Four Pitchers, Four Home Runs

Gil Hodges was never the loudest name on those Brooklyn teams. Jackie had the history. Duke had the glamour. Campy had the MVPs. Hodges just showed up at first base every day and did the work.

But for one night at Ebbets Field in 1950, nobody in baseball was louder.

It was a makeup game originally slated for May, played in front of 14,226 fans. Hodges took Warren Spahn deep in the second inning, then went on to homer off three more Braves pitchers. Four different arms, four home runs, plus a single for good measure. He finished 5-for-6 with nine RBIs and 17 total bases in a 19-3 rout. Only three players before him had hit four in a nine-inning game.

Here's the part that still stings a little. A night like that, 370 career home runs, eight All-Star selections, and the 1969 Miracle Mets from the manager's chair, and Cooperstown still made him wait. Hodges was inducted in 2022, fifty years after his death.

Some players get their due in real time. Gil Hodges got his the long way. Brooklyn always knew.