Best MLB Playoff Performances of the Last Decade
- emeredith55
- Sep 21
- 7 min read
By Elias Meredith 9/22/2025 Sportz Nation
Honorable Mention Performances
15. Kiké Hernandez
(5-6, HR, 3 RBI, 11 TB; 2021 ALDS Game 2)
14. Gerrit Cole
(8 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 10 K, 2019 ALDS Game 5)
13. Corey Seager
(2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 7 TB; 2020 NLCS Game 5
12. Anthony Rendon
(3-4, HR, 5 RBI, 7 TB; 2019 WS Game 6)
11. Juan Soto
(3-5, HR, 3 RBI, 7 TB; 2024 ALCS Game 5)
Top 10 Performances
10. Brock Holt
2018 ALDS Game 3
(4-6, Hit for the Cycle, HR, 5 RBI, TB 10)
As of today, it has been 121 years of MLB postseason baseball, and only one player has hit for the cycle. His name is Brock Holt.
Holt only played in one game the whole series, and it was a game for the record books. In a 16-1 rout of the New York Yankees at Yankees Stadium, Holt became the only player in MLB history to hit for the series in the postseason.
9. Eddie Rosario
2021 NLCS Game 4
(4-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI, TB 12)
This game was Eddie Rosario’s second four-hit game in three games, but this one was much more impressive.
Rosario seemed very comfortable for a guy that arrived in Atlanta only three months prior. It was almost like he was seeing beach balls at the dish. Rosario sprayed the field in this performance, hitting one home run to left and one to right, and he would also record his only triple of his postseason career.
Rosario would finish the series slashing .560/.607/1.040 with three home runs, as he was named NLCS MVP.
8. Kyle Hendricks
2016 NLCS Game 6
(7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 6 K)
The furthest thing from a flamethrower, but a master of precision. That is what Kyle Hendricks was throughout 2016.
2016 league leader in ERA title went to a pitcher who had an average fastball velocity of 88.3. That sounds insane in today’s game, but Hendricks was one of the most consistent pitchers in the game at that time.
He played to his strengths on the mound. Great command and tons of movement are what made him hard to hit. Those two attributes were on full display in Game 6 of the 2016 NLCS.
Hendricks pitched his best game of his postseason career as the Chicago Cubs shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers to win their first pennant in over 70 years.
7. Bryce Harper
2022 NLCS Game 7
(2-4, HR, 2 RBI, TB 5)
Ten years removed from a postseason berth, and the Phillies were one game away from winning their first National League Pennant since 2008.
A key part to the Phillies success was the contributions of their superstar, Bryce Harper. Going into this game, Harper has reached base safely in all eleven postseason games, and hit safely in ten straight.
Once again, the big moment found Harper. The Phillies were down by one, in the eighth inning, facing one of the best relievers in the game in Robert Suarez. Phillies catcher, J.T. Realmuto, reached base after a two strike single to left field. The stage was set for Harper to put his team ahead in his first postseason in Phillie pinstripes.
Harper saw six pitches from Suarez, before getting a two-seam fastball on the outer third of the plate and depositing a screamer into the left field bleachers. The stadium erupted, and Harper touched them all. That swing propelled the Phillies to the World Series, and Harper was awarded the NLCS MVP after slashing .400/.400/.880 with three home runs.
6. Justin Verlander
2017 ALCS Game 2
(9.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 13 K)
Verlander was dealt to the Houston Astros in a blockbuster trade that shipped the long-time Tigers ace to Houston in exchange for four prospects and cash considerations.
Verlander was immediately thrown into the fire, playing in the postseason again after a two year hiatus in Detroit, and he delivered.
Verlander would throw a complete game, holding a loaded Yankees offense to one run and striking out a career-high 13 in the outing.
Verlander would ride that momentum through the rest of his starts. Giving Houston three more quality starts to help them secure the first World Series title in franchise history and the first of his hall of fame career.
5. Howie Kendrick
2019 World Series Game 7
(2-3, HR, 2 RBI, TB 5)
2019 was a great year for the 35-year-old out of Jacksonville, Florida. Howie Kendrick was in his 14th season in the big leagues, and he hit for a career high in batting average (.344) and OPS (.966).
Kendrick carried the momentum into the postseason. He reached base safely in 15 of the 17 postseason games he played in 2019, and that last game was the biggest of his career. Kendrick’s first time playing in a postseason game 7 came at the biggest stage, the World Series, and he was ready for the moment.
Kendrick would get the biggest hit of the series by drilling a go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the 7th to take the lead 3-2.
The Nationals would eventually score three more runs and secure their first World Series title in franchise history.
4. Kris Bryant
2016 World Series Game 6
(4-5, HR, 1 RBI, TB 7)
Kris Bryant was the 2016 National League MVP, but struggled throughout the World Series, batting .118 in the first five games.
In a win or go home game 6, the Cubs needed their best player to perform if they wanted to survive another day in a hostile environment on the road, and that is exactly what he did.
Bryant had four hits and a homer in the game. The Cubs would win game 6 and live to see another day.
The Cubs would become champions the next day after defeating Cleveland 8-7 in ten innings, and who may be the last putout, you might ask? Kris Bryant. Story book.
3. Stephen Strasburg
2019 World Series Game 7
(8.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 7 K)
A career filled with adversity, Stephen Strasburg was on the biggest stage of his career. World Series, Game 7, on the road.
Going into this game, Strasburg was looking to finish off his unbelievable postseason run by being the engine of the Washington Nationals first World Series title in franchise history.
In the biggest game of his life, Strasburg gave it his all. Pitching a postseason career-high 8.1 innings pitched and throwing over 100 pitches for the fourth straight outing.
In Strasburg’s last career postseason game, he went out on top, becoming a World Series champ and World Series MVP in the same night.
2. Steven Pearce
2018 World Series Game 5
(2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, TB 8)
From mid-season trade acquisition to Red Sox legend. Steve Pearce was anything but ordinary.
The Lakeland, Florida native was drafted in the eighth round of the 2005 MLB Draft after hitting back-to-back 21 home run seasons for the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Pearce made his major league debut in 2007, and in eleven years he had trouble finding a consistent starting role in the league, as he served as a backup for the majority of his career.
In 2018, Pearce was traded to the Red Sox after a year and a half north of the border in Toronto, in a rare deal between division rivals.
The Red Sox had no idea that a trade that was made to bolster their bench would make such an impact on franchise history.
In Game 5 of the 2018 World Series, Pearce would play the best game of his career. The Sox’s first baseman drilled two home runs in a series-clinching game to give the Red Sox their first World Series title in over a decade.
From bench guy to World Series MVP. Steve Pearce will always be remembered in the Red Sox.
1. Rajai Davis
2016 World Series Game 7
(2-5, HR, 3 RBI, TB 5)
The two most exciting words in sports, game seven. Two Midwest teams facing off eager to quench their championship drought. In 2016, the Chicago Cubs had the longest championship drought in all of sports at 108 years. While the Cleveland Indians (now Cleveland Guardians) had a drought of their own that was 68 years and counting.
Cleveland had an opportunity to quench their championship thirst, but not without some adversity. The stage was set. Cubs flamethrower Aroldis Chapman was on the bump, Indians outfielder Rajai Davis at the dish. Bottom of the eighth, runner on second, two outs, down by two.
Davis stepped up to the plate, batting .150 in the World Series and looking to come through for his club in the clutch. Safe to say that Davis did more than come through, he burst through.
The Norwich, Connecticut native saw seven pitches in the at-bat and fouled off three of them. Davis was locked in waiting a pitch to do damage, and the swing did more than do damage. It made history.
The seventh pitch of the at-bat was a 98 mph fastball down and away that Davis somehow got his barrel to. In a blink of an eye, the game was tied.
Even though Cleveland wound up losing in extra innings to the Cubs, Davis’ game-tying home run is undoubtedly the greatest moment in Cleveland baseball history, and in my eyes the best moment of the decade!
Thank you for reading!
Elias Meredith (@EAM_55)
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