NEW YORK — There were runners on first and second. Shohei Ohtani was stalking toward home plate. And the freeze-dried occupants of Citi Field were nervous.
Did you know what would happen next? We knew where I was sitting late Wednesday night.
We turned to look at each other. Could he really do this again? We laughed. Of course he could. And two pitches later …
115+ MPH off the bat 😳
Shohei Ohtani hammered this baseball. pic.twitter.com/YxRsLrO8Ne
— MLB (@MLB) October 17, 2024
It isn’t every night in October that you see a guy moonshot a home run over the foul pole. But it was Shoh Time. Just add it to the list. The man from Planet Ohtanus is now 17 for his last 20 (.850) with runners in scoring position. Think about it: 17 for his last 20. And he is also 7 for 9 (.777) in this postseason with runners on base.
He is Mr. October-san. We’ll tell you more about him in a moment. But earlier in the Dodgers’ 8-0 scrunching of the Mets in NLCS Game 3, it was Kiké Hernández’s turn.
From April to September, there’s not much difference between him and Max Schueman and Ernie Clement. But in October? There’s not much difference between Kiké Hernández and Mickey Mantle. Or even Babe Ruth.
In the sixth inning Wednesday, Hernández did that thing he does this time of year. In case you missed it …
MR. OCTOBER 💥
Kiké Hernández gives the Dodgers a 4-0 lead 💪
🎥 @MLBONFOXpic.twitter.com/bSMj5o5xXz
— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) October 17, 2024
It was a home run that shook apart a 2-0 game. But it was also a home run that shook up the all-time postseason home run list … because it was the 15th homer of Hernández’s postseason career. Which meant he’d pulled into a tie with … that Babe Ruth guy (and also Jayson Werth).
So my mission, as I poked around the Dodgers’ locker room after this game, was to ask the teammates of Ohtani and Hernández one simple question:
Which was more amazing — that Hernández had just tied Babe Ruth on the all-time postseason home run list or that Ohtani was 17 for his last 20 with runners in scoring position?
Here’s how that went.
From injured pitcher Tyler Glasnow: “What surprises me more? Oh my God. Maybe the Babe Ruth (stat), just because Shohei is Shohei. That’s just Shohei, you know? But Kiké is obviously an unbelievable postseason player. Like, you think Babe Ruth. Wow. That’s unbelievable.”
From second baseman Gavin Lux: “Oh, man. I mean, both of them. Kiké is just a different animal in the postseason. And then Shohei — he came up with guys on second and first. And I was like, ‘Well, this is an automatic hit.’ And then he goes deep. It’s incredible what he’s doing with guys on base. So we’ve just got to keep getting on for him, and keep cashing them in.”
From third baseman Max Muncy: “They’re both amazing. As for Shoh, I don’t even know what it is. It’s pretty incredible, and we obviously enjoy that. But Kiké — he’s just one of those guys that shows up in October, and you expect him to show up in October, and it’s definitely fun to watch.”
From catcher Austin Barnes: “You know, they’re both amazing. I love playing postseason baseball with Kiké. He’s like one of my brothers. We’ve been doing it for a long time. That doesn’t surprise me. He likes the moment. … And then Shohei Ohtani is just kind of a freak.”
Barnes was so matter-of-fact in the way he said stuff like “just kind of a freak,” I couldn’t help but ask one more follow-up: “Does it even compute that I just asked you this question — that one guy is 17 for 20 and the other guy just tied Babe Ruth?” Barnes couldn’t help but laugh.
“No,” he said. “That’s crazy. But it’s just a testament to how they are in big moments.”
So how big are they? Let’s turn that little research project over to the Weird and Wild Department.
Which would you rather be? Ohtani-esque or Babe Ruth-esque? (Wendell Cruz / Imagn Images)
On with the Shoh
The major-league batting average with runners in scoring position this year was .252. So if a human being is beating that average by 600 points, can we even be sure he’s human?
I asked our friends from STATS Perform to take a deep dive on this, if only because I’ve never heard of anybody going 17 for 20 with runners in scoring position — for good reason, it turned out. I almost had to convince myself this was really happening.
So I rolled back the World Ohtani Clock to Sept. 19, the day this streak began in the regular season, to relive it. Here they come, Ohtani’s last 20 at-bats with men in scoring position:
Single
Double
Homer
Homer
Homer
Homer
Single
Strikeout
Double
Single
Single
Single
Homer
Groundout
And then, in the postseason, it was the same old, same old.
Homer
Single
Strikeout
Single
Single
Homer
So there you go — 17 for 20 (with three walks I didn’t even mention). Among the guys in this sport who didn’t get 17 hits with runners in scoring position all season, you’ll find names such as Luis Robert Jr., Kris Bryant and Jose Siri (15 … in 103 at-bats!). And Shohei Ohtani has 17 in his last 20 at-bats. How crazy is that? Here’s what STATS found:
In the last 50 years … want to guess how many other hitters got 17 hits in any stretch of 20 at-bats with runners in scoring position — in the regular season, postseason or both? I’d suggest guessing NOBODY, because only one player in the last half-century has gone 17 for 20. And you’re watching him!
Has anyone even come close? What do you know — that answer is yes, actually. STATS did find three men in the last 50 years who went 16 for 20: Troy Tulowitzki in 2014, Yorvit Torrealba in 2009 and Magglio Ordonez in 2007.
But what about the postseason? None of those three streaks listed above included the postseason. So we asked STATS about the best streaks that mirrored Shohei’s conditions — starting in the regular season but stretching into October. If we’re only counting streaks within a single season, the record for that sort of thing is 14 for 20, shared by two guys you might have heard of:
David Ortiz — 5 for his last 5 in the 2004 season, 9 for 15 in the postseason
Manny Ramirez — 7 for his last 12 in the 2008 season, 7 for 8 in October
And then there’s Ohtani — 5 for 6 (with two homers) now in this postseason, after a 12-for-14 finish to the regular season. Oh, and he’s still doing this at a time when he’s an incomprehensible 0 for 22 in this postseason with nobody on. Wild! (And also Weird!)
Move over, Bambino!
I wonder what Babe Ruth would have made of Kiké Hernández. I bet they’d have had a blast downing cheeseburgers together. And speaking of blasts …
I tried my best to put Hernández’s 15 postseason home runs in perspective. Check this out!
15 postseason home runs is more than … Miguel Cabrera! And Chipper Jones! And A-Rod! They all hit 13 in their postseason travels — in more trips to the plate than Hernández, by the way.
It’s also more than Aaron Judge!
Kiké Hernández — 15 HR in 224 PA
Aaron Judge — 14 HR in 224 PA
And it’s more than Hank Aaron and Mark McGwire put together!
Hernández — 15 HR in 224 PA
Aaron/McGwire — 11 HR in 225 PA
Geez. Baseball!
Hernández’s jump in HR rate is historic! I asked my friends at STATS if they could compute the largest gap between a player’s career postseason home-run rate (at-bats per homers) and regular-season home-run rate. We looked at everyone in history with at least 10 postseason homers. And Hernández now ranks third — in history!
Largest Diff. in career AB/HR ratio
| PLAYER | HR | Reg. season | Postseason | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lenny Dykstra |
10 |
56.28 |
11.2 |
45.08 |
|
George Brett |
10 |
32.65 |
16.6 |
16.05 |
|
Kiké Hernández |
15 |
29.06 |
13.33 |
15.73 |
The group right behind these guys includes noted October long-ball kings Jose Altuve, Randy Arozarena, David Freese, Carlos Beltran and Derek Jeter. So it’s mind-blowing that Hernández’s postseason jump is even more immense than theirs.
And Hernández now ranks 12th all-time in postseason HR ratio! It was incredible to peruse this list, courtesy of STATS, of the greatest postseason home-run ratios of all time and see the company Hernández is keeping these days.
Best career postseason AB/HR radio
| Player | HR | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
|
Babe Ruth |
15 |
8.6 |
|
Giancarlo Stanton |
13 |
9.15 |
|
Randy Arozarena |
11 |
10.27 |
|
Nelson Cruz |
18 |
10.39 |
|
Kyle Schwarber |
21 |
10.86 |
|
Lenny Dykstra |
10 |
11.2 |
|
Bryce Harper |
17 |
1 |
|
Lou Gehrig |
10 |
11.9 |
|
Duke Snider |
11 |
12.09 |
|
Frank Robinson |
10 |
12.6 |
|
Mickey Mantle |
18 |
12.78 |
|
Kiké Hernández |
15 |
13.33 |
(*min. 10 HR)
Once again, the names behind Hernández — Beltran, Judge, Jim Thome, even Reggie Jackson — blew me away. It tells you this is not just a man compiling big long-ball numbers because he’s had so many opportunities. He’s a man flying up these lists because of the furious rate he’s homering when he gets those opportunities. Speaking of which …
Twice Upon a Time — Since this was Hernández’s second home run of this postseason, he’s now climbing yet another list — of most different postseasons with at least two homers. It’s yet one more collection of very cool names.
| Player | Years with 2+ |
|---|---|
|
Manny Ramirez |
9 |
|
Bernie Williams |
7 |
|
Mickey Mantle |
6 |
|
Derek Jeter |
6 |
|
Babe Ruth |
5 |
|
Alex Bregman |
5 |
|
Jose Altuve |
5 |
|
Jim Edmonds |
5 |
|
Kiké Hernández |
5 |
(Source: Baseball Reference / Stathead)
So it’s one thing to say boy, that Kiké Hernández sure comes up big in October. It’s something way more powerful to look up and down these lists and realize the truth. No utilityman — or even super-utility man — has had a postseason career like his. Yep, no one!
Party of Three
Meanwhile, in non-Ohtani/Kiké news, you should definitely check out a few more Weird and Wild quick hits!
OUR INTENTIONS WERE GOOD — There were two fantastic notes I forgot in the Game 2 Weird and Wild column. So it’s never too late to lay them on you.
Remember that Mark Vientos grand slam in Game 2 that came after the Dodgers intentionally walked Francisco Lindor to face him with the bases loaded? Sure, you do. But I bet you didn’t know that …
• While this was not the first time in history that a guy hit a postseason slam right after an intentional walk, this one came in the second inning. And how many times had any hitter gone slamming after an intentional walk that early in the game? Right. That would be zero — until Mark Vientos.
• But that’s not all. This was the 12th slam in postseason history to follow an intentional walk, but only the third in the last decade. You know what those last three “intentional slams” had in common? All three followed an intentional walk issued by … Dave Roberts, manager of the Dodgers.
| Year | Game | Int BB | Slam | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2016 |
NLCS Game 1 |
Chris Coghlan |
Miguel Montero |
Dave Roberts |
|
2019 |
NLDS Game 5 |
Juan Soto |
Howie Kendrick |
Dave Roberts |
|
2024 |
NLCS Game 2 |
Francisco Lindor |
Mark Vientos |
Dave Roberts |
(Source: STATS Perform)
Walker Buehler made it through four innings but it took him a whole lot of pitches. (Wendell Cruz / Imagn Images)
THE WIND-CHILL FACTOR WAS … 90? On an evening where the temperatures felt more like Christmas week than LCS week, Dodgers starter Walker Buehler put up four zeroes in a huge postseason game Wednesday. So he gets huge props for that.
He hadn’t given the Dodgers a scoreless start of any length since May 18 (six shutout innings against the Reds). And he hadn’t had one on the road since April 25, 2022, in Arizona.
But none of that is even the Weird and Wild part. Here it comes.
To get those 12 outs, Walker Buehler had to huff and puff his way through 90 pitches. Does that seem like a lot for a guy twirling four scoreless innings? Let’s go with yes.
Matter of fact, it’s the most pitches any starting pitcher has ever thrown in a scoreless outing of four innings or shorter — at least in the pitch-count era (1988-2024), which is now 36 postseasons old.
But even that isn’t the Weirdest and Wildest part — because you know who used to hold that record? It could only be … the other starting pitcher in this game, Luis Severino. He once fired 87 pitches in four innings, for the Yankees against Oakland, in the 2018 Wild Card Game.
Who writes these scripts?!
Special citation — I’d be remiss not to tip my pitch-counting gizmo to Huascar Ynoa, who needed 92 pitches to get through four shutout innings for the Braves in a 15-3 loss to the Dodgers in the 2020 NLCS. But that was in relief. Oh, and also, in case you’re wondering, Walker Buehler was not the opposing starter in that game.
CRAZY EIGHTS — Finally, before last week, the Dodgers had played 246 postseason games in the history of their franchise. You know what they’d never done? Win a shutout by a margin of 8-0 or better.
So what have they now done three times in their last five games? Win an 8-0 shutout, a 9-0 shutout and another 8-0 shutout. They’re the first team in history to win three shutouts by eight runs or more in the same postseason. But that’s not really the Weirdest or Wildest part.
They just finished a season in which they did that only four times in 162 games … and then they did it three times in five games in October? That’s a thing that totally describes …
Baseball!
(Top photo: Elsa / Getty Images)
