Hitting a postseason home run shows that a hitter can come through on baseball’s biggest stage. Someone like Manny Ramírez fits that mould, as he’s the all-time postseason home run leader. He appeared in 111 major league postseason games while hitting 29 homers in 410 at-bats. Outside of Ramírez, six of these elite October performers have produced 15 or more long balls in the last two decades, from a game-winner to a series clincher. We already covered the home run leaders since 2017, so here is a look at the postseason home run leaders since 2000.
Postseason Home Run Leaders Breakdown
David Ortiz, 17
David Ortiz’s first career postseason home run came from Mike Mussina in Game 1 of the 2003 ALCS. “Big Papi” followed up with another homer from David Wells in Game 7 of that same series. Nevertheless, Ortiz became a legend in 2004, hitting two walk-off homers in that postseason. The first was off Jarrod Washburn in Game 3 of the 2004 ALDS, then off Paul Quantrill in the 14th inning of the ALCS, throttling a Boston Red Sox comeback in the series. In 2013, he was named World Series MVP when he hit two home runs against the St. Louis Cardinals. Ortiz remains the only player to hit multiple walk-off blasts in one postseason.
Carlos Correa & Nelson Cruz, 18
Carlos Correa and Nelson Cruz have as many postseason home runs as Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle. Cruz’s 18 postseason homers include six from his first trip in 2010. He followed up with eight in 2011, setting a record for a single series in the ALCS. His performance included a walk-off shot in the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 2 off of Ryan Perry. In 2021, Cruz became the 11th player to hit a postseason homer after turning 40.
Correa is the only player to hit more than 13 home runs in the postseason before turning 27. He got the ball rolling with a multi-homer performance in Game 4 of the 2015 ALDS. Since then, he has shown October power. His six long shots in the 2022 postseason featured a walk-off in Game 5 of the ALCS, making Correa the third player with multiple postseason walk-offs. His last no-doubter in October came in Game 1 of the 2021 ALCS, launching a go-ahead solo shot in the seventh inning at Minute Maid Park. In 334 plate appearances, Correa has hit .272/.344/.505 with 59 RBI and 27 runs scored.
Albert Pujols & George Springer, 19
Albert Pujols and George Springer have a combined three World Series. Pujols is the 2004 NLCS MVP who went deep four times as he is one of 10 players to hit t three times in a postseason game. He’s also one of four to do it in the Fall Classic. His most memorable homer came in a series his team lost which was the 2005 NLCS, hitting a ball off of Brad Lidge for a three-run shot to give St. Louis the lead in the top of the ninth inning. If Pujols made more than one postseason appearance with the Los Angeles Angels, he could have climbed to the top of this list.
George Springer has been a juggernaut in his postseason career, including the 2017 World Series. Five of his six bombs came in the Astros’ matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Springer took home MVP honors thanks to his .379/.471/1.000 line. Between the 2017 series and the 2019 matchup against the Washington Nationals, Springer set the record for hitting a home run in five consecutive games.
Jose Altuve, 23
Jose Altuve is second on the all-time postseason leaderboard, ranking behind only Manny Ramirez with 29. Altuve’s first three postseason homers came in the same, putting up a three-homer showing in Game 1 of the 2017 ALDS against the Boston Red Sox. While he’s hit his fair share of first-inning home runs, Altuve’s most iconic blast came in Game 6 of the 2019 ALCS. The 2017 AL MVP hit a walk-off shot against Aroldis Chapman to send Houston to the World Series. Eventually, he got to the 20-homer plateau for his postseason career with a two-run blast in Game 1 of the 2021 ALCS before hammering a solo shot in Game 4, setting the record for the most career postseason home runs by any infielder.
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Players mentioned:
Manny Ramírez, David Ortiz, Mike Mussina, David Wells, Jarrod Washburn, Paul Quantrill, Carlos Correa, Nelson Cruz, Reggie Jackson, Mickey Mantle, Ryan Perry, Albert Pujols, George Springer, Jose Altuve, Aroldis Chapman
