Multi-HR post-season games
Posted by Andy on October 17, 2010
Cody Ross became the first guy in 2010 to have a multi-homer post-season game. Here are the guys to do it in the last 5 seasons:
| Rk | Player | Date | Series | Gm# | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | WPA | RE24 | BOP | Pos. Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cody Ross | 2010-10-16 | NLCS | 1 | SFG | PHI | W 4-3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.246 | 1.994 | .875 | 8 | RF LF |
| 2 | Chase Utley | 2009-11-02 | WS | 5 | PHI | NYY | W 8-6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0.246 | 3.465 | .760 | 3 | 2B |
| 3 | Jayson Werth | 2009-10-31 | WS | 3 | PHI | NYY | L 5-8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.186 | 1.674 | .667 | 5 | RF |
| 4 | Chase Utley | 2009-10-28 | WS | 1 | PHI | NYY | W 6-1 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.226 | 1.114 | .506 | 3 | 2B |
| 5 | Jayson Werth | 2009-10-21 | NLCS | 5 | PHI | LAD | W 10-4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.285 | 3.687 | .738 | 5 | RF |
| 6 | Ryan Howard | 2008-10-26 | WS | 4 | PHI | TBR | W 10-2 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0.299 | 5.662 | 1.014 | 4 | 1B |
| 7 | Dustin Pedroia | 2008-10-11 | ALCS | 2 | BOS | TBR | L 8-9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.449 | 2.971 | 1.639 | 2 | 2B |
| 8 | B.J. Upton | 2008-10-06 | ALDS | 4 | TBR | CHW | W 6-2 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.188 | 1.675 | .544 | 2 | CF |
| 9 | Pat Burrell | 2008-10-05 | NLDS | 4 | PHI | MIL | W 6-2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.282 | 3.753 | .710 | 5 | LF |
| 10 | Mike Napoli | 2008-10-05 | ALDS | 3 | LAA | BOS | W 5-4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.305 | 2.317 | 1.550 | 7 | C |
| 11 | Evan Longoria | 2008-10-02 | ALDS | 1 | TBR | CHW | W 6-4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.317 | 3.226 | .706 | 4 | 3B |
| 12 | Carlos Beltran | 2006-10-15 | NLCS | 4 | NYM | STL | W 12-5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.221 | 3.245 | .808 | 3 | CF |
| 13 | Magglio Ordonez | 2006-10-14 | ALCS | 4 | DET | OAK | W 6-3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0.570 | 0.943 | 2.358 | 4 | RF |
| 14 | Carlos Delgado | 2006-10-13 | NLCS | 2 | NYM | STL | L 6-9 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.249 | 2.196 | 1.096 | 4 | 1B |
| 15 | Milton Bradley | 2006-10-11 | ALCS | 2 | OAK | DET | L 5-8 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.328 | 3.364 | 1.415 | 3 | RF |
| 16 | Frank Thomas | 2006-10-03 | ALDS | 1 | OAK | MIN | W 3-2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.197 | 2.141 | .750 | 4 | DH |
Nobody did it in 2007.
Some other notes on Ross and 2-HR post-season games:
- There have been 117 multi-HR post-season games in history, but 64 of them have come since just 1995. While there have been a lot more playoff games each season starting in 1995, the discrepancy is due to more than just that--the high-offense era is mostly to blame.
- There have been 6 different 3-HR post-season games. Hello Bob Robertson and Adam Kennedy.
- Ross is only the 4th guy hitting in the 8th spot in the lineup to have a multi-homer playoff game.
- Ross is the first player since B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria in 2008 to have a multi-HR game within his first 5 post-season games.
October 17th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
More on those 4 multi-HR postseason games by #8 hitters:
-- Cody Ross, 2010 NLCS, game 1: Slugging from the #8 hole is nothing new to Ross; in 124 regular-season PAs there, he's batted .339 with 9 HRs and a lusty 1.047 OPS, and he now has a .941 OPS in 5 postseason games hitting in front of the pitcher. (He also has a .900 OPS in 72 career PAs from the #9 spot, mostly as a PH, and a 1.000 OPS in 13 games leadin off.) Ross has had the GWRBI in 3 of SF's 4 postseason wins, driving in the only run in the NLDS opener and striking 2 clutch blows in the NLDS clincher -- he tied the game with a HR in the 6th, then put SF ahead for good with a 2-out single in the 7th, after Aaron Rowand struck out with the bases loaded.
-- Chad Curtis, 1999 World Series, game 3: Curtis hit just 5 HRs in that regular season. The 2 HRs were his only postseason blasts, and came in the last postseason start of his career (and next-to-last postseason game). Both were solo shots, but they came in big moments: His 5th-inning HR off Tom Glavine started NYY's comeback from a 5-1 hole; the second won the game in the bottom of the 10th, off Mike Remlinger.
-- B.J. Surhoff, 1996 ALDS, game 1: Surhoff had a fine year for the '96 Orioles, hitting .292 with 21 HRs and 82 RBI. So why was he batting 8th? The O's were an offensive powerhouse that year, leading the AL with 257 HRs; Surhoff's 21 ranked 7th on the squad. His first HR that game was the GWRBI in a 10-4 rout of the Indians.
-- Willie McGee, 1982 WS, game 3: The rookie McGee had hit just 4 HRs in the regular season, but he hit 3 in that postseason; his 3-run blast off Pete Vuckovich was the GWRBI as the Cards took a 2-1 lead in the Series. The only other multi-HR game of his career came in the '86 regular season.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
How many guys have had multi multi-HR games in the postseason? Utley and Werth both did it in 2009!
Adam Kennedy - 7 HRs the whole regular season in 2002 somehow hit 3 in one game, quite amazing.
October 17th, 2010 at 6:06 pm
The other three #8 hitters did it in a game with a DH, so they had a position player hitting behind them. Ross is the first with a pitcher hitting behind him.
October 17th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
@2
Basmati -- 18 players have more than one multi-HR game in the postseason, led by Babe Ruth's 4 -- all in World Series play, of course, including a pair of 3-HR games. Ruth was also half of the only teammate duo that each homered twice in the same postseason game; he and Lou Gehrig connected twice each in game 3 of the 1932 WS, including back-to-back in the 5th inning. That game also featured Ruth's still-disputed "called shot" off Charlie Root.
Manny Ramirez has a trio of 2-HR games; all were solo shots, and none came in the WS. No other player has more than 2 multi-HR postseason games.
Manny is one of the few players who had a multi-HR postseason game for 2 different teams, Cleveland and Boston. That group includes Eric Karros, who did it for the Dodgers in '95 and the Cubs in '03, both on Oct. 4 and both in losing efforts -- game and series. (Incidentally, in the first of those Karros games, the Dodgers shorstop went 4 for 4. Anyone who can name that shortstop without looking it up is a serious Dodgers fan.)
P.S. The record for total bases in a postseason game is 14, by Pittsburgh's Bob Robertson in the 1971 NLCS, game 2; Robertson hit 3 HRs and a double.
October 17th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
In-game update: I guess Ross isn't emotionally attached to the #8 spot, as he homered hitting 7th for SF's only run through 6 innings. If the series goes long enough, he might work his way up to the #2 hole.
Now if the Giants could only get some production out of any of their regular-season leaders. Postseason stats through 5-2/3 games:
-- Andres Torres, 3 for 23, no runs, no ribs, 11 Ks.
-- Freddy Sanchez, 3 for 24, 1 walk, no RBI.
-- Aubrey Huff, 5 for 22, 1 run, 1 RBI.
-- Buster Posey, 7 for 23, no RBI.
Ross's 6 RBI are more than SF's #1-5 hitters combined. (Burrell has 4.)
October 17th, 2010 at 11:09 pm
I do not think that there are any serious historians of the game who think Ruth called the '32 W.S. shot. His actions then, how he explained it until he was asked if he called it(& saw a legend that could be encouraged),the comments of witnesses-he was saying he had 1 more strike, not calling the shot.
October 18th, 2010 at 9:18 am
@3
Good point, and Kennedy hit his three home runs from the 9-hole! Since this is the only multi-homer game from that spot, his and Ross's are the only ones for the last non-pitcher batter in a lineup!