Grand slam (baseball)


In baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners, thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge, in which a grand slam involves taking all the possible tricks. The word slam, by itself, usually is connected with a loud sound, particularly of a door being closed with excess force; thus, slamming the door on one's opponent, in addition to the bat slamming the ball into a home run.

Notable highlights

is believed to have been the first major league player to hit a grand slam, on September 10, 1881, for the Troy Trojans at Riverfront Park in Rensselaer, New York. Although Charlie Gould hit one for the Boston Red Stockings of the National Association in 1871, the NA is not recognized by MLB as a major league.
Alex Rodriguez has 25 career grand slams, the most by any player in MLB history. Don Mattingly and Travis Hafner share the single-season record with six grand slams each – In Mattingly's case, these were the only grand slams of his major league career. Ernie Banks and Albert Pujols share the single-season National League record with five grand slams each. In 1968, Jim Northrup of the Detroit Tigers set a major league record by hitting three grand slams in a week, including two in consecutive at-bats of a game. This feat would later be matched by Larry Parrish of the Texas Rangers in 1982.
Several grand slams, the first being Connor's in 1881, consisted of a player hitting a walk-off grand slam for a one-run victory; some baseball observers call this an "ultimate grand slam". Roberto Clemente is the only player to have hit a walk-off inside-the-park grand slam in a one-run victory; when the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Chicago Cubs 9–8 on July 25, 1956 at Forbes Field, a park known for its spacious outfield.
On June 13–14,, the Minnesota Twins hit grand slams in consecutive games against the Boston Red Sox, including a walk-off grand slam by Jason Kubel in the 12th inning on June 13.
In, the Chicago White Sox hit grand slams in three consecutive games against the Houston Astros. Scott Podsednik hit the only grand slam of his career in the series opener. Joe Crede followed up with a slam of his own on Saturday, and Tadahito Iguchi hit a game tying grand slam in the bottom of the ninth with two outs in the series finale. The White Sox became the first team to accomplish this since the Detroit Tigers in. On the other hand, the Kansas City Royals surrendered grand slams in three straight games; two against the Baltimore Orioles and one against the Tigers.
Four players hit a grand slam in their first Major League at-bat: Bill Duggleby, Jeremy Hermida, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Daniel Nava. Kouzmanoff, Nava, and Duggleby hit theirs on the first pitch; Hermida's grand slam was in a pinch-hit at bat.
Tony Cloninger is the only pitcher to hit two grand slams in one game, for the Atlanta Braves in a contest against the San Francisco Giants.
Félix Hernández of the Seattle Mariners became the first American League pitcher since the designated hitter rule went into effect in to hit a grand slam when he did so on June 23,, against the New York Mets in an interleague game.
The only major league player to hit two grand slams in one inning is Fernando Tatís of the St. Louis Cardinals, in, both grand slams coming off Los Angeles Dodgers' pitcher Chan Ho Park in the third inning. Tatis was only the second National League player to hit two grand slams in one game, joining Cloninger. Park was only the second pitcher in major league history to give up two grand slams in one inning, joining Bill Phillips of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who did it in, one to Tom Burns and one to Malachi Kittridge. Therefore, Park was the first to give up both to the same batter. Tatis had never hit a grand slam before in his career. Bill Mueller is the only player to hit grand slams from both sides of the plate in the same game, when he hit 2 in for the Boston Red Sox against the Texas Rangers. Robin Ventura is the only player to hit a grand slam in both games of a doubleheader, when he did so in for the New York Mets against the Milwaukee Brewers.
In Japan's professional league, the feat of multiple grand slams in a single inning by a team has been accomplished three times; most recently on April 1, 2007 by José Fernández and Takeshi Yamasaki of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. The Daiei Hawks accomplished the feat in.
On August 25,, the New York Yankees became the first team in MLB history to hit three grand slams in one game. Robinson Canó, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson took Oakland Athletics pitchers Rich Harden, Fautino de los Santos, and Bruce Billings deep, with each grand slam being hit in a different inning. The Yankees would win the game 22–9.
On June 3,, a record-breaking seven grand slams were hit on one day: one each for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies, Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim whose Albert Pujols hit his 600th career home run.

Notable calls

"Get out the rye bread and the mustard, Grandma, it is grand salami time!"- used by longtime Seattle Mariners lead commentator Dave Niehaus from the 1995 season until his death in November 2010. Currently used by Niehaus' longtime partner Rick Rizzs.
Various newspaper accounts show players used the term "grand salami" for a grand slam at least as early as 1966. "When Ernie Banks hits a grand slam he always calls it a 'grand salami,'" reported Jack Lang. "'In that way I always manage to get a nice big salami delivered to my home by the Hebrew National salami people,' Banks laughed."

World Series

Other MLB postseason grand slams

MLB All-Star Game grand slams

Career grand slam leaders

1 – National League record

Single-season grand slam leaders

a – American League
n – National League

Works cited