Phillies History: Long-forgotten outfielder forever tied to Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw

Now retired Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw certainly accomplished many notable feats and accumulated various accolades and records over his 18 years in MLB. However, one former Philadelphia Phillies player, Aaron Altherr, was actually fortunate enough to etch his name as part of the history of the Dodgers legend back in 2017.

Altherr, yes that Altherr, was the only major league player to hit a grand slam off Kershaw in his entire career, and he did so on Sept. 18, 2017. That is actually quite a feat since the former three-time Cy Young winner pitched in 455 games and 2,855 1/3 innings in the big leagues, so to allow just ONE grand slam during that time is practically unheard of.

And of all people, it was Altherr.

Phillies' Aaron Altherr a surprising pick to hit a grand slam off Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw

A ninth-round pick by the Phillies in the 2009 MLB Draft, Altherr only spent parts of six seasons in the majors. He batted .219 with a .708 OPS, 142 runs scored, 37 home runs and 150 RBIs over 359 career games.

Altherr never took home any awards, but he did manage to put together his best season in 2017, when he compiled a .272 average, an .856 OPS, with 58 runs scored, 24 doubles, 19 home runs and 65 RBIs in 107 games.

Part of an otherwise forgettable 66-96 season, Altherr's grand slam powered the Phillies to a 4-3 win over the Dodgers, the best team in baseball that year, on that September night at Citizens Bank Park. His blast came with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, with the Phillies trailing 2-0.

However, that turned out to be the highlight of his professional baseball career as he was out of MLB entirely by 2019. Altherr finished his tenure with the Phillies with a .222 batting average and a .716 OPS, with 136 runs scored, 36 home runs and 148 RBIs in 332 games with the team.

As to the whereabouts of Altherr nowadays, he has been playing in foreign and independent leagues in recent years, in particular with the Cleburne Railroaders in 2025. The 34-year-old outfielder appears to still have it, amassing a .260 average with an .829 OPS, 58 runs scored, 20 home runs and 76 RBIs this past season.

All in all, being able to set any kind of record off Kershaw is definitely quite the accomplishment in itself. Unfortunately for Altherr, doing so didn’t end up transforming his major league career into anything significant by the time all was said and done.

Nevertheless, despite his MLB tenure being short-lived, he will always have the prestigious memory of being the only major leaguer to have hit a grand slam against the Dodgers legend.