The first cycle in the 2025 Major League Baseball season belongs, of all positions, to a catcher. The Chicago Cubs’ Carson Kelly completed the rare feat during their 18-3 victory over the Athletics. For the uninitiated, a cycle is when a player hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run.
Kelly is a major contributor to the Cubs’ 21 hits to get that many runs. That achievement also made Kelly the first player since 1940 to hit a cycle and get two walks. It’s also the first cycle by a Cubs player since Mark Grace did it on May 9, 1993. The gap between those two cycles is the second-longest streak after the Kansas City Royals, who haven’t had a cycle since George Brett (July 25, 1990).
Sometimes, you just gotta go for it @Cubs catcher Carson Kelly with an electric post-cycle interview. pic.twitter.com/KeEHBTqzKT
— MLB (@MLB) April 1, 2025
Meanwhile, MLB statistician Sarah Langs pointed out that Kelly is the fourth player batting ninth to complete a cycle since 1901. Jeff Frye did it in August 1901, while Charlie Moore achieved the feat in October 1980. Before Kelly, Chone Figgins completed the cycle in September 2006.
Through three games, Kelly slashed .500/.615/1.100/1.715 with five RBIs in ten at-bats. Meanwhile, the Cubs are 4-4 through eight games.
-Lance Fernandez