At the beginning of the 2025 season, George Valera was ranked as the #16 prospect in the Guardians system, according to Prospects1500. On Friday night, he made a strong case for moving up that list, making history for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers by hitting for the cycle in a game against the Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals affiliate). He checked off what is usually the hardest part, a triple, in the second inning, then followed with a double in the fourth, a home run in the sixth, and a single in the eighth. Valera finished a perfect 4-for-4, tallying one run and one RBI. But even with his stellar performance, the Clippers still fell just short, losing 5-4. Valera is the first Clipper to hit for the cycle since Oscar Gonzalez did it in 2023, per MiLB.
For those unfamiliar, hitting for the cycle means collecting a single, double, triple, and home run in the same game. It’s a rare feat at any level. In fact, there have been just 349 cycles in the entire history of Major League Baseball. For comparison, there have been 326 no-hitters in MLB history. Only a few cycles occur each year across the minors and majors. For example, there have been just two cycles in MLB this season: Carson Kelly on March 31 and Byron Buxton on July 12.
🚨GEORGE VALERA HITS FOR THE CYCLE🚨#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/xgtVucNQm9
— GuardsInsider (@GuardsInsider) August 23, 2025
Interestingly, before the Guardians’ game in Texas on Friday night, the Rangers honored Hall of Fame third baseman Adrian Beltre by unveiling a life-sized bronze statue outside their stadium. Beltre, known for his power and flair, is tied for the most cycles in MLB history, having accomplished the feat three times.
If you dig deep into Cleveland baseball history, there’s another remarkable cycle worth mentioning. Back in August of 1889, Larry Twitchell hit for the cycle for the Cleveland Spiders – and he did it with an inside-the-park home run! Too bad there’s no video footage, but it has to be one of the most memorable cycles from baseball’s early days.
To put Valera’s achievement in context, there are the only 9 Cleveland players who have hit for the cycle in the big leagues since the Spiders era, spanning more than a century of franchise history:
- Bill Bradley (1903)
- Earl Averill (1933, the only one at home)
- Odell Hale (1938)
- Larry Doby (1952)
- Tony Horton (1970)
- Andre Thornton (1978)
- Travis Hafner (2003)
- Rajai Davis (2016, in reverse order: HR, 3B, 2B, 1B)
- Jake Bauers (2019)
If you want to geek out on cycle records, Baseball Almanac is the place to go. The site has a full list of every cycle in baseball history, plus plenty of trivia for true seamheads.
Valera’s night puts him in rare company, and even if a win didn’t follow, it’s a performance Clippers and Guardians fans won’t soon forget. If he keeps swinging the bat like this, it might not be long before Valera’s making noise in Cleveland, too. In his last 10 games, he is batting .394 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI. He’s also drawn 8 walks against just 6 strikeouts, showing an improved approach at the plate. If the Guardians are looking for a spark in their quest for a Wild Card spot, Valera might be just the guy they need.
Go Guardians!
J.W. Mulpas
J.W. Mulpas resides in Northeast Ohio and is a lifelong Cleveland sports fan. His favorite baseball player of all-time is Indians legend and 2018 Hall of Fame inductee, Jim Thome. He enjoys playing Fantasy Baseball, especially dynasty leagues. J.W. is the creator of BaseballBoxscore.com and is also a contributor at Prospects1500.com. You can follow him on X @BBoxscore.
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