Indianapolis

 lead-off home run is a home run hit by the first batter of a team, the leadoff hitter of the first inning of the game. In MLB, Rickey Henderson holds the record with 81 lead-off home runs. Craig Biggio holds the National League record with 53, second overall to Henderson.[5]

In 1996, Brady Anderson set a Major League record by hitting a lead-off home run in four consecutive games.
Back-to-back

When two consecutive batters each hit a home run, this is described as back-to-back home runs. It is still considered back-to-back even if both batters hit their home runs off different pitchers. A third batter hitting a home run is commonly referred to as back-to-back-to-back, the most recent occurrence on June 24, 2013 when James Loney, Wil Myers and Sam Fuld of the Tampa Bay Rays hit back-to-back-to-back home runs off Esmil Rogers of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Four home runs in a row by consecutive batters has only occurred eight times in the history of Major League Baseball. Following convention, this is called back-to-back-to-back-to-back. The most recent occurrence was on August 11, 2010, when the Arizona Diamondbacks hit four in a row against the Milwaukee Brewers in Miller Park as Adam LaRoche, Miguel Montero, Mark Reynolds and Stephen Drew homered off pitcher Dave Bush. Bush became the third pitcher to surrender back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs, following Paul Foytack on July 31, 1963 and Chase Wright on April 22, 2007.

On August 14, 2008, the Chicago White Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 9-2. In this game, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramirez, and Juan Uribe hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs in that order. Thome, Konerko, and Ramirez blasted their homers off of Joel Peralta, while Uribe did it off of Rob Tejeda. The next batter, veteran backstop Toby Hall, tried aimlessly to hit the ball as far as possible, but his effort resulted in a strike out.

On April 22, 2007 the Boston Red Sox were trailing the New York Yankees 3–0 when Manny Ramirez, J. D. Drew, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs to put them up 4–3. They eventually went on to win the game 7–6 after a three-run home run by Mike Lowell in the bottom of the 7th inning. On September 18, 2006 trailing 9–5 to the San Diego Padres in the 9th inning, Jeff Kent, J. D. Drew, Russell Martin, and Marlon Anderson of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs to tie the game. After giving up a run in the top of the 10th, the Dodgers won the game in the bottom of the 10th, on a walk-off two run home run by Nomar Garciaparra. J. D. Drew has been part of two different sets of back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs. In both occurrences, his homer was the second of the four.

On September 30, 1997, in the sixth inning of Game One of the American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians, Tim Raines, Derek Jeter and Paul O'Neill hit back-to-back-to-back home runs for the Yankees. Raines' home run tied the game. New York went on to win 8–6. This was the first occurrence of three home runs in a row ever in postseason play. The Boston Red Sox repeated the feat in Game Four of the 2007 American League Championship Series, also against the Indians.

Twice in MLB history have two brothers hit back-to-back home runs. On April 23, 2013, brothers BJ Upton and Justin Upton hit back-to-back home runs.[6] The first time was on September 15, 1938, when Lloyd Waner and Paul Waner performed the feat.[7]

Simple back-to-back home runs are a relatively frequent occurrence. If a pitcher gives up a homer, he might have his concentration broken and might alter his normal approach in an attempt to "make up for it" by striking out the next batter with some fastballs. Sometimes the next batter will be expecting that and will capitalize on it. A notable back-to-back home run of that type in World Series play involved "Babe Ruth's called shot" in 1932, which was accompanied by various Ruthian theatrics, yet the pitcher, Charlie Root, was allowed to stay in the game. He delivered just one more pitch, which Lou Gehrig drilled out of the park for a back-to-back shot, after which Root was removed from the game.

In Game 3 of the 1976 NLCS, George Foster and Johnny Bench hit back-to-back homers in the last of the ninth off Ron Reed to tie the game. The Series-winning run was scored later in the inning.

Another notable pair of back-to-back home runs occurred on September 14, 1990, when Ken Griffey, Sr. and Ken Griffey, Jr. hit back-to-back home runs, off Kirk McCaskill, the only father-and-son duo to do so in Major League history.

On May 2, 2002, Bret Boone and Mike Cameron of the Seattle Mariners hit back-to-back home runs off of starter Jon Rauch in the first inning of a game against the Chicago White Sox. The Mariners batted around in the inning, and Boone and Cameron came up to bat against reliever Jim Parque with two outs, again hitting back-to-back home runs and becoming the only pair of teammates to hit back-to-back home runs twice in the same inning.[8]

Likewise, individuals hitting home runs in consecutive at-bats is not unusual, but three or more is rare. The record for consecutive home runs by a batter under any circumstances is 4. Of the sixteen players (through 2012) who have hit 4 in one game, six have hit them consecutively. Twenty-eight other batters have hit four consecutive across two games.

Bases on balls do not count as at-bats, and Ted Williams holds the record for consecutive home runs across the most games, 4 in four games played, during September 17–22, 1957, for the Red Sox.[9] Williams hit a pinch-hit homer on the 17th; walked as a pinch-hitter on the 18th; there was no game on the 19th; hit another pinch-homer on the 20th; homered and then was lifted for a pinch-runner after at least one walk, on the 21st; and homered after at least one walk on the 22nd. All in all, he had 4 walks interspersed among his 4 homers.

In World Series play, Reggie Jackson hit a record three in one Series game, the final game (Game 6) in 1977. But those three were a part of a much more impressive feat. He walked on four pitches in the second inning of game 6. Then he hit his three home runs on the first pitch of his next three at bats. He had also hit one in his last at bat of the previous game, giving him four home runs on four consecutive swings. (His home run in game 5 was also hit on the first pitch, although this did not add to any significant streak.) The four in a row set the record for consecutive homers across two Series games.

In Game 3 of the World Series in 2011, Albert Pujols hit three home runs to tie the record with Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson. The St. Louis Cardinals went on to win the World Series in Game 7 at Busch Stadium. In Game 1 of the World Series in 2012, Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants hit three home runs on his first three at-bats of the Series, also tying the record with Pujols, Jackson, and Ruth.

Nomar Garciaparra holds the record for consecutive home runs in the shortest time in terms of innings: 3 homers in 2 innings, on July 23, 2002, for the Boston Red Sox.
Home run cycle
Main article: Hitting for the cycle

An offshoot of hitting for the cycle, a "home run cycle" is where a player hits a solo, 2-run, 3-run, and grand slam home run all in one game. This is an extremely rare feat, as it requires the batter to not only hit four home runs in a game (which itself has only occurred 16 times in the Major Leagues[10]), but also to hit those home runs with the specific number of runners already on base. Although it is a rare accomplishment, it is largely dependent on circumstances outside the player's control, such as his preceding teammates' ability to get on base, as well as the order in which he comes to bat in any particular inning.

Another variant of the home run cycle would be the "natural home run cycle", which would require a batter to hit a solo, 2-run, 3-run, and grand slam home run in that order.

Though multiple home run cycles have been recorded in collegiate baseball,[11][12] the only home run cycle in a professional baseball game belongs to Tyrone Horne, who stroked four long balls for the minor league, Double-A Arkansas Travelers in a game against the San Antonio Missions on July 27, 1998.[13]

On May 20, 1998, the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians performed a feat possibly never before duplicated in professional baseball. In the fifth inning of a game against the Pawtucket Red Sox, Indianapolis players hit for a "Homer Cycle". Pete Rose, Jr. opened the inning with a solo home run, Jason Williams connected for a 3–run shot, Glenn Murray slugged a grand slam, and Guillermo Garcia finished the scoring with a 2–run blast. The Indians won the game 11–4.[14]