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With Derek Norris's walkoff blast Friday night, the 2015 Padres now have three grand slams to their name. With fifty-two games in the books, that puts them on pace to hit nine this season. That would be the most since 2001's squad set the record at an even 10 and it would tie the 1995 team's second-place mark.
It's pretty easy to see why the 2001 team holds the top spot: They had the fourth-most homers in team history at 161 and the fourth-highest on base percentage at .336. When you put runners on a lot and hit a lot of home runs, grand slams are going to happen. Phil Nevin was the driving force behind the record-setting team, hitting a career-best 41 homers, four of which came with the bases loaded.
The 1995 Padres made their nine-slam season a true team effort, with only Melvin Nieves (no relation to 2015 grand slam hitter Wil Nieves) doing it twice. Their OBP mark rivaled 2001 at at .334, but they didn't have the same kind of power, hitting only 116 home runs.
At present, this year's team doesn't look much like '95 or '01, as they're on pace for 130 home runs with a .300 OBP. But that is rather similar to the team with the most grand slams in the Petco Park era: 2010's 90-win squad. Adrian Gonzalez hit 3 of the 5 big blasts that season, with the team hitting 132 homers with a .317 OBP. With 112 games to go and Justin Upton leading a parade of sluggers, the 2010 mark seems easily attainable, and even the franchise record isn't out of the question.
Here are the top grand slam teams:
| Rk | Year | HR |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2001 | 10 |
| 2 | 1995 | 9 |
| 3 | 1996 | 6 |
| 4 | 2002 | 5 |
| 5 | 2010 | 5 |
| 6 | 1989 | 5 |
And here are the players who set the record in 2001: