Hitting For The Cycle

In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are uncommon in Major League Baseball (MLB), and have occurred 294 times since the first by Curry Foley in 1882. The cycle is roughly as common as a no-hitter (279 occurrences in MLB history); it has been called "one of the rarest" and "most difficult feats" 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 approximately 0.00590%; this corresponds to about 2.5 cycles in a 162-game season with 30 teams.

In other baseball leagues, the cycle is achieved less frequently. Through September 4, 2008, 62 players in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the top-level baseball organization in Japan, have hit for the cycle, the most recent being Michihiro Ogasawara. Two players have hit for the cycle on the same day once in NPB history; this has occurred twice in MLB history. One NPB player has also hit for the cycle in an NPB All-Star game. No player has ever hit for the cycle in the MLB All-Star Game or the postseason.