A Look At A Single Short Of The Cycle
Players have hit for the cycle 244 times in in the last 100 years – and few potential individual feats in baseball are more exciting than when a player has one last at bat left with a cycle on the line.
But how often do players fall one hit short of the cycle? And how many of each?
In the last century of baseball, batters have been one hit short of the cycle 20,481 times, according to research by Jon Becker (@mlbrandomfandom) of the Ball Eight research department. They include:
- Triple short: 13,183 times
- Home run shot: 5,112 times
- Double short: 1,721 times
- Single short: 465 times
You can see a full list of the players who finished a single short of the cycle here.
Some items of note about the list:
Three-fers: Ten players were a single short of the cycle three times – Babe Ruth, Brian Giles, Hank Aaron, Joe Cronin, Lou Gehrig, Ellis Burks, Frank Robinson, Gregg Jeffries, Magglio Ordonez, Manny Trillo. Of these, Cronin (2), Gehrig (2), Robinson (1) and Jeffries (1) managed to hit for the cycle in a game.
Repeat performance: Chris Owings was a single short of the cycle twice in 17 days in 2014.
Decades: Ken Griffey was a single short of the cycle twice – and they came 7,539 days apart (nearly 21 years).
2014: It happened eight times last season, after just four in 2013.
And here is the of players who have done it since 2000:
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | 1B | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Beltran | 2012-05-11 | STL | ATL | L 7-9 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2 | Kelly Johnson | 2011-05-30 | ARI | FLA | W 15-4 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | Ryan Howard | 2010-06-18 | PHI | MIN | W 9-5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | Raul Ibanez | 2007-06-11 | SEA | CLE | W 8-7 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 5 | Roger Cedeno | 2001-07-18 (2) | DET | NYY | W 12-4 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 6 | Chris Richard | 2000-09-03 | BAL | CLE | L 11-12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 7 | Carl Everett | 2000-08-29 | BOS | TBD | W 8-0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 8 | Brett Gardner | 2014-08-31 | NYY | TOR | L 3-4 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | Eugenio Suarez | 2014-06-14 | DET | MIN | W 12-9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 10 | Chris Owings | 2014-06-03 | ARI | COL | W 4-2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | Kyle Seager | 2014-06-02 | SEA | NYY | W 10-2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | Yoenis Cespedes | 2014-05-31 | OAK | LAA | W 11-3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 13 | Tommy Medica | 2014-05-28 | SDP | ARI | L 6-12 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 14 | Chris Owings | 2014-05-17 | ARI | LAD | W 18-7 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 15 | Seth Smith | 2014-05-10 | SDP | MIA | W 9-3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 16 | Brandon Phillips | 2013-08-31 | CIN | COL | W 8-3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | Torii Hunter | 2013-07-06 | DET | CLE | W 9-4 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | Juan Uribe | 2013-07-05 | LAD | SFG | W 10-2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| 19 | David Wright | 2013-06-23 | NYM | PHI | W 8-0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | Jarrod Saltalamacchia | 2012-09-12 | BOS | NYY | L 4-5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 21 | Ryan Braun | 2012-08-22 | MIL | CHC | W 3-2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | Billy Butler | 2012-08-09 | KCR | BAL | W 8-2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 23 | Andres Torres | 2012-08-09 | NYM | MIA | W 6-1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 24 | Chris Johnson | 2012-07-27 | HOU | PIT | L 5-6 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 25 | Paul Goldschmidt | 2012-06-23 | ARI | CHC | W 10-5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | 1B | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB |
| 26 | Mark Trumbo | 2012-05-28 | LAA | NYY | W 9-8 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | Omar Infante | 2012-04-07 | MIA | CIN | W 8-3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | Miguel Olivo | 2011-09-09 | SEA | KCR | W 7-3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | Corey Hart | 2011-08-27 | MIL | CHC | W 6-4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 30 | Robinson Cano | 2011-08-10 | NYY | LAA | W 9-3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 31 | Mark Trumbo | 2011-07-28 | LAA | DET | W 12-7 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 32 | Nyjer Morgan | 2011-07-02 | MIL | MIN | W 8-7 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 33 | Alex Gordon | 2011-06-21 | KCR | ARI | L 2-7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 34 | Shane Victorino | 2011-06-18 | PHI | SEA | W 5-1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 35 | Matt Kemp | 2011-06-09 | LAD | COL | L 7-9 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 36 | Jose Bautista | 2011-04-22 | TOR | TBR | W 6-4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 37 | Sam Fuld | 2011-04-11 | TBR | BOS | W 16-5 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 38 | Magglio Ordonez | 2010-06-03 | DET | CLE | W 12-6 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 39 | Ronnie Belliard | 2010-04-08 | LAD | PIT | W 10-2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 40 | Ian Stewart | 2010-04-06 | COL | MIL | L 5-7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 41 | Jason Bartlett | 2009-08-10 | TBR | LAA | L 7-8 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 42 | Stephen Drew | 2009-07-04 | ARI | COL | W 11-7 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 43 | Garrett Jones | 2009-07-02 | PIT | NYM | L 8-9 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 44 | Ian Stewart | 2009-06-20 | COL | PIT | W 9-7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 45 | Rick Ankiel | 2009-06-10 | STL | FLA | W 13-4 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 46 | Nelson Cruz | 2009-06-07 | TEX | BOS | W 6-3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 47 | Erick Aybar | 2009-05-15 | LAA | TEX | L 8-10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 48 | Mike Napoli | 2008-09-19 | LAA | TEX | W 15-13 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 49 | Nate McLouth | 2008-09-12 | PIT | STL | W 10-2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 50 | Magglio Ordonez | 2008-09-06 | DET | MIN | W 6-4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | 1B | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB |
| 51 | Dustin Pedroia | 2008-07-02 | BOS | TBR | L 6-7 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 52 | Adrian Gonzalez | 2008-04-22 | SDP | HOU | L 7-11 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 53 | Eric Hinske | 2008-04-22 | TBR | TOR | W 6-4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 54 | David Murphy | 2007-09-11 (1) | TEX | DET | W 13-6 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 55 | Justin Upton | 2007-08-07 | ARI | PIT | L 3-8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 56 | Alex Gordon | 2007-07-26 | KCR | NYY | W 7-0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 57 | Kevin Kouzmanoff | 2007-07-13 | SDP | ARI | L 3-8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 58 | Tadahito Iguchi | 2007-07-05 | CHW | BAL | W 11-6 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 59 | Dan Uggla | 2007-05-23 | FLA | PHI | L 7-8 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 60 | Kelly Johnson | 2007-05-19 (2) | ATL | BOS | W 14-0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 61 | Adam Dunn | 2007-05-10 | CIN | HOU | W 9-5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 62 | Jason Bay | 2007-04-18 | PIT | MIL | L 3-7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 63 | Josh Willingham | 2007-04-07 | FLA | PHI | W 8-5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 64 | Luke Scott | 2006-09-19 | HOU | CIN | L 4-5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 65 | Jermaine Dye | 2006-09-09 | CHW | CLE | W 10-8 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 66 | Mark Ellis | 2006-08-30 | OAK | BOS | W 7-2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 67 | Wily Mo Pena | 2006-08-12 | BOS | BAL | W 8-7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 68 | Mike Lamb | 2006-07-01 | HOU | TEX | W 7-0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 69 | Aramis Ramirez | 2006-07-01 | CHC | CHW | L 6-8 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 70 | Mike Cameron | 2006-06-13 | SDP | LAD | W 9-1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 71 | Juan Encarnacion | 2006-04-25 | STL | PIT | W 6-3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 72 | Matt Holliday | 2006-04-15 | COL | PHI | W 10-6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 73 | Brad Hawpe | 2006-04-11 | COL | ARI | W 6-5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 74 | Frank Catalanotto | 2005-09-28 | TOR | BOS | W 7-2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 75 | Robinson Cano | 2005-09-15 | NYY | TBD | W 9-5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | 1B | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB |
| 76 | Hector Luna | 2005-08-31 | STL | FLA | W 10-5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 77 | Johnny Damon | 2005-06-12 | BOS | CHC | W 8-1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 78 | Vinny Castilla | 2005-04-14 | WSN | ARI | W 5-3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 79 | Troy Glaus | 2005-04-06 | ARI | CHC | W 8-3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 80 | Mark Teixeira | 2004-09-13 | TEX | OAK | L 6-7 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 81 | Luis Rivas | 2004-08-25 | MIN | TEX | W 8-5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 82 | Brian Giles | 2004-08-18 | SDP | ATL | L 5-6 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 83 | Daryle Ward | 2004-08-16 | PIT | ARI | W 8-7 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 84 | Moises Alou | 2004-04-18 | CHC | CIN | L 10-11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 85 | Brady Clark | 2003-09-03 | MIL | CIN | W 9-6 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 86 | Chipper Jones | 2003-08-12 | ATL | SDP | L 4-14 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 87 | Carlos Pena | 2003-07-22 | DET | BOS | L 4-7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 88 | Ben Broussard | 2003-05-27 | CLE | DET | W 5-2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 89 | Vernon Wells | 2003-04-25 | TOR | KCR | W 6-5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 90 | Nomar Garciaparra | 2003-04-06 | BOS | BAL | W 12-2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 91 | Greg Colbrunn | 2002-08-10 | ARI | FLA | W 9-2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 92 | Jose Cruz | 2002-07-12 | TOR | BOS | W 5-0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 93 | Raul Ibanez | 2002-06-25 | KCR | DET | W 8-6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 94 | Eli Marrero | 2002-04-06 | STL | HOU | W 8-4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 95 | Todd Helton | 2001-09-24 | COL | SDP | W 15-11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 96 | Bret Boone | 2001-08-22 | SEA | DET | W 16-1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 97 | Brian Giles | 2001-08-09 | PIT | LAD | W 8-5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 98 | Corey Koskie | 2001-07-05 | MIN | CHW | W 12-2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 99 | Jose Cruz | 2001-07-05 | TOR | TBD | W 7-4 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 100 | B.J. Surhoff | 2001-05-26 | ATL | PIT | W 9-3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | 1B | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB |
| 101 | Marquis Grissom | 2001-05-22 | LAD | COL | L 8-11 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 102 | Alex Rodriguez | 2001-05-16 | TEX | CLE | L 3-4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 103 | Chris Truby | 2000-09-15 | HOU | PIT | W 16-7 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 104 | Todd Walker | 2000-09-04 | COL | CHC | W 6-2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 105 | Brian Giles | 2000-08-15 | PIT | HOU | L 4-5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 106 | Gary Sheffield | 2000-07-24 | LAD | COL | W 4-1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 107 | Shane Spencer | 2000-06-19 | NYY | BOS | W 22-1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 108 | Barry Bonds | 2000-06-16 | SFG | HOU | W 7-4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 109 | Jose Valentin | 2000-05-27 | CHW | CLE | W 14-3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 110 | Shannon Stewart | 2000-05-25 | TOR | BOS | W 11-6 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 111 | Desi Relaford | 2000-05-25 | PHI | HOU | L 6-10 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 112 | Andruw Jones | 2000-05-14 | ATL | PHI | W 11-2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 113 | Magglio Ordonez | 2000-04-23 | CHW | DET | W 9-4 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
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