Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
In the bottom of the seventh inning, in a tied ballgame at one apiece, Alex Rodriguez came up to bat with the bases loaded and two outs. In a great pitching duel between C.C. Sabathia and Tim Lincecum, the situation would call for A-Rod, who always seems to come to the plate in the most dramatic situations, and usually failing.
In a game the New York Yankees needed to win against the San Francisco Giants to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, Rodriguez actually delivered.
This was the first time all year that A-Rod has had a chance with a full pond of ducks, and it could be the final time this season with so few games left. To make it even more dramatic, A-Rod was tied with Lou Gehrig for the most grand slams in baseball history with 23 homers with the bases juiced. With all of his lingering leg injuries and not being able to use his lower half, he still muscled a 2-1 fastball from George Kontos over the short porch in right field.
The significance of the record-breaking grand slam is debatable with A-Rod’s involvement performance-enhancing drugs. But, this could have been Rodriguez’s last chance to be the all-time grand slam leader because he might not get a chance to come to the plate with the bases loaded again this year.
More importantly, he might not get another chance to face a major league pitcher for the next 211 games after this season concludes, because that is when the appeal of his PED suspension begins. What isn’t questionable is that his 24th grand slam kept the Yankees alive for this season, and that’s all the Yankees faithful can ask for as of now.
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