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Josh Hamilton among 16 players to hit 4 homers in game

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Josh Hamilton, Texas, May 8, 2012

Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

(CBS/AP) The Rangers' outfielder set an AL record with 18 total bases, going 5 for 5 with four two-run homers and eight RBIs in a 10-3 victory against the Orioles. Hamilton became the 16th player in major league history with four homers in a game.

Hamilton went from first-round draft pick by Tampa Bay in 1999 to out of baseball altogether because of drug and alcohol addiction. He recovered and returned to MLB in 2007 with Cincinnati, and was traded to Texas, where he has become a star - the American League Most Valuable Player in 2010 - while still battling his addiction. He had a relapse before this season, but is off to a strong start.

Hamilton, 30, now has 130 home runs in his career. Here's how his big night stacks up against the rest:

Josh Hamilton among 16 players to hit 4 homers in game

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Carlos Delgado, Toronto, Sept. 25, 2003

Carlos Delgado

The last man before Hamilton to homer four times in a game, Delgado went 4 for 4 with six RBIs and the Blue Jays beat Tampa Bay 10-8 in Toronto.

Delgado is one of only six players in Major League Baseball history to hit 30 home runs in ten consecutive seasons. Delgado, who retired in 2011, finished his career with 473 home runs and 1,512 RBI - all-time records among Puerto Rican players.

Josh Hamilton among 16 players to hit 4 homers in game

Getty Images/Danny Moloshok

Mike Cameron, Seattle, May 2, 2002

Mike Cameron

Cameron hit four consecutive solo home runs in the Mariners' 15-4 victory against the White Sox. In his fifth at-bat, he hit a fly ball to the warning track that was caught.

Although he had power, Cameron was primarily known for his defense and speed. He had 297 career stolen bases and won Gold Glove awards in 2001, 2003, and 2006.

Cameron, who officially retired last month after playing for eight MLB teams, finished his career with 278 homers.

Josh Hamilton among 16 players to hit 4 homers in game

Getty Images/Stephen Dunn

Shawn Green, Los Angeles, May 23, 2002

Shawn Green

Green went 6 for 6, with a single and double to go along with his homers. He set a major league record with 19 total bases and drove in seven runs as the Dodgers won 16-3 at Milwaukee.

Green continued his hot streak. He went deep the following game and hit two more long balls the game after that to break the major league record for home runs over three games (7). He ended up with nine home runs during the calendar week and finished the season with 42 long balls.

Green, who retired in 2008, finished his career with 328 home runs.

Josh Hamilton among 16 players to hit 4 homers in game

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Mark Whiten, St. Louis, Sept. 7, 1993

MARK WHITEN

After going hitless in the first game of the doubleheader in Cincinnati, Whiten went 4 for 5, tying another major league record with 12 RBIs as the Cardinals won 15-2.

Whiten ended up with 25 home runs and 99 RBI in 1993 but his career went south soon after. He was hampered by injuries and only tallied double figures in home runs in three other seasons.

Despite his impressive performance on Sept. 7, 1993, the switch-hitting Whiten only hit 105 home runs during his decade-long career.

Josh Hamilton among 16 players to hit 4 homers in game

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Bob Horner, Atlanta, July 6, 1986

Bob Horner

Horner went 4 for 5 with six RBIs, but it wasn't enough to keep the Braves from losing to the Montreal Expos 11-8 in Atlanta. Horner is only the second player to hit four round-trippers in a losing effort. (Ed Delahanty in 1896 was the other).

Although he was known for his power, Horner also had the dubious distinction of hitting a record 210 homers without a grand slam. He finally ended that drought later in the 1986 season against the Pirates.

Horner, who was hampered by injuries throughout his playing days, finished his career with 218 home runs.

Josh Hamilton among 16 players to hit 4 homers in game

Getty Images/Stephen Dunn

Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia, April 17, 1976

Mike Schmidt watches the flight of the ball after a hit

The star third baseman went 5 for 6 and knocked in eight runs as the Phillies beat the Cubs at Wrigley field 18-16 in 10 innings.

The monstrous performance was part of Schmidt's impressive early-season surge in 1976. He hit 12 homers in the first 15 games of the season and ended up hitting 38 round-trippers for the year -- giving him the National League home run crown for the third year in a row.

Schmidt, a three-time National League MVP and 12-time All-Star, hit 548 home runs in his Hall of Fame career.

Josh Hamilton among 16 players to hit 4 homers in game

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Willie Mays, San Francisco, April 30, 1961

New York Giants' Willie Mays

Mays went 4 for 5 with eight RBIs in the Giants' 14-4 win at the Milwaukee Braves. He was on deck when the Giants' half of the ninth inning ended so he was denied a shot at hitting a record fifth home run.

Mays was named team captain at the beginning of the 1961 season and the Giants finished the year in third place. The following year, they won the National League pennant.

The Say Hey Kid belted 660 homers in his Hall of Fame career. That tally made him third in all-time home runs when he retired. Since Barry Bonds subsequently broke Hank Aaron's career record, Mays is currently fourth all-time.

Josh Hamilton among 16 players to hit 4 homers in game

AP Photo

Rocky Colavito, Cleveland, June 10, 1959

Rocky Colavito

Colavito finished 4 for 4 with four straight homers, six RBIs and five runs scored in the Indians' 11-8 victory.

Colavito, who was later traded to the Tigers, hit four home runs on the same day while playing for Detroit, but it was over the course of a doubleheader. When he retired in 1969, Colavito ranked third in career American League home runs among right-handed hitters. Only Jimmie Foxx and Harmon Killebrew had hit more.

The nine-time All-Star finished his career with 374 home runs.

Josh Hamilton among 16 players to hit 4 homers in game

AP Photo

Joe Adcock, Milwaukee, July 31, 1954

Joe Adcock

Adcock went 5 for 5 with a double, setting a record with 18 total bases and driving in seven runs in a 15-7 victory at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.

Adcock was know for his prodigious power stroke and in 1953 became the first player to hit a home run into the center field bleachers at the cavernous Polo Grounds. Though he never led the league in home runs, he was regularly ranked high in the category and in 1956, he finished second in the National League in home runs (38), RBI (103), and slugging percentage (.597).

The two-time All-Star nicknamed "Billy Joe" hit 336 home runs in his 17-year MLB career.

Josh Hamilton among 16 players to hit 4 homers in game

AP Photo

Gil Hodges, Brooklyn, Aug. 31, 1950

Gil Hodges

The Dodgers' first baseman went 5 for 6 with nine RBIs, and hit his four homers off four pitchers in a 19-3 home victory against the Boston Braves. The first long ball came off future Hall of Fame pitcher Warren Spahn.

Hodges is also known as the manager who led the New York Mets to the 1969 World series title. He died three years later of a heart attack two days shy of his 48th birthday.

During his 18-year baseball career, Hodges belted 370 home runs. His 361 home runs with the Dodgers trail only Duke Snider in team history.

Josh Hamilton among 16 players to hit 4 homers in game

AP Photo

Patrick Seerey, Chicago, July 18, 1948

Patrick Seerey

In the first game of a double-header, Seerey went 4 for 6 with seven RBIs in an 11 inning game that the White Sox won 12-11 at the Philadelphia Athletics.

While Seerey had a power stroke, he also was prone to whiffing. According to baseball-reference.com, the Oklahoma native led the league in strikeouts four times - despite only playing six full seasons.

Seerey, who played for the Indians as well as the White Sox, finished his career with 86 home runs and 261 runs batted in.

Josh Hamilton among 16 players to hit 4 homers in game

AP Photo

Chuck Klein, Philadelphia, July 10, 1936

Chuck Klein of the Philadelphia Phillies

Klein's fourth homer was a three-run shot in the 10th inning to give the Phillies a 9-6 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He went 4 for 5 with six RBIs.

Klein dominated right away in the big leagues and put up some remarkable power numbers in his first five seasons. He is one of only seven players to have had at least four 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons in their first five years. The others: Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Ralph Kiner, Mark Teixeira, Albert Pujols, and Ryan Braun. Klein held the Phillies record for most team home runs until another player on this list -- Mike Schmidt -- shattered it.

Klein, who was nicknamed the "Hoosier Hammer" for his Indiana roots, hit 300 homers during his stellar career.

Josh Hamilton among 16 players to hit 4 homers in game

AP Photo

Lou Gehrig, New York, June 3, 1932

Gehrig went 4 for 6 with four consecutive home runs and six RBIs in the Yankees 20-13 victory at the Philadelphia Athletics. He just missed getting a fifth home run when Al Simmons robbed him with a leaping catch at the center field fence.

Gehrig starred for the Bronx Bombers until his career was cut short by ALS, which forced him to leave the game at age 36. The man known as the "Iron Horse" played in 2,130 consecutive games -- a streak that stood for 56 years until the Orioles' Cal Ripken Jr. broke it.

The 1934 Triple Crown winner ended his Hall of Fame career with 493 home runs.

Josh Hamilton among 16 players to hit 4 homers in game

Library of Congress

Ed Delahanty, Philadelphia, July 13, 1896

Ed Delahanty

According to The Sporting News Major League Handbook, all four of Delahanty's home runs were inside the park. He went 5 for 5 with seven RBIs for the Phillies in a 9-8 loss to Chicago.

Delahanty was regarded as one of the game's best power hitter in his era and finished his career with 101 round-trippers. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.

Josh Hamilton among 16 players to hit 4 homers in game

Library of Congress

Robert Lowe, Boston, May 30, 1894

Bobby Lowe

Robert "Bobby" Lowe was the first player to hit four homers in a major league game, going deep in four straight at-bats for the Beaneaters against the Cincinnati Reds. Lowe finished 5 for 6 with six RBIs in a 20-11 victory.

Here's how the Boston Daily Globe summed up Lowe's day: "His home runs were on line drives far over the fence, and would be good for four bases on an open prairie. The crowd cheered Bobby every time he came up, and when he responded with a home run even the visitors had to join in the good-natured smile."

Lowe, who was nicknamed "Link," hit 71 home runs in his 18-year career.

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