What does achieving a Grand Slam mean across different sports?
Every sports fan would have come across the word 'Grand Slam' somewhere or sometime. To achieve a grand slam, a player has to win individual events or win in a unique style and the term is defined differently in different sports.
'Grand Slam' means slamming the door on one's opponent(s). It is defined as the total success or clean sweep. The word was first associated with a card game 'Contract Bridge' where winning a grand slam meant to win all the tricks in a single hand.
Let us take a look at what a sportsperson has to do to win a grand slam in his respective sport.
#1 Baseball
In baseball, a Grand slam means to hit a home run with all the bases loaded. If the home run is hit when the baserunners occupy all the three bases, it is called a grand slam. Four runs are awarded to the team which hit the home run - the most possible on a single hit.
Roger Connor was the first major league player to hit a grand slam for Troy Trojans in 1881. Alex Rodriguez has 25 career grand slams to his name - the highest in the history of Major League Baseball.