James Wood delivered one of baseball’s rarest moments in win

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May 20, 2026 - 11:28

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James Wood delivered one of baseball’s rarest moments in win originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

There are grand slams, and then there are moments so strange and chaotic that even the player involved can barely believe they happened. James Wood gave baseball one of those moments Tuesday night. The Washington Nationals superstar crushed an inside-the-park grand slam during Washington’s 9-6 comeback win over the New York Mets, producing one of the rarest plays Major League Baseball has seen in decades. And somehow, it perfectly captured the kind of player Wood is becoming.

James Wood turned chaos into history

The Nationals trailed 5-0 in the second inning when Wood stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs against Mets starter Nolan McLean. One swing completely changed the game.

JAMES WOOD INSIDE-THE-PARK GRAND SLAM! pic.twitter.com/8P0K4jhApZ— MLB (@MLB) May 20, 2026

Wood drove a sweeper into the outfield gap, where the ball glanced off the glove of rookie outfielder Nick Morabito before bouncing away toward center field. From there, everything became a sprint. Wood immediately recognized the opportunity.

“When I saw that, I kind of just knew it was a full-on sprint home,” Wood said after the game.

The 23-year-old circled the bases in just over 15 seconds before sliding headfirst across home plate for his first career grand slam and one of the most unusual home runs MLB fans will ever see. According to ESPN, it was only the ninth inside-the-park grand slam in Major League Baseball since 1994.

That alone makes the moment historic.

MORE: Cardinals keep proving they’re built for chaos in thrilling walk-off win

Wood keeps showing why he’s one of baseball’s brightest stars

The play was chaotic, but the bigger story remains Wood’s continued rise into stardom. The towering Nationals slugger already entered Tuesday with 12 home runs on the season, and his ability to impact games in multiple ways is becoming impossible to ignore. Most players his size are not supposed to move the way Wood does once the ball gets into open space.

That combination of power and athleticism is exactly why so many around baseball believe he can become one of the faces of the sport over the next several years. Ironically, Nationals manager Blake Butera joked after the game that Wood probably prefers traditional home runs because they require less running.

Still, even Wood admitted this one was special.

“It was a fun way to get it,” he said.

Nationals may finally have a true centerpiece

Washington’s rebuild has required patience, but nights like this show why the organization remains so optimistic about its future. Wood is no longer simply a promising young player putting up interesting numbers. He is becoming the type of talent capable of creating nationally memorable moments at any time.

Inside-the-park grand slams almost never happen. Players with Wood’s blend of size, speed and raw power almost never come around either. On Tuesday night, baseball got a reminder of both.