There’s just something different about October baseball, right? The pressure intensifies, the stakes skyrocket, and certain hitters seem to thrive under those bright lights. While some wilt in the spotlight, the true clutch performers have built legendary reputations by consistently coming through when it matters most.
That leads us to the top of the all-time leaderboard of postseason home run hitters. It’s a list that tells stories about championship dynasties, individual excellence, and how the expanded playoff format is already reshaping one of baseball’s most revered leaderboards.
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The All-Time Postseason Home Run Hitters
Here are the nine players who’ve done the most damage in October, listed by their career postseason home run totals:
- Manny Ramirez: 29
- Jose Altuve: 27
- Bernie Williams: 22
- Kyle Schwarber: 21
- Derek Jeter: 20
- George Springer: 20
- Albert Pujols: 19
- Corey Seager: 19
- Alex Bregman: 19
What immediately jumps out is the blend of old-school legends and current stars. Ramirez’s record is safe for another year since Altuve and the Houston Astros didn’t qualify for the postseason in 2025, but it sure feels like his days as the playoff home run king are numbered at this point.
The Houston Astros’ Postseason Dynasty
There’s a very clear theme within the above list, and it has to do with guys who are either currently on the Astros or who spent a considerable part of their career in Houston. I mean, jeez — one-third of this list (Altuve, Springer, and Bregman) have significant ties to H-Town.
Having this much representation at the top of the postseason home run leaderboard is bound to happen when an organization has made deep October runs virtually automatic for nearly a decade. After losing in the 2015 ALDS and missing the postseason in 2016, the Astros went to at least the ALCS for seven straight years between 2017 and 2023.
This stretch included four trips to the World Series, so you can see how they had an incredible amount of opportunity to climb this list to the heights they’re currently at.
If Altuve can overtake Manny before anyone else does, it will be poetic because he’s not the kind of dude you’d expect at the top of a home run leaderboard. Although he’s only 5’6″, he stands much taller in October. He’s slugged 27 homers and 21 doubles with 56 RBI while slashing .271/.337/.505 in 105 postseason games.
Springer has a .883 OPS through 69 playoff games, with 19 of his 20 homers coming for Houston. While the 2025 season is his third opportunity to play in October with the Toronto Blue Jays, he just hit his first postseason homer for the club in the ALDS against the New York Yankees over the weekend. Bregman is hitting .239/.349/.442 during his postseason career. All 19 of his homers have come for the Astros — he didn’t go deep before the Boston Red Sox were eliminated in the 2025 AL Wild Card Series.
Bernie Williams: The Overlooked Postseason Legend
I feel like Bernie Williams is an October legend who doesn’t get nearly enough credit. Like, seriously — if I just showed you the above list without the names, would you be able to name him? Unless you’re a Yankee fan, I feel like the odds are good that you wouldn’t.
Playing center field for those dominant late-90s Yankees teams, Bernie was the quiet assassin in a lineup loaded with stars. While Derek Jeter got the clutch-hitting headlines and Mariano Rivera owned the ninth inning, Williams was consistently terrorizing opposing pitchers throughout the entire postseason.
He played in 121 playoff games during his career, which led to a .275/.371/.480 line with 22 homers, 29 doubles, 80 RBI, and 83 runs scored in 545 plate appearances. And since he was a switch-hitter, he made sure to make life hard for opposing pitchers from both sides of the plate.
The four-time World Series champ’s favorite round of the postseason was the ALCS. Bernie posted a .962 OPS with nine homers and 33 RBI during that stage (41 games).
How Expanded Playoffs Are Reshaping This List
As we all know, MLB has been expanding its playoff format for the last three decades.
First, it was one Wild Card team for each league starting in 1995, along with the introduction of the Division Series. Then, another Wild Card team was added in 2012, which necessitated a one-game playoff. And since 2022, there’s been a best-of-three Wild Card Series now that three non-division winners from each league can punch a ticket to October.
These changes — especially the most recent one — fundamentally shift how players accumulate postseason statistics.
Under the old format, reaching double-digit career postseason homers required both individual excellence and team success over many seasons. While it’s still hard to do, it’s much easier than it used to be. Kyle Schwarber already has 21 playoff taters despite being just 32 years old. Corey Seager has 19 and counting while only being 31. These guys could realistically challenge Manny’s record (or whoever is at the top once they get there) if they play a few more seasons on competitive teams.
The math obviously favors modern players. More playoff spots mean more opportunities, more games per round mean more at-bats, and the Wild Card Series adds an entire bonus round where sluggers can pad their totals. This top-nine list will likely look dramatically different a decade from now, filled with players who have benefited from this expanded format.
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