GRAND SLAMS

Phillies outfielder Aaron Altherr hit a grand slam the other night off Dodgers' great lefty pitcher Clayton Kershaw. it was the first time in Kershaws' brilliant career he has ever given up a grand slam home run. That got me to thinking about how special a grand slam is. Check out the following fun facts about "The Salami":

* Alex Rodriguez has the most career grand slams with 25. Lou Gehrig is second with 23. Willie McCovey has the National League record with 18 slams. McCovey also has the record of slams in consecutive seasons at 9.

* Cleveland Indians' third baseman Travis Hefner holds the record of hitting 5 grand slams before the all-star game in 2006. Sixto Lezcano has the only Opening Day walk-off grand slam. He did it on April 10, 1980. Roberto Clemente has the only walk-off inside-the -park grand slam in major league history, accomplishing the feat on July 25, 1956. He did it in spacious Forbes Field, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates for many years.

* Four players have hit grand slams in their very first major league at-bat, including current Phillie Daniel Nava, who did it in 2011 while playing for the Red Sox.

*  The "Ultimate Grand Slam" is a rare feat where a player hits a walk-off grand slam. Steve Pearce of the Toronto Blue Jays was the last major leaguer to do it, on July 30 2017.

* The Yankees are the only team to hit 3 grand slams in one game. No, not Ruth, Gehrig or Mantle, but Robinson Cano, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson on August 25, 2011.

* Fernando Tatis of the St. Louis Cardinals is the only player in the history of baseball to hit two grand slams in one inning. He did it at Dodger Stadium on April 23, 1999.

* The only battery mates to each hit grand slams in the same game are San Francisco Giants' Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner, accomplishing history on July 13, 2014.

* Major League Baseball's record for team grand slams in one day  happened on June 3, 2017. Seven grand slams were hit on May 3rd last spring.

* The last grand slam in a World Series game happened last year when Addison Russell hit a slam for the Cubs against Cleveland on November 1, 2016.

* Tony Cloninger of the Atlanta Braves is the only pitcher to hit 2 grand slams in one game.

* The immortal Nolan Ryan gave up the most grand slam home runs for a pitcher in his career at 10. Meanwhile, approximately 150 pitchers who threw at least 200 career innings never surrendered a grand slam. One pitcher stands out, however- Jim Palmer of the Baltimore Orioles never gave up a grand slam homer in his 19-year career. That includes regular season and post-season ball. Palmer also never gave up back-to-back home runs in his entire career.

* Travis Hafner and Don Mattingly share the record for grand slams in a single season at 6 ( Interesting note: Mattingly hit 6 slams in 1988- the only 6 slams of his entire career). Ernie Banks and Albert Pujois  hold the National League record with 5 grand slams in a season ( Pujois' 600th career home run was a grand slam).

* The record for most grand slams in a season by a rookie is 4 slams in 2008 by Chicago White Sox Alexei Ramirez.

* Jim Northrup ( 1968) and Larry Parrish ( 1982) are the only players in baseball history to hit 3 grand slams during the same calendar week.

*  On May 26, 1926 pinch-hitters Pat Crawford ( New York Giants) and Les Bell ( Boston Braves) became the only pinch-hitters in baseball history to hit grand slams in the same game.