Jim Rice
August 29, 1983
Rice is one of only four Red Sox players to have multiple three-homer games on their resumes, having also accomplished this milestone exactly six years earlier to the day. The first time Rice did it came in a loss, making him one of only two hitters in Red Sox history to hit three homers in a losing effort. Therefore we’ll be sticking with the second time he did it for the purposes of our list.
Rice went 3-for-5 in that game, driving in 6 runs with a trio of two-run homers in an 8-7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
The fireworks started in the top of the first, when Rice hit a two-run homer to put the Red Sox up early. Toronto would battle back to put up five runs through the first four innings, but Rice closed the gap with another two-run blast in the 6th inning to make it a one-run game.
Rice would step to the plate again in the 9th to face Blue Jays closer Randy Moffitt, with Boston still trailing by one. After Wade Boggs led off the inning with a double, Rice followed with his third two-run blast of the game to put the Red Sox ahead 8-7.
Red Sox closer Bob Stanely would slam the door with a clean bottom of the ninth to secure Rice’s game-winner.
Rice would finish that season with a league-leading 39 home runs and 126 RBI, earning him a Silver Slugger award and a fourth-place finish in MVP voting.
Next: Dustin Pedroia