There isn’t much in sports that matches the feeling of big hits in the postseason.
These players took over key games with the stakes as high as possible, stepping up with big hit after big hit against elite pitchers in front of national audiences.
A three-hit playoff game is always an incredible feat, but four or five hits in a single postseason contest is the stuff of legends.
Let’s take a look at the few players in Major League Baseball history who have accomplished this storied feat.
Most Hits in a Playoff Game: Five – 10 Players Tied
There are 10 hitters tied with five hits on this modern-era list, with the most recent being Kike Hernandez of the Boston Red Sox against the defending American League-champion Tampa Bay Rays in Game 2 of the AL Division Series on Oct. 8, 2021.
Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers also accomplished this feat versus the San Diego Padres in Game 3 of the National League Division Series exactly one year earlier.
Hideki Matsui’s five hits came in a 19-8 blowout of the Red Sox that gave the New York Yankees a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 series lead in the 2004 ALCS. Unfortunately for the Yankees, it wasn’t. Boston would win the next four games and go on to sweep the Cardinals in the World Series.
Carl Crawford of Tampa Bay (2008), Derek Jeter of the Yankees (2006), Mike Stanley of Boston (1999), Marquis Grissom of the Atlanta Braves (1995) and Paul Blair of the Baltimore Orioles (1969) all did it rounds leading up to the World Series.
What about the Fall Classic?
Most Hits in a World Series Game: Five – Two Players Tied
Paul Molitor and Albert Pujols pulled off their big games on the biggest stage. Molitor helped lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 10-0 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the 1982 World Series, while Pujols did his damage – which included a Series record-tying three home runs – in the Cardinals’ 16-7 win over the Texas Rangers in Game 3 of the 2011 Fall Classic.
Most Hits in a Single Postseason: 29 – Randy Arozarena (2020)
Chalk this one up to the start of the wild-card era as all the top players in this category had their big postseasons since 1995.
In albeit in an MLB-record (tied with three other teammates) 20 playoff games, Randy Arozarena strung together more hits than anyone in baseball history in a single postseason with 29 in 2020 while helping the Rays march to their first AL pennant since 2008.
He also hit a record 10 home runs that postseason and went 9 for 28 (.321) with four homers – including one in Game 7 – against the Houston Astros in the ALCS, earning MVP honors for the series.
Most Hits in a World Series: 13 – Three Players Tied
Bobby Richardson was the first to accomplish this for the Yankees in the 1964 Series when he went 13 for 32 (.406) in a seven-game loss to the Cardinals, before St. Louis speedster Lou Brock matched the mark just four years later in the 1968 edition. The Hall of Famer went 13 for 28 (.464) with two home runs, three doubles and a triple in a seven-game loss to the Detroit Tigers.
Boston Red Sox second baseman Marty Barrett was the last player to record 13 hits in a World Series in 1986 when went hit .433 in the team’s crushing loss to the New York Mets.
Most Career Hits in a Postseason: 200 – Derek Jeter
Again, you had to figure there’d be batters from the wild-card era here, given there have been playoff games aplenty since 1995. And it’s probably not a surprise that Jeter easily sits on top with a couple other former New York Yankees listed in the top five.
Mr. November and the Yankees took part in the playoffs 16 times between 1996-2012 (only missing in 2008), with the star shortstop totaling 158 games and a .308 average in his 650 at-bats.
He put together perhaps his best postseason in 1999 when he went 18 for 48 (.375) with three doubles, a triple and a home run to help the Yanks go 11-1 – including a four-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves in the World Series.
Most Career Hits in the World Series: 71 – Yogi Berra
Perhaps one of the most underrated stars of all time, Berra played in a record 75 World Series games over 14 appearances for the mighty Yankees. Overall, he hit .275 with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs in those contests.
Mickey Mantle, Berra’s teammate during much of that stretch, is second with 59 hits in the Fall Classic. Frankie Frisch (58), Joe DiMaggio (54) and Derek Jeter (50) round out the top five.
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