A few days ago (June 29) the Diamondbacks Aaron Hill hit for the cycle. A nice feat, but nothing I’d normally still be writing about today; except that he also did it eleven days earlier, on June 18. The last time anybody even accomplished it twice in one season was in 1931, when some guy named Babe Herman did it for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Statistically hitting for the cycle is about as common as throwing a no-hitter (there have been 272 no-no’s all time in MLB history, 294 cycles), so what Hill did would be very similar to a pitcher throwing two of them in three starts.
But how about this: The San Diego Padres and Miami Marlins have been playing baseball for a combined 62 seasons (Padres since 1969, Marlins since 1993); that’s over 90,000 player games without a single cycle for either team. And Hill just did it twice in 12 games. Coincidentally the Padres are also the only MLB team never to throw a no hitter (I’m sure it’s tough being a Padres fan, but it does have it’s benefits).
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About Mark Vandeusen