On July 29, 2004 Eric Valent of the New York Mets hit for the cycle in a game against the Montreal Expos, becoming the eighth player in franchise history to achieve the feat. To date, ten Mets have hit for the cycle.
Valent, along with Jim Hickman (1963), Tommie Agee (1970), Mike Phillips (1976), Keith Hernandez (1985), Kevin McReynolds (1989), Alex Ochoa (1996), John Olerud (1997), Jose Reyes (2006), and Scott Hairston (2012) are Mets to single, double, triple, and hit a home run in the same game.
Valent, who played left field in the game, had a great day (it was an afternoon game), with four hits, a walk, and three RBIs. However, the La Mirada, CA native had a very modest career. He played a total of five major league season, two with the Mets, two with the Phillies, and one with the Reds. He posted a career WAR of -0.9 over 406 career at-bats.
Valent’s day began with a single in the second inning off Montreal’s Rocky Biddle. He doubled in the third inning off Biddle, then hit a home run in the fifth inning off Sun-Woo Kim. He rounded out his cycle with a triple off Roy Corcoran in the seventh inning. You can see all of Valent’s hits in the video below.
A case can be made that he was a bit fortunate on the single and double, and the triple should have been a double. But he absolutely crushed the home run.
During is five-year career, Valent posted a slash line of .234/.307/.389 with 13 home runs. His best season by bWAR was 2004 (0.2 bWAR) when he slashed .267/.337/.481 over 270 at-bats.
The frequency of cycles compared to no-hitters is quite similar. There have been 332 cycles in MLB history, and 312 no-hitters. There has been just one cycle in postseason history, and that came in 2018 by Brock Holt of the Red Sox against the Yankees. No Marlin has ever hit for the cycle, and the Padres did not get their first one until 2015 (they became a franchise in 1969), that was done by Matt Kemp. In an article by Ed Eagle of MLB, Kemp said this after his cycle. “It’s hard to believe. All those great hitters that have been here, like Tony Gwynn and all those guys, haven’t been able to get a hit for a cycle. I’m just glad to be able to do it.”
There has been once cycle in 2021. Jake Cronenworth of the Padres put his name in the books on July 16 against the Washington Nationals. The frequency of cycles to no hitters has much different in 2021, as there have been seven no-hitters this season (one was a combined effort). The Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, and Seattle Mariners have each been no-hit twice this year.
Valent, now 44 years old, played his last season in 2005 while with the Mets, appearing in just 28 games. Most players with a career bWAR of -0.9 don’t have a particular place in a team’s history. Eric Valent, however, does have a spot in Mets’ lore for his day north of the border on July 29, 2004.
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OTD 2004: Eric Valent Hits For The Cycle In Montreal - metsmerizedonline.com
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