3+ HR games by position

With Michael Perez, catcher for the Pirates, hitting three homeruns on Thursday, June 30th, we are getting close to full position coverage for 3-HR games in 2022. We've not had a SS, RF, or DH hit three HR in a game yet this year, but we are only just now approaching the half-way point in the season.

According to Stathead (subscription required), here are the players who have hit three HR in a game so far this year -- interesting that three of the last four have been Pirates, perhaps a good sign for their future?

• Michael Perez, C, Pirates, 6/30/22 against the Brewers

• Bryan Reynolds, CF, Pirates, 6/29/22 against the Nationals

• Isaac Paredes, 1B, Rays, 6/21/22 against the Yankees

• Jack Suwinski, LF, Pirates, 6/19/22, against the Giants

• Lane Thomas, LF, Nationals, 6/3/22, against the Reds

• Brendan Rodgers, 2B, Rockies, 6/1/22, against the Marlins

• Joc Pederson, LF, Giants, 5/24/22, against the Mets

• Josh Rojas, 3B, Diamondbacks, 5/20/22, against the Cubs

• Trevor Story, 2B, Red Sox, 5/19/22, against the Mariners

• Anthony Rizzo, 1B, Yankees, 4/26/22, against the Orioles

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, 4/13/22, against the Yankees

And then here are the most recent players at SS, DH, and RF, respectively:

• SS Francisco Lindor, 9/12/21

• DH Ryan Mountcastle, 6/19/21

• RF Adam Duvall, 9/2/20

Postseason 3+ HR games

There have been three HRs hit in a game in the post-season only twelve times. The most recent was Chris Taylor of the Dodgers last fall, on October 21 in game 5 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves. The only player to do so twice was also the first, Babe Ruth, who hit three HR on both 10/6/1926 and 10/9/1928, in both cases against the St. Louis Cardinals. After those two games by Ruth, no one hit three HR in a post-season game for another 43 years, until Bob Robertson of the Pirates did it on October 3, 1971 in game 2 of the NLCS against the Giants.

Who has 3+ HR the most often, by position?

Going back to the regular season records, in the AL and NL, three or more HRs have been hit in a game over 650 times. Current superstar Mookie Betts has done it six times, which is tied with Sammy Sosa and Johnny Mize for the most all-time. Here are the players who have hit three or more HR in a game the most in the regular season at each position:

As you can see, no SS has hit 3+ HR in a game three or more times: Banks did, but two were at SS and two were later when he had switched over to 1B. Ditto for catcher, where Johnny Bench did it three times, but only twice while behind the plate and the third time coming while playing LF.

And then 2B is particularly deficient, with Bret Boone being the only player to have hit 3+ HR in a game twice while playing 2B. You might recall Trevor Story doing it earlier this year, and that was the second time in his career -- but the first came while playing SS in Colorado. And a similar thing arose for Yankees great Tony Lazzeri, who hit 3 HR in a game once while playing 2B, and another time when he played 3B and SS in the game.

Returning where I started, with Michael Perez, what other active catchers have hit three HR in a game? That would be Seby Zavala, Kyle Higashioka, Travis d'Arnaud, Pedro Severino, Gary Sanchez, and Yasmani Grandal. If any of them do it again, they'll join the immortal Johnny Bench on the chart above.

For more on 3+ HR games, see this page at The Baseball Almanac.

All data is from Baseball-Reference.com, and also their subscription service Stathead.com. If you are a big sports fan, be sure to check out the latest features at Stathead and the Sports Reference family of sites.