A's rookie Nick Kurtz makes history. Was it best MLB hitting performance ever?

Chris Biderman, The Sacramento Bee on Jul 26, 2025

Published in Baseball

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Nick Kurtz had a night for the record books Friday night in Houston. The all-time, Major League Baseball history record books.

The Athletics’ 22-year-old first baseman became the first MLB rookie to hit four home runs in a game and just the 20th player overall to ever do it.

He went 6 for 6 at the plate, adding a double off high off the left-field wall and a single. He drove in eight runs and scored six more in the A’s 15-3 victory over the Astros.

His 19 total bases across those six hits also ties for the most in MLB history, as did his five extra-base hits. Only former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Shawn Green, who did so in 2002, had ever tallied 19 bases in a game.

That means Kurtz’s performance has a legitimate argument for the greatest single-game batting performance in MLB history.

Kurtz hit home runs in the second, sixth, eighth and ninth innings Friday. He went deep on each of Houston’s four pitchers used in the game, including outfielder Cooper Hummel, who threw the ninth inning of the blowout. The homers traveled 384 feet, 368 feet, 414 feet and 383 feet.

Kurtz extended his hitting streak to 12 games and in July leads all American League hitters in batting average (.425), on-base (.494), slugging (1.082), OPS (1.576), runs (22), doubles (13), home runs (11), RBIs (27) and extra-base hits (25).

This week he became the odds-on betting favorite to win AL Rookie of the Year, overtaking his teammate shortstop Jacob Wilson, who has spent the majority of the season chasing Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for the batting title.

Kurtz is just over a year removed from getting drafted. The A’s selected the slugger fourth overall out of Wake Forest. He debuted in the majors April 23 after appearing in just 33 minor league games. The left-handed hitter through 66 games is batting .305/.374/.686.

According to the Associated Press, Kurtz’ 43 extra-base hits through his first 66 games trail only Joe DiMaggio’s 48 and his 23 home runs through 66 games is the second most all time behind Cody Bellinger (24)

Four home runs in a game had been accomplished 19 times in history prior to Friday night, most recently by Eugenio Suarez of the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier this season, on April 26. Six players who’ve done it went on to make the Hall of Fame, including Willie Mays, Mike Schmidt and Lou Gehrig.