MLB home run records in postseason, World Series history originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Defense may win championships, but home runs can win a World Series.
Following a regular season in which Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols made home run history, more players have a chance to etch their names into baseball lore with homers in the 2022 MLB playoffs.
Whether it was a game, series or their entire career, these sluggers shined when the postseason lights were the brightest.
Which player has the most home runs in MLB postseason history?
Part of Manny being Manny was hitting home runs in October.
Manny Ramirez played in 111 MLB postseason games and hit 29 home runs across 410 at-bats. He crushed 13 playoff homers with Cleveland, 11 with the Boston Red Sox and five at the tail end of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Jose Altuve is approaching Ramirez’s record. The Houston Astros second baseman broke a tie with Bernie Williams for second on MLB’s all-time postseason home run list with a dinger against the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the 2021 World Series.
Here is where Ramirez, Altuve and Williams stack up against the rest of the top 10 for all-time MLB postseason home runs:
1. Manny Ramirez: 29
2. Jose Altuve: 23
3. Bernie Williams: 22
4. Derek Jeter: 20
T-5. Albert Pujols: 19
T-5: George Springer: 19
T-7. Mickey Mantle: 18
T-7. Reggie Jackson: 18
T-7. Nelson Cruz: 18
T-7. Carlos Correa: 18
Which player has the most home runs in World Series history?
Mickey Mantle had no choice but to belt all of his playoff home runs in the World Series.
The New York Yankees legend entered the big leagues in 1951 and retired after the 1968 season. It wasn’t until 1969 that MLB introduced its annual American and National League Championship Series, so Mantle only got to play in the Fall Classic following the regular season.
New York reached the World Series 12 times during Mantle’s first 14 seasons. He made the most of that historic success, belting 18 home runs across 230 at-bats and winning seven titles.
Here is where Mantle ranks among the top 14 World Series home run hitters of all time, a list filled with fellow Bronx Bombers:
1. Mickey Mantle: 18
2. Babe Ruth: 15
3. Yogi Berra: 12
4. Duke Snider: 11
T-5. Lou Gehrig: 10
T-5. Reggie Jackson: 10
T-7. Joe DiMaggio: 8
T-7. Bill Skowron: 8
T-7. Frank Robinson: 8
T-10. Gil McDougald: 7
T-10. Hank Bauer: 7
T-10. Goose Goslin: 7
T-10. Chase Utley: 7
T-10. George Springer: 7
Reggie Jackson, Chase Utley and George Springer share the record for the most home runs hit in a single World Series with five apiece. Yet, none of them hold the record for the most home runs in a single postseason.
Which player has the most home runs in a single MLB postseason?
Randy Arozarena made history in the 2020 playoffs following a pandemic-shortened regular season.
The Tampa Bay Rays outfielder went off with 10 home runs, two more than the previous record for a single postseason. He benefitted from an additional best-of-three wild card series prior to the ALDS, and his team played 20 games before falling to the Dodgers in the World Series.
Behind Arozarena, four players have hit eight homers in one postseason and five players have hit seven:
1. Randy Arozarena: 10 (2020)
T-2. Barry Bonds: 8 (2002)
T-2. Carlos Beltran: 8 (2004)
T-2. Nelson Cruz: 8 (2011)
T-2. Corey Seager: 8 (2020)
T-6. Troy Glaus: 7 (2002)
T-6. B.J. Upton: 7 (2008)
T-6. Jayson Werth: 7 (2009)
T-6. Daniel Murphy: 7 (2015)
T-6. Jose Altuve: 7 (2017)
Of those 11 players listed above, Carlos Beltran is the only one who did not reach the World Series. His Astros lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in a seven-game NLCS.
Which player has the most home runs in an MLB postseason game?
Eleven players have accomplished a three-home run game in the MLB playoffs and only four have done it in the World Series.
Babe Ruth was the first one to pull off the feat in 1926 and is the only player with two such games in his postseason career. Most recently, Chris Taylor did it for the Dodgers in the 2021 NLCS.
Here are the 11 players who have hit three long balls in a single MLB postseason game:
- Babe Ruth (1926)
- Babe Ruth (1928)
- Bob Robertson (1971)
- Reggie Jackson (1977)
- George Brett (1978)
- Adam Kennedy (2002)
- Adrian Beltre (2011)
- Albert Pujols (2011)
- Pablo Sandoval (2012)
- Jose Altuve (2017)
- Kike Hernandez (2017)
- Chris Taylor (2021)
