With every run at such a premium, there’s nothing better than a home run in the Major League Baseball postseason.
Remember Albert Pujols’ mammoth home run off pitcher Brad Lidge in Game 5 of the 2005 National League Championship Series? How about Babe Ruth’s called shot in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs? OK, maybe you don’t remember that one.
It wasn’t the NLCS or World Series, but Jayson Werth’s walk-off shot to win Game 4 of the 2012 NLDS was one for the ages.
But that was only of a few of the dramatic homers we’ve witnessed in MLB history. Here are the hitters who have playoff records in the home run category.
Most Home Runs in a Postseason: 10 – Randy Arozarena (2020)
With playoff rounds increasing over time, the postseason record books have been rewritten in recent decades by players getting more plate appearances.
Arozarena set the single-postseason mark with 10 home runs over 20 games of the Tampa Bay Rays’ World Series runner-up finish in 2020.
Most Home Runs in a World Series: Five –Three Players Tied
Propelled by his aforementioned home runs on consecutive pitches, Reggie Jackson notoriously dominated the 1977 World Series with his five-homer performance in the New York Yankees defeat of the Dodgers. However, this World Series MVP is not the only player to accomplish the feat.
Chase Utley accomplished the feat in the Philadelphia Phillies loss to the Yankees in 2009. Utley only recorded six hits in the series, yet five of them were long balls. Although the perception of his offensive output is marred by the Houston Astros pitch stealing scandal, George Springer also hit five homers in the 2017 World Series when the Astros defeated the Dodgers.
Ten players have slugged four home runs in a single Fall Classic with Freddie Freeman being the last to do it in 2024. Barry Bonds was the previous slugger hit four in 2002. Lou Gehrig did it in the 1928 World Series in just four games, finishing the series with a .545 batting average. Duke Snider is the only player to reach the four-homer mark in two separate World Series with his 1952 and 1955 performances for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Most Home Runs in a Postseason Game: Three – 11 Players Tied
Down 3-1 to the Atlanta Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers faced elimination in Game 5 of the 2021 NLCS. Chris Taylor joined elite company, with a pair of two-run homers in second and fifth innings, and a two-out solo shot in the seventh. Taylor delivered six of the team’s 11 RBIs, keeping Los Angeles in the running – until they would be sent home by Atlanta in Game 6. Kiké Hernandez, Los Angeles Dodgers (2017 NLCS Game 5 vs. Chicago Cubs)
Just four years before, the Dodgers were also playing in Game 5 of the NLCS – except this time, they held a 3-1 lead. Hernandez, who had only gone long eight times so far that season, hit a solo shot in the second inning. He really got the ball rolling in the third with a grand slam that extended the Dodgers’ lead to 7-0, and he completed the feat with a two-run homer in the ninth. Spurred by Hernandez’s three jacks, the Dodgers were able to clinch their first World Series berth in 29 years.
In the ’02 regular season, Adam Kennedy hit just seven homers in his 474 at bats. But he showcased some power hitting in Game 5 of the ALCS, where the Angels held a 2-1 lead in the series. The Twins were up 2-0 by the top of the second inning. But spurred by Kennedy’s two-solo shots in the third and the fifth, the Angels chipped away at the lead. Besides his three-run jack in the seventh, they poured on seven more runs that inning – sealing the win and American League title, sending the Angels to the World Series for the first time in the team’s history.
Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros (2017 ALDS Game 1 vs. Boston Red Sox), Adrian Beltre of the Texas Rangers (2011 ALDS Game 4 vs. Tampa Bay Rays), George Brett of the Kansas City Royals (1978 ALCS Game 3 vs. New York Yankees) and Bob Robertson of the Pittsburgh Pirates (1971 NLCS Game 2 vs. San Francisco Giants) also belted three homers in the rounds leading up to the Fall Classic.
What about the World Series? That’s next.
Most Home Runs in a World Series Game: Three – Four Players Tied
After mounting comebacks in the NLDS and NLCS, the San Francisco Giants were in a grove as they entered the 2012 World Series – and took home Game 1 with help from Pablo Sandoval’s three homers. Facing former Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, he hit a solo shot in the first inning and a two-out, two-run dinger in the fifth. Verlander was pulled after four innings, and Sandoval went yard for the third time in the fifth. The Giants swept the Tigers, winning their second title in three years as Sandoval was crowned World Series MVP.
Albert Pujols put together one of the best performances in World Series history by going 5 for 6 with three home runs as the St. Louis Cardinals pounded the Texas Rangers 16-7 in Game 3 of the 2011 Fall Classic.
In one of the most famous World Series games in MLB history, Reggie Jackson’s nickname, “Mr. October,” emerged in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the fourth inning, the outfielder hit a two-run dinger. He then followed up with another in the fifth and a solo shot in the eighth. The energy at Yankee Stadium was electric, with fans stunned by the fact that he hit the trio of homers on the first pitch of each at-bat. Jackson became the first hitter in nearly 50 years to have three knocks in a World Series game. More importantly, he helped the Yankees take home a World Series title – a feat they would repeat the next year.
Babe Ruth, who holds quite a few regular-season records as well, is the only player in baseball history with two three-homer World Series games. Both came for the New York Yankees against the National League-champion Cardinals, one in the 1926 Series and the other in the 1928 Fall Classic.
Most Career Postseason Home Runs: 29 – Manny Ramirez
Known by many baseball fans for numerous iconic playoff home runs, Ramirez’s 29 home runs is the most in postseason history. The star outfielder is one of five players to hit at least 20 postseason home runs in a career.
Another member of the Houston Astros’ dominant core during its playoff run, Jose Altuve is second with his 27 postseason homers.
Having played in 121 postseason games over 12 different postseasons, Bernie Williams is third with his 22 playoff homers. His teammate for nearly all these games, Derek Jeter, is fifth with 20 long balls. The player between them in fourth place is Kyle Schwarber with 21 career postseason home runs.
Most Career World Series Home Runs: 18 – Mickey Mantle
After Mantle’s record 18 homers, a bunch of other Yankees highlight the all-time rankings. Babe Ruth (15), Yogi Berra (12), Duke Snider (11), Lou Gehrig (10) and Reggie Jackson (10) round out the top five.
Most Team Home Runs in a Postseason: 34 – Tampa Bay Rays (2020)
The 2020 Rays weren’t known as a great slugging team, but they took advantage of an extended postseason with more wild-card teams following a 60-game schedule and belted 34 home runs (20 games) on the way to the AL pennant. The Dodgers, who won that World Series, hit 30 that postseason (18 games).
In a more traditional playoff format, the 2017 Astros (18 games) and the 2002 Giants (17 games) hold the mark with 27 apiece.
Most Team Home Runs in a World Series: 15 – Houston Astros (2017)
You guessed it, it’s that 2017 Astros team that was the subject of baseball’s biggest cheating scandal in years when it was exposed a couple seasons later. World Series MVP George Springer led the way with five of Houston’s 15 home runs in a seven-game series win over the Dodgers.
That 2002 Giants team that featured another controversial figure in slugger Barry Bonds is second on the all-time list with the 14 they crushed in a seven-game series loss to the Anaheim Angels. Bonds hit four home runs and Jeff Kent added three for San Francisco in the series.
Most Team Home Runs in a Postseason Game: Six – Three Teams Tied
It had to feel good for the 2015 Chicago Cubs and their fans when the club hit a playoff-record six home runs in an 8-6 win over the hated rival Cardinals in Game 3 of the NL Division Series.
Kyle Schwarber hit one of those bombs and provided perhaps the most memorable moment of the series in Game 4 when he hit a home run off Cardinals left-hander Kevin Siegrist that landed on top of the Wrigley Field videoboard in right field. The ball was later placed inside a plexiglass case by the Cubs and returned to where it landed.
Both the 2023 Philadelphia Phillies and 2024 San Diego Padres also accomplished the feat over some of respective their biggest rivals, the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers. Nick Castellanos and Bryce Harper each hit two home runs in the Phillies 10-2 NLDS win, a defining moment in their 2023 National League pennant victory. Fernando Tatis hit the first and last of the Padres six homers in game 2 of the 2024 NLDS. Unfortunately for the Padres, this didn’t inspire a similar postseason run as the Dodgers eliminated the Padres in five games.
The Cubs are one of many tied for second on this list with five homers in a playoff game. They hit that number in Game 1 of the 1984 NLCS against the Padres. The Dodgers (2020 and 2021) and Oakland Athletics (1989, 2020) have done this twice and the Chicago White Sox (2005), Astros (2017), Yankees (1928), Padres (2020), Phillies (2022) and Cardinals (2004) once.
Most Team Home Runs in a World Series Game: Five – Four Teams Tied
Four teams have hit five home runs in a World Series contest. The 1928 New York Yankees did it in Game 4 of the World Series against the Cardinals. The 1989 Oakland A’s belted five in Game 6 of the World Series at San Francisco, before the previously mentioned 2017 Houston Astros matched it in Game 5 of the World Series after hitting four in Game 2.
The 2022 Philadelphia Phillies tied the record with five against the Astros in Game 3 of the Fall Classic.
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