Cronin’s perfect cycle
Before he was “Mr. Clutch,” a Hall of Famer or an executive who helped shape baseball for decades, Joe Cronin was a 22-year-old shortstop who delivered a perfect day at the plate.
On Sept. 2, 1929, the Washington Senators shortstop hit for the cycle in front of a roaring Boston crowd – and began writing a legacy that wouldn’t stop at Cooperstown.
Cronin went 5-for-5 and hit for the cycle – the first of his big league career – as Washington defeated the Boston Red Sox 10-7 at Braves Field.
The home crowd didn’t have to wait long for action. Red Sox starter Danny MacFayden struggled from the start, and The Boston Globe noted, “It was quite apparent that MacFayden was not on edge.”
Cronin and the Senators took advantage early. In the second inning, Sam West drew a walk and advanced to third on a Bennie Tate single. Cronin then drove West in with a double to the gap. With two runners on and two outs, Joe Judge crushed a three-run homer to put Washington ahead 4-0.
The Senators kept piling on. In the third, Buddy Myer doubled, and Cronin followed with an RBI triple to deep right-center. Boston got on the board in the bottom half of the inning, but the Senators answered quickly in the fifth. After a single by West, Cronin launched a towering two-run home run, stretching the lead to 7-1.
Still, Washington wasn’t finished – and neither was Cronin. An error allowed Tate to reach base to open the seventh, and Cronin followed with a single to complete the cycle – with all four hits coming off MacFayden. Third baseman Jackie Hayes and pitcher Myles Thomas each added base hits to extend the lead to 9-1.
MacFayden was finally pulled for pinch-hitter Red Ruffing in the bottom of the inning, and the move sparked a small rally. Ruffing – like Cronin a future Hall of Famer – belted a solo home run, and Boston trimmed the lead again in the eighth to make it 9-3.
But Cronin’s day continued to shine. He doubled to left off Red Sox reliever Ray Dobens. He later scored on a Judge sacrifice fly. His final line revealed a flawless afternoon at the plate: five hits, four extra-base hits, four RBI and three runs scored.
Boston chipped away at the deficit late but couldn’t overcome it, falling 10-7. But the Red Sox bounced back to win the second game of the doubleheader 7-2, as Cronin went hitless in four at-bats.
While the Sept. 2 cycle stood out, Cronin’s star continued to rise. He became known as “Mr. Clutch” and still holds the AL record for most pinch-hit home runs in a season (five), set in 1943. That same year, he became the first player to hit a pinch-hit home run in both games of a doubleheader.
“With a man on third and one out, I’d rather have Cronin hitting for me than anybody I’ve ever seen,” Class of 1937 Hall of Fame manager Connie Mack once said. “That includes (Ty) Cobb, (Al) Simmons and the rest of them.”
Cronin’s playing career earned him a 1956 plaque in Cooperstown, and his contributions to the game didn’t end on the field. His involvement in Major League Baseball spanned seven decades – serving as a player-manager (1933–45), general manager (1947–59), American League president (1959–74) and a key figure on the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors and Veterans Committee.
Noah Douglas was the 2025 communications intern in the Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Leadership Development
