By TREVOR HAYES

Easily the biggest story of the week is Josh Hamilton. The Hambino has hit more home runs in four games since Monday than Jose Bautista, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez and Joey Votto have this season. The current MLB home run leader began his quiet week with a homer off Baltimore’s Jason Berken. Then on Tuesday, he joined an elite club, becoming the 16th player in major league history to hit four home runs in a single game. Finally yesterday, the O’s were able to contain him, by allowing him just one home run during the doubleheader.

Josh Hamilton went 5-5 with four homeruns on May 9, 2012 against the Baltimore Orioles. (Brad Mangin/National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)

Let’s get into that four homer game. He went 5-for-5 with a double for 18 total bases, setting the AL record and posting the second highest total ever (Shawn Green had 19 in a 6-for-6, four-homer game May 23, 2002 and Joe Adcock had 18 with four homers and a double on July 31, 1954). Prior to Hamilton, only Mark Whiten in 1993 and Gil Hodges in 1950 had men on base for all four homers. Elvis Andrus was on base for all four. In fact, he’s been on base for 10 of Hamilton’s 15 this season, with the other five being solo shots.

As for rarity in single game feats: 292 players have hit for the cycle, 264 no-hitters have been thrown, 234 inside-the-park home runs have been hit, 110 players have hit a homer in their first MLB at-bat, 67 players have collected six hits in a game; 59 times a pitcher struckout four in an inning, 55 players have hit two home runs in an inning, 21 rookies have thrown a no-hitter, likewise 21 perfect game have been thrown and 15 players have turned an unassisted triple play. Lastly, let me say this has been a great season for baseball. We’ve never seen a four home game and a perfect game in the same season before.

Quick Hits: After Saturday’s three-run blast, Mark Reynolds became the 13th visiting player to amass eight hits, four homers and 10 RBIs over four straight games at Fenway Park, with the most recent being the Rangers’ Mike Napoli (2011-2012) and the first three being Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig (1927), Babe Ruth (1927-28) and Joe DiMaggio (1948-49)… Dusty Baker’s Reds gave him his 1,500th W on Wednesday, moving him to 20th on the all-time list with only two managers above him, who are eligible, not in the Hall of Fame… With his 50th hit of the season Wednesday, Derek Jeter earned another slot in the record books as the first Yankees to collect 50 hits in the team’s first 30 games while simultaneously becoming the oldest major leaguer, beating out Stan Musial by months… Since joining Oakland, Brandon Inge has been on a tear to prove he belongs in the majors and his Thursday grand slam was his second in three games, becoming the first Athletic to hit two grannies in three games since Jimmie Foxx in September 1932.

A wild one brings out wild numbers: The Orioles and Red Sox played 17 innings Sunday and anytime a game goes that long with already depleted bullpens on both sides, statistical anomalies abound. Orioles DH Chris Davis, who went 0-for-8, ended up as the winning pitcher, becoming the ninth player to strikeout five times and get the W, joining Hall of Famers Lefty Grove and Bert Blyleven on the list.

Meanwhile Sox outfielder Darnell McDonald got the loss making Sunday the first game in which two regular position players got the decision for their team since Sept. 28, 1902. In that end-of-the-year finale, both the White Sox and Browns phoned in the second game of a doubleheader with Chicago using two position-players as pitchers and St. Louis five, in a nine-inning game. Hall of Famer Jesse Burkett got the loss for the Browns.

Payback: The Orioles Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis went back-to-back-to-back to lead off their first inning in game one of their doubleheader versus the Rangers yesterday. The other four teams to do it: the 1987 Padres including Tony Gwynn, 2003 Braves with 500-home run hitter Gary Sheffield and 2007 Brewers which also included Hardy.

From Los Angeles, we received a game-used ball and the jerseys worn by Jered Weaver and Chris Iannetta. (Donny Lowe/National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)

New Stuff to See: We’ve been lucky here at the Hall of Fame so far this season, seemingly getting new artifacts every week (and since it usually takes a few days after a record, event or milestone, we’ll probably receive something from Hamilton next week). Arriving in Cooperstown this week were items from the Miami Marlins home opener and Jered Weaver’s no-hitter.

From South Florida come artifacts relating to Miami’s debut on the field and the debut of Marlins Park. A media credential, lineup card are now in Cooperstown as well as on-field items including a Jose Reyes’ bat which was used to record the first Marlins hit at the new park, a baseball thrown by Josh Johnson to record a strikeout, Johnson’s cap marking the first time Miami’s M has appeared on the field.

From Los Angeles, we received a game-used ball and the jerseys worn by the Halo’s no-no battery: Jered Weaver and Chris Iannetta. Once these items are accessioned, they will be visible in the Today’s Game exhibit of the Museum.

Trevor Hayes is the editorial production manager at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

By CRAIG MUDER

Barry Larkin’s life changed forever in January when he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

But even the biggest honor in sport couldn’t change the person that is Barry Larkin. His foundation sits on too firm of a base to be knocked off center.

Larkin and his wife Lisa took their Hall of Fame Orientation Tour on Saturday in Cooperstown. It was a whirlwind weekend for the Class of 2012 electee, flying in Friday night before a full day on Saturday of meetings and tours. The Larkins left town Sunday knowing what to expect on Hall of Fame Weekend July 20-23 – and understanding what the Hall of Fame is all about.

Barry Larkin sits in front of the plaque gallery during his question and answer session with the media during his orientation visit on Saturday. (Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)

The 48-year-old Larkin appeared to be his usual calm and confident self all weekend. Dressed in a basic black shirt and blue jeans on Saturday, Larkin toured the Museum – the recipient of hundreds of startled glances when Hall of Fame visitors realized just who was passing by. He then met with the media, talking about his family, his life and baseball – all with the same enthusiastic yet down-to-earth manner that has won him millions of fans as an ESPN baseball analyst.

Eleven weeks from today, Larkin will climb up on the stage at the Clark Sports Center – with more than four dozen Hall of Famers sitting behind him – and officially be inducted into the Hall of Fame. But you get the feeling that those who played with and against Larkin – many of whom will be on that stage – have already inducted him into their personal halls of fame.

As good as Larkin was on the field, he’s even better off it. And nothing is going to change that.

Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

By CRAIG MUDER

At any point in time, there are about 4,000 artifacts on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

And at any point in time, there’s a visitor in the Museum asking: “Where is Curt Schilling’s bloody sock?”

Any debate about the Museum’s “most popular” artifact must include Schilling’s hosiery from the 2004 postseason. Currently, the bloody sock is on display in the Museum’s FENtennial: Fenway Park’s First 100 Years exhibit. It’s one of almost four dozen historic pieces – including Carlton Fisk’s bat from Game 6 of the 1975 World Series – on display in FENtennial.

The Red Sox donated several artifacts to the Hall of Fame on Saturday, including a ball and base from the April 20 Red Sox vs. Yankees game at Fenway Park — a game that marked Fenway’s 100th anniversary.” (Craig Muder/NBHOF Library)

But even after turning 100 years old, Fenway is still making history. And some of that history came to Cooperstown on Saturday at Fenway Day when the Museum accepted a donation from the Red Sox of a ball, a base and a game ticket used at the April 20 game against the Yankees – a game that marked the park’s 100th birthday.

Fans at the Hall of Fame on Saturday got to see those artifacts up close during an Artifact Spotlight in the Museum’s Bullpen Theater.“Fenway Park is such a unique place because it’s part of the city and part of people’s lives,” said Jeff Idelson, President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. “Almost no other park in the big leagues has a connection like that.”

The FENtennial exhibit will remain at the Museum through the 2012 season, and the exhibit is included with regular admission to the Hall of Fame.

Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

By Trevor Hayes

This series has covered a lot of notes about age so far. I can’t help it. Maybe it’s because I’m struggling with the fact that players killing it in the majors that are younger than me. Heck, Bryce Harper has been a sensation for a week at 19-years old – almost 10 years my junior. I realize most folks would say I’m still a young(er) pup, but I’m still coming to grips with the fact that my MLB dreams are over (not entirely, those ended when I quit baseball in seventh grade after two straight seasons ended by broken bones).

Despite it being tough for me to deal with the superstars that graduated high school after me, there have been some great performances by the guys I looked up to when I was younger. Example: Chipper Jones and Jason Giambi hit walk-off homers Wednesday. They are the first duo with over 400 home runs to hit walk-off dingers the same day and the first 40-year-olds. You have to go back to 1986’s Hal McRae and Davey Lopes to find two 40-plusers end a game with a home run in the same season.

That day, the Braves-Phillies game was particularly wild as they combined for 28 runs, nearing the record for most runs scored in a game ended by a walk-off homer. That honor is held by a 39-year-old Ty Cobb, when his Tigers beat the White Sox in a 1925 contest that featured 31 runs.

Mariano Rivera became the all-time saves leader, with 602 saves, on September 19, 2011. (Michael Ponzini/National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)

Another 40-plus player suffered a serious knee injury Thursday. At 42-years-old, Mariano Rivera – the only No. 42 still playing (who also owns 42 postseason saves) – tore his ACL in his right knee. Rivera – who has said that he has made his decision about his future after this year and that the decision is irrevocable – is the all-time saves leader, and he also owns more saves since 1995 (the year he got save No. 1) than the Kansas City Royals (587), Arizona Diamondbacks (571) and Tampa Bay Rays (521).

Here’s the rest of the week that was:

Quick Hits: Last Friday, Miguel Cabrera recorded his 1,000th RBI at 29-years old, with just five players reaching that plateau faster: Mel Ott (27), Jimmie Foxx (27), Alex Rodriguez (28), Ken Griffey, Jr. (28) and Lou Gehrig (28)… With his eighth home run of the season Sunday and seventh at Yankee Stadium, Curtis Granderson tied the team record for most homers in the club’s first 10 home games, matching Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle (1956) and Yogi Berra (also in 1956) along with Alex Rodriguez (2007)… Also on Sunday, Jay Bruce became the third Reds player to homer in four straight April games, joining Hall of Famer Tony Pérez and Tony Fernandez… David Ortiz had his 38th career multi-homer game Monday, and 36th with the Sox, passing Hall of Famer Jim Rice (35) and placing himself one game behind the club’s all-time leader, Hall of Famer Ted Williams… By snapping Ivan Nova’s 15-game win streak on Wednesday, the Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns franchise killed a fourth 15-or-more game win streak, lumping Nova in with good company: Hall of Famers Walter Johnson (1912) and Lefty Grove (1931) along with Randy Johnson (1997).

Ervin Santana’s jersey from his 2011 no-hitter that is on display in the ‘Today’s Game’ exhibit.(Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)

Heavenly No-No:The Angels have been blessed with good pitching for years and on Wednesday night against the Twins, Jered Weaver joined the
likes of Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, Mike Witt and current teammate Ervin Santana by throwing a complete game no-hitter under the Halo. Weaver’s already got artifacts in Cooperstown: A ball from the start he made against his brother Jeff and a ball from his combined no-hitter loss with Jose Arredondo in 2008. His next task: To see if he can tie Johnny Vander Meer and throw back-to-back no-nos. He’s already shown he can blank the team he’ll face in his next start, Minnesota.

New Stuff to See: Phil Humber’s gear from his perfect game arrived. The Hall received a cap and a ball from his April 21st perfect game. And the Museum also received a jersey from the White Sox’s Paul Konerko from when Konerko hit his 400th home run on April 25. Check out our YouTube channel to see a video about how artifacts arrive in Cooperstown.

Trevor Hayes is the editorial production manager at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

By BRAD HORN

At age 92, Mel Goulart finally made it to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on Monday.

A season-ticket holder of the Oakland A’s since 1968, Goulart traveled east for the first time in his life to experience the Hall of Fame with his daughter, Margaret Mary and her husband, Bill. Their five-day journey started this weekend with a visit to Niagara Falls, headed east on I-90 and will conclude on Wednesday with a trip to Fenway Park, in order to see his beloved A’s “Turn Back the Clock” when they’ll play the Red Sox in this 100th anniversary season of Fenway Park.

Goulart has been a baseball fan for nearly as long as Fenway has existed. The opportunity to celebrate his life on this baseball odyssey was the reason for this spirited visit, with Cooperstown at the heartbeat of traveling so far to experience so much of the history of the game.

A life-long Bay Area resident, Goulart has had season tickets at the Coliseum in Oakland since 1968, with his tickets marked “Section 122, Row 27, Seats 1-2” every year since.

92-year-old Mel Goulart, a longtime Oakland A's fan, holds the cap worn by Vida Blue during his 1970 no-hitter on Monday at the Hall of Fame. (Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)

“Those are my seats but I haven’t sat in them in years,” Goulart cracked as he visited the Museum. He now sits at the top of the section, where he’s able to avoid the stairs required with making his way down to row 27.

During his visit to Cooperstown, the Museum staff made available a few pieces of A’s history not presently on display so that Goulart could relive his own personal history through the eyes of an Oakland A’s fan. Goulart was able to hold the bat Dave Kingman used to hit his 400th career home run, back in 1985 at Seattle’s Kingdome, while playing for the A’s, as well as the cap Vida Blue wore when he threw a no-hitter in 1970.

An admitted collector himself, Goulart has signed ticket stubs from both the Oakland A’s perfect games thrown in team history – Catfish Hunter in 1968 and Dallas Braden in 2010. After all, Goulart was there for both of them.

A promising youth and semi-pro ball player in the 1930s, Goulart played against Dom DiMaggio and was a part of a Northern California baseball experience as a youth that saw many of his contemporaries make it to the major leagues.

“Dad used to say his whole life was baseball,” said his daughter, Margaret Mary. “The game has always meant so much to him.”

And at every turn, Goulart has been there, rooting for his beloved A’s. He once went across the Bay to a Giants game at Candlestick Park, but “I got dirt in my eyes because of that wind, and ever since I’ve been only a hometown rooter.”

Brad Horn is the senior director of communications and education at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

By BRAD HORN

The story of Lou Gehrig’s incomparable character and courage displayed throughout his career and his life are as impressive as the numbers that led to a plaque in Cooperstown and a legacy of Hall of Fame greatness.

When he walked away from the game he so dearly loved on July 4, 1939, Gehrig left a lasting legacy for his Yankees teammates, baseball fans and for future generations who would always celebrate his unrelenting spirit.

The Lou Gehrig Memorial Award is presented annually by Phi Delta Theta International to a major league player who best exemplifies Gehrig's spirit and character, The Award Plaque is on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. (Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)

Each year since 1955, Phi Delta Theta International, the fraternity Gehrig pledged while at Columbia University, has presented the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award to a major league player who best exemplifies the spirit and character of Lou, both on and off the field. Since its inception, the award plaque has been in Cooperstown, where it presently resides in the Library Atrium.

The Weekend of April 20-22 in Cooperstown was “Phi Delta Theta Weekend at the Hall of Fame,” as nearly a hundred members of the Phi Delta fraternity gathered to pay tribute to Gehrig, his legacy and the role the Hall of Fame has played in maintaining and conserving the award plaque since 1955.

“Lou Gehrig is someone we can all be proud of,” said Robert L. Miller, Historian for Phi Delta Theta and key contributor to the Phi Delta Theta event in Cooperstown during his visit to the Museum. “He’s one of ours, but he exemplifies character that everyone can salute and recognize as the elite and an American icon.”

Among the participants in Cooperstown during the weekend was Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Gary Wade, a tremendous baseball fan and part owner of the minor league Tennessee Smokies baseball club. For Wade, a visit to Cooperstown to salute Gehrig provided the optimal experience for a spring season getaway.

“The uniqueness of this honor for Phi Delta Theta to present the Lou Gehrig Award every year means that we are recognizing individuals who are not just good baseball players, but who are great humanitarians and exemplify the spirit of the Iron Horse,” Wade said. “Through this award, we hope that fans always remember the great character of Lou Gehrig.”

Brad Horn is the senior director of communications and education at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum