Shohei Ohtani ties Cardinals legend for an obscure postseason record

The St. Louis Cardinals have certainly had their handful of legendary postseason performances over the years, but as the playoff format has changed to include more teams and more rounds, many of these records have fallen. In 2020, Randy Arozarena topped David Freese's record for total bases in a postseason, and in 2023, Adolis Garcia broke his record for home runs in a postseason. Both former Cardinals, ironically.

Now, a record that has stood for decades is at risk of being broken. In fact, it's already been matched. Cardinals legend Bob Gibson currently holds an obscure postseason record, but not on the pitching side as some may expect. His two home runs, in the 1967 and 1968 World Series, was a career record by a pitcher in October, and that record has stood ever since. With the universal DH, it seemed impossible for any pitcher to break this record, but time and time again, Shohei Ohtani has done the impossible, and he now shares that record with Gibson.

Shohei Ohtani has tied Cardinals legend Bob Gibson for most home runs by a pitcher in a single postseason.

In Friday's NLCS clincher, Ohtani clubbed three homers and threw six scoreless innings, striking out ten Brewers hitters. And yes, though he did hit three home runs in a game that he started on the mound, the third homer came in the bottom of the 7th inning, after he had already been pulled from the mound and remained in the game as the designated hitter, so only two of those homers count towards this record.

However, he came dangerously close to breaking the record in just one night. Ohtani faced two batters in the second, and though he walked Christian Yelich and allowed a single to William Contreras, he was a borderline strike call and a check swing call away from retiring them in order and finishing seven scoreless. In this scenario, Ohtani's third homer would've happened before his removal from the mound.

Gibson's days as the record holder may be numbered, however, as Ohtani is sure to draw at least one more start in the World Series, and at this point, it wouldn't be shocking to see him put up a similar two-way performance on the biggest stage. We might even see him take down Gibson's record of two homers in the World Series as a pitcher.

Ohtani's place as the eventual holder of this record, at far more than just two homers, seems inevitable. After all, he intends to remain a two-way player through the end of his 10-year contract with Los Angeles. If he can stay healthy and the Dodgers continue their success, we're sure to see more two-way fireworks from one of the greatest players in baseball history.