Tiger trivia: 3-homer games

[Roger King]

Colt Keith became the 21st Tiger player to have a 3-homer game.  Who are the other 20?  

Most are very familiar names.  7 of the 20 occurred since the existence of this Tigers List.  

Feel free to just guess a few and I’ll start compiling the correct list…

Roger King
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[Shawn Parker]

Obviously I would guess Cecil and Miggy?

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[Michael Borshuk]

Al Kaline, I know from an article I read today, was the youngest in 1955. (Keith is the second-youngest.)

Dmitri Young on Opening Day 2005 is one. 

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[David Panian]

Larry Herndon

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[Peter Welch]

Kaline, Greenberg, York, Colavito, Cash, Horton, Cecil and Prince Fielder, Miggy, JD Martinez, Granderson, Ordonez, Trammell, Northrup, Jason Thompson, Freehan, Darrell Evans, Dean Palmer, Marcus Thames, Tettleton

Peter

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Subject: Tiger trivia: 3-homer games

 

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[Peter Welch]

Good one!

Peter

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[Mike Coveyou]

I think Ty Cobb did this once.

Charley Maxwell (do I recall that he hit 4 in a Sunday doubleheader, although if I'm right about that, I don't recall the distribution between games).

I think Rocky Colavito once hit four in a games, but not as a Tiger.

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[Peter Welch]

Wouldn't be surprised about Cobb.  He was stuck in the deadball era with huge ballparks, but he could hit 3 homers if "he wanted to".

Peter

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[Peter Welch]

Maxwell is a good one!

Peter

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[Paul Meloche]

Fielder did it multiple times in 1990 alone if I’m remembering correctly. 

Carpenter did it last season. 

Didn’t Bill Madlock do it with us as well?

I feel like JD and Victor Martinez may have done it while Tigers as well but I can’t really say I remember either. I do remember JD doing it as an Astro so maybe that’s what the  memory is from. 

Paul M.

On Jun 16, 2026, at 9:05 PM, Michael Borshuk <michael...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Peter Welch]

And, of course, Zack Short.

Peter

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[Peter Welch]

Good one on Madlock.  I should have remembered.  I was in attendance at the game he homered 3 times.

Forgot about Carp last year.

Peter

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[Mike Coveyou]

Peter,

I'm pretty sure Greenberg never hit 3 in one game.  Lots of two homer games.  I have a recollection of reading that Greenberg never having a 3 homer game was a bit of an oddity.

I think Colavito's 4 homer game with the Indians was his only game with more than two.

Mike

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[Peter Welch]

Inge?

Peter

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Subject: Tiger trivia: 3-homer games

 

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[Peter Welch]

Rob Deer?  🙂 

Peter

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[Peter Welch]

That's interesting.  I guessed Greenberg since he hit a ton of homers, and Colavito was a big-time homerun hitter as well.

Peter

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Subject: Re: Tiger trivia: 3-homer games

[Glenn Codere]

I remember Bill Freehan having one in (I think) 1971?

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Glenn Codere

Ardrossan, Scotland

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[Smith, Bradley]

Off the top of my head, I'll go with Rudy York, Hank Greenberg (just  b/c he hit so many), Jim Northrup (had 2 slams in one game--not sure he ever got to three but when he was hot...), Rocky Colavito (seems like something he'd accomplish, especially in 1961), Ty Cobb (didn't hit a lot in deadball era, but I remember learning as a kid he'd hit 3 (4?) in a game); Miggy (since the list); Fielder Sr; Ordonez (gambling on another post-lister); Cash, Horton, Kaline, and I'll take a stab on Vic Wertz.

Bradley A. Smith

Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Professor of Law, Emeritus

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[Roger King]

OK, lots of guesses obviously and a number of the 20 have been named. I’ll just reply to Brad‘s guesses here as a starting point.

Cobb is correct. In 1925. 

As is Colavito who did it in both 1961 and 1962

Rudy York too in 1941. 

Kaline of course. The youngest Tiger to do it. In 1955.

And yes, Willie Horton did it in 1970.

No on Greenberg, Northrup, Cash or Wertz. 

Yes on Cecil. As I think Paul said, he did it twice in the 1990 season. He also did it in 1996 so I guess that one should be added to the three homer games during the era of this Tigers List. 

Yes on Miggy.  2010 & 2013.

No on Ordonez.  

Looking at guesses by other listers…

Mike C got Charlie Maxwell (1959). 

David is correct on Larry Herndon. He did it in 1982.  

Glenn got Freehan who did it in 1971.

Michael B remembered Dimitri Young’s 3-homer Opening Day game which was 2005

Peter got JD Martinez (2015).  

Paul named JD as well and Carpenter hitting 3 last season. 

AND he got V-Mart (2016) & the 1987 Madlock game as well.

In total, that’s 15 of the 20.  

So we’re missing 3 guys who are pre-1968. To be honest, I think I’ve only heard of 1 of them. 

And we’re missing 2 since the creation of this Tigers List. They were both players from the Randy Smith era, so I can see why people might have put them out of mind :-)

[lore724]

Opening day, Dimitri Young. 

Dave

On Jun 17, 2026, at 14:44, Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com> wrote:



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[Roger King]

That’s already on the list below :-)

[Michael Borshuk]

Tony Clark?

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[Peter Welch]

I looked it up.  It's someone from the Tony Clark era.  A good player stuck on some bad Tigers' teams.

Peter

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[Peter Welch]

Funny about Cobb.  He probably said "I just wanted to show I could hit homers if I wanted to".  

Cobb's career-high in homers was 12, in 1921 and 1925.  It was 1925 when he hit 3 homers in one game.

Cobb led the league in homers in 1909 with 9.

Cobb probably would have been a great home run hitter in another era.

Peter

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[Michael Borshuk]

Peter's "good Tiger on bad teams" clue makes me think Higginson. 

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[Michael W]

Bobby Higginson

[Michael W]

I think Carlos Pena did it too.

[Paul Meloche]

I looked it up - it is Higginson and he did it twice. He wasn't even on my radar.

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[Peter Welch]

Good one!

Peter

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[Peter Welch]

I know.  I have zero memory of Higginson doing it twice!

I guess it was during a time we try to forget, which is unfair to Higginson (and other decent players during that time like Tony Clark, Frank Catalanotto and Damian Easley).

Speaking of that era, Dean Palmer hit 38 homers for the Tigers in 1999.  Totally forgot about that.  I thought he might have had a 3-homer game that year, but he didn't.

Peter

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[Peter Welch]

I thought that might have been in 1987 when he had a .898 OPS (in a part-time/platoon role), but it was 1982, Herndon's first year with the Tigers, when he had a career-high 23 homers as a full-time player.   Prior to that Herndon's career-high was 8 homers with the Giants.  Herndon also hit 20 homers for the Tigers in 1983 but his home run power mostly disappeared after that until 1987 when he had a power resurgence.

Peter

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Larry Herndon

On Wed, Jun 17, 2026 at 12:05 AM Michael Borshuk <michael...@gmail.com> wrote:

Al Kaline, I know from an article I read today, was the youngest in 1955. (Keith is the second-youngest.)

Dmitri Young on Opening Day 2005 is one. 

On Tue, Jun 16, 2026, 10:55 PM Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com> wrote:

Colt Keith became the 21st Tiger player to have a 3-homer game.  Who are the other 20?  

Most are very familiar names.  7 of the 20 occurred since the existence of this Tigers List.  

Feel free to just guess a few and I’ll start compiling the correct list…

Roger King
El Presidente
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[Peter Welch]

I remembered Cecil having 3-homer games, but I thought Prince might have had one as well.  I looked it up, but Prince only had a handful of 2-homer games with the Tigers.

Surprising about Greenberg not having any.  3 homers is pretty rare even for great power hitters.  Of course, Greenberg missed 3 seasons in his early 30s due to WW2 service and only played 3 more seasons after WW2 (he retired at age 36), so he probably would have had at least one 3-homer game if given more chances.

Peter

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[Mark Pattison]

I was at the game in  Cleveland (2000? 2001?) when Higginson hit three homers. Detroit won that game. That was when they were in that six-year sold-out streak at Jacobs Field -- when it was still called Jacobs Field. It was the second-game of a Saturday split-admission doubleheader; the Friday game had been rained out, and it took more time than usual to play the makeup game Saturday afternoon due to continued precipitation.

As for Ty Cobb, the long-told tale is that he told sportswriters that anybody could hit a home run, and he was going show them all that very day. He clubbed three homers, and came THISCLOSE to a fourth. Then Cobb went and belted two more circuit clouts the next day. Both games were in St. Louis against the Browns.

Mark Pattison

[Roger King]

Yes, it’s Higginson (in both 1997 and 2000) and Peña in 2003.  

I don’t get the sense anyone is getting the other 3 which are Pinky Higgins, Pat Mullins and Steve Boros.  

Here’s the complete list:

• Ty Cobb (1925)
• Pinky Higgins (1940)
• Rudy York (1941)
• Pat Mullin (1949)
• Al Kaline (1955) — The youngest player in franchise history to do it (age 20).
• Charlie Maxwell (1959)
• Rocky Colavito (1961, 1962) — Accomplished the feat twice as a Tiger.
• Steve Boros (1962)
• Willie Horton (1970)
• Bill Freehan (1971)
• Larry Herndon (1982)
• Bill Madlock (1987)
• Cecil Fielder (1990 x2, 1996) — The only Tiger to hit 3 home runs in a game three separate times.
• Bobby Higginson (1997, 2000) — Accomplished the feat twice.
• Carlos Pena (2003)
• Dmitri Young (2005) — The only Tiger to do it on Opening Day.
• Miguel Cabrera (2010, 2013) — Accomplished the feat twice.
• J.D. Martinez (2015)
• Victor Martinez (2016)
• Kerry Carpenter (2025)
• Colt Keith (2026) — The most recent addition to the list, hitting three against the Houston Astros on June 15, 2026

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[Peter Welch]

Steve Boros?  I only remember him as a manager.

Pinky Higgins was a 3B who played in 7 seasons with the Tigers during the Hank Greenberg era.  He had some good OBAs but wasn't known for power.

Pat Mullin was a utility OF and pinch-hitting specialist who played in the 40s and early-50s with the Tigers.

Peter

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Subject: Complete list: Tiger trivia: 3-homer games

 

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[Peter Welch]

That's like the old running joke about Ichiro saying "Ichiro could hit home runs if he wanted to".

6/24/2000, Higginson hit 3 homers in game 2 of a doubleheader at Cleveland.  Tigers won 14-8.  They were down 7-6 in the 7^th but scored 6 runs, including a 2-run shot by Higginson for his 3^rd homer.

Wendell Magee also hit a 3-run homer for the Tigers in the 7th.

The Tigers' starter that day was Mark Johnson (I don't remember him at all), who gave up 6 runs in 2 IP.  He was relieved by CJ Nitkowski, who allowed only 1-run in 4 IP in a rare effective appearance.

Hideo Nomo also pitched in relief for the Tigers that day.  LOL!

Peter

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Subject: Re: Tiger trivia: 3-homer games

I was at the game in  Cleveland (2000? 2001?) when Higginson hit three homers. Detroit won that game. That was when they were in that six-year sold-out streak at Jacobs Field -- when it was still called Jacobs Field. It was the second-game of a Saturday split-admission doubleheader; the Friday game had been rained out, and it took more time than usual to play the makeup game Saturday afternoon due to continued precipitation.

As for Ty Cobb, the long-told tale is that he told sportswriters that anybody could hit a home run, and he was going show them all that very day. He clubbed three homers, and came THISCLOSE to a fourth. Then Cobb went and belted two more circuit clouts the next day. Both games were in St. Louis against the Browns.

Mark Pattison

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[Roger King]

Poor Higgy.  In his entire 10 year career with the Tigers, he not only never played on a winning team, he was never on one that was even .500. 

He then retires after the 2005 season and the very next year, the Tigers win the AL pennant! 

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[Peter Welch]

Pena hit 3 homers and drove in 7 on May 19, 2003 at Cleveland.  Tigers lost 10-9 as lefty reliever Jamie Walker blew a 9-7 lead in the bottom of the 7th.   (Wish we could score 9 runs in Cleveland these days!).

Gary Knotts (remember him?) started for the Tigers and allowed 5 runs in 4.1 IP.  He was relieved by knuckleballer Steve Sparks who allowed 2 runs in 1.2 innings.

DH Kevin Witt (no relation to Bobby Witt) also homered for the Tigers that day.  The Tigers' leadoff man that day was CF Gene Kingsale.  LOL!

Always wished we had hung onto Pena.  The Tigers released him at age 27 in spring training 2006 and he later hit 46 homers for Tampa Bay in 2007.  The Tigers' 1^st baseman in 2007 was Sean Casey, who hit 4 homers.  Doh!

I wish Tork could be as good as Pena was.

Peter

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Subject: Complete list: Tiger trivia: 3-homer games

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[Roger King]

Didn’t that 2006 Spring training release of Peña open up a spot in the batting order for the great Chris Shelton who had that unbelievable April that year? 

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[Peter Welch]

Shelton had the hot start in 2005.  He and Pena were teammates in 2005 (they both hit 18 homers).

I guess they thought they could go with Shelton as the regular 1B in 2006 and found Pena expendable so they released him in spring training.  Seems like horrible judgement.

Shelton ended up being demoted to Toledo in August 2006 and he was later recalled in September when the rosters expanded.  Sean Casey was picked up from the Pirates in a deadline trade and played 1B down the stretch and in the playoffs and World Series.

Pena signed with the Yankees after the Tigers released him and he played in AAA for the Yankees in 2006 until they released him in August 2006.  The Red Sox immediately signed Pena after the Yankees released him and he played in 18 games for the Red Sox down the stretch in 2006.  He became a free agent after the 2006 season and signed with Tampa Bay and hit 46 homers in 2007 and 144 homers overall in 4 seasons with the Rays from 2007-2010.  He hit 28 homers for the Cubs in 2011 and then returned to the Rays in 2012 and hit 19 homers before he faded in his late 30s and bounced around between Houston, Kansas City and Texas.

Peter

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From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2026 12:45 PM
To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>

Cc: Detroit Tigers e-mail list <detroit...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: Re: Complete list: Tiger trivia: 3-homer games

 

[Peter Welch]

Correction, it was 2006 that Shelton had the super hot start before he ended up being demoted to AAA in August. 

He didn't get called up in 2005 until the end of May.  He got hot in mid-June and July of 2005 and kept his OPS above .850 for the rest of the season.

Shelton and Pena were teammates in 2005, but it does seem like the Tigers favored Shelton over Pena in spring training 2006 and just let Pena go for nothing.

Peter

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From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2026 1:50 PM
To: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>

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[Peter Welch]

The Tigers did get to the World Series (curse the Cardinals!!!) in 2006 with Shelton and later Casey as their primary 1B, but I wish they had kept Pena in 2006.

The Tigers also had Dmitri Young and Marcus Thames as DH types in 2006 so I guess they were in front of Pena as well.

Peter

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From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>

Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2026 1:58 PM

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[Roger King]

No, Shelton‘s hot start was definitely April 2006. That’s what got the Tigers rolling to their eventual great season. 

In April, he hit .326 with 10 HR’s.  

“During the absolute peak of this run (from April 3 to April 20), his slash line was an absurd .431 / .476 / 1.086 with a 1.562 OPS. He hit 9 home runs in the Tigers' first 13 games, making him the fastest player in American League history to reach that mark.”

He did indeed fade badly later in the season which led to them acquiring Casey.  

Roger King
El Presidente
PN Agency – www.pnagency.com
Ethnic Voice Talent –www.ethnicvoicetalent.com
(416) 515-7195

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[Peter Welch]

Yeah, I was accidentally looking at 2005 for Shelton, where his OPS had risen above 1.000 in late July 2005.

I suppose the Tigers at the time didn't think Shelton would fall off a cliff.

They really seemed to sour on him quickly by August 2026, so much so that they preferred what was left of Sean Casey's career.  If the Tigers had stashed Pena in Toledo the might have been able to bring him up when Shelton tanked.

Peter

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From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2026 2:07 PM
To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
Cc: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>

[Glenn Codere]

Mullin was the last guy to wear #6 before Al Kaline. 

Kaline wore #25 in his rookie year (1953), then took #6 in '54 after Mullin retired.

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Glenn Codere

Ardrossan, Scotland

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