Grand gestures: 7 different players belt slams on Saturday to set record
Slams Across America: Saturday sees an @MLB-record SEVEN slams in single day. https://t.co/KQlwrkNhAF #PapaSlam pic.twitter.com/IvRyZq2LpC
— MLB (@MLB) June 4, 2017
For sluggers, it was seventh heaven.
In addition to Albert Pujols' mesmerizing, record breaking 600th career home run, six other players hit grand slams on Saturday, setting a major-league record in grandiose fashion.
| Player | Opposing pitcher | HR distance |
|---|---|---|
| Kyle Schwarber | Mike Leake | 398 ft. |
| Matt Adams | Scott Feldman | 441 ft. |
| Ian Desmond | Jose Torres | 407 ft. |
| Travis Shaw | Josh Fields | 381 ft. |
| Chris Taylor | Carlos Torres | 428 ft. |
| Albert Pujols | Ervin Santana | 364 ft. |
| Mike Zunino | Alex Cobb | 444 ft. |
The former record was six, previously established on May 21, 2001. On that day, the grand slams were hit by Garret Anderson, J.T. Snow, Brian Hunter, Jason Giambi, Shawn Green, and Adrian Beltre, according to David Adler of MLB.com.
Interestingly enough, several of the players to go yard on Saturday were in the midst of some struggles at the plate. Schwarber, who was bumped down to seventh in the batting order recently, was a combined .118/.227/.329 since May 1 entering Saturday.
Zunino, meanwhile, was demoted to Triple-A on May 5th after starting the year hitting .167/.250/.236 in 24 games. Accounting for his performance on Saturday, in which he combined for seven RBIs, he's now hit .474/.476/.842 in his past five games.
Lastly, Desmond entered Saturday marred in a horrible home run slump. The 31-year-old had only one dinger since May 3, snapping a 28-game drought with the grand slam.
It was the first ever grand slam for Schwarber, Zunino, and Adams.