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 not.
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 in MLB History
With playoff rounds increasing over time, the postseason record books have been rewritten in recent decades by players getting more plate appearances.
Randy 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 in MLB History
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.
Nine players have slugged four home runs in a single Fall Classic with Barry Bonds doing so most recently 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
There have been 12 occasions when a player has hit three home runs in a single playoff game.
Those were Jose Altuve (2017), Adrian Beltre (2011), George Brett (1978), Kike Hernandez (2017), Reggie Jackson (1977), Adam Kennedy (2002), Albert Pujols (2011), Bob Robertson (1971), Babe Ruth (1926 and 1928), Pablo Sandoval (2012) and Chris Taylor (2021).
Most Home Runs in a World Series Game
We mentioned Reggie Jackson’s five home runs in the 1977 World Series, but did we say how he hit homers on three consecutive pitches in the Game 6 clincher against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Albert Pujols put together one of the best performances in World Series history by going 5 for 6 with three home runs as the Cardinals pounded the Texas Rangers 16-7 in Game 3 of the 2011 Fall Classic.
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 against the National League-champion Cardinals, one in the 1926 Series and the other in the 1928 Fall Classic.
It might be difficult to guess the other player with a three-homer game. Pablo Sandoval came up big with four hits and four RBIs to help the San Francisco Giants beat the American League-champion Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series.
Most Career Postseason Home Runs in MLB History
Known by many baseball fans for numerous iconic playoff home runs, Manny 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 in MLB History
The all-time leaderboard for career homers in the World Series looks like this:
- Mickey Mantle, 18
- Babe Ruth, 15
- Yogi Berra, 12
- Duke Snider, 11
- Lou Gehrig, 10
- Reggie Jackson, 10
Most Team Home Runs in a Postseason
The 2020 Tampa Bay 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
You guessed it, it’s that 2017 Houston 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.
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