Record-setting sluggers: The most home runs in a single World Series

Power-hitting has become commonplace in MLB. And some of the league’s hardest hitters are in this year’s World Series. In fact, the Fall Classic between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees features the four hardest-hitting bats in baseball: Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton. 

According to Statcast, these four rank No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively in barrels (a combination of exit velocity and launch angle). They also lead the league in highest hard-hit rate, highest average exit velocity and most home runs hit over 110 mph. On top of that, Ohtani and Judge are the NL and AL home run leaders. 

We can expect these teams to swing for the fences like never before—and succeed doing so. But that begs the question: Can they make a record of it? What is the record for the most home runs in a World Series by a player—and how many home runs has one team hit in a single World Series game? We’ve got the answers.

The most home runs in World Series history by a single player

The MLB record for the most home runs by one player in a World Series is five—and there are multiple people to reach that feat.

George Springer

The infamous 2017 Houston Astros will go down in history for other reasons, but Springer was the obvious choice for the Willie Mays World Series MVP that year. He became the most recent player to hit five home runs in a single World Series during the Astros seven-game win over the Dodgers.

Chase Utley

"Chase Utley, you ARE the man!" was the call by Phillies Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas during Utley's historic 2009 World Series appearance. While the Yankees came out on top in six games, Utley was able to make some personal history.

In Game 1, he drilled a homer into right field against CC Sabathia. Three innings later, he did it again. His other three would come in Game 4 (1) and Game 5 (2). Thanks to his performance, Utley ranks sixth all time in World Series slugging percentage (.795), and is tied for 10th for most total home runs (7) in World Series history.

Reggie Jackson

It's fitting that we end with Jackson, whose Yankees bested the Dodgers to win the 1977 title. During that World Series, Jackson became the first player in MLB history to hit five home runs in a single World Series, earning his moniker as Mr. October. In fact, three of them came on three consecutive swings in Game 6 — that's three first pitches.

Even with the power boom though, this is a difficult feat to accomplish. Will someone best the five-homer mark this year?

The most home runs by a team in a World Series game

The most home runs hit by a single team in a World Series game is also five.

The Phillies tied the five-homer record in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the 2022 World Series against the Houston Astros, joining the 2017 Astros, the 1989 Athletics and the 1928 New York Yankees as the only teams to do so.