2024 MLB Playoffs: Which player has the most home runs in a single postseason?
Randy Arozarena’s 10-homer postseason didn’t land a World Series title for the Tampa Bay Rays, but it did write his name into the MLB history books.
The Major League Baseball playoffs have been modified over time. In 1995, the Wild Card round was added, giving an extra game for teams to advance to the next round and players to hit more home runs.
Before the change, the record for the most home runs hit in a postseason was held by Bob Robertson, the first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He hit six home runs in 1971. In 1993, Lenny Dykstra of the Philadelphia Phillies also hit six home runs, tying Robertson’s record. The significant difference, however, is that Robertson’s team won the championship that year while Dykstra’s team did not.
During the 2002 World Series, the Los Angeles Angels defeated Barry Bonds’ San Francisco Giants, and Troy Glaus hit seven home runs, breaking Bonds’ record of six home runs in a single postseason. Bonds also had eight hits during that postseason, but Glaus achieved the same feat in 69 plate appearances while Bonds took 74.
Arozarena, hombre récord
Bonds’ record was broken in 2020 by Cuban rookie Randy Arozarena, from Tampa, who hit ten home runs in the postseason. The Tampa Bay Rays lost the Commissioner’s Trophy to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.
The surprising thing about Arozarena’s record is that he did not need to play in the Wild Card Round to achieve the record. Indeed, in the American League Division Series, he managed to hit three homers against the New York Yankees.
Then, there was in the American League Championship Series in which he hit four against the Houston Astros; and lastly, the 2023 World Series itself, where he hit three bombs against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Truthfully, that postseason was magical for the Rays outfielder in individual terms since he established more hits and total bases with 29 and 64, respectively. With that, we prepare for the 2024 postseason and something tells us that Arozarena’s record will take some doing to break.