Categories: Evergreen

Phillies franchise postseason home run leaders

Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto are key cogs on the Phillies. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)

Although the Phillies ultimately fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks in disappointing fashion in the 2023 National League Championship Series, another deep playoff run in Philadelphia provided a second straight year of memorable moments and significant Red October home runs.

With their production in this year’s NLCS appearance and 2022’s run to the World Series, two members of the current Phillies core have vaulted themselves atop the franchise leaderboard in postseason homers, joining a key player from the club’s greatest era. Here’s a look at the top 10 in playoff long balls in a Phillies uniform:

1. Jayson Werth, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber (tied), 11

Werth, playing right field for the Phillies from 2007 to 2010, homered twice in the 2008 championship run and hit multiple home runs in each round of the 2009 playoffs, including three in the NLCS. He added two more in the 2010 NLCS.

Harper delivered some iconic shots over the last two seasons, namely his “Bedlam at the Bank” go-ahead home run to send the Phillies to the 2022 World Series and his two stare-down “Atta Boy” blasts in this year’s NLDS against the Braves. The two-time NL MVP and 2022 NLCS MVP has a 1.137 postseason OPS as a Phillie.

Schwarber is a postseason hero in Chicago for his performance in 2016, and he’s made quite a name for himself in Philadelphia batting leadoff for the Phillies in these last two playoff runs. He homered three times in the 2022 NLCS, three times in the 2022 World Series and five times in the 2023 NLCS.

4. Chase Utley, 10

Utley, the team’s second baseman during its run of five straight NL East division titles from 2007 to 2011, hit two home runs as the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, but his most notable power-hitting performance came in a losing effort in the 2009 Fall Classic. He hit five home runs against the Yankees to tie Reggie Jackson’s record for most home runs in a single World Series by one player, a mark that has since been matched by George Springer as well.

5. Ryan Howard, 8

Howard, the 2005 NL Rookie of the Year and 2006 MVP, was the “Big Piece” for the great Phillies teams from 2007 to 2011. He launched three home runs in the 2008 World Series and hit two long balls while posting a 1.457 OPS to win 2009 NLCS MVP.

6. Lenny Dykstra, Shane Victorino, Rhys Hoskins and J.T. Realmuto (tied), 6

Dykstra had a career year as the Phillies center fielder in 1993 and continued that success in the postseason. He launched six home runs in the team’s two playoff series, including four in Philadelphia’s improbable World Series appearance.

Victorino, the Phillies primary center fielder during their greatest stretch, homered in that group’s first three postseason runs. He delivered his most memorable blast in the 2008 NL Division Series with a grand slam off Brewers ace CC Sabathia, the first playoff grand slam in franchise history.

Hoskins spiked his way into Phillies history and lore with his three-run shot in Game 3 of the 2022 NLDS before clubbing four homers in a red-hot NLCS. He added another in Game 3 of the World Series.

Realmuto has provided some key home runs over the last two playoff runs, including an extra-inning game-winning laser over the right-field wall in Houston in Game 1 of the 2022 World Series and an unforgettable inside-the-park home run in the clinching Game 4 of the 2022 NLDS against Atlanta.

10. Greg Luzinski, Gary Matthews and Nick Castellanos (tied), 5

Appearing in the NLCS for the Phillies in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1980, Luzinski homered in each of them, doing so twice in 1978. While the Phillies slugger didn’t go yard in the 1980 World Series, he did help capture the team’s first championship.

Matthews, the 1983 NLCS MVP, hit three home runs in that series while posting a 1.571 OPS in four games. He also homered in the 1981 NLDS and the 1983 World Series.

Castellanos didn’t hit a single home run in Philadelphia’s 2022 Cinderella run, but he smashed four homers in the 2023 NLDS in a two-day span before adding another in Game 1 of the NLCS.