Chan Ho Park and the Los Angeles Dodgers found themselves on the wrong end of MLB history on April 23, 1999, when St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Fernando Tatis slugged two grand slams in the same inning.
Before that point and in the time since, Tatis stands alone in accomplishing such a feat. Before Tatis, Mark McGwire was the only player on the Cardinals roster to ever hit two home runs in the same inning.
However, he did so as a member of the Oakland Athletics, and when the bases were not loaded for either of them. Only 13 players can lay claim to hitting two grand slams in a single game, with Josh Willingham the last to do so in 2009.
That Park was even pitching when Tatis came up to bat a second time was a story alone. Before the first blast, he’d allowed a single, hit a batter and allowed another single.
After Tatis’ first grand slam, Park got a groundout, surrendered a home run, issued back-to-back walks, had an error committed behind him and recorded a fly out. Then Park gave up the second grand slam to Tatis.
Park allowed 11 runs and threw 48 pitches before being removed with two outs in the third. He became the second pitcher to allow two grand slams in one inning, joining Whoa Bill Phillips (1890) in the record books.
Tatis finished the 1999 season batting .298/.404/.553 with 31 doubles, 34 home runs and 107 RBI. His career was unfortunately derailed by injuries and he was out of the league by 2004. Tatis attempted a comeback with the Baltimore Orioles in 2006, but only appeared in 28 games.
He then spent parts of three seasons with the New York Mets from 2008-2010.
Dodgers grand slam record
During the 2021 season, the Dodgers set a franchise record with 11 grand slams, surpassing the 10 hit by the 2004 team. Trea Turner and Gavin Lux led the way with two each.
The 2023 Dodgers also finished the season with 11 grand slams to tie for the franchise record.
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