The 2026 MLB season has been off to a wild start. The NL Central somehow became the most fearsome division, with all five teams having a winning record for more than a month, and two teams axed their managers before May. But some of the most interesting developments happened in the field this season, specifically when no one was expecting anything.
For that reason, inside-the-park home runs fire up everyone from fans to players. Would you believe it if we already had more than five and we’re not even halfway through the season? The month of May alone had four inside-the-park home runs, and here’s how they unfolded.
JJ Wetherholt’s little league grand slam (May 8, 2026)
During the top of the fifth, Wetherholt stepped into the batter’s box with a 0-2 record against the Padres’ Griffin Canning. But everything changed when he hit a base hit on a 1-1 count. The ball rolled past the first baseman and towards right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. Then it skipped past him in a matter of seconds. By the time the ball rolled to the right-field wall, all three Cardinals runners on base came home to score, and when Tatis fielded the ball, Wetherholt got home safely as well.
Technically speaking, this isn’t considered an official inside-the-park home run because Tatis was charged with a fielding error. Wetherholt’s hit was bound to be a hard-hit single had Tatis fielded his position well, but his crucial mistake resulted in an exciting (or excruciatingly painful) action on the field.
Bobby Witt Jr.’s inside-the-park home run (May 9, 2026)
While Carpenter was attempting to field the ball, Maikel Garcia, who was on second base, jogged home to score, and Witt turned up his jet to run towards home. The Tigers sent the ball to the catcher, but Witt body-slammed and touched the home plate much faster than the ball.
What should have been a well-hit double turned into an exhilarating Superman slide; all it took for that magic to happen was one small defence mishap.
Jung-Hoo Lee’s inside-the-park home run (May 14, 2026)
As Lee hit a ball above the zone in a 0-2 count, it went the opposite field and hit the fair ground along the third base line in front of left fielder Teoscar Hernandez. The ball then hit the shallow left-field wall and skipped past Hernandez, which made it more challenging for him to field.
As most Blue Jays fans will remember, Hernandez isn’t exactly the best defensive outfielder. And because he couldn’t find the most efficient route to field the ball, that allowed Eric Haase, runner on first base, to score easily. Eventually, Jung-Hoo Lee also came in to score and beat the throw to the plate. That throw was never going to get Lee because the ball went way past the catcher, and just like that, the Giants tied the game.
James Wood’s inside-the-park grand slam (May 19, 2026)
Perhaps the most dramatic inside-the-park home run belongs to James Wood of the Washington Nationals. When Wood stepped into the plate at the bottom of the second, his Nationals were five runs behind the New York Mets. The bases were loaded with two outs, indicating that he was one of the last few batters in that inning to cash in a couple of runs, at least in theory.
Wood found a ball that caught so much of the zone on a 1-1 count and sent the ball towards the left field wall at Nationals Park. That ball should have landed in left fielder Nick Morabito’s glove, but, somehow, the ball hit the bottom of his glove and flew towards centre field. Naturally, centre fielder Tyrone Taylor checked in on his teammate Morabito to see if he was okay after hitting the left-field wall, but both had lost the ball by then. They regrouped and ran towards the ball, but all runners on base scored while that was happening. Wood never stopped running either, and came home in a full-body slide to turn it into the most chaotic grand slam.
All of a sudden, the Nationals scored four runs with that one hit and were only a run away from erasing the Mets’ lead. The Nationals couldn’t quite tie the game after that inside-the-park grand slam, but they scored three runs in the third and two runs in the fourth to outscore the Mets.
The Nationals have been finding ways to score runs in bunches, and this was their most creative way to add to that record.