June 20, 2021: Mariners’ Shed Long hits a walk-off grand slam on Father’s Day

Fans at T-Mobile Park in Seattle erupt as Shed Long Jr.’s 10th-inning walk-off grand slam clears the right field fence on June 20, 2021. (Courtesy of the author)

Father’s Day holds a special place in baseball history. Father of seven Jim Bunning threw the National League’s first post-1900 perfect game on Father’s Day in 1964.1 Forty years later, Ken Griffey Jr. clubbed his 500th home run on the third Sunday in June with his dad, Ken Sr., in attendance.2 In 2017 Nolan Arenado, whose father came to the US as a Cuban refugee, became the first major leaguer to complete a cycle by hitting a walk-off home run while his team was trailing.3

Inexplicably, the Seattle Mariners have had particularly good fortune on Father’s Day. Between their founding in 1977 and 2025, they were 30-17 (.638) on the holiday, 21-7 (.750) at home.4 Five of those Emerald City triumphs came via walk-off, none more thrilling than left fielder Shed Long Jr.’s rare Father’s Day walk-off grand slam on June 20, 2021.5

Seattle entered 2021 looking to bounce back from a sub-.500 COVID-shortened season. The team’s second-base job was slated to be an open competition between the incumbent Long and another third-year Mariner, utilityman Dylan Moore. Drafted out of high school by the Cincinnati Reds as a catcher,6 Long had been handed Seattle’s second-base position at the start of the 2020 season.7 But Moore’s 2020 power numbers – nine doubles and eight homers in 159 plate appearances, equating to a .496 slugging percentage – had so impressed the Mariners brain trust that the (Spokane, Washington) Spokesman-Review predicted “it would take an abysmal performance from Moore … to not win the starting job.”8

A lingering injury wound up costing Long the chance to fight for his job. The previous September, a stress fracture in his right shin had required surgery, costing him the last few weeks of the season. Early-spring drills aggravated Long’s still-healing shin, prompting the Mariners to shut him down.9 Sidelined for two months, Long rejoined the Mariners on June 8 after a rehab assignment with the Mariners’ Tacoma Triple-A affiliate.10

The son of a former college football player, Long was known to family and friends as Lil Shed, his father as Big Shed. When Long’s mom, Lisa, was pregnant with Shed Jr. she dreamt that he would be a major leaguer.11 That dream became reality in May 2019 when Long traded in his Rainiers jersey for one that said “Mariners” across the chest.

Long’s 2021 return to “The Show” came amid a 4-6 road trip, Seattle’s third straight losing expedition. The Mariners limped home to T-Mobile Park in fourth place with a 32-35 record. Symptomatic of its struggles, Seattle already had used a major-league-high 51 players.12

After taking two of three from the scuffling Minnesota Twins, the Mariners welcomed the AL East Division-leading Tampa Bay Rays for a four-game series starting on Thursday, June 17.

Down by a run entering the bottom of the ninth in the series opener, Seattle scored twice for a 6-5 walk-off win. A one-out double by Long, moved to left field shortly after his callup, tied the score off reliever Pete Fairbanks, with Kyle Seager ending the game on a single. Seattle breezed to a 5-1 victory in the second game and notched a third win over the Rays on Saturday night with a 10th-inning, walk-off home run by Mitch Haniger.

An open roof greeted 18,172 spectators at T-Mobile Park on a glorious Father’s Day afternoon, with clear blue skies and temperatures that reached the upper 70s.13 Starting on the mound for Seattle was southpaw Marco Gonzales, the ace of an underwhelming Mariners staff the year before.14 Undefeated in four career starts against Tampa Bay, Gonzales entered the game 1-4 for the season, with a 5.44 ERA. He had been the AL’s stingiest pitcher in 2020, issuing under one walk every nine innings, but lacked that level of command so far in 2021, issuing 3.3 free passes per nine-innings.

Tampa Bay also went with a left-handed starter, rookie Shane McClanahan. The first graduate of south Florida’s Cape Coral High School to reach the major leagues, McClanahan was 2-2 with a 4.42 ERA while coming off a loss to the Chicago White Sox.

He cruised through the first two innings but was rudely greeted in the third. Catcher Luis Torrens pounced on McClanahan’s first pitch of that frame, a 95-mph four-seam fastball, and drove it over the wall in deep left-center field. It was the backstop’s third solo home run in five games and seventh hit in 16 at-bats.

Tampa Bay looked poised to tie the game in the fourth but was denied by Mariners center fielder (and former Ray) Jake Fraley. With Manuel Margot on first and nobody out, Ji-Man Choi sent a booming drive to right-center field. Fraley, shading Choi to left-center, raced back to make a leaping catch at the top of the eight-foot-high wall.15

The Rays finally broke through with an unearned run in the sixth. Following a leadoff single by Joey Wendle, Gonzales had him picked off but made an errant throw, allowing the Rays shortstop to reach second.16 Wendle moved to third on a groundout and scored when Margot laced a double into right-center field.

One-out doubles by Brandon Lowe and former Mariner Mike Zunino gave Tampa Bay the lead in the seventh and brought an end to Gonzales’ afternoon. Seattle manager Scott Servais waved in lefty specialist Anthony Misiewicz to face the left-handed-hitting Wendle. Brought in to pitch to Wendle the night before, Misiewicz had surrendered a single, but this time he retired Wendle on an outfield fly, then struck out the next batter, Brett Phillips.

The beneficiary of McClanahan’s first career six-inning start, Tampa Bay skipper Kevin Cash, elected to not push his luck. Cash brought in side-arming righty Ryan Thompson for the seventh. Unscored upon in his last nine appearances, Thompson surrendered a home run on his second pitch, a “middle in” slider that first baseman Ty France drove just beyond the left-center-field fence.17 The game was tied, 2-2.

A shutdown inning from reliever Paul Sewald, followed by a three-strikeout frame from Drew Steckenrider, gave Seattle a golden opportunity to end the game in the ninth. Fairbanks, who’d blown a save three games earlier, was solid this time, setting the Mariners down in order. For the second day in a row, Seattle and Tampa Bay were going to extra innings.

Saturday’s winning pitcher, Rafael Montero, took the mound in the 10th with Kevin Kiermaier the designated runner at second base; Kiermaier was subbing for Zunino, who had made the last out in the ninth. Tampa Bay had little love for the extra-inning rule change made permanent for the 2021 season, having lost its last four extra-inning affairs. The Rays’ eighth, ninth and first batters in the lineup each failed to advance Kiermaier, setting the stage for a spectacular finish.

Tampa Bay closer Diego Castillo, idle for the series to that point, entered the game in the bottom of the 10th, with pinch-automatic-runner Taylor Trammell on second base. Moore, who’d been hitless, laid down a sacrifice that turned into a bunt single, putting runners on the corners. The next batter, recently-acquired right fielder Jake Bauers, grounded to Wendle at short, who threw home and thus trapped Trammell in a rundown.18 Trammel strung out the play long enough for Moore to reach third and Bauers to reach second. Castillo walked Torrens to load the bases, then got Fraley out on a fly ball to short left-center that wasn’t deep enough to score Moore. Up next was Long.

In 2021 no AL reliever who worked at least 50 innings used a slider as often as Castillo did: two out of every three pitches (66.5%). So it was no surprise that his first two pitches to Long were sliders. Long took them both, the first for a strike and the second for a ball. Castillo came back with a third, but he hung it. Long had flubbed his last at-bat, popping out when trying to bunt a runner over in the eighth, but not this one. He squared up Castillo’s mistake, driving it towards the right-field fence.

The crowd stood as one and roared. Halfway to first as the ball ricocheted off a metal barrier above the wall, Long raised his right arm in triumph. The entire Mariners dugout was waiting for Long as he reached home plate, where they doused him after his arrival with water, Gatorade, and baby powder.19

At 348 feet, it was one of the shortest home runs hit at T-Mobile Park in 2021, but it was enough for Long’s first career grand slam, a 6-2 walk-off win and Seattle’s first-ever four-game sweep of Tampa Bay.20

“I didn’t know it would be a grand slam off the bat,” Long told reporters afterwards. “It was unbelievable. It’s one of the coolest things you can do in baseball. It was a great feeling just rounding the bases and knowing that I was able to help my team win.”21

Long’s home run, the ninth of 12 in his brief career, was the ninth walk-off grand slam in franchise history and the first since August 8, 2006, when Richie Sexson also did it against Tampa Bay.22

“It’s quite an exclamation to put on this weekend,” Servais told reporters.23 One that Big Shed and any Mariners-loving father would long savor.24

Author’s Note

My wife and I attended this game and celebrated Father’s Day with my late father-in-law’s partner Sandy, two years after his passing. Sitting a dozen or so rows behind the home-plate corner of the visiting team dugout, we had a perfect view of Long’s improbable blast.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Victoria Monte and copy-edited by Mike Eisenbath.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted the Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, Stathead.com and Baseballsavant.mlb.com websites, including box scores and play-by-play at these links:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SEA/SEA202106200.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2021/B06200SEA2021.htm

Notes

1 Cady Lowery, “Jim Bunning Throws a Perfect Game on Father’s Day to Best the New York Mets,” Baseball Hall of Fame, https://baseballhall.org/discover/inside-pitch/jim-bunnings-perfect-game, accessed April 23, 2026.

2 Father’s Day has been celebrated in the United States on the third Sunday in June since the early twentieth century. “Junior achievement: 500 career home runs,” Ironton (Ohio) Times, June 21, 2004: 7.

3 Thomas Harding, “’Cycle for the ages!’ Rockies, Nolan rollin’,” MLB.com, June 18, 2017, https://www.mlb.com/news/rockies-nolan-arenado-hits-for-cycle-c237315934

4 Based on the author’s tabulation from Baseball-Reference.com game scores.

5 The author’s Stathead query of Baseball-Reference’s available play-by-play database, currently dating back to 1910, identifies only one other Father’s Day walk-off grand slam. Greg Vaughn of the Milwaukee Brewers hit one on June 16, 1991 off the Oakland A’s Gene Nelson.

6 A product of Jacksonville High in Jacksonville, Alabama, Long was the next-to-last selection in the 12th -round of the 2013 MLB amateur draft. He was the second ballplayer from the school to reach the major leagues, following outfielder Todd Cunningham, who debuted in 2013 with the Atlanta Braves.

7 Long was installed as Seattle’s regular second baseman in place of Dee Gordon, later Dee Gordon-Strange, the son of one-time major-league closer Tom Gordon. Dee Gordon changed his last name in September 2020 to honor his late mother, DeVona Strange, who was killed when he was a youngster. Timothy Rapp, “Dee Gordon Changes Last Name to Honor His Mom, DeVona Strange, Who Was Killed,” Bleacher Report, September 3, 2020, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2907558-dee-gordon-changes-last-name-to-honor-his-mom-devona-strange-who-was-killed

8 Ryan Divish, “Search for Answers Begins,” Spokesman-Review, February 13, 2021: B4.

9 Ryan Divish, “Early Peek at Projected Roster,” Spokesman-Review, March 10, 2021: B3.

10 “Phenom Sent for More Seasoning,” Kitsap (Washington) Sun, June 9, 2021: B1. Long took the roster spot of struggling rookie outfielder Jarred Kelenic, who had been acquired in a 2018 trade with the New York Mets. Kelenic was recalled by the Mariners after the All-Star break.

11 C. Trent Rosecrans, “It’s a long road, but it could lead to The Show,” Cincinnati Enquirer, October 22, 2017, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/reds/2017/10/19/year-life-minor-leagues/723647001/

12 Steve Herrick, “Fill-in Fraley homers off Bieber, fuels win,” Kitsap Sun, June 14, 2021: B1.

13 Based on author’s on-site observations that day as well as data tabulated at “Seattle, WA Weather History: Boeing Field King County Int; Airport Station,” Wunderground, https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/wa/seattle/KBFI/date/2021-6-20, accessed April 25, 2026.

14 The 2020 Mariners pitching staff was below league-average in ERA, ERA+, WHIP, fielding-independent pitching (FIP),, and several other pitching metrics.

15 “Rays vs. Mariners Game Highlights (6/20/2021),” YouTube video (MLB.com), 7:10, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNzUn40JAYc, accessed April 25, 2026. (2:10 mark of video.)

16 On the play, Gonzales earned both his 11th career pickoff and first error since August 2019. Normally a sound fielder, Gonzales ended his career in 2024 with a string of 53 errorless appearances.

17 The hit gave France a nine-game hitting streak in which he connected for three home runs. “Rays vs. Mariners Game Highlights (6/20/2021).” (5:20 mark of video.)

18 Bauers, who broke into the major leagues with the 2018 Tampa Bay Rays, came to Seattle from the Cleveland Indians on June 10 for a player to be named later. Three weeks after this game, that player was named: minor-league pitcher Damon Casetta-Stubbs.

19 Ryan Divish, “Shed Long’s Grand Slam in 10th gives Mariners Sweep of Rays,” Seattle Times, June 21, 2021, https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/shed-longs-grand-slam-in-10th-gives-mariners-sweep-of-rays/

20 Rays vs. Mariners Game Highlights (6/20/2021), 6:50 mark. Only five of the 178 home runs hit at T-Mobile Park in 2021 had, according to Statcast metrics, a shorter projected distance. Long’s slam would not have been a home run in 23 other major league ballparks. Montero, who was credited with the win, would not have another in a Seattle uniform. Five weeks later he was traded to the Houston Astros.

21 Divish, “Shed Long’s Grand Slam in 10th gives Mariners Sweep of Rays.”

22 Other Mariners to walk-off games with a grand slam were Bret Boone, Phil Bradley, Mike Cameron, Tino Martinez, Mark Whiten, and Jim Presley, who did it twice during the 1986 season. Bradley’s hit on April 13, 1985, was a rare ultimate grand slam, coming with Seattle behind by three runs in its final turn at bat.

23 Divish, “Shed Long’s Grand Slam in 10th gives Mariners Sweep of Rays.”

24 The 2021 Mariners finished the season 90-72, the club’s first 90-win season in 18 years. They ended up in second-place in the AL West, five games behind the first-place Houston Astros. Long finished the year hitting .198, with four home runs and 17 RBIs. A free agent following the 2021 season, he signed a minor-league deal with the Baltimore Orioles. As of early-2026, Long had been out of affiliated baseball for several years, playing exclusively Independent and Winter League ball, most recently with Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Puerto Rican Winter League.