LAD Grand Slams within their first 25 games

Phil Gurnee ♦ August 22, 2017 ♦ 1 Comment

Hmm, I have to edit this as I only have it for a Dodger in their 25 games in the majors. Thus Grandy and Chris Taylor don’t count until I figure out how to get them in.

Before 2015 only four LAD had ever hit a grand slam in their first twenty-five games. Three players have done it since the start of the 2015 season. Guerrero, Toles,  and Bellinger.

Last year Andrew Toles hit a grand slam on August 31st,  Cody Bellinger did it earlier this year on May 6th against the Padres and last night Curtis Granderson pulled it off.  Granderson owns all sorts of grand slam fun. He was the first player to ever hit grand slams for two different teams in four days. Remember he hit a grand slam in his last game as a Met becoming the only Met to ever do that. Granderson’s grand slam was most timely as the Dodgers trailed 3 – 0 late when he took Gerrit Cole deep. I’m sure I’m not the only fan who was wondering why Cole was still in the game. During the inning the Dodgers had a single, walk, ground out, single, single and Cole was over 100 pitches and clearly laboring.  Later I would find out that the Pirates had entered the game with only three pitchers available so now it made sense, but it didn’t at the time.

Curtis Granderson is the 1st player in MLB history to hit 2 grand slams in a 4-game span for different teams (via @EliasSports) pic.twitter.com/6YDpgIrh8T

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 22, 2017

When Andrew Toles hit his momentous grand slam last night he did it in his 25th career game.  Which left me wondering what other LAD have hit a grand slam in their first 25 games.

We all remember Yasiel Puig hitting his first grand slam in his 4th game.

Alex Guerrero did it in his 13th game on April 12th, 2015. Might have been the hit of the year.

Cody Ross had one of the strangest games in LAD rookie history. He hit two home runs including a grand slam on April 13th, 2006 and was traded eleven days later to the Reds.

Oh look , I fit a Bill Sudakis moment in here, what a shock. Billy hit his grand slam in his 7th game on Sept 8th, 1968

Now this was the biggest surprise to me. Norm Sherry did it in his 9th game on May 31st, 1960. I had no idea that Norm Sherry was a rookie in 1960. Wow, look at the career, one could say it very closely mirrors the career of one A.J. Ellis. I’ll have to look at that more later.

Last but not least, Frank Hondo Howard hit one on May 17th, 1960 in his 21st game.  Frank Howard would be the only one of these rookies to go onto win the ROY award.