J.D. Martinez’s 4-HR game ranked best at the plate in D-backs history

There’s a reason they called him “Just Dingers” Martinez.

J.D. Martinez, whom the D-backs acquired in a midseason trade in 2017, went on a tear in his 62 games in Arizona. Once released by the Houston Astros in 2014, he went on to become one the top free agents in the 2017-18 offseason and signed a big ticket with the Boston Red Sox, being named an All-Star both seasons he’s been there.

But no game in Martinez’s career was more substantial at the plate than the one he had on Sept. 4, 2017, when he had four home runs and six RBIs in five plate appearances at the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In an article that listed the best hitting performance in each team’s history, MLB.com pegged Martinez’s four-home run performance as the best the D-backs have seen. Steve Gilbert made that pick and wrote the description of Martinez’s big day.

That pick may not be a surprise, since that feat has only been accomplished 18 times in MLB history. But the D-backs have had some heavy hitters come through their clubhouse, like Paul Goldschmidt. Goldy once hit three home runs in a game at the Cubs on Aug. 3, 2017, a month and a day before Martinez one-upped him with four.

Former D-backs outfielder Shawn Green is another on the short list of MLB players who have hit four home runs, although he did it while playing for the Dodgers. That game was named the best in Dodgers history, and Ken Gurnick — the author of that section of the MLB article — said this:

This not only was the greatest offensive game in Dodgers history, but probably in history, period. In a day game at Miller Park against the Brewers, Green launched four home runs with a double and a single. He went 6-for-6 with six runs scored, seven RBIs and a record 19 total bases.

The picks for the other NL West teams were games from Willie Mays on the Giants, Nate Colbert on the Padres and Nolan Arenado on the Rockies.

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