Single. Double. Triple. Home run. The pinnacle of individual offensive performance in one game, the elusive cycle has been sought after by any ballplayer stepping into the batter's box.
Excitement reverberates through the crowd as a batter comes to the plate with just one more leg to complete their cycle, as they hope to etch their name into baseball history. Let's take a trek back into the good ol' days and visit happier moments in Red Sox history while we explore five of the most recent cycles hit by Red Sox players.
The most recent cycle in Red Sox history also made MLB history. Brock Holt completed the first-ever cycle in the postseason in Game 3 of the 2018 ALDS against the New York Yankees. Is it a little bit cheap to call Holt's cycle a true cycle when he hit his home run off of a backup catcher in the ninth inning of a blowout that ended 16-1? ABSOLUTELY NOT. It was truly a great moment in the memorable run of one of the best teams in Red Sox history, and sticking it to the Yankees in the process always helps.
While Holt's playoff cycle may be the more memorable one, there was another Red Sox cycle earlier that season, achieved by eventual MVP Markus Lynn "Mookie" Betts. Betts' cycle came just two months prior in a 8-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, and he also capped off his cycle with a homer in the ninth inning.
The FIRST #postseason cycle in MLB history! 😱#TipOfTheCap, Brock Holt. pic.twitter.com/pRqUZARX6J
— MLB (@MLB) October 9, 2018
Five of the most recent cycles in Red Sox history
Unfortunately, Betts became the first Red Sox to hit for the cycle in a losing effort since Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1965. Luckily, Mookie had an equally memorable moment against the Jays earlier that season, an at-bat that lasted a whopping 10 minutes, and ended in a grand slam which baseball fans may never see again, thanks to the pitch clock.
Utility legend Holt finds his way onto this list for the second time with his cycle in 2015 against the Atlanta Braves. Holt became the first Red Sox leadoff man to hit for the cycle since Leon Culberson in 1943, a feat later matched by Betts in his 2018 bout. Holt's cycle came amid his lone All-Star campaign in his career, and became the first Red Sox cycle of the 21st century, snapping a 19-year drought for the franchise.
Our journey back in time ends in the 1990s. The underrated John Valentin put together a cycle for the Red Sox in 1996, the last year he saw consistent playing time at shortstop before one Nomar Garciaparra made his way into the lineup and never looked back — Everyone should look through the box score of Valentin's cycle and bask in the names in the Red Sox lineup on June 6, 1996.
Scott Cooper got his 1994 slate off to a strong start with a five-hit performance that included a cycle against the Kansas City Royals in a game where the Red Sox scored 22 runs. Cooper's cycle helped kickstart a second consecutive All-Star campaign in the strike-shortened season, a peak that Cooper never quite reached again.
The cycle is an interesting history to trace, as it isn't always big names who have accomplished this feat, and this short jaunt through Red Sox history proves that.