Salvador Perez is 10th player in Royals history to hit grand slam in Sonic Slam inning
Catcher Salvador Perez joined a select group of players in franchise history Thursday night when he hit a grand slam in the sixth inning of the Royals’ 6-4 win at Seattle.
Perez is the 10th player ever to win a Royals fan $25,000 by hitting that grand slam in the Sonic Slam inning.
David Dicus of Kansas City will be the recipient of a really big check from Sonic.
Perez told Bally Sports Kansas City’s Joel Goldberg he was unaware that his swing of the bat made Dicus a big winner.
“No, nobody told me that, they got lucky,” Perez said. “God is perfect, maybe that person needed it. God is perfect.”
Here is a look back at the other nine Royals players who have hit a well-timed grand slam.
April 22, 2018: Abraham Almonte
Jadah Bradley of Marys Home, Missouri, was thrilled when Whit Merrifield’s solo home run in the sixth inning of a game against the Tigers won her $300. Things got a whole lot better a short while later when a double and two walks loaded the bases.
Almonte followed with the grand slam off the Tigers’ Alex Wilson. That $25,300 is the most any fan has won in the contest.
Aug. 14, 2017: Cam Gallagher
Gallagher’s first career home run was a money-winning grand slam. It came in Oakland and the slam was hit off the A’s Jharel Cotton.
“I came off the field playing defense the next inning and Drew (Butera) came in and he told me that I won some guy 25 grand,” Gallagher said at the time. “I thought he was joking.”
Tim Brown of Shawnee won the big prize and said his first purchase would be a Gallagher jersey. The Royals beat the A’s 6-2.
July 4, 2013: Lorenzo Cain
Cain provided the fireworks on this Independence Day. Cleveland led 5-0 in the sixth inning when Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler drew walks and Mike Moustakas reached on an error.
With one swing of Cain’s bat, the Royals were back in the game, and Debbie Hassed of Overland Park was a winner.
“I heard the crack of the bat, and my husband was like, ‘That’s it! That’s it!’” Hassed told The Star at the time. “I saw that ball go over the fence, and I just went crazy. The phone started ringing, and the texts started coming in.”
George Kottaras followed with a home run, earning Hassed an extra $100, and the Royals won 10-7.
Aug. 13, 2004: Abraham Nuñez
The Royals beat the A’s 10-3 that day in Oakland, but the game was scoreless in the sixth inning when
This one also came in Oakland, and Nuñez’s blast against Mark Mulder broke a scoreless tie. David DeJesus, Mike Sweeney and Ken Harvey scored. In the eighth inning, John Buck also hit a grand slam and the Royals won 10-3.
April 20, 2004: Matt Stairs
On this day, the Royals scored five runs in the top of the first inning and led 6-4 when Matt Stairs connected against reliever Jeriome Robertson. Tony Graffanino, Carlos Beltran and Juan Gonzalez scored.
That was one of 17 runs Gonzalez scored that year in his only season with the Royals.
In the seventh inning, the Royals pushed four more runs across the plate and won 15-5.
Ron Adams of Independence won $25,000 that day thanks to Stairs.
July 21, 2002: Carlos Beltran
Beltran earned more than $220 million in his big-league career and he was money on this day. But John Richmond was thrilled when won the $25,000.
“Everybody just started hollering, ‘You got it, you got it, you got it,’” Richmond told The Star at the time.
The Royals trailed Cleveland 9-6 at Kauffman Stadium when Beltran hit his grand slam. Cleveland scored three in the ninth, but the Royals tied it with two runs. In the 10th inning, Raul Ibañez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and two outs and the Royals won 13-12.
Afterward, Beltran was asked about the Sonic Slam and he told The Star: “I’m hoping I can get 10 percent of that.”
Sept. 15, 2000: Johnny Damon
This was another crazy game but the Royals ended up on the losing end on the road.
Trailing 9-1 to the Rangers, Damon hit a grand slam as part of a seven-run sixth inning. Dave McCarty, Hector Ortiz and Carlos Febles scored on Damon’s home run off Jeff Zimmerman.
The Royals led 10-9 in the ninth inning, but Texas tied it. In the 10th, the Royals again took the lead, but the Rangers scored twice and won 12-11.
Laura Walker of Jasper, Missouri, won the big payday thanks to Damon.
July 19, 2000: Dave McCarty
McCarty’s two-out home run off Cleveland’s Chuck Finley turned a 3-0 deficit into a 4-3 lead. Mike Sweeney, Jermaine Dye and Mark Quinn scored, and the Royals went on to a 10-5 victory.
Matthew Briggs of Independence was the Sonic Slam winner thanks to McCarthy.
“I didn’t know if he was playing a joke on me or what,” Briggs’ wife, Helena, told The Star at the time. “He was completely thrilled. He couldn’t yell because he was at work, but he was loud.”
May 24, 1997: Craig Paquette
The very first winner of the $25,000 prize was Lisa Milgram of Kansas City.
Paquette’s grand slam was against Seattle’s Jamie Moyer and turned a 3-1 deficit into a lead the Royals would not relinquish. They beat the Mariners 11-5 at Kauffman Stadium.
