Today's article is the third in a series compelled by outstanding on field performances. The first two covered respectively Derek Lowe's no-hitter and Mike Cameron's 4 home run game.

Yesterday, Shawn Green tied the major league record for home runs in a game with 4 in the process of breaking the major league record for total bases in a single game with 19. Joe Adcock had held the record since his 18 TB performance on July 31, 1954. He also accomplished his feat with the aid of a four-dinger day.

Green shares the record for home runs in a single game with 13 other players. When Cameron had his four-homer game three weeks ago, it had been over 8 years since Mark Whiten accomplished the feat on September 7th, 1993. Of the 14 players with quad-bomb games, no two were closer together than those of Green and Cameron.

Green, hitting third in the order, doubled in his first at bat, scoring Cesar Izturis who was on second, having moved over after his single on an Adrian Beltre sacrifice: 1 RBI. He had to wait on second while the Brewers walked Eric Karros, but scored when Brian Jordan singled into deep left center: 1 R.

He was up fifth in the second inning, when he hit his first homer, bringing base runners Kasuhisa Ishii and Izturis home with him: 4 RBI, 2 R, 1 HR. Ishii was on base due to a fielder's choice bunt, wherein the fielder chose to take out Chad Kreuter who singled to lead off the inning. Izturis had once again singled to get on base, while Beltre had failed to reach due to a fly out. Two batters after Green's homer, Brian Jordan went deep, scoring Karros, who was on second with a double. After he allowed another walk and single, the Brewers relieved starter Glendon Rusch with Valerio de los Santos.

Green did not bat in the one-two-three third, in which Ishii struck out swinging and Izturis and Beltre both flied out. Milwaukee relieved de los Santos with Brian Mallette to start the fourth inning. Green led off with his second homer of the game: 5 RBI, 3 R, 2 HR.

The left fielder was up third again in the fifth. Izturis grounded out and Beltre struck out swinging, so there was no one on base for his third longball: 6 RBI, 4 R, 3 HR. Mike Buddie relieved Mallette for the sixth and managed to get through the next two innings without a Green plate appearance or a run.

Jose Cabrera relieved Buddie to lead off the eighth and promptly allowed a single to Green who led off the inning. Green waited on first while Dave Hansen popped out before scoring on a Hiram Bocachica home run: 6 RBI, 5 R, 3 HR.

Green hit fifth in the ninth. LA had two outs due to a Jeff Williams strikeout and a Jeff Reboulet foul out, but had also already scored two runs as Beltre hit a 2-run homer, driving in Kreuter, who led off the inning with a double. Green went deep to the tune of a reported 450 feet for his fourth shot of the day: 7 RBI, 6 R, 4 HR. A dinger from Hansen put the finishing touches on the Green Gopherball sandwich. Luis Vizcaino relieved Cabrera and induced the final out for the Dodgers.

Toronto drafted Green out of Tustin California High School with the 16th overall pick in the first round of the 1991 draft. He spent 1992 at A+ Dunedin in the Florida State League and received his first major league cup of coffee in 1993 after a season at AA Knoxville in the Southern League. Green returned to the minors in 1994, spending the season at AAA Syracuse in the International League aside from another brief stint in the majors. By 1995, he was in the majors to stay. He broke out in 1998, swatting 35 longballs and swiping 35 bases. That off-season the Blue Jays traded Green with 2B Jorge Nunez to the Dodgers for OF Raul Mondesi and LHP Pedro Borbon. Green hit a career high 49 HR last season.

Several overdramatic, under-informed critics of Green made ominous predictions that his numbers would fall off sharply after the trade of Gary Sheffield, suggesting Green's success was as much the result of a cushy line-up slot as it was his own skills. However, his statistics indicate his accomplishments are grounded in genuine skill, so I was not inclined to side with such naysayers.

Unfortunately, Green's slow start perpetuated the misconception. Before Thursday's game, Green had a 25:43 BB:K with 39 H, 9 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, in 164 AB for a .237 BA, .344, and a .396 SLG. Three of those hits, including the triple and two homers, were only accumulated on Tuesday and Wednesday, immediately following an 0-18 slump. Nevertheless, as this last week has confirmed, Dodger cynics should not have taken that slow start as a sign that their theories were accurate.

Sporadic outbursts of extreme production, like this one, are generally far less valuable to a team than consistent production, as a team need only score a single run more than their opponents in order to win a game. Fortunately, in Shawn Green's case, it likely indicates a return to the desired consistency. The Dodgers felt that Green's troubles this season were mechanical, and following his historic performance yesterday, are fairly certain that he's ironed out his problems.