The baseball stage doesn’t get any bigger than the World Series. Given the stakes and the pressure, every play seems magnified and each game feels like a must-win situation. So, when a player is able to achieve a record-setting performance in a Fall Classic game, it carries unique historical significance.
Since the first World Series in 1903, certain players have managed to take things up a notch when the spotlight was brightest.
Here are the greatest single-game performances in World Series history.
Single-game World Series records
Spotlight: Paul Molitor, Brewers, 1982 World Series Game 1: Batting leadoff for the Brewers in the 1982 World Series, Molitor set the tone in Game 1 against the Cardinals. He went 5-for-6, becoming the first player to record five hits in a World Series game, and drove in two runs to help fuel a 10-0 win for Milwaukee. The future Hall of Famer hit .355 overall for the series as the Brewers and Cardinals went the distance, but St. Louis emerged victorious in Game 7. Molitor’s five-hit game stood alone for nearly three decades before Albert Pujols matched it.
Others with 5: Pujols, Cardinals, 2011 World Series Game 3
Overall postseason record: 5 (10 times, most recently by Kiké Hernández of the Red Sox in Game 2 of the 2021 ALDS)
Spotlight: Kirby Puckett, Twins, 1987 World Series Game 6: Puckett picked a great time to tie the World Series record for runs scored in a game. The Twins were down 3-2 in the series to the Cardinals and were trailing for much of Game 6. But Puckett went 4-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base, and came around to score nearly every time he reached base. Perhaps his most important plate appearance came with the Twins down 5-2 in the bottom of the fifth, when he led off with a single and later scored as part of a four-run rally that saw Minnesota take the lead for good and force Game 7, which it won to capture the team’s first championship.
Others with 4: Lance Berkman, Cardinals, 2011 WS Game 6; Albert Pujols, Cardinals, 2011 WS Game 3; Jeff Kent, Giants, 2002 WS Game 5; Lenny Dykstra, Phillies, 1993 WS Game 4; Carney Lansford, A’s, 1989 WS Game 3; Reggie Jackson, Yankees, 1977 WS Game 6; Enos Slaughter, Cardinals, 1946 WS Game 4; Frankie Crosetti, Yankees, 1936 WS Game 2; Earle Combs, Yankees, 1932 WS Game 4; Babe Ruth, Yankees, 1926 WS Game 4
Overall postseason record: 5 (three times, most recently by Hideki Matsui and Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees, who each did it in Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS)
Spotlight: Frank Isbell, White Sox, 1906 World Series Game 5: Isbell was seeing double from the very start of Game 5 in 1906. He knocked in the game’s first run with a ground-rule double in the top of the first, then collected two-baggers in his next three plate appearances to help pace the White Sox’s 8-6 win over the crosstown rival Cubs in the only all-Chicago World Series to date. Isbell ended the series with a .308 average as the White Sox won the title in six games for the franchise’s first championship. Isbell’s four doubles in Game 5 also set the record for most extra-base hits in a World Series game.
Overall postseason record: 4 (Isbell stands alone as the only player in postseason history with four doubles in a game.)
Home runs: 3 (five times)
Spotlight: Reggie Jackson, Yankees, 1977 World Series Game 6: Jackson absolutely owned the 1977 World Series (1.792 OPS), and Game 6 was his exclamation point. He took just three swings that night against the Dodgers, but each one resulted in a dinger — making him, at the time, just the second player to club three homers in a World Series game. His final homer of the night, off knuckleballer Charlie Hough, sailed halfway up the center field batter’s eye at old Yankees Stadium, giving Jackson five homers for the series and earning him both series MVP and the nickname Mr. October as the Yankees won the first of back-to-back championships.
Others with 3: Pablo Sandoval, Giants, 2012 WS Game 1; Albert Pujols, Cardinals, 2011 WS Game 3; Babe Ruth, Yankees, 1928 WS Game 4 and 1926 WS Game 4
Spotlight: Hideki Matsui, Yankees, 2009 World Series Game 6: Without Matsui’s contributions in Game 6 of the 2009 World Series, the Yankees literally don’t win the game and, potentially, don’t win the series. The lefty swinger went 3-for-4 with a homer, a double and six RBIs as the Yankees beat the Phillies, 7-3, to win their 27th championship. Matsui’s two-run homer in the second inning knocked in the first runs for the Yankees, his two-run single in the third padded the lead, and his two-run double in the fifth scored the last runs of the game for New York. The six-RBI performance clinched not only a championship, but also series MVP honors for Matsui. Overall, he hit .615 with three homers and a 2.027 OPS.
Others with 6: Addison Russell, Cubs, 2016 WS Game 6; Albert Pujols, Cardinals, 2011 WS Game 3; Bobby Richardson, Yankees, 1960 WS Game 3
Overall postseason record: 7 (five times, most recently by Kiké Hernández of the Dodgers in Game 5 of the 2017 NLCS)
Spotlight: Albert Pujols; Cardinals, 2011 World Series Game 3: Pujols had a performance for the ages in Game 3 of the 2011 World Series against the Rangers: Three homers, two singles, six RBIs and a record-setting 14 total bases to pace a 16-7 Cardinals win. Oddly, Pujols didn’t record his first hit of the game until the fourth inning and didn’t hit his first homer until the sixth. Another quirk: Pujols had just one other hit the entire seven-game series — a double that sparked the Cards’ ninth-inning rally in Game 6 — but what he did contributed mightily to the team’s championship victory over Texas.
Overall postseason record: 14 (Pujols matched a record set by Bob Robertson of the Pirates in Game 2 of the 1971 NLCS.)
Spotlight: Kenny Lofton, Indians, 1995 World Series Game 3: Lofton was a constant spark during Cleveland’s run to the World Series in 1995, and his performance in Game 3 helped the team rally to a walk-off win over the Braves in 11 innings. Batting leadoff, the speedster reached safely in every plate appearance, collecting three hits and three walks. More importantly, his times on base resulted in three runs for Cleveland, which proved critical in its one-run win. But, ultimately, Cleveland fell to Atlanta in six games.
Others with 6: Stan Hack, Cubs, 1945 World Series Game 6 (12 innings)
Overall postseason record: 6 (Kerry Carpenter of the Tigers is the only other player to do it in the postseason, achieving the feat in Game 5 of the 2025 ALDS, a thriller that went 15 innings.)
Stolen bases: 3 (seven times)
Spotlight: Lou Brock, Cardinals, 1967 World Series Game 7: Here’s all you need to know about Brock’s base-stealing prowess in the 1967 Fall Classic: Of the eight total stolen bases between the Cardinals and Red Sox, Brock had seven. His three in Game 7 at Fenway Park kept the pressure on Boston’s pitching and defense and helped St. Louis capture the title as the Cards won 7-2 behind a complete game from Bob Gibson. Brock would duplicate the feat a year later in Game 3 of the Fall Classic against the Tigers.
Others with 3: Jazz Chisholm Jr., Yankees, 2024 WS Game 1; Rajai Davis, Indians, 2016 WS Game 5; B.J. Upton, Rays, 2008 WS Game 3; Brock, 1968 WS Game 3; Willie Davis, Dodgers, 1965 WS Game 5; Honus Wagner, Pirates, 1909 WS Game 3
Overall postseason record: 4 (set by Rickey Henderson of the A’s in Game 2 of the 1989 ALCS)
Spotlight: Bob Gibson, Cardinals, 1968 World Series Game 1: There’s dominant, and then there’s Gibson in 1968. The NL Cy Young and MVP winner pitched to a 1.12 ERA during the regular season, leading MLB with 13 shutouts and pacing the NL with 268 strikeouts. So, it didn’t surprise anyone when Gibson struck out 17 Tigers and pitched a 4-0 shutout in Game 1 of the World Series. Gibson struck out two more than the previous World Series single-game record-holder, the Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax, who fanned 15 Yankees in Game 1 of the 1963 Fall Classic. Despite Gibson’s 17-strikeout effort, Detroit won the series in seven games.
Overall postseason record: 17 (Gibson stands alone.)
Spotlight: Don Larsen, Yankees, 1956 World Series Game 5: Larsen remains the only pitcher to throw a perfect game in the World Series, so it makes sense that he’s tied for the highest Game Score for a nine-inning outing. Larsen faced 27 Dodgers in Game 5 of the 1956 Fall Classic and retired them all on just 97 pitches, striking out seven batters along the way to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead in the series, which they eventually won in seven games. Larsen’s perfect game allowed him to match a Game Score set 50 years earlier.
Others with 94: Ed Walsh, White Sox, 1906 World Series Game 3 (9 IP, no runs, 2 H, 12 K’s)
Overall postseason record: 98 (set by Roger Clemens of the Yankees in Game 4 of the 2000 ALCS — 9 IP, no runs, 1 hit, 15 K’s)
Spotlight: Babe Ruth, Red Sox, 1916 World Series Game 2: Ruth was not yet a larger-than-life figure in baseball in 1916, but he gave glimpses of how he’d eventually be able to almost single-handedly control a game. As Boston’s starter in Game 2 of the 1916 World Series against Brooklyn, Ruth pitched 14 innings of one-run ball, scattering six hits before the Red Sox eventually walked it off in the bottom of the 14th for a 2-1 win. Ruth’s epic performance paved the way for the Sox to win the championship in five games. The effort also resulted in a Game Score of 97, the postseason record for an outing longer than nine innings, joining Dave McNally of the Orioles, who pitched an 11-inning, three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts in Game 2 of the 1969 ALCS. Interestingly, Brooklyn’s Sherry Smith nearly matched Ruth in Game 2, going 13 1/3 innings and taking a complete-game loss.
Overall postseason record: 14 (Ruth stands alone.)
Spotlight: Madison Bumgarner, Giants, 2014 World Series Game 7: It wasn’t a traditional save situation by any stretch, but the Bumgarner postseason legend was officially cemented with his five innings of shutout ball in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series. A brief recap: Giants starter Tim Hudson was relieved after 1 2/3 innings by lefty Jeremy Affeldt, who tossed 2 1/3 scoreless frames before giving way to Bumgarner to start the fifth. Bumgarner allowed just two baserunners the rest of the way to keep the Royals off the board, despite a threat in the ninth, as San Francisco squeaked out a 3-2 win and captured its third championship in five years.
Overall postseason record: 5 innings (Bumgarner stands alone.)
