Did You Know….

Two Grand Slams in One Game – by a Pitcher!

On July 3, 1966, Tony Cloninger achieved a feat that no pitcher before or since has matched. He hit two grand slams in a game for the Atlanta Braves against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park. He also had an RBI single in the 17-3 rout. His 9 RBI broke the record of 7 for a pitcher by the Yankees‘ Vic Raschi in 1953.

Cloninger‘s first clout capped the 7-run first inning and came off Bob Priddy, who had replaced starter Joe Gibbon. When Tony came up in the fourth inning with the sacks full, C Joe Torre was on third. 3B coach Grover Resinger told him he could “feel it”: Tony was going to set a record by hitting another slam.

No way, said Joe. “I’ve been up five years, and I’ve never seen anyone come close to hitting two in one game.” One pitch later, lefty Ray Sadecki tried a fastball, and Cloninger sliced it toward RF. CF Willie Mays and RF Jesus Alou raced toward the ball, only to watch it sail over the fence. Resinger went wild at third. In the 90-year history of the National League, no player – much less a pitcher – had ever crashed two slams in one game.

Cloninger finished the 1966 season with a 14-11 record for the fifth place Braves. He hit a total of five four-baggers that year and 11 for his career. The righty compiled a 113-97 record in his 12-year career with Milwaukee/Atlanta, Cincinnati, and St. Louis.

There have been 13 players, 10 in the American League and 3 in the National League, that have hit two grand slams in a game. Fernando Tatis is the only player in Major League history to hit two grand slams during the same inning? Bill Mueller is the only player in Major League history to hit two grand slams during the same game from opposite sides of the plate. Robin Ventura, who hit two grand slams during the same game also became the first player in Major League history to hit one grand slam during each end of a double header. Don Mattingly holds the single season record with six (6) in the 1987 season. He is tied with Dale Long and Ken Griffey Jr. Talk about being “hot“, in that same year (1987), Mattingly hit home runs in eight consecutive games. He actually had 10 home runs including 2 of his 6 grand slams in that eight game stretch. Not only could he hit, his career fielding % was .996 which won him nine Gold Glove awards. However, apparently he isn’t Hall of Fame worthy.

Speaking of grand slams, the first Grand Slam home run in major-league history was hit on September 9, 1881 by Roger Connor. He was playing with the Troy Trojans—a small franchise that was shut down one year later to form the New York Gothams (which then became the Giants). Connor was known as the 19th century’s home run king, and held the lifetime home run record of 138 before he was surpassed by Babe Ruth in 1921. Ruth would build on his total, holding the record of 714 career home runs for another 53 years. In 1885, Connor was one of the founders of the first sports trade union, the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players, which established the short-lived Players League to compete with the National League. Connor earned the nickname the “Oak”, for being unbendable, when, in 1890, he turned down a lucrative offer to rejoin the National League. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976.

What are the odds of hitting a grand slam? There is an average of 131 Grand Slams every year in MLB. That represents 1 Grand Slam for every 1,402 plate appearance. The  probability for any one player hitting 2 Grand Slams in one game of 1 in 613,497.

Listed below are the top 25 leaders of career grand slams:

Barring injury, both Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez should surpass Lou Gehrig. Ramirez will be 38 this year and Rodriguez 35. My money is on Rodriguez retiring as the grand slam king with no-one even close behind him.

Yankees Lose Two World Series  on the Bases

The 1921 World Series ended with the final Yankee out recorded on the basepaths. In their first Series ever, the Yankees took the New York Giants to seven games, all played at the Polo Grounds, the home both clubs shared while Yankee Stadium was being built. In the ninth inning of the eighth game (the Series was best-of-nine in 1921), with the Giants ahead 6-4,  the Yankees’ Aaron Ward was on first base with one out. Frank “Home Run” Baker ripped a grounder toward right field when second baseman Johnny Rawlings made a spectacular catch and threw to first to get Baker. Ward, assuming the ball had gone through, continued around second but was thrown out at third by a bullet throw from first baseman George Kelly to third baseman Frank Frisch. Game, Series – over.

I never thought of Babe Ruth as a base stealer and he didn’t get into the hall of fame on his stolen base statistics. However, they are better than than I thought they were. In his career he had 240 attempts and was successful 123 times (51%). Unfortunately, that success didn’t carry over to the 1926 World Series which ended with Babe Ruth caught stealing at second in the seventh game at Yankee Stadium. That was the game in
which GroverCleveland Alexander relieved in the seventh inning to strike out Tony Lazzeri with the bases loaded.