Pujols’ Home Runs Put Him in Rare Company
On Sunday, Albert Pujols became the 11th player in major league history to hit game-ending home runs in consecutive games and the ninth player to hit a home run in extra innings of consecutive games. Courtesy of David Vincent, who maintains the SABR Home Run Log, here are the lists of players who have accomplished both feats:
Consecutive games with a game-ending home run:
| Batter | Team | Opponent(s) | Dates |
| Wes Ferrell | BOS | DET, SLA | July 21-22, 1935 |
| Stan Musial | SLN | NYG | August 26-28, 1948 |
| Bud Souchock | DET | NYY | July 25-26, 1952 |
| Don Dillard | CLE | DET | July 4-5, 1962 |
| Johnny Callison | PHI | MLN, SLN | September 13-14, 1962 |
| Ron Santo | CHN | ATL | May 28-29, 1966 |
| Tom Paciorek | SEA | NYY | May 8-9, 1981 |
| Fred Lynn | BAL | MIN | May 10-11, 1985 |
| Alvin Davis | SEA | MIN | August 15-16, 1986 |
| Albert Belle | CLE | TOR | August 30-31, 1995 |
| Albert Pujols | SLN | CHN | June 4-5, 2011 |
Some interesting notes about this list:
- Musial’s home runs came on the tail end of one doubleheader and the opener of another. The Cardinals were in the middle of an unenviable stretch of four doubleheaders in five days. They swept all four games against the Giants on Thursday and Saturday, then lost all four games against the league-leading Brooklyn Dodgers on Sunday and Monday.
- Dillard’s 14 career home runs are the fewest of any player on this list.
- Callison’s first game-ending homer was hit off Hall of Famer Warren Spahn
- Pitcher Ron Davis was the victim on Paciorek’s second game-ending homer in 1981 and Lynn’s first game-ending home run in 1985.
- The day after his second consecutive game-ending homer, on May 12, 1986, Lynn hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth for the third consecutive game — unfortunately for the Orioles, Minnesota’s Frank Viola was shutting them out 7-0 at the time.
Consecutive games with an extra-inning home run:
| Batter | Team | Opponent(s) | Dates |
| Ernie Banks | CHN | CIN, SLN | April 14-16, 1955 |
| Ron Santo | CHN | ATL | May 28-29, 1966 |
| Leon Roberts | SEA | BAL, NYY | June 13-14, 1978 |
| Todd Cruz | SEA | MIN, CLE | April 25-27, 1982 |
| Mark McGwire | OAK | TOR, CLE | July 3-4, 1988 |
| Albert Belle | CLE | TOR | August 30-31, 1995 |
| J.T. Snow | CAL | CLE, KCR | June 9-10, 1996 |
| Carlos Pena | DET | CHW | September 17-18, 2004 |
| Albert Pujols | SLN | CHN | June 4-5, 2011 |
Some interesting notes about this list:
- Santo, Belle and Pujols are the only three players on both lists.
- Banks hit two home runs on April 16, 1955, one in the second inning and one in the 12th.
- Roberts’ home runs came off the previous year’s AL Cy Young winner, Sparky Lyle, and the next year’s CYA winner, Mike Flanagan.
- McGwire’s home runs both came in the 16th inning.
- Snow hit two home runs on June 9, 1996, one in the fourth inning and one in the 13th.
- Pena hit two home runs September 18, 2004, one in the fourth inning and one in the 10th.
The SABR Home Run Log, created in the 1940s by John C. Tattersall and continued after his death in 1981 by Bob McConnell, is a database of all home runs hit in the major leagues since 1876. It has been licensed for use at Baseball-Reference.com. You can access the SABR Home Run Log by going to any player’s page at Baseball-Reference.com and clicking the tab that says “HR Log”.
Originally published: June 6, 2011. Last Updated: June 6, 2011.