On June 26, 1970, Frank Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles became just the seventh player to hit two grand slams in one game during 12-2 romp of the Senators in Washington. Robinson came into the game with a lot on his mind, as he had a sick 7-year-old son at home, and sore back to boot. However, those two things would not keep the 34-year-old slugger from making history. The first big blast came in the fifth against Joe Coleman, and the second came in the sixth against Joe Grzenda. He was only the third man to accomplish the feat in consecutive innings. Jim Gentile did it as a member of the Orioles in 1961, and Jim Northrup did it in 1968 as a member of the Tigers. Today, only 13 men have hit two slams in a game, and only one man can boast doing it twice in a single inning, with that being Fernando Tatis who did it as a member of theSt. Louis Cardinals in 1999. Robinson hit 536 home runs during his Hall of Fame career, eight of those were grand slam home runs, and two of those eight came on this day in 1970.Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WS2/WS2197006260.shtml
I saw this game on my 8th birthday. Since I was a Senators fan, it didn't seem like a very good birthday present, at the time. But looking back at it 46 years later, it turns out to be one of the most enduring memories of my childhood. And I am thankful that I was lucky enough to see this historic moment in person. I still remember the hush that fell over the crowd after each grand slam...especially the second one.
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