They couldn’t have known it at the time.
Because when Cody Bellinger ripped a rocket line drive deep to right field in the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium, he had only hit two home runs to that point. So when Cubs superstar Kyle Tucker leaped at the wall to rob a homer, it denied an incredible night but didn’t yet appear to be historic.
Only later, when Bellinger actually left the yard for his third HR of the night, did it become clear exactly what Tucker had done.
He had prevented a fourth homer in the same game for Bellinger. Only 19 players have ever done that.
KYLE TUCKER ROBBED CODY BELLINGER OF WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HIS THIRD HOMER OF THE GAME 🤯 pic.twitter.com/g6vPzOPOTD
— Cubs Zone (@CubsZone) July 12, 2025
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There is an obvious caveat here: There’s no telling how the pursuit of a fourth homer might’ve changed Bellinger’s approach in his next at bat. Would Chicago have pitched him differently? Would he have felt a different amount of pressure that would’ve caused a different kind of swing?
It’s impossible go back and replay those moments.
But Tucker’s catch denied even the chance at that history.
Bellinger probably didn’t feel too bad about it, though. He went to bed having homered three times in the same game against his former team, and his swing is clearly locked in. He’ll take that every night even with the robbery thrown in.
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