt homered off brothers Rick and Paul Reuschel.

Willie Mays — April 30, 1961

Mays outslugged Hank Aaron, who had two homers of his own, in the San Francisco Giants' 14-4 win over the Milwaukee Braves.

Rocky Colavito — June 10, 1959

Colavito, seen here giving hitting instructions to nuns attending a game, went a perfect 4-for-4 with a walk in the Cleveland Indians' 11-8 victory. Like Josh Hamilton, his game came against the Orioles in Baltimore.

Joe Adcock — July 31, 1954

Adcock's 5-for-5 day went homer-double-homer-homer-homer in the Milwaukee Braves' 15-7 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers. Don Newcombe was the opposing starter.

Gil Hodges — Aug. 31, 1950

Hodges went 5-for-6 with a single in the Brooklyn Dodgers' 19-3 beating of the Milwaukee Braves.

Pat Seerey — July 18, 1948

Seerey kisses the bat that brought him No. 4. The Chicago White Sox outfielder got his four homers in a 12-11, 11-inning win over the Philadelphia A's, the first game of a doubleheader. The second game was halted by the 7 p.m. Sunday curfew rule, the A's winning 6-1 after five innings.

Chuck Klein — July 10, 1936

Klein was past his heyday when he happened upon his historic game. The Hall of Famer led the National League in home runs in 1929, 1931, 1932 and 1933. He was dealt from the Chicago Cubs to the Philadelphia Phillies on May 21, 1936 and hit his four home runs for the Phillies 50 days later in a 9-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Lou Gehrig — June 3, 1932

Seen here with Bobby Lowe, the first player to hit four homers in a game, Gehrig almost had five home runs in the New York Yankees' 20-13 win over the Philadelphia A's. His 450-plus foot shot to center field of Shibe Park was nabbed by Al Simmons in his last at-bat. He went 4-for-6.

Ed Delahanty — July 13, 1896

The Philadlephia Phillies' Delahanty went 5-for-5 with a single in a 9-8 loss to the Chicago Colts. He only hit 101 home runs for his career, but Delahanty made the Hall of Fame in 1945.

Bobby Lowe — May 30, 1894

Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images

The Boston Beaneaters second baseman was the first player to hit four home runs in a major league game, every one of which proved necessary in Boston's 12-11 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Ken Rosenthal is a senior writer for FoxSports.com and a reporter for MLB On Fox.