Carson Kelly had always been one triple short of that certain… je ne sais quoi. Over a decade in the majors, he’d hit just two of them—until Monday night against the Oakland Athletics. That changed when Kelly became the first Chicago Cubs player in 32 years to hit for the cycle.
The cycle—three home runs, a double, a single and a triple—ended the longest drought of its kind in the National League. Kelly sealed it with a thrilling triple in the eighth inning at Sutter Health Park, the A’s temporary home this season. That minor league ballpark was buzzing after Kelly’s feat. And so were the fans. The drought had been a long one—and Kelly’s achievement is one that doesn’t come around often.
The Chase for the Cycle
Kelly’s path to the cycle was anything but smooth. He homered in the 4th, singled in the 5th, doubled in the 6th and walked in the 6th and finally completed the cycle with a run scoring triple in the 8th. The crowd went wild as Kelly rounded the bases, realizing he’d just done something no Cub had done since Mark Grace on May 9, 1993—before Kelly was even born.
“I’ve been in this situation before where I need a triple for the cycle,” Kelly said after the game. “If anyone’s ever looked up my numbers, I have two triples, so the odds are not in my favor, right? I didn’t get it done the first time. This time I’m like, ‘I’m just going to have a good at bat.’ Then I hit it and saw it bounce off the wall and thought, ‘Oh boy, this is it right here—I’ve got to go.’”
The ball bounced off the right center wall, giving Kelly just enough time to leg out the triple despite his self-deprecating joke about his speed. It was only his third triple of his career and couldn’t have come at a better time.
A Rare Feat in Baseball History
Kelly’s cycle in March is a real one-off. ESPN Research says it’s the first of its kind that month. That puts him in some pretty rare company—and not just because he’s one of just 17 catchers in MLB history to achieve the feat. The last one to do it was J.T. Realmuto of the Phillies on June 12, 2023.
From a Cubs perspective, no catcher has hit for the cycle since Randy Hundley did it on August 11, 1966—against the Astros. That makes Kelly’s accomplishment a pretty big deal for the organization. And a rare one, at that. One that might not be repeated anytime soon.
What really sets Kelly apart, though, is that he’s just the third major leaguer ever to hit for the cycle and walk twice in the same game. Joe Gordon (1940) and Mickey Cochrane (1937) are the only other players to pull off that trick.
Team Reaction and Celebration
Cubs manager Craig Counsell said he didn’t know Kelly was going for the cycle until the dugout erupted after the triple.
“I didn’t know he had a chance at a cycle, but when that ball kicked off the wall, the dugout started going crazy, so I figured something was going on,” Counsell said. “Those are fun days, they’re rare days, and they’re once-in-a-lifetime-type days for players.”
For Kelly, it was surreal. Before the game he joked about breaking out a new bat—“one and done,” he said afterwards. Little did he know how special that bat would become.
“It’s pretty cool,” Kelly said. “I didn’t know it had been since Mark Grace that a Cub had hit for the cycle. I’ll have to hit him up—he’s a guy I know from Arizona. Pretty sweet. Great accomplishment. Something I never thought I would get. I’m just very fortunate and blessed.”