Three pinch-hit homers
Posted by Andy on November 13, 2009
Using the new Batting Game Finder, we can search for games with the most pinch-hit homers since 1954.
As it turns out, there have been two games in which the teams combined for 3 pinch-hit homers:
| Rk | Tm | Opp | Date | #Matching | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | COL | LAD | 1995-05-06 | 3 | |
| 2 | SDP | COL | 1999-07-02 | 3 |
The 1996 isn't all that interesting. The Dodgers went ahead in a slugfest, 14-4, after 5 innings. This was after Mitch Webster pinch-hit for Chris Gwynn and homered. In the bottom of the 6th, John Vander Wal hit a pinch 3-run homer to make the score 14-7 Dodgers. Then in the 7th, after two Rockies homers, Mike Kingery hit his own pinch-hit job to make the score 14-10. A few more runs got tacked on and the final score was17-11 Dodgers. None of the pinch homers were particularly meaningful.
But that game was high excitement compared to the 1999 snoozefest. The Padres were already up 12-2 when Jeff Barry pinch hit for Dante Bichette and homered to make it 12-3. In the top of the 9th, Phil Nevin and Carlos Baerga hit back-to-back pinch-hit homers, which is kind of interesting and must be a pretty rare feat.
A single team has had two pinch homers in the same game 75 times since 1954. The full list is here. It happened most recently in this game between the Cardinals and Diamondbacks, the only time in 2009 it occurred. Check out that box score, and you can see that the pinch homers made all the difference in the world. First, Mark Reynolds hit a 2-run pinch homer in the bottom of the 5th. He batted for starting pitcher Max Scherzer, made the score 3-2 in favor of the Cardinals, and increased the Diamondbacks' chances of winning the game from 27% to 42%. Later, in the 8th inning and with 2 outs, Conor Jackson pinch hit with the score 4-3 Cardinals, two runners on, and the D-backs having just a 30% chance of winning the game. Jackson homered and put his team's chances up to 90%. The Cardinals ended up tying the game in the 9th but Arizona won it in the 10th on an Eric Brynes single. Say what you will, but those two pinch-hitting appearances were quite effective.
November 13th, 2009 at 9:17 am
I thought this post was going to be about Del Unser's three straight pinch hit HRs in the 1979 season. I remember pulling the Highlight card from packs of 1980 Topps, and I always remembered him from that. On June 30, 1979 he hit a 2-run blast in the 9th to tie the game; On July 5th, he hit another 2-run HR to bring the Phillies within a run in the 7th inning; on July 10th, he hit a 3-run walk off shot off of Hall of Fame reliever Rollie Fingers, capping a 5 run rally. Each HR was against a different team.
November 13th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
My old record book notes two earlier games with 3 pinch-hit home runs, both involving the Cardinals; they had 1 while the Phillies had 2 on 2 June 1928, and they had 2 while the Dodgers had one on 21 July 1930.