In baseball, a grand slam is a home run that is hit when the bases are loaded (i.e., there are runners occupying first, second, and third base simultaneously), thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play.[1] Thirteen players have hit two grand slams in a single Major League Baseball (MLB) game to date, the most recent being Josh Willingham of the Washington Nationals on July 27, 2009.[2] No player has accomplished the feat more than once in his career and no player has ever hit more than two in a game. Tony Lazzeri was the first player to hit two grand slams in a single game, doing so for the New York Yankees against the Philadelphia Athletics on May 24, 1936.[3]
Every team which had a player hit two grand slams won their milestone games. These games have resulted in other single-game MLB records being set due to the prodigious offensive performance. Lazzeri, for example, proceeded to hit a third home run in the game and finished with a total of eleven runs batted in, an American League record.[3][4] Fernando Tatís became the only player to hit two grand slams in the same inning, when he attained the milestone, slugging two in the third inning for the St. Louis Cardinals on April 23, 1999.[3][5] In achieving the feat, he also set a new major league record with eight runs batted in in a single inning.[6][7]
Tony Cloninger is the only pitcher to have accomplished the feat.[5] Bill Mueller hit his grand slams from both sides of the plate,[3][8] while Jim Northrup hit his grand slams on consecutive pitches received in the fifth and sixth innings.[9] Nomar Garciaparra is the sole player to achieve the feat at home, doing so at Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox.[10] Cloninger is the only player who never hit a grand slam before or after his milestone game, while Robin Ventura—with 18 grand slams—hit more than any other player in this group. Frank Robinson is also a member of the 500 home run club.[11]
Of the nine players eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame who have hit two grand slams in a game, two have been elected, one on the first ballot. Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame if they have played in at least 10 MLB seasons, and have either been retired for five seasons or deceased for at least six months.[12] These requirements leave ineligible one player—Jim Tabor—who did not play in 10 seasons.[13]
Players
| Player | Name of the player |
|---|---|
| Date | Date of the two grand slam game |
| Team | The player's team at the time of the game |
| Opposing team | The team against whom the player hit two grand slams |
| Score | Final score of the game, with the player's team score listed first |
| Career GS | The number of grand slams the player hit in his MLB career |
| † | Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame |
| Player | Date | Team | Opposing team | Score | Career GS | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Lazzeri† | May 24, 1936 | New York Yankees | Philadelphia Athletics | 25–2 | 8 | [14][15] |
| Jim Tabor | July 4, 1939 | Boston Red Sox | Philadelphia Athletics | 18–12 | 7 | [16] |
| Rudy York | July 27, 1946 | Boston Red Sox | St. Louis Browns | 13–6 | 12 | [17] |
| Jim Gentile | May 9, 1961 | Baltimore Orioles | Minnesota Twins | 13–5 | 6 | [18] |
| Tony Cloninger | July 3, 1966 | Atlanta Braves | San Francisco Giants | 17–3 | 2 | [19] |
| Jim Northrup | June 24, 1968 | Detroit Tigers | Cleveland Indians | 14–3 | 8 | [20] |
| Frank Robinson† | June 26, 1970 | Baltimore Orioles | Washington Senators | 12–2 | 8 | [21][22] |
| Robin Ventura | September 4, 1995 | Chicago White Sox | Texas Rangers | 14–3 | 18 | [23] |
| Chris Hoiles | August 14, 1998 | Baltimore Orioles | Cleveland Indians | 15–3 | 8 | [24] |
| Fernando Tatís | April 23, 1999 | St. Louis Cardinals | Los Angeles Dodgers | 12–5 | 8 | [25] |
| Nomar Garciaparra | May 10, 1999 | Boston Red Sox | Seattle Mariners | 12–4 | 7 | [26] |
| Bill Mueller | July 29, 2003 | Boston Red Sox | Texas Rangers | 14–7 | 4 | [27] |
| Josh Willingham | July 27, 2009 | Washington Nationals | Milwaukee Brewers | 14–6 | 6 | [28] |
References
General
- "Two Grand Slams in One Game". Baseball-Almanac.com. Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
- "Career Leaders for Grand Slams". Baseball-Almanac.com. Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
Specific