Grand Slam (baseball)
In the sport of baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners ("bases loaded"), thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge, in which a grand slam involves taking all the possible tricks. The word slam, by itself, usually is connected with a loud sound, particularly of a door being closed with excess force; thus, slamming the door on one's opponent(s). The term was extended to various sports, such as golf and tennis, for sweeping a sport's major tournaments.
Read more about Grand Slam (baseball): Notable Highlights, World Series, Other Major League Postseason Grand Slams, All-star Game, Career Grand Slam Leaders, Single-season Grand Slam Leaders
Famous quotes containing the words grand and/or slam:
“Critics are sentinels in the grand army of letters, stationed at the corners of newspapers and reviews, to challenge every new author.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882)
“Hilary Clinton’s great sin was that she left the nicely wallpapered domestic sphere with a slam of the door, took up public life on her own, leaving big feminist footprints all over the place, and without so much as an apology.”
—Patricia J. Williams (b. 1942)