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Cardinals minor leaguer accomplishes one of baseball's rarest feats: a home run cycle

Few, if any, sports have a collection of recognizable in-game accomplishments like baseball.

Baseball fans know they are lucky if they see a cycle or no-hitter. They are extremely lucky if they see a perfect game or four-home run game. But there's one accomplishment no one has ever witnessed in an MLB game, and it had only been seen once in the minor leagues.

Until Wednesday.

We are talking about the home run cycle, in which a player hits a solo homer, a two-run homer, a three-run homer and a grand slam. Which is exactly what Chandler Redmond, a minor leaguer in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, did.

Playing the Double-A Springfield Cardinals, Redmond went 5-for-6 with the aforementioned four homers and 11 RBI to lead a 21-4 rout against the Amarillo Sod Poodles.

The eight homers and 21 runs were also a Springfield record.

Redmond began his night with an RBI single in the first inning to cap a three-run rally, then struck out in the third inning. He began his long ball onslaught in the fifth inning, hitting a two-run homer followed by a grand slam in the sixth inning. The solo homer came in the seventh inning, and he took full advantage of having one baserunner on in the eighth.

So not only did Redmond hit a home run cycle, he hit a home run cycle in the span of four innings.

His mentality, via MiLB.com:

"So, after I hit the grand slam, I had a little thought creep into my mind about maybe the cycle. But then I brushed it off real quick. I was like, come on, this was only my second time with a multi-homer game in pro ball," Redmond said. "But then I go up there and hit the solo shot and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I can do it.' So then walking up for that last at-bat and seeing two guys on, I'm thinking, 'Oh my gosh, everything is lining up, you can do this. So, just stay calm and stay within yourself, but if you get a chance to get a ball to hammer, you better not miss it.'"

The only other home run cycle in the history of the minor leagues was hit by Tyrone Horne on July 27, 1998. Funnily enough, Horne also played for the Cardinals' Double-A affiliate, which was the Arkansas Travelers at the time.

Redmond, a Middleton, Md., native, was a 32nd-round pick for the Cardinals in the 2019 MLB draft after winning Big South Conference Player of the Year at Gardner-Webb. He made his Double-A debut last season and is currently hitting .242/.325/.488 with 17 homers and 61 RBI.

JUPITER, FL - APRIL 05: A St. Louis Cardinals batting helmet rests in the dugout during the spring training game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Miami Marlins on Wednesday, April 6, 2022 at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Cardinals minor leaguer Chandler Redmond had a night for the ages. (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)