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BALTIMORE — Moments before he made history with his final swing in an incredible four-homer performance, Josh Hamilton stepped to the plate in the eighth inning with a surprising sense of calm.
The Rangers slugger had never before hit more than two home runs in a game, and he already had three. So as he took his place in the batter’s box against Orioles right-hander Darren O’Day, Hamilton already had a feeling of accomplishment.
“I just went up like it was any other at-bat because if I don’t hit one,” Hamilton reasoned, “I’ve still had a really good night.”
It turned out to be unforgettable.
Hamilton became the 16th player to hit four home runs in a game, launching a quartet of two-run drives against three different pitchers to carry the Rangers to a 10-3 victory last night.
Hamilton homered off Jake Arrieta in the first and third innings, added another off Zach Phillips in the seventh and topped it off with a one-for-the-books shot against O’Day. During the last at-bat, Hamilton sent an 0-2 pitch over the center-field wall.
“Obviously it’s, other than being in the World Series, the highlight of my big-league career,” Hamilton said. “It reminds you of when you’re in Little League and a little kid, and just the excitement and why we play the game.”
Hamilton also doubled in the fifth inning. His 18 total bases is a new single-game AL record.
“He’s the best athlete in baseball,” Nelson Cruz said. “If anybody can do it, he can do it.”
Hamilton leads the AL with 14 homers and 36 RBIs, and his 5-for-5 effort raised his batting average to .406.
Hamilton’s record-setting night is the latest accomplishment in a career that almost never was. He went from first round draft pick in 1999 by Tampa Bay to out of baseball because of drug and alcohol addiction.