Pretty good day

Here's how sick I am. July 31 is a very important day on my calendar.

On this date, 54 years ago, Joe Adcock of the Milwaukee Braves had a signature day in baseball history. The slugging first baseman had four home runs and a double, that, according to all accounts, came within a foot and a half of going over the fence. That gave him a then record 18 total bases in one game, a mark that stood for 48 years, or until the Dodgers' Shawn Green had four homers, a double and a single in a game at Miller Park against the Brewers.

Adcock was a powerful, slow-footed masher who played 10 of his 17 big league seasons for the Milwaukee Braves. He was a big part of a powerful batting order that also featured Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews. He slugged over .500 eight times, finishing with 336 homers and 1,122 runs batted in.

The other thing I recall about Joe Adcock was his home town: Coushatta, Louisiana. Coushatta, Lousiana. That sounded very cool to an 8-year-old living in Trenton, New Jersey. Adcock's baseball card always told us that his favorite offseason pursuit was hunting. I didn't know from hunting. And when he retired, he did so on his farm in Coushatta, where he raised horses until he passed away at age 71 in 1999.

I just always loved the idea of four homers and a double that almost was a fifth homer, and that July 31 date always stuck in my mind. I find it fascinating, and oh-so-typical of baseball, that Adcock had his big day wearing a Milwaukee uniform in Ebbets Field against the Dodgers, while Green had his in a Dodger uniform playing against Milwaukee.

Adcock's total base record lasted 48 years. Green's might last until the Cubs win the World Series or Manny stops being Manny, whichever comes first.