What Does Grand Slam Mean In Baseball?

A grand slam in baseball is when the batter hits a home run with the bases loaded, resulting in four runs scored.

Grand Slam

A Grand Slam is when a player hits a home run with the bases loaded, thus scoring four runs. It’s the biggest possible play in baseball, and it’s fairly rare. In fact, there have only been 302 grand slams in MLB history.

Definition

A grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners (“bases loaded”), thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, a grand slam occurs “when the bases are loaded and the batter hits an automatic home run.”[1] It is synonymous with “inside-the-park home run”.[2] Speaker Mel Blanc introduced the term in 1960, saying, “Watch him hit a base-clearing grand slam,” during a Dodgers–Giants game broadcast on KTLA television.[3]

While baseball analyst and historian Bill James wrote that grand slams “have become relatively unimportant”, he later wrote about their increased prominence since the late 1990s and how players seem to be more focused on hitting them.[4][5] To maximize the number of runs scored, base runners are typically advised not to attempt to steal or advance bases since a successful batted ball that hits the base runner often results in fewer runs being scored. A grand slam provides both a team and its supporters immediate gratification.[6]

In grand slams, batters hit the ball out of the park for an automatic home run. With the bases full of baserunners, this means four runs have scored on one play; instead of three men coming around to score after hitting solo homers as is normally the case. Baseball writer John Thorn called it “the quintessential moment of jubilation in baseball”.[7][8]

Examples

A grand slam is a home run that is hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners (“bases loaded”), thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to baseball rules, the batting team is awarded first and second base automatically, and only the batter may run the bases. The play is normally scored as a five-base hit for both the batter and each runner; if one or more of the runners were put out by some means other than striking out (such as being caught out), that too is recorded.

History

A grand slam is a home run hit with all bases occupied by baserunners, thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, it is “the crowning achievement of a dramatic comeback.” The term originally used in cricket is now also used commonly in baseball. A grand slam homerun is sometimes called a “grand salami”.

Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth, byname of George Herman Ruth, Jr., also called the Bambino and the Sultan of Swat, (born February 6, 1895, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.—died August 16, 1948, New York, New York), professional baseball player generally considered the greatest hitter in the history of the game.

A left-handed batter and thrower who was 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 metres) tall and weighed 190 pounds (86 kg), Ruth was one of baseball’s most celebrated sluggers. He played on seven world championship teams with the Boston Red Sox (1915–19) and the New York Yankees (1920–34), but his greatest fame rests on his career home run record—714 in 22 seasons for an average of 32 per year. When he retired at the end of the 1935 season he ranked first in major league history in home runs and walks and second in runs batted in (RBIs).

Lou Gehrig

In baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners (“bases loaded”), thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game bridge, where losing the trick containing the ace, king and queen of trumps is called “burning the first three tricks” or “losing the first three tricks”.

The grand slam achieved prominence during Lou Gehrig’s remarkable 1934 season. In that year, Gehrig hit 17 grand slams, a record that stood until 1998 when Mark McGwire hit his record-breaking 70th home run of the season. Barry Bonds hit 28 grand slams during his career, passing Gehrig’s mark in 2001 with his 71st home run of the season.

With a career total of 23 grand slams, Alex Rodriguez is currently second on Major League Baseball’s all-time list; he trails only Babe Ruth (30) for this prestigious hitting feat.

Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He received a record 12 Silver Slugger Awards, was a 14-time MLB All-Star, and won eight Gold Glove Awards. He is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time. bonds became eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017, but has not been elected.

In his final season, he set the all-time record for home runs in a single season with 73. The record had previously been held by Mark McGwire, who hit 70 home runs in 1998. Bonds also holds the career records for most home runs (762), most walks (2,558), and most intentional walks (688). He is second on the all-time career stolen bases list with 514. His 2,935 hits are the ninth-most all time for a player who primarily played as an outfielder, while his 688 home runs are fifth all time among outfielders.

Bonds was born into a baseball family: his father Bobby Bonds played for nine MLB seasons as an outfielder; and his godfather is Willie Mays, widely considered one of the greatest players of all time. While growing up in San Carlos, California, Bonds watched his father play baseball for the San Francisco Giants and developed a close relationship with Mays. As a teenager, he excelled in both track and field events and baseball at Serra High School in San Mateo; he ran personal bests of 10.34 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 49.40 seconds in the 400-meter dash at the age of 15. When Bobby was released by the Giants after the 1974 season, Barry’s family moved to Riverside, California where Bonds attended Junípero Serra High School.[3][4] As a sophomore there he stole 45 bases which set a school single seasonrecord that lasted until 2004 when it was broken by Jovanny Rosario.[5]

The following year he hit 17 homers to tie Ken Griffey Jr.’s national high school record set earlier that year.[6][7] During his senior year bonds batted .467 with 29 homers setting new state records for batting average and homers while tying Griffey’s national mark.[8][9] His 66 career stolen bases ranked second on Riverside’s all time list when he graduated.[10]

Bonds attended Arizona State University where he played both college baseball (through junior year) and college football (freshman year only). In 1984 he hit 23 homers with 66 RBIs and 13 stolen bases en route to being named ASU’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).[11] He also compiled 46 total steals that same season which ranks 5th on ASU’s single season stolen base list.[12][13] In 1985 Bonds led ASU to victory at The College World Series guided by coach Jim Brock.[14] The Sun Devils appeared in five CWS between 1981–1986 posting a 34–22 record overall including 19 wins against top 25 ranked opponents.[15] They won their first national title behindfuture 1st round pick Danny Jackson’s pitching performance versus Florida State University where Jackson threw an 8 inning complete game allowing only 1 run on 2 hits & fanning 10 batters which earned him co MVP honors along with Bonds & Bob Horner(the last amateur player to be drafted 1st overall).

Importance

A Grand Slam in baseball is important because it is the best possible outcome for the batting team. It is a home run hit with the bases loaded, thus scoring four runs and clearing the bases. A Grand Slam is the most exciting play in baseball and can often be a turning point in a game.

Scoring

In baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners (“bases full”), 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 hand with all four aces is called a grand slam.

The common name for this event derives from tennis, where grand slam means winning all four major tournaments in a calendar year. In baseball terminology, any time three hits produce four runs is technically a grand slam. However, the term typically refers to situations when the baserunners are already on base due to walks or errors and thus the batting team needs only one hit for the home run to be classified as Grand Slam.

Winning

In baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners (“bases loaded”), 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 hand scoring all four slams (contracts to win all thirteen tricks) is known as a grand slam.John Thorn, the official historian for Major League Baseball, wrote that the term “entered baseball slang late in the nineteenth century.” The first grand slam in major league history was hit by Bill Duggleby of the Philadelphia Phillies on May 16, 1898.

While Craig Biggio and Albert Pujols both hold the career grand slam record with eight, Alex Rodriguez has hit the most grand slams in a single season, hitting six grand slams in 2007. Sammy Sosa and Lou Gehrig are tied for second place with five grand slams each in a single season. Jason Giambi is second all-time with fifteen.

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, a grand slam in baseball means that a batter hits a home run with the bases loaded, resulting in four runs scored.