Inbaseball,hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter whohits asingle, adouble, atriple, and ahome run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle".^[1] Cycles are rare inMajor League Baseball (MLB), having occurred fewer than 400 times since 1882.^[2][3] The most recent cycle in MLB was accomplished byByron Buxton of theMinnesota Twins on July 12, 2025.^[4]

The cycle is about as uncommon as ano-hitter;^[5][6] it has been called "one of the rarest"^[7] and "most difficult feats"^[8] in baseball. Based on 2009 offensive levels, the probability of an average MLB player hitting for a cycle against an average team in a game is about 0.0059%; this corresponds to about 21⁄2 cycles in a 162-game season with 30 teams.^[9] The most cycles hit in a single major league season is eight, which occurred in both 1933 and 2009.^[3]

In other baseball leagues, the cycle is achieved less frequently. Through June 2022, there have been 76 cycles hit inNippon Professional Baseball (NPB),^[10] the top-levelbaseball organization in Japan, most recently byYasutaka Shiomi on September 18, 2021.^[11] One NPB player,Atsuya Furuta, has hit for the cycle in anNPB All-Star game. No player has ever hit for the cycle in theMLB All-Star Game.^[12] One MLB player has hit for the cycle in a postseason game:Brock Holt of theBoston Red Sox in Game 3 of the2018 ALDS.^[13]

Two players have hit for the cycle on the same day once in NPB history; this has occurred twice in MLB history. There have never been multiple cycles completed in a single MLB or NPB game; this is known to have occurred twice inMinor League Baseball: on April 11, 2018, by Gio Brusa and Jalen Miller of theClass A-AdvancedSan Jose Giants,^[14] and on August 7, 2018, byKevin Newman andJacob Stallings of theTriple-AIndianapolis Indians.^[15]

Under Major League Baseball Rule 6.09(a), the "batter becomes arunner when hehits afair ball".^[16] Thesingle—in which the batter reaches first base without being put out, and without the benefit of afielding error—is the most common type of hit in baseball: for example, there were 25,838 singles hit during the1988 MLB season, compared to 6,386doubles, 840triples, or 3,180home runs.^[17] The MLB leader in singles isPete Rose, who is also the league'sall-time hit leader.^[18] The single-season leader in singles isIchiro Suzuki, who brokeWillie Keeler's 106-year-old record in 2004 by notching 225, 19 more than the previous record.^[19] None of the top five players in singles (Rose,Ty Cobb,Eddie Collins,Cap Anson, and Keeler) in MLB history have hit for the cycle;^[3] of those five, only Rose had more than 150 home runs,^[20] and two (Collins and Keeler), who both played during thedead-ball era, had fewer than 50,^[21][22] lessening the probability of their completing the cycle.

A double is a hit in which the batter reaches second base without being put out and without the benefit of a fielding error. This scenario often occurs when a ball is hit into the gaps between theoutfielders or down thefoul line on either side of the playing field.^[23]Tris Speaker is the all-time leader in doubles in MLB history with 792,^[24] one of which was part of a cycle; Speaker accomplished the feat for theBoston Red Sox on June 9, 1912, against theSt. Louis Browns.^[3] Two of the other top five players in MLB history in doubles have hit for the cycle:Stan Musial (725 doubles; third all-time) completed the cycle on July 24, 1949; andCraig Biggio (668; fifth all-time) accomplished the feat on April 8, 2002.^[3] The single-season MLB leader isEarl Webb, the left-handed outfielder who hit 67 in 1931.^[25]

Thetriple, in which the batter reaches third base without being put out and without the benefit of a fielding error, is the "hardest part of a cycle" to complete.^[26] Triples are often hit to the same areas as doubles, but may require impressive speed by the runner.^[27] It is rare to see a player with slower-than-average running speed complete the cycle, but it has happened, such as whencatcherBengie Molina hit for the cycle on July 16, 2010; Molina described himself as "the [slowest] guy in baseball" earlier that season.^[28] The MLB all-time leader in triples isSam Crawford, with 309; he never hit for the cycle.^[29] Of the top five players in MLB history in triples, two have hit for the cycle:Honus Wagner in 1912 andRoger Connor in 1890.^[3]Chief Wilson hit for the cycle in 1910,^[3] two years before he hit for a record 36 triples in a single season.^[30]

A home run is a hit in which the batter reaches home plate, scoring a run on the same play without being put out, and without the benefit of a fielding error. Most often in modern baseball, this occurs when the batter hits the ball over the outfield wall in fair territory. Home-run hitters are commonly believed to be larger, slower players due to their strength, and may not be fast enough to complete the triple.^[27] The MLB single-season and all-time leader in home runs isBarry Bonds, who hit 73 home runs in the2001 season and notched 762 in his 22-season career.^[31][32] Bonds never hit for the cycle.^[33] Among theMLB leaders in career home runs, the highest-ranking player with a cycle isAlex Rodriguez (fifth all-time; retired in 2016 with 696 home runs),^[34] who hit for the cycle on June 5, 1997.^[3] Home runs can also occur on a batted ball that does not leave the field of play; this is called aninside-the-park home run.^[27] Inside-the-park home runs are rare, and no player has hit one as part of a cycle since 1943.^[35]

The most career cycles hit by an MLB player is three, accomplished by six players:^[35][36]

All of Beltré's cycles occurred atGlobe Life Park in Arlington; he is the only player to hit for the cycle with different teams in the same ballpark.^[50]All of Yelich's cycles were hit against theCincinnati Reds; he is the only player to hit for the cycle three times against the same team.

Forty-four players have hit for the cycle at least twice. Five have hit for the cycle twice in one season:^[35]

One player has hit for the cycle twice against the same team in one season:Christian Yelich against theCincinnati Reds in 2018.^[56][3]

Cycles have occurred on the same day twice in MLB history; on September 17, 1920, byBobby Veach of theDetroit Tigers andGeorge Burns of theNew York Giants; and on September 1, 2008, by theArizona Diamondbacks'Stephen Drew and theSeattle Mariners'Adrián Beltré.^[57] The longest period of time between two players hitting for the cycle was 5 years, 1 month, and 10 days, a drought lasting fromBill Joyce's cycle in 1896 toHarry Davis's in 1901.

Bobby Veach (left) andGeorge Burns (right) hit for the cycle on the same day, September 17, 1920.

The natural cycle, in which the hits come in order from fewest to mosttotal bases (single, double, triple, home run), has been accomplished 15 times in MLB history:^[58]

The natural cycle has been accomplished in reverse (home run, triple, double, single)—also known as an "unnatural" cycle—ten times:^[73]

Nine players have hit agrand slam as part of their cycle:^[35]

Six players have had awalk-off home run as the final hit of their cycles:^[35]

Ten players have collected six hits in the game in which they hit their cycle. Only three of these—byLarry Twitchell,Sam Thompson, andIan Kinsler—were accomplished in a nine-inning game in the American League or National League.^[102]

† indicates an extra-innings game (Yelich collected his six hits in the first nine innings of a 10-inning game.)

Kinsler's six-hit cycle came onJackie Robinson Day, honoring the African-American pioneer who had hit for the cycle in 1948.^[112]

The most recent player to hit for the cycle with aninside-the-park home run wasLeon Culberson in 1943.^[35][63]

The earliest in a game that a cycle has been completed is the fourth inning, accomplished byMike Lansing of theColorado Rockies on June 18, 2000, when he had a first-inning triple, second-inning homer, third-inning double, and fourth-inning single.^[50]

Four batters hit for the cycle in the same season in which they won theTriple Crown;Nap Lajoie (AL, 1901),Jimmie Foxx (AL, 1933),Chuck Klein (NL, 1933), andLou Gehrig (AL, 1934).^[3][113] Gehrig is the only player to complete the MLB Triple Crown in his cycle-hitting season, leading both leagues inbatting average, home runs, andruns batted in.

Five players have hit for the cycle in the same season in which they won aMost Valuable Player (MVP) award;Jimmie Foxx in 1933,Ted Williams in 1946,Mickey Mantle in 1957, and bothMookie Betts andChristian Yelich in 2018.

Three players —John Olerud,Michael Cuddyer, andBob Watson — have hit for the cycle in both the National League and American League.^[50]

Threefamily pairs have hit for the cycle; father and sonGary Ward (1980) andDaryle Ward (2004), grandfather and grandsonGus Bell (1951) andDavid Bell (2004),^[3] and father and sonCraig Biggio (2002) andCavan Biggio (2019).^[114]

Two players have hit cycles both for and against the same team;Joe Cronin against (1929) and for (1940) the Red Sox, andAdrián Beltré against (2008) and for (2012, 2015) the Rangers.

One player,Brock Holt of theBoston Red Sox, hit for the cycle in a postseason game: Game 3 of the2018 ALDS, on October 8, 2018, against theNew York Yankees atYankee Stadium.

On September 19, 2021,Eddie Rosario of theAtlanta Braves hit for the cycle on five pitches, the smallest number since at least 1900.^[115]

During his eight seasons playing for theYokohama BayStars,Bobby Rose hit for three cycles, the most of any Nippon Professional Baseball player. Spaced two seasons apart, his first cycle occurred on May 2, 1995, the next on April 29, 1997, and his final cycle on June 30, 1999. Three NPB players have hit for the cycle twice;Fumio Fujimura (both with theOsaka Tigers),Hiromi Matsunaga (both with theHankyu/Orix Braves), andKosuke Fukudome (one with theChunichi Dragons, and one with theHanshin Tigers). Fujimura is also the only player to have hit a cycle during both thesingle league era and the current dual league era.^[10]

The2003 NPB season saw the most cycles hit in a single season—five.^[10] That season also saw the only instance of cycles occurring on the same day: on July 1, hit byAtsunori Inaba of theYakult Swallows andArihito Muramatsu of theFukuoka Daiei Hawks.^[116] The next day,Shinjiro Hiyama became the third player to hit for the cycle in two days.^[117] Conversely, the longest period of time between two players hitting for the cycle was 5 years, 11 months, and 30 days, a drought lasting fromMichihiro Ogasawara's cycle in 2008 toRainel Rosario's in 2014.^[10]

The natural cycle has been accomplished five times in NPB history. Fumio Fujimura's second cycle on May 25, 1950, was the first time a player collected the hits in order. On average, the natural cycle occurs approximately every 13 years. Other than Fujimura, the four players to hit for the natural cycle areKazuhiko Kondo in 1961,Takahiro Tokutsu in 1976,Takanori Okamura in 1985, and Muramatsu in 2003. The natural cycle has been accomplished in reverse byAlex Ochoa (2004) and Rosario (2014).^[10]

Yakult Swallows catcherAtsuya Furuta (game 2 of the1992 series.^[118]) andHanshin Tigers outfielderKoji Chikamoto (game 2 of the2019 series.^[119])are the only players to hit for the cycle in anNPB All-Star game. Inaba is the only player to hit for the cycle in arain-shortened game—after hitting a triple in the first inning and hitting a home run in the fourth, Inaba collected the other two necessary hits in a seven-run fifth inning when theorder batted around.^[116]Kosuke Fukudome is the only NPB player to have hit agrand slam as the home run of the cycle.^[120]Hiroshi Ohshita andKazuhiko Kondo are the only two players to have hit a walk-off home run to win the game as the final hit of their cycles.

Ochoa's cycle with theChunichi Dragons on April 13, 2004, made him the first (and to date, only) player to hit a cycle in both MLB and NPB. He had previously accomplished the feat on July 3, 1996, while playing for MLB'sNew York Mets.^[121]

There was 31 people accomplished throughout history of KBO League.

Eric Thames hit for the cycle twice during the 2015 season of theKBO League. Thames is the only KBO League player to hit for two cycles in one season. Only two players have hit for the cycle twice in their KBO League career: Thames andYang Joon-hyuk.^[122][123]

The natural cycle has been accomplished twice in KBO history. Kim Eung-Gook of theLotte Giants did it in 1996, andKim Do-yeong of theKIA Tigers did on July 23, 2024.^[124]

There has only one reverse natural cycle in KBO history.Kang Seung-Ho of theDoosan Bears did it on September 15, 2023.^[125]

Oh yun-seok is the only KBO player to have hit agrand slam as the home run of the cycle.^[126]

Ahn Chi-Yong's cycle with theLG Twins on June 26, 2008, made him the first (and, as of 2024^[update], only) player to hit a cycle in both KBO League andKBO Futures League. He had previously accomplished the feat on April 15, 2003, while playing for the Twins' second team.^[127][128]

• Home run cycle, when a player hits a solo home run, two-run home run, three-run home run, and grand slam all in one game

• Cycle records atMLB.com
• Cycle records atRetrosheet
• Cycle records atBaseball Almanac

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• Hit (baseball)
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