Wild stats show how improbable Weston Wilson’s cycle was for the Phillies

There had been 347 cycles hit in MLB history before Thursday.

If you were asked before the game to choose a Philadelphia Phillies player to hit for the cycle — a single, double, triple and home run — you likely wouldn't have ended up on Weston Wilson. That's why baseball is the best. Seemingly, anything can happen at any given time, and it did on Thursday.

Wilson, 29, is still a rookie with just 24 career games under his belt. He has had limited opportunities in his time on a stacked Phillies roster. But in the middle of a 13-3 rout of the Washington Nationals, he completed just the 10th Phillies cycle in over 140 years of the franchise and the 348th in MLB history.

Wild stats show how improbable Weston Wilson’s cycle was for the Phillies

Cycles happen more than you think; there have been four this season. It's just not as common an occurrence for the Phillies.

The Giants, who have been around just as long, have 26 franchise cycles. Heck, Trea Turner has three cycles himself, although all with the Nationals.

According to Baseball Reference, 1,965 players have had at least one plate appearance for the team since 1883. Of the 1,739 who have had a minimum of four plate appearances, only eight before Wilson had completed a cycle.

As the ninth Phillies player to accomplish the feat, he joins the shortlist that includes Lave Cross (1894), Sam Thompson (1894), Cy Williams (1927), Chuck Klein (1931 and 1933), Johnny Callison (1963), Gregg Jefferies (1995), David Bell (2004) and J.T. Realmuto (2023).

The Phillies had a cycle drought from 1963 to 1995. Realmuto broke a 19-year cycle drought last year in Arizona, but before Wilson's big night, there hadn't been a cycle at Citizens Bank Park since Bell's in 2004.

According to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, Wilson is the first Phillies rookie to hit for the cycle. He has had 62 plate appearances in the majors and just 40 this season after his five on Thursday.

What's even crazier is that Wilson's triple on Thursday was his first three-bagger of the season. He has speed, with 18 triples in his 3,267 minor league plate appearances, but hadn't had one this season, per Jayson Stark of The Athletic. He chose a good time to get his first, even if he almost didn't make it after stumbling around second.

“That’s kind of why I had a trip up around second base and almost ate it a little bit,” Wilson said of losing sight of the ball on his triple, per Zolecki. “I didn’t see the ball coming back toward me because of the video board. I thought he was right on the ball.”

Despite the limited playing time, when Wilson plays, he makes an impact. After making a name for himself by hitting a home run in his first MLB at-bat last season, Wilson has done it again just over a year later.