James Wood Hits Rare Inside-the-Park Grand Slam

James Wood enters MLB history books

Nationals rookie James Wood made history Tuesday with an inside-the-park grand slam against the Mets. It’s only the second time a Nationals player has ever done it.

At 23, James Wood hit the first grand slam of his career in style. His inside-the-park homer against New York was the 211th in MLB history since 1876...

Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood pulled off a feat almost never seen in baseball. During Tuesday’s game against the New York Mets, he hit an inside-the-park grand slam. It was only the second time a Nationals player has ever done it.

The blast was also the first grand slam of Wood’s career. At 23 years old, the homer gave him 13 on the season and pushed his RBI total to 34. 

Inside-the-park grand slams are extremely rare. The last player to hit one was Raimel Tapia for the Tampa Bay Rays back in 2022.

Before Wood, the only other Nationals player to hit an inside-the-park grand slam was Michael A. Taylor. He did it for Washington on September 8, 2017.

Wood’s slam is the 211th in MLB history since Retrosheet began tracking the stat in 1876. Coming into the game, he led all of baseball with 41 runs scored and seven intentional walks. He also led the National League with 40 total walks.

The Nationals entered Tuesday’s matchup with the Mets sitting third in the NL East. Their record stood at 23-25.