October baseball is just different. You can feel it in the air. The lights seem a little brighter, the grass a little greener, and every single swing feels like it carries the weight of an entire city. Honestly, there is nothing like the sound of a wood bat connecting with a 98-mph heater in a tie game in the ninth. It’s the stuff of legends. But when we talk about the guys who have hit the most playoff home runs, we aren't just talking about a lucky week or a hot streak. We are talking about the "October Gods"—the players who showed up year after year and turned the postseason into their own personal home run derby.
For a long time, names like Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson (they didn't call him Mr. October for nothing) were the gold standard. But things have shifted. The game has changed. With more playoff rounds and more opportunities to go deep, the record books are being rewritten in real-time.
The King of the Hill: Manny Ramirez
Let’s get straight to the point. If you want to talk about the absolute peak of postseason power, you have to start with Manny Ramirez. He holds the record for the most playoff home runs with 29.
Think about that for a second. Twenty-nine. That’s nearly a full month of regular-season production crammed into the most high-pressure games imaginable. Manny was a force of nature. Whether he was with Cleveland, the Red Sox, or the Dodgers, he just knew how to find the seats. He wasn't just a slugger; he was a hitting savant. He’d stand there with that slightly open stance, looking like he didn't have a care in the world, and then—boom—a line drive into the Green Monster or a towering shot at Dodger Stadium.
What made Manny so dangerous wasn't just the power. It was the fact that he thrived on the chaos. While other guys were tightening up, Manny was just being Manny. He played in 111 postseason games, which is basically two-thirds of a regular season. That volume matters, sure, but hitting 29 homers against the best pitching in the world is a different kind of animal.
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The Challenger: Jose Altuve
If there is anyone who keeps Manny Ramirez up at night, it has to be Jose Altuve.
Currently sitting at 27 career postseason home runs, the Houston Astros second baseman is breathing down Manny’s neck. It’s kinda wild when you think about it. Altuve isn't your prototypical power hitter. He’s short, he’s compact, and he usually hits at the top of the order. But man, the guy has a lightning-fast pull swing. If you leave a ball on the inner half of the plate, it’s gone before you can even blink.
Altuve’s climb up the leaderboards has been a direct result of the Astros' decade of dominance. When your team makes the ALCS every single year, you get a lot of cracks at the plate. He’s already surpassed legends like Bernie Williams (22) and Derek Jeter (20).
Why the Leaderboard Looks So Different Now
You might look at the list of players with the most playoff home runs and wonder why names like Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig aren't at the top.
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Basically, it’s a math problem.
- More Rounds: In Ruth’s day, the "postseason" was just the World Series. That’s it. If you didn't win your league, you went home. You might get 4 to 7 games of postseason action a year.
- Wild Cards: Today, a team can play in the Wild Card Series, the Division Series, the Championship Series, and the World Series. A deep run can mean 20 extra games.
- Specialization: Pitchers throw harder now, but hitters are also training specifically for high-velocity power.
Take Kyle Schwarber, for example. He’s already sitting at 23 postseason homers. Or George Springer, who also has 23. These guys are playing in an era where the home run is the primary weapon of choice. If you give a guy like Schwarber 50 postseason games, he's probably going to put 15 balls in the seats. It’s just how the modern game is played.
The Pinstripe Legends
We can’t talk about October without mentioning the New York Yankees. For decades, the Bronx was the only place where postseason history was written.
Bernie Williams is a name that doesn't get enough credit outside of New York. He has 22 postseason home runs. He was the backbone of those 90s dynasty teams. Then you have Derek Jeter with 20. Jeter wasn't a "power hitter" in the traditional sense—he only hit 260 homers in 20 seasons—but he turned into a different human being in October. His "Mr. November" walk-off in the 2001 World Series is still one of the most iconic moments in sports history.
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And let's not forget Corey Seager. He’s already at 19. He has two World Series MVPs with two different teams (Dodgers and Rangers). The guy is a machine. When the calendar turns to October, Seager’s OPS usually starts looking like something out of a video game.
The Most Playoff Home Runs: Current Leaderboard (Top 5)
- Manny Ramirez: 29
- Jose Altuve: 27
- Kyle Schwarber: 23
- George Springer: 23
- Bernie Williams: 22
What This Means for the Future
Records are made to be broken, but the most playoff home runs record is particularly vulnerable right now. With the current playoff format, a young star like Shohei Ohtani or Corey Seager could realistically challenge the 30-homer mark if their teams stay competitive. Ohtani, in particular, showed in the 2025 postseason that he can change a game with one swing of the bat, racking up 8 homers in a single run.
If you’re a fan of the long ball, this is the golden age. We are watching history every single October. The gap between the legends of the past and the stars of today is closing, and honestly, it makes the games that much more exciting to watch.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts
If you want to track who might be the next player to climb the rankings for the most playoff home runs, keep an eye on these specific factors:
- Team Longevity: Look for players on teams with deep pitching rotations (like the Dodgers or Braves). More wins mean more plate appearances.
- Plate Discipline vs. Power: High-strikeout "three-true-outcome" hitters like Kyle Schwarber are more likely to rack up HR volume than high-average contact hitters.
- The "Seager" Factor: Some players naturally see the ball better under stadium lights. Look for hitters whose exit velocity increases during high-leverage late-season games.
- Home Ballpark: Players on teams with "hitter-friendly" playoff parks (like Houston or Philadelphia) have a statistical edge over those playing in pitcher-friendly environments like Seattle.
To stay ahead of the curve, use sites like Baseball-Reference or FanGraphs during the Wild Card rounds to track "Postseason ISO" (Isolated Power). This metric is often a better predictor of an upcoming home run surge than just looking at regular-season totals.