If you've been reading me regularly, you probably know by now I am a life-long Boston Red Sox fan, so this is a column that actually is tough for me to write. It is with begrudging admiration that I must praise and salute the new “Bronx Bombers” --the New York Yankees of 2011.
On August 25, guys named Robinson Cano, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson did something no other Yankee team in history, or for that no other team in history, has ever done -- they each hit a grand slam home run in the same game. That’s right, three in the same game, and each one off of a different pitcher.
I would have thought their names should have been Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, or even Mantle. The guys who were lauded in their Hall of Fame careers as the original “Bronx Bombers."
To understand what a great feat this was, you must look at the achievement in proper perspective. In almost 100 years of legendary slugging, the Yankees never enjoyed a day like this. In fact, next month Major League Baseball will enjoy its 200,000th regular season game, yet no other team ever enjoyed such a day as well.
In baseball, a grand slam is a home run with bases loaded. In other words it means that runners occupy all three bases. In other sports, tennis and golf for example, it’s a term for sweeping a sport’s major tournaments.
According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term grand slam is attributed to the card game of contract bridge. There, a grand slam means one has won all the possible tricks. The word “slam” is usually associated with the loud sound of a door being shut with excessive force, as if a team were slamming the door on one’s opponent. The explanation actually fits the baseball nomenclature. A grand slam in baseball means you have caused a total of four runs, the most possible from one hit, to score.
Looking back in baseball’s historic past, we learn that a player named Roger Connor (who?) hit a grand slam on September 10, 1881. He was playing for the Troy Trojans (again who?) at the time.
When talking about grand slams, somehow it’s almost always associated with a Yankee name. For example, did you know that Lou Gehrig (my all-time hero athough he was a Yankee -- Red Sox legend Ted Williams is second in my book) holds the all-time career record with 23? Don Mattingly, another Yankee and the current manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, set the MLB one-season record was he hit six in 1987. This record was tied in 2006 by Cleveland Indians DH Travis Hafney. In 2009, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols tied the national League single-season record when he hit five. This record was originally set by Chicago Cubs outfielder Ernie Banks in 1955.
Probably, the greatest grand slam in baseball history belongs to Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente. In 1956, he hit a walk-off inside-the-park grand slam giving his Pirates a one-run victory over the Chicago Cubs 9-8. I personally think this is the ultimate grand slam.
Not to be outdone, a pitcher by the name of Tony Cloninger got into the act in 1966. Pitching for the Atlanta Braves, he hit two grand slams in a game against the San Francisco Giants. The only major leaguer to hit two grand slams in one inning is Fernando Tatis of the Cardinals. He accomplished this feat in 1999 against the Dodgers. The pitcher was Chan Ho Park, making Park only the second pitcher to give up two grand slams in one inning. It was done once before in 1890, but in that game, it was to two different batters, whereas Park gave up his to one batter.
The idea for this column came from a friend of mine, Steve Nober. I hope you have found it informative. However, I want you to know I still do not like the Yankees -- so, go Red Sox!
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