October baseball hits different, doesn’t it? After recently looking at career playoff home run totals, today I’m zeroing in on the single postseason performances that redefined what’s possible in the month that matters most.
The record book for the most home runs in one postseason features some wild power surges. Let’s break down the biggest October explosions in baseball history.
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The Elite Six: Most Home Runs in One Postseason
Here are the sluggers who’ve pushed the limits of playoff power:
- Randy Arozarena, 2020 Tampa Bay Rays: 10
- Corey Seager, 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers: 8
- Nelson Cruz, 2011 Texas Rangers: 8
- Carlos Beltrán, 2004 Houston Astros: 8
- Barry Bonds, 2002 San Francisco Giants: 8
- Adolis Garcia, 2023 Texas Rangers: 8
Randy Arozarena’s Record-Breaking Rampage
The best part about Randy Arozarena’s 2020 postseason is probably what happened before it all began.
Before suiting up for the Wild Card Series, he managed just eight career regular-season home runs (one in 2019, seven in 2020). And once the postseason was underway, he slugged those 10 taters to set a new record. It’s quite the accomplishment to surpass your entire regular-season homer total in one month of postseason baseball.
But Randy wasn’t just mashing homers. The dude was an absolute menace at the plate across the board. He slashed .377/.442/.831 with 14 total extra-base hits, driving in 14 runs while scoring 19 times himself. That all sussed out to an incredible 240 wRC+ and 1.273 OPS.
What makes his performance even more remarkable is the consistency. In each of the four rounds Tampa Bay competed in, Arozarena never posted an OPS below 1.100.
Barry Bonds’ 2002 October Masterclass
Barry Bonds was already on a completely different stratosphere upon entering the 2002 postseason.
He set the single-season home run record the year before, and Bonds followed that up with another absurd performance. The slugger posted his second straight year with at least a 230 wRC+ and 12.0 fWAR while hitting 46 homers.
What happened during the San Francisco Giants’ 2002 postseason run is both an outlier in Bonds’ career and a reminder of what was possible with him locked in (and with some “extra help”). Through six other playoff appearances, Bonds had managed just one home run in 28 games. But in 2002, he launched eight dingers while slashing .356/.581/.978 with 16 RBI and 18 runs scored—good for a 259 wRC+.
The progression through each round tells the story perfectly. His OPS climbed from 1.233 in the NLDS to 1.318 in the NLCS before exploding to 1.994 in the World Series. Bonds reached base in 21 of his 30 Fall Classic plate appearances, drawing 13 walks (including seven intentional free passes) while terrorizing the Angels’ pitching staff whenever they challenged him.
San Francisco fell just short of the championship, but Bonds’ performance is still one of the most dominant stretches any hitter has ever produced on baseball’s biggest stage. The fact that he never came close to replicating this playoff magic—even after the Giants won 100 games in 2003—only makes this performance feel more mythical.
The Seven-Homer Club and the Playoff Expansion Effect
Six players are tied with seven postseason home runs in a single October: Giancarlo Stanton (2024), Jose Altuve (2017), Daniel Murphy (2015), Jayson Werth (2009), B.J. Upton (2008), and Troy Glaus (2002).
Daniel Murphy’s 2015 run particularly stands out because nobody saw it coming (and I’m a long-suffering Mets fan). The guy had never hit more than 14 homers in a regular season to that point, yet he terrorized Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Jon Lester, and Jake Arrieta en route to seven October dingers.
What’s fascinating about this entire leaderboard is how recent playoff expansion has completely changed the game. Five of the six players with eight home runs accomplished their feats in 2002 or later, with three coming since 2020. As I mentioned when talking about career postseason home run leaders, the expanded format means more opportunities to build legendary October résumés.
Arozarena’s record might stand for a while, but with the Wild Card Series, Division Series, Championship Series, and the World Series all in play, we’re probably going to see more players challenge these numbers sooner rather than later.
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