3. Francisco Cervelli’s Grand Slam- May 8, 2011
The Yankees fell victim to an early four-run deficit but thanks to a huge day from Francisco Cervelli, it was all good.
The Yankees’ catcher was experiencing a 307 at-bat home run drought and it all came to an end in grand style. That home run was Cervelli’s only second home run of his career but it gave him as many grand slams as Jeter, who also homered that day.
For Cervelli, his Mother has always been by his side and that didn’t change after his demotion in 2013.
After the Yankees acquired Chris Stewart, the “Cisco Kid” was sent down to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre where his Mom was there for him.
Cervelli stated that his Mom would watch him from the box seats at the minor league stadium and always keep him going.
“Even if I had three strikeouts, she was happy,” Cervelli told Hoch. “She’s always got something. I’d say, ‘Mom, I got three strikeouts,’ and she’d say, ‘Yeah, but you won the game. You helped this guy to do something.’ Always looking on the positive side. It’s a gift.”
Now a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cervelli owns a .297 batting average in his two years there and is converting one of the best catchers in the game.
