Unveiling the Hidden Legends: Who Truly Dominates RBIs in Postseason and World Series History?

When the spotlight hits the MLB postseason, our minds naturally drift to the familiar heavy hitters – those sluggers whose names echo in baseball lore: Stanton, Jackson, Betts, Soto, Ohtani, Judge, Ruth. No question, over the grueling grind of a full season, these giants wear the crown, carrying their squads to glory. But here’s a curious thing… in the merciless, cutthroat short series of playoff baseball, it’s often the unlikeliest heroes—the role players, the benchwarmers—who suddenly morph into RBI dynamos. It begs the question: in the heat of October, whose bats truly write history? Let’s dive into some of the most jaw-dropping RBI explosions in postseason and World Series play, where legends are born—and sometimes, where the supporting cast steals the show.

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Hernandez hit three home runs in Game 5 of the 2017 National League Championship Series to help the Los Angeles Dodgers advance to World Series and get revenge on the Chicago Cubs after losing to them in the 2016 NLCS.

But O’Leary only tied his teammate for the most RBIs in a game that series because John Valentin knocked in seven runs in Game 4 â€“ a 23-7 Red Sox rout. So of the five times a player had seven RBIs in a postseason game, two happened for the same team in back-to-back games.

Like Bobby Richardson, Mantle especially dominated the 1960 World Series, recording 11 RBIs in a seven-game defeat to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Most RBIs in a Postseason Game: Seven – Five Players Tied

Garcia, who had a career high 39 homers and 107 RBIs during the regular season, belted a walk-off home run off Miguel Castro in the 11th inning of Game 1 of the Fall Classic. Corey Seager may have been the World Series MVP, but Garcia was one of the star hitters of the postseason.

Two years later, Albert Pujols put together one of the best performances in World Series history by going 5 for 6 with three home runs as the St. Louis Cardinals pounded the Texas Rangers 16-7 in Game 3 of the 2011 Fall Classic. In 2016, Addison Russell hit a grand slam and tied the mark with six RBIs in the Cubs’ 9-3 win at Cleveland in Game 6. 

And Edgar Martinez was the first to accomplish this feat with seven RBIs against the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the 1995 ALDS. Martinez and the Seattle Mariners went on beat the New York Yankees in the winner-take-all Game 5, delaying the start of the Yankees dynasty by one year.

Garcia could’ve added to his record total if he hadn’t gone down with an injury in Game 3 of the World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

When you think of the players who have the most RBIs in a postseason or World Series game, you’re probably thinking about sluggers like Giancarlo Stanton, Reggie Jackson, Mookie Betts, Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge or Babe Ruth.

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Most RBIs in a Single Postseason: 22 – Adolis Garcia (2023)

Over the course of a lengthy single season, those guys are surely the stars who lead their clubs to the top of the Major League Baseball standings. But in the small sample size of the MLB playoffs, it isn’t uncommon to see members of the support cast rise to the occasion.

Bobby Richardson became the first player to knock in six in a World Series game in 1960 when hit a grand slam for the Yankees in a 10-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game 3. It didn’t happen again until Hideki Matsui went 3 for 4 with a home run, double and six RBIs to help the Yankees close out the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 of the 2009 World Series. 

Yet another Red Sox player had accomplished the feat just one year earlier â€“ also against Cleveland. Mo Vaughn had seven RBIs in an 11-3 rout in Game 1 of the 1998 ALDS. Cleveland got the last laugh that year, though, winning the next three games and taking the series. 

Most RBIs in a Postseason Career: 80 – Bernie Williams

Troy O’Leary was a dismal 2 for 16 in the first four games of the 1999 American League Division Series for the Boston Red Sox in 1999, but he hit a three-run home run and a grand slam in Game 5 to help Boston beat Cleveland and take the matchup.

A player has to appear in a lot of playoff games to be atop the career postseason RBI leaderboard. And Bernie Williams sure did play in a lot of postseasons. 

Here are some of the greatest RBI performances of the postseason and World Series.

Most RBIs in a World Series Game: Six – Four Players Tied

Still, the ALCS MVP hit .323 with eight home runs and the record 22 RBIs in his 15 postseason games in 2023. 

Williams is third all time in postseason games with 121, trailing only teammates Derek Jeter (158) and Jorge Posada (125).

Most RBIs in a World Series: 12 – Bobby Richardson (1960)

The post The Most RBIs in the Postseason and World Series appeared first on Opta Analyst.

Most Career RBIs in the World Series: 40 – Mickey Mantle

Of course, playing in the World Series 12 times has helped many Yankees legends from the 1930s through the ’60s accumulate astounding statistical totals. Mickey Mantle’s 40 career RBIs in the World Series put him one ahead of his teammate Yogi Berra for the most all time.

We mentioned Richardson’s six-RBI performance in Game 3 and he had six more across the series to break the previous record of 10 by Yogi Berra of the Yankees in 1956 and Ted Kluszewski of the Chicago White Sox in 1959.

Jeter is also the only player with more postseason runs than Williams, so you could say the top of the Yankees lineup was pretty successful during that era. 
There have been five instances with seven RBIs in a playoff game, with Enrique Hernandez having the only game since 2000.