Baseball is a game of records with different terms. Knowing about different terms and stats is fun and enjoyable and also gives an idea about the players’ abilities.
There are some events that happen rarely in a match such as a cycle, grand slam, etc. Fans of baseball have a greater than 8% chance throughout their lifetime of seeing a grand slam.
But what is a grand slam in baseball? Grand slam allows offensive teams to get home runs in a surprising way.
By the way, I will explain everything about the grand slam in baseball. All manner with the grand slam, I will discuss several facts, including major league career grand slams, first career grand slam, single-season record, the first team record, all-time career leader, and so on.
So, sit tight, and let’s learn what it actually is and how it works.
What is Grand Slam in Baseball?
If you are very fortunate, you may have seen a hitter drive in four runs with a single hit.
Okay, if not, no worries. Actually, it is such a phenomenon that rarely happens.
Basically, a grand slam happens in baseball with bases loaded. That means, while a batter hits a ball, all three bases are occupied by three basemen. By this time, the batter hits the ball and completes a home run himself.
Therefore, hitting a grand slam is not something that often happens in baseball. You may rather argue that it is a very uncommon occurrence.
When a hitter hit a grand slam, it means he also gets 4 RBIs (Run Batted In) and a home run. Basically, in baseball, most grand slams occur while the at-bat balls go over the fence.
Former and late Seattle Mariners lead commentator Dave Neihaus called grand slam grand salami. Many players also used the “grand salami” term till early 1966.
See all grand slams in the 2021 MLB season.
Generally, a grand slam occurs with the ball getting out of the fence. But, sometimes inside-the-park grand slams also happen. Though the number of an inside-the-park grand slam is rarer than the regular slams.
Inside-the-park grand slam means when a batter hits the ball and gets a grand slam, but the ball stays inside the fence of the baseball field.
According to the data of Baseballcounter, there are 224 inside-the-park grand slams that happened in MLB.
To acquire an inside-the-park grand slam, you must be very fast as the ball stays inside the field. Also, it is sometimes a matter of luck that the balls get unusual bounces after landing on the ground.
Do you know about FPS? It’s a great stat of a pitcher. A comprehensive guide on “What Does FPS Mean In Baseball?” will help you to understand it thoroughly.
The First Grand Slam in Baseball History
The first major league grand slam took place almost 141 years ago. It’s always something matter of trill to talk about history.
By the way, here is a brief of the first grand slam in MLB history.
According to the Major league record, the first grand slam holder is Roger Connor.
| First Grand Slam Holder | Roger Connor |
| Year | 10th of September 1881. |
| Game | Troy Trojans vs the Worcester Worcesters in National League (Present MLB) |
It was a game between Troy Trojans and the Worcester Worcesters. The game was the first witness to the first grand slam. It was the ninth inning of the game (What timing!).
The bases were loaded, and Roger Connor of Troy Trojans was on the plate. Baseball history first ever witnessed a grand slam that truly amazed the visitors of that match.
The Albany Morning Express posted an article later on the 12th of September on the phenomenon. I am quoting the exact words they had written that day.
The few persons who crossed the river Saturday to the Troys and Worchester play saw an astonishing game of baseball. To the surprise of all, the Troys won the game by a long and lucky hit in the last inning.
By the way, the first grand slam was not considered an official record. But, it became official after the National League became Major League in 1903.
How Often Does a Grand Slam Happen in MLB Games?
The grand slam is such an uncertain phenomenon that it rarely happens.
By the way, to be honest, I have found a brief data of the grand slams in baseball of the 2018 season.
In the 2018 season, there were total home runs of 5585. Among them, there are 141 grand slams happened. So, if you see, the average of happening grand slams compare to home runs is 2.52%. However, it’s very rare.
By the way, what do you think about the scarcity of grand slams?
You can take into account two primary reasons for that.
- Bases loaded are not a frequent phenomenon. So, it’s not up to the batter that he just takes a homer as per his wish. Luck must favor here.
- Just bases loaded are not the only chance. The batter needs to hit the ball for enough distance, which is a tough task.
By the way, according to KeepThatShort, Major league baseball has been experiencing, on average, 135.6 grand slams from 1998 to 2008 per season.
The possibility of a grand slam in every 18 games, on average.
ERA is one of the most important and crucial states for the pitchers. I believe “What Is ERA In Baseball? | A Wide Explanation” will amaze you with the great stat.
Difference Between Grand Slam and Home Run
If you have already understood the meaning of what is a grand slam in baseball, you might also understand the difference between a grand slam and a homer.
You may get a home run even if there is no baserunner(s) n the base. Or, there might be one or two baserunners. Also, you can get the highest 3 runs from a home run.
But in the grand slam, you will get 4 runs. Also, the bases must be loaded.
What is Walk Off Grand Slam?
Before knowing what a walk-off grand slam is, it is important to know what is a walk-off homer.
By the way, a home run that finishes the game is referred to as a “walk-off home run.” As a general rule, a walk-off home run only counts if it is hit in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Also, the home run must exceed the run of the opponent team so that the game ends.
As a direct consequence of this, it is not necessary for the offensive team to play out the whole inning. Instead, they are free to leave the playing field immediately.
So, what is a walk-off grand slam, then?
Now the term might be easy to explain.
A walk-off home run will be considered a walk-off grand slam when it happens along the bases loaded. That means a grand happens with the rules of a walk-off homer.
Along with the walk-off grand slam, knowing about walk-offs in baseball would be a great aspect of understand the relevant things. You may like to go through our post on What Is A Baseball Walk Off | Everything About Walk Off.
Walk-Off Grand Slam Records
From 1916 to today (August 2022), In the history of the major leagues of baseball, there have been approximately 260 walk-off grand slams. Aside from this, only one walk-off postseason grand slam has happened since 1903.
Nelson Cruz, the Texas Ranger’s hitter, had done this in the 2011 American League Championship Series.
By the way, the latest walk-off grand slam is done by New York Yankees’ Josh Donald in the current season of this year. He did this on the 17th of August, 2022.
Even Donald entered the “Ultimate grand slam” club with his latest walk-off grand slum (his 7th of career grand slams).
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Grand Slams in Major League History
Notable grand slams happened as both individual and team records.
Notable Grand Slams by Players
As I mentioned before, Roger Connor is officially the first man declared to get the first ever grand slam in MLB history. On September 10, 1881, he did this for Troy Trojans.
The Troy Trojans fans in the Riverfront Park were crazy that day.
On the other hand, another grand slam occurred in 1871 in National Association. Charlie Gould for Boston Red Stocking hit the grand slam. But, as the National association is not recognized as an MLB league, it is not considered the first grand slam in MLB history.
Aside from this, Alex Rodriguez is the man who is the all-time leader of baseball grand slams. He won 25 career grand slams in his bag.
But, two names come up if you look at the man who holds the single-season record. Don Mattingly and Travis Hafner hold the single-season record. They got six grand slams each in 1987 and 2006, respectively.
And the most interesting about Mattingly’s grand slams is that he has no other grand slams except his six single-season ones.
Two Grand Slams by Players in One Game
Figure 05- Fernando Tatis hit two grand slams in a single inning in MLB, 23rd April 1999
Fernando Tatis hit two grand slams in a single inning in MLB. It is the only MLB record for an athlete to hit two grand slams in a single inning. He was a St. Louis Cardinals player.
The pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chan Ho Park, consumed each of his two grand slams, which is the most intriguing detail about the slams.
By the way, 13 players did two grand slams in a single game in baseball history.
There are 13 players total, and 12 of them are designated hitters. Among the pitchers, Tony Cloninger is the only one who hit two slams in a game. 1966 was the year that he accomplished this feat while playing for the Atlanta Braves against the San Francisco Giants.
| Two Grand Slams by Players in One Game | ||||
| Sl. No. | Name of the Player | Team they Played for | Date of the Incident | Position |
| 1 | Tony Lazzeri | New York Yankees | 24th May 1936 | 2B |
| 2 | Jim Tabor | Boston Red Sox | 4th July 1939 | 3B |
| 3 | Rudy York | Boston Red Sox | 27th July 1946 | 1B |
| 4 | Jim Gentile | Baltimore Orioles | 9th May 1961 | 1B |
| 5 | Jim Northrup | Detroit Tigers | 24th June 1968 | RF |
| 6 | Frank Robinson | Baltimore Orioles | 26th June 1970 | RF |
| 7 | Robin Ventura | Chicago White Sox | 4th September 1995 | 3B |
| 8 | Chris Hoiles | Baltimore Orioles | 14th August 1998 | C |
| 9 | Nomar Garciaparra | Boston Red Sox | 10th May 1999 | SS |
| 10 | Bill Mueller | Boston Red Sox | 29th July 2003 | 3B |
| 11 | Tony Cloninger | Atlanta Braves | 3rd July 1966 | P |
| 12 | Fernando Tatis (single Inning) | St. Louis Cardinal | 23rd April 1999 | 3B |
| 13 | Josh Willington | Washington Nationals | 27th July 2009 | RF |
Three Grand Slams
though there are no three grand slams in a single match, this happened in a single week. One of the top 15 grand slam leaders, Jim Northrup from the Detroit Tigers, hit three grand slams in a week. He did it in the 1968 MLB season.
By the way, later on, Larry Parrish of the Texas Rangers in 1982 joined the three grand slams club.
Grand Slam Career Leaders
Baseball is such a game that creates and breaks records. In every department of the game, each and every terminology has records of its own.
Lou Gehrig had been holding the highest number of career grand slams, 23, till the 2013 MLB season.
Alex Rodriguez breaks his record in the 2013 MLB season. Rodriguez hit his 24th grand slam on the 20th of September, 2013. He hit his 24th grand against San Francisco Giants and stepped ahead of Lou Gehrig’s 23 all-time records.
Ultimately, he ended his career with 25 grand slams, which is currently the most career grand slams for an individual. Following is the list of the top 15 career grand slam leaders.
| Grand Slam Career Leaders | ||
| Sl. No. | Name of the Player | Number of Grand Slam |
| 1 | Alex Rodrguez | 25 |
| 2 | Lou Gehrig | 23 |
| 3 | Manny Ramírez | 21 |
| 4 | Eddi Murry | 19 |
| 5 | Willie McCovey | 18 |
| 6 | Robin Ventura | 18 |
| 7 | Jimmie Fox | 17 |
| 8 | Carlos Lee | 17 |
| 9 | Ted Williams | 17 |
| 10 | Hank Aron | 16 |
| 11 | Dave Kingman | 16 |
| 12 | Babe Ruth | 16 |
| 13 | Albert Pujols | 16 |
| 14 | Ken Griffy, Jr. | 15 |
| 15 | Ryan Howard | 15 |
Single Season Grand Slam Leaders
A single-season career lead is also something special and great record in baseball. The following list is for the top 15 single-season grand slam leaders.
| Single Season Grand Slam Leaders | |||
| Sl. No | Name of the Player | Single Season Grand Slams | Year/League |
| 1 | Dong Mattingly | 6 | 2006/American League |
| 2 | Travis Hafner | 6 | 1987/American League |
| 3 | Ernie Banks | 5 | 1955/National League |
| 4 | Jim Gentile | 5 | 1961/American League |
| 5 | Albert Pujols | 5 | 2009/National League |
| 6 | Richie Sexson | 5 | 2006/American League |
| 7 | Albert Belle | 4 | 1997/American League |
| 8 | Ray Boone | 4 | 1953/American League |
| 9 | Vince DiMaggio | 4 | 1945/National League |
| 10 | Lou Gehrig | 4 | 1934/American League |
| 11 | Scooter Gennett | 4 | 2017/National League |
| 12 | Jason Giambi | 4 | 2000/American League |
| 13 | Sid Gordon | 4 | 1950/National League |
| 14 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr. | 4 | 2021/American League |
| 15 | Tommy Henrich | 4 | 1948/American League |
Team Grand Slams Facts
As individual players are from teams like players, baseball teams also have many notable facts to know.
During the Major League Baseball season of 2006, the Chicago White Sox stunned their home crowd three times in a row. They won three consecutive games in a row by recording three consecutive grand slams in each of those games.
They were playing the Houston Astros from the 23rd to the 25th of June when they accomplished it.
The next year, 2007, the Kansas City Royals surrendered three consecutive grand slams.
On April 13th and 14th, they hit their first two slams against the Baltimore Orioles. Both of those games were wins. And the last one is done against the Detroit Tigers on the 16th of April.
More craziness happened in the year 2011. New York Yankees hit multiple grand slams in one match. On the 25th of August 2011, they hit three grand slams in a single match. As a result, they became the first team to do such a record.
Robinson Canó, Russell Martin, and Curtis Granderson hit the three grand slams in different innings of the game.
On the other hand, on the 3rd of June 2017, the baseball world and fans saw an incredible 7-grand-lam day in the history of MLB.
The following seven teams hit grand slams on that day.
- Los Angeles Dodgers.
- Milwaukee Brewers.
- Atlanta Braves
- Colorado Rockies.
- Chicago Cubs.
- Seattle Mariners.
- Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim.
Aside from this, on 2oth August 2020, San Diego Padres hit four grand slams in four consecutive games.
Baseball World Series Grand Slams
We can divide the baseball World Series game into two parts. In the 20th century and 21st centuries. Many notable incidents happened in the World Series with grand slams. Here are some key facts about them.
20th Century’s World Series Notable Facts About Grand Slam
1920: In the 1920 season of the MLB World Series, the first-ever grand slam happened in game 5. On the 10th of October, the Cleavland Guardians’ hitter Elmer Smith hit the first ever World Series grand slam against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1936: A game that held President Roosevelt. On October 2, Tony Lazzeri from the New York Yankees hit Dick Coffman of the New York Giants with a grand slam in the 3rd inning.
1951: On October 9, Gil McDougald of Yankees hit a postseason grand slam when the team was in two out in the third inning. Hitting out the slam against the New York Giants of NL, the Yankees got a 13-1 win in that match.
1953: On October 4, Yankees’ Micky Mantle hits reliever Meyer’s first pitch of Brooklyn Dodgers.
1956: Yogi Berra, the Yankees’ hitter on October 5, hit a grand slam against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the second inning. The ninth inning of the game was 3 hours and 26 minutes long. This held the longest nine-inning record till 1993.
1960: New York Yankees’ Bobby Richardson hit a grand slam on October 8 against Pittsburgh Pirates. In that match, Richardson recorded a series record 6 RBIs.
1962: On October 8. Chuck Hiller from the San Francisco Giants hit a grand slam with two outs. He was the first player in that season who hit a grand slam after two outs as a National League Player.
1964: Ken Boyer of St. Louis Cardinal, on October 11, got his grand slam when Bobby Richardson of Yankees made a fielding error.
1968: October 9, Jim Northrup against St. Louis Cardinals, with a 10-run inning.
1970: Dave McNally, on 13th October, got his grand slam against Cincinnati Red. In that series, he also pitched in a complete game where Baltimore Orioles won the title in that season.
1987: On October 24, Kent Hrbek of the Minnesota Twins hit reliever Dayley’s first pitch out of the park.
1988: On October 15, José Canseco of Oakland Athletics hits his first-ever MLB grand slam. But they match out their team with the Los Angeles Dodger’s Kirk Gibson’s walk-off home run.
1992: The grand slam hit by Lonnie Smith on the 22nd of October against the Toronto Blue Jays kept the Atlanta Braves in the series.
21st Century’s World Series Notable Facts About Grand Slam
2005: October 23rd, a memorable game for Chicago White Sox. Sox’ Paul Konerko hit a grand slam with a 2-out in the 7th inning and led the team with 6-4 against Houston Astors. Later on, Houston’s Scott Podsednik did a walk-off home run at the beginning of the ninth inning.
At the end of the game, Chicago won the game 7-6.
2016: On November 1st, Addison Russel of the Chicago Cubs made a record along with his World Series grand slam. He put himself in the record book beside the 1960’s Bobby Richardson’s 6-RBI record.
This was also the first grand slam of November of the 2016 season.
2019: Alex Bregman’s grand slam by driving the ball inside the left field foul pole increased the lead of the Houston Astros side by 8-1 on 26th October.
Prior to it, Kyle Tucker and George Springer started off the team by consecutively walking with the bases loaded, giving the advantage to the team by a 4-1 lead.
2021: Though Adam Duvall of the Atlanta Braves made a grand slam against Houston Astros on October 31, Houston won the game in the end. However, the Houston Astros’ World Series title dream was alive till then. Finally, Atlanta Braves won the title for the 2021 World Series.
Additional Read: What Is Foul Ball in Baseball? An Unforgivable Violation!
Postseason Grand Slams
According to baseball historical records, the postseason grand slams have a rich history and notable incidents.
Before 2000 Postseason History
1970 ALSC, October 3: The first ever LCS grand slam in history. Mike Cuellar from Baltimore Orioles made a grand slam who batted only at .89 in the regular season.
1977 NLCS, October 4: Ron Cey of the Los Angeles Dodgers made a grand slam against Philadelphia Phillies. He fouls off three full-count pitches. Ultimately Angeles lost the game.
1989 NLCS, October 4: Will Clark of San Francisco Giants made a grand slam in NLCS against Chicago Cubs of Greg Maddux pitch. In this game, he also hits his first pitch, which brings the second home run for the team.
Clark also made singles, doubles, and walks, making him the NLCS RBI record holder with 6 RBI in the game.
1992 NLCS, October 7: Ron Gant got the plate with two outs of his team. By the way, he got his first-ever career grand slam and doubled the lead for Atlanta Braves against Pittsburg Pirates.
1995 NLDC, October 6: The match was between Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers. Reds’ Mark Lewis got the plate with no out and made the first-ever pinch-hit grand slam in postseason history.
This also drove the Reds to get their eighth straight playoff victory.
1995 ALDC, October 7: In the 1995 ALDS series, Edgar Martínez of the Seattle Mariners hit a postseason grand slam against the New York Yankees in the 8th inning. This match is significant because Martinez got a postseason record of 7-RBI in this match.
In the same inning, the bases loaded with no out.
1997 NLDS, October 3: The match of the 1997 NLDS between Florida Marlins and San Francisco Giants was significant for the Marlins. Devon White of the Marlins hit a grand slam in the sixth inning to advance his team to the National League Championship Series for the first time ever.
1998 NLDC, October 3: Eddie Perez hit the grand slam against the Chicago Cubs in the 8th inning and sent the Cubs to their sixth straight playoff loss.
1999 ALDS, October 7: Jim Thome of Cleaveland Guardians hit his second grand slam against Boston Red Sox. As a result, he became the first player to hit two postseason grand slams in a season.
After 2000 Postseason History
2003 NLCS, October 11: Aramis Ramírez of Chicago Cubs hit the grand slam against Miami Marlins. And, it was the first-ever grand slam for Cubs in the postseason game.
2004, October 20: Jonny Damon hit a grand slam against New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox came back to the series after 3 losses.
2005, October 4: Reggie Sanders from st. Louis Cardinal hit a grand slam off Jake Peavy of the San Diego Padres, who was pitching with a fractured rib.
2005 NLDS, October 9: The second longest postseason game in history. Lance Berkman of the Houston Astros hit a grand homer.
2008 NLDS October 2: Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies hit the first-ever grand slam for the team.
2016 NLCS, October 15: The game was between Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers. Till the 8th inning, the game held tied 3-3. Miguel Montero’s grand slam in the ninth inning took the Chicago Cubs into a 7-3 victory.
2017 NLCS, October 19: Kiké Hernández of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit a grand slam along with his three homers and helped him to hold the 7-RBI record in the MLB postseason. His devastating knockout blows were a key factor in the Dodgers’ return to the World Series, which hadn’t happened for them since 1988.
2021 ALCS, October 16: In this game, Boston Red Sox’s J. D Martinez and Rafael Devers hit two grand slams in a single game of postseason history.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the ultimate grand slam in baseball?
A situation is when the offensive team is trailed by three runs by the defensive team in the ninth inning. In this situation, if the bases are loaded, and the batter gets a walk-off homer/grand slam, this will be called an ultimate grand slam.
In MLB history, there is a total of 31 ultimate grand slams that happened. Babe Ruthe, the legend of baseball is the first ever ultimate grand slam holder in MLB history.
Why is it called a grand slam baseball?
The name grand slam comes from the card game bridge. Here the goal is to win every trick that players use. Like the bridge, the grand slam allows the batter to gain the highest possible runs in one shot.
Wrap Up
All I have shown in the post “what is grand slam in baseball?”. In terms of doing the incident, it is something exceptional and amazing. Along with being skilled, luck must favor the hitter as well.
As a result, the grand slam in baseball is a rare incident where it happens once on average 18 games. So, you cannot consider players poor who don’t have a grand slam in their career.
By the way, practice makes a man perfect. So, a lot of practice may increase the chance of getting a grand slam in your next games. So, keep practicing well.
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Hello everyone. My name is Jason Butler, and I live in California, America. I was a professional AAA Minor League Baseball player. I lost my chance of playing MLB for injury issues, but I did not lose my love for baseball. I attended the coaching training program and am now working as a coach in a small school in San Diego.
I always love to share my experience and knowledge if that can help you. Play baseball, and stay fit.