In the top of the fifth inning on Oct. 8, 2015, a 26-year-old outfielder by the name of George Springer hit a home run in Game 1 of the ALDS against the eventual World Series champ Kansas City Royals.
Little did we know at the time just where this career — specifically the postseason career — would go.
On Monday night, almost exactly a decade later, Springer hit a go-ahead, three-run shot that ended up being an ALCS-clinching blast.
This was not an outlier but rather a continuation of a trend that started with Springer back on that Thursday evening in K.C. against the top-seeded, defending American League champions.
Game 7 Monday night was Springer’s 78th career playoff game. He now has 23 home runs and 47 RBI in his postseason career, littered among so many huge hits. It’s rare for a series to go by without him hitting a home run, in fact. He’s played in 17 different series. If we eliminate series of two games or fewer, Springer has hit a home run in 11 of 13 series. He’s hit multiple home runs in seven different series and at least three home runs in a series three times, including the 2025 ALCS. Not only that, he nearly bookended the thing, leading off Game 1 with a home run and then hitting one in the bottom of the seventh inning in Game 7.
On the all-time leaderboard for postseason home run, Springer is now tied with Kyle Schwarber and trails only Manny Ramirez (29) and former teammate Jose Altuve (27).
It hasn’t been only home runs, of course. Springer has been the catalyst as a top-of-the-order hitter on many successful playoff runs. He also has 20 doubles. His 54 runs scored rank 12th all time. Among players with at least 200 postseason plate appearances, his .540 slugging percentage is 13th all-time, five points better than Mickey Mantle (Mr. October, Reggie Jackson, sits at .527).
Three of his most clutch hits came in 2017, en route to winning the Astros’ first-ever championship:
- In the top of the 11th inning in Game 2 of the 2017 World Series, with the Astros already down 1-0 in the series, Springer hit a two-run homer that would end up being the game-winner.
- In the top of the second in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series, Springer hit a two-run home run to increase the lead to 5-0 Astros, making what looked like a workable deficit for the Dodgers into a pretty comfortable lead for the Astros. He previously led off the game with a double and scored the first run.
- Arguably his biggest to date was the seventh-inning shot in Game 5 of the 2017 World Series. It was 8-7 Dodgers at the time with the series knotted at two games apiece. Springer hit a rocket up over the train tracks in Minute Maid Park, sending Houston into an utter frenzy.
“That was just special,” Springer recalled to CBS Sports in September. “It was one of those moments where you hit it and all your emotions come out. It was obviously a big spot.
“It was just kind of a very emotional, I guess, hit.”
Way to undersell it, huh? It was much more than a hit. Just like the hit in Game 7 of the 2025 ALCS. We can add this newest blast to the list. If the Blue Jays go on to win the World Series, which would be their first since 1993, we could well make an argument to place that one at the top.
But no matter what happens, Playoff George Springer continues to terrorize opposing pitching staffs in October.
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