Last Updated on October 19, 2025 by Matt Musico
MLB has expanded its postseason field more than once since the turn of the century. The idea of having Wild Card teams included in October began in 1995. So, the Division Series Era is 30 years old. As always, my question is: who has hit the most Division Series home runs?
The Division Series home run leaderboard (which I didn’t break up by league) is covered in two ways below: most career home runs and most single-postseason home runs.
Related: The Definitive Guide to Postseason Home Run Leaders
Most Division Series Home Runs in a Career
Manny Ramirez: 12 Home Runs
Manny Ramirez has slugged the most career postseason home runs. Since virtually all of his 19-year MLB career took place during the Division Series Era, his being at the top of this list is not shocking.
ManRam played in 11 different Division Series overall — nine in the American League and two in the National League. Exactly one-third of his hits in the ALDS (10 out of 30) left the yard. He produced a .227/.333/.515 line across 156 plate appearances. Ramirez added two more NLDS home runs, slashing .391/.500/.783 in 28 trips to the plate.
Jose Altuve: 11 Home Runs
Jose Altuve is hot on Ramirez’s tail to be the career postseason home run leader. Based on how frequently the Astros reach the playoffs, he has a decent shot at getting there very soon.
Houston hasn’t just been making the postseason, though. They’ve been consistently putting together deep runs in October. So, that allows Altuve to get a mostly even number of plate appearances across each round. In seven ALDS appearances (134 plate appearances), the second baseman is hitting .280/.366/.576 with 10 homers, five doubles, 20 RBI, and 30 runs scored.
READ MORE: Where Will Jose Altuve Finish on Astros’ All-Time Home Run List?
Bryce Harper: 11 Home Runs
Bryce Harper shines when the lights are brightest. That was on full display during the Phillies’ 2023 NLDS victory over the Braves, but it’s true for the totality of his postseason career to this point. Across Harper’s first 42 playoff games (186 plate appearances), he put a slash line of .285/.384/.633.
His three homers in 2023 against Atlanta vaulted him up the career Division Series home run leaderboard. In 18 plate appearances, he slugged three homers and drove in five runs while producing a 1.765 OPS. His 10 career homers during this stage of the postseason are now the most in NLDS history. We can thank Orlando Arcia for poking the bear.
Derek Jeter: 10 Home Runs
Would any kind of postseason leaderboard be complete without Derek Jeter? Probably not. That’s what happens when you compile enough games played (158) and plate appearances (734) in October to equal a full regular season.
Jeter showed up when the lights were bright during the Fall Classic. But he also typically began his postseason with a bang in the Division Series. In 300 career plate appearances during that round, Jeter slashed .343/.397/.519 with 10 dingers, 13 doubles, two triples, 28 RBI, and 47 (!) runs scored.
Chipper Jones: 9 Home Runs
Like Jeter, reaching the postseason was a yearly occurrence for Chipper Jones and the Atlanta Braves. The switch-hitting Hall of Famer appeared in the NLDS 11 times during his career. While racking up 189 plate appearances, Jones hit .272/.407/.483 with nine home runs, five doubles, 26 RBI, and 30 runs scored.
When looking at his performance between the Division Series, Championship Series, and World Series, Chipper was quite consistent. He never posted a career OPS higher than .891, but he also didn’t finish with one below .828.
Juan Gonzalez: 8 Home Runs
Four other players have hit eight career home runs in the Division Series. However, Juan Gonzalez gets special treatment because of the speed at which he reached that number. He needed just 15 games and 62 at-bats to do it. The next-closest person is Carlos Beltran, who slugged eight dingers in 24 games and 83 at-bats.
Juan Gone reached the postseason four times in his career: three times with Texas and once with Cleveland. While his teams never advanced to the next round, he slashed .290/.333/.742 in 66 total plate appearances. Of the 18 hits he recorded, 12 went for extra bases (eight homers, four doubles).
Most Career Division Series Home Runs: The Rest
Here’s what the remainder of the top 19 of this leaderboard looks like:
- Carlos Correa: 8 Home Runs
- Carlos Beltran: 8
- Jim Thome: 8
- Bernie Williams: 8
- Alex Bregman: 8
- Giancarlo Stanton: 7
- Max Muncy: 7
- Yordan Alvarez: 7
- George Springer: 7
- Nelson Cruz: 7
- Jayson Werth: 7
- Jim Edmonds: 7
- Edgar Martinez: 7
Most Division Series Home Runs in a Single Postseason
Juan Gonzalez: 5 Home Runs in 1996 ALDS
The 1996 ALDS was Gonzalez’s first taste of postseason baseball, and it’s safe to say he enjoyed it. Although the Yankees beat the Rangers in four games, the right-handed slugger slashed .438/.526/1.375 with five homers and nine RBI.
He also faced New York in each of his next two trips to October (1998 and 1999). The Bombers swept Texas both times and held him in check (three hits in 24 plate appearances).
Ken Griffey Jr.: 5 Home Runs in 1995 ALDS
Ken Griffey Jr. and Juan Gonzalez have some similarities here. Not only are they tied atop the Single-Season Division Series Home Run leaderboard, but the 1995 ALDS was also Junior’s first taste of playoff baseball. It just so happened to come against the Yankees, too.
The biggest difference is that Griffey’s Mariners eventually beat New York in five games. His five homers were accompanied by seven RBI and a .391/.444/1.043 line in 27 plate appearances. It’d be the only postseason series win Junior would be a part of during his Hall of Fame career. He hit just one more October home run over his final 52 plate appearances.
Yordan Alvarez: 4 Home Runs in 2023 ALDS
Yordan Alvarez is the type of hitter who seems built for October. The Astros disposed of the Twins in four games to return to the ALCS for the seventh straight year in 2023 (which is just insane).
This was Alvarez’s age-26 campaign, but he’s already built up quite a postseason resume. He’s racked up 212 plate appearances in October through 2023, which led to a .267/.373/.522 triple slash. The ALDS is his favorite round thus far, as he’s posted a 1.209 OPS in four appearances (16 games).
Of his seven hits in this series, six of them went for extra bases (four homers and two doubles). Alvarez also collected six RBI and seven runs scored while hitting .438/.471/1.313 in 17 plate appearances.
Nick Castellanos: 4 Home Runs in 2023 NLDS
Harper made a lot of headlines with this two-homer performance during a dominant Game 3 win for Philadelphia. But Nick Castellanos also contributed two dingers during that victory. And then he did it again in Game 4, as he was a driving force in sending Atlanta home for the winter.
This performance allowed Casty to become the first player in MLB history with consecutive multi-homer games. As The Athletic‘s Jayson Stark notes, this was the first time Castellanos ever did it in his career — regular season or postseason.
The outfielder collected seven total hits in this series, with four of them leaving the yard. They were all solo shots, accounting for all of his RBI, as well. Casty touched home five times and slashed .467/.529/1.267 in 17 plate appearances.
Giancarlo Stanton: 4 Home Runs in 2020 ALDS
Giancarlo Stanton has been a solid postseason performer since joining the Yankees ahead of the 2018 campaign. But his production in October 2020 stands head and shoulders above the rest. He’s racked up 10 career postseason homers, with six of them coming during this particular period. He hit two in the Wild Card Series before slugging another four in an ALDS matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays.
He hit .316/.381/1.000 in 21 plate appearances while collecting 10 RBI.
Carlos Beltran: 4 Home Runs in 2004 NLDS
The 2004 postseason was Carlos Beltran’s first taste of playoff baseball, and he went off. His eight home runs that October are still among the most all-time. The Astros didn’t advance past the NLCS, but Beltran made sure to do an equal amount of damage during each round.
It took Houston five games to dispose of the Braves in the NLDS. So, that allowed Beltran to rack up 24 plate appearances in the process. All he did with that opportunity was hit .455/.500/1.091. Six of his 10 hits went for extra bases (four homers and two doubles) while he collected nine RBI and nine runs scored.
Jim Thome: 4 Home Runs in 1999 ALDS
Jim Thome racked up 17 career postseason home runs during his Hall of Fame career. Eight came in two different series and in consecutive years: the 1998 ALCS and the 1999 ALDS. He hit four in each matchup.
Cleveland lost to the Boston Red Sox in the ’99 ALDS in five games. Thome collected 21 plate appearances and hit .353/.476/1.059. His four homers were tied for his most in a single series, while his 10 RBI were a personal best. He’d hit just one more home run and collected two RBI over his final 72 postseason plate appearances after this performance.
Love home runs? Sign up for my Substack today and start getting interesting home run-related observations straight to your inbox! And if you’re new to MLB Daily Dingers, you should start here.
