The Philadelphia Phillies had a fun night on Thursday against the Atlanta Braves, winning their series opener over their division rivals by a final score of 19-4. At the center of the fireworks on Thursday was designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, who had a historic night. The veteran slugger became the third player in Major League Baseball this year to hit four home runs in a game, joining Eugenio Suarez and Athletics infielder Nick Kurtz.
It certainly was a night to remember for Schwarber, as hitting four home runs in a game is a very rare and impressive feat. It almost never happens, but it's always fun when it happens. In this piece, we will take a stab at predicting who will be the next player to hit four home runs in a game.
Predicting the next player to hit four home runs in a single game
There have been a lot of players hitting home runs left and right this year. Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh have been homer happy all season long. It's impossible to know when it's going to happen again, but it certainly will at some point. It may not be this year, but we have now way of knowing if that will be the case.
But if it's going to happen again this year, the safest bet to reach that mark in a single game would have to be Cal Raleigh. The Seattle Mariners catcher, otherwise known as "Big Dumper," reached 50 home runs earlier this week. With just under a month to go in the season, it's a longshot that he will break Aaron Judge's single season record of 62 homers in 2022, but it's never impossible.
But if any player is going to do it, it would make the most sense if it were Raleigh. In addition to his 50 home runs, Raleigh is hitting .244/.351/.587 with a 5.6 WAR, 107 RBI and a .939 OPS. He brings power from both sides of the plate, and it would be no surprise for him to be the next player to hit four home runs in a game.
While it's impossible to know, Raleigh is probably the safest bet for now. He was an All-Star for the first time this year and won the Home Run Derby, so it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility. We'll see if he can get it done.