Johnny Burnett

John Henderson Burnett (November 1, 1904 – August 12, 1959) was an American professional baseball player who appeared primarily as a shortstop, third baseman and second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1927 to 1935 for the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Browns. Burnett holds the record for most hits in a single game in MLB history with nine.

Biography Born in Bartow, Florida, Burnett made his major-league debut for the Cleveland Indians at the age of 22 on May 7, 1927, against the Philadelphia Athletics after graduating from the University of Florida. Burnett wore uniform number 1 in all eight of his seasons with the Indians. Without Burnett, the Indians finished eight games above .500.

On July 10, 1932, still playing for the Indians, Burnett set the major-league record for hits in a single game, compiling nine hits in 11 at bats in an 18-inning game against the Philadelphia Athletics. Burnett's record for most hits in a game still stands. He was also the first player to have more than seven hits in a game that went into extra innings. Since then, only Rocky Colavito in 1962, Cesar Gutierrez in 1970, Rennie Stennett in 1975, and Brandon Crawford in 2016 have collected seven or more hits in single game.

Burnett finished his professional career playing three seasons in Minor League Baseball. In 1938 and 1939, he served as manager of the Columbia team.

Nine-hit game

Burnett's nine hits came in 11 at bats on July 10, 1932, while batting second and playing shortstop, as listed below. Inning Result Cumulative Notes 1st Single 1-for-1 Later scored 2nd Single 2-for-2 4th Single 3-for-3 Later scored 5th Double 4-for-4 RBI7th Single 5-for-5 Later scored Struck out 5-for-6 9th Single 6-for-7 RBI 11th Double 7-for-8 13th Single 8-for-9 16th Single 9-for-10 Later scored 17th Flied out 9-for-11 Burnett's two-out RBI in the bottom of the ninth inning tied the game, 15–15, resulting in extra innings.