Hey, how about Josh Hamilton last night! Four dingers in a game, only the 23rd time it’s happened in baseball history! Not a bad night eh? It sent me scurrying and I knew that no Red Sox player has ever accomplished this marvelous feat, however there are some interesting Red Sox/Fenway home run stories.

Josh Hamilton made history last night at Camden Yards.

Twenty five times Red Sox players have hit three home runs in a game. The last being Dustin Pedroia who did it as part of a 5-5 night at Coors Field in Colorado on the 24th of June 2010.

Pedroia hit his three home runs off of three different Rockie pitchers including a two run shot in the top of the tenth which was the difference in a 13-11 Red Sox win.

The last Red Sox player to hit three out in the same game at Fenway Park was Kevin Millar on July 23, 2004 against the Yankees.

Millar hit three solo shots in an 8-7 loss which came in the game before Varitek fed ARod his glove sparking the Red Sox to an 11-10 come from behind win and turned their 2004 season around.

Two different Red Sox have hit five home runs in consecutive games. Carl Yastrzemski did it first, on May 19th and 20th 1976.

Yaz hit three at Tiger Stadium on Tuesday night, leading the Sox to a 9-2 win over the Tigers. The following night in Yankee Stadium, he hit two more sparking the Red Sox to an 8-2 come from behind win.

Nomaaaah, did it in July of 2002.

On a Sunday afternoon on July 21st, Garciaparra hit two out in a game which the Yankees won 9-8 with two runs in the bottom of the ninth. Following an off day, he hit three against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, knocking in eight runs and leading the Red Sox to a 22-4 win in the first game of a double-header.

The most interesting Red Sox multiple home run story belongs to Ted Williams and it came between September 17th and 22nd in 1957.

It was a Tuesday night at Fenway Park and the Red Sox were playing out the string on another not so brilliant season. The 39-year-old Williams was not in the line up but was called upon to pinch hit in the bottom of the eighth inning. He deposited a 2-1 pitch from A’s hurler Tom Morgan 10 rows into the right field grandstand, tying a game the Red Sox would win 9-8.

“The Kid” was not in the starting line up the following night nor when the Sox headed to Yankee Stadium and opened a three game series on Friday September 20th. He was however, called upon to pinch hit once again, and he hit a Whitey Ford pitch into the Yankee Stadium right field seats, his second homer in as many at bats.

 He was in left field and batting third the following day and his first time up he was intentionally walked following a double by Jimmy Piersall in the first inning. He came to bat in the second with the bases loaded and he took a Bob Turley pitch into the right field grandstand for his 15th career grand slam homer. He now had three home runs in his last three official at bats. He came to bat in the 4th and 6th innings and walking twice more, he was removed for a pinch runner in the sixth with the Red Sox leading 8-2 on their way to an 8-3 win.

The series finale was played on Sunday afternoon and “The Splendid Splinter” was in left field again and, of course, in his familiar third spot in the line up. In the opening frame, he walked with two outs and when he came up again it was the top of the fourth in a scoreless game. Yankee right-hander Tom Sturdivant was on the mound and Ted took him deep into the right field seats giving the Sox a 1-0 lead and Ted his fourth home run in four consecutive official at bats. A feat that no other Red Sox player has ever accomplished. 

Ted’s streak was broken when he singled in the sixth and he finished the game 2-2 in a 5-1 Red Sox loss. However, Ted was in the midst of setting a major league record of another kind, but that’s another story for another day!

And so it was at this time in Fenway Park history, multiple home run time.