Do Playoff Home Runs Count for Career?
Baseball enthusiasts always debate whether or not playoff home runs should count towards a player’s career home run total. The answer is not always cut and dry, since the MLB postseason isn’t quite the same as the regular season. Here is a look at the debate surrounding playoff home runs:
Considerations of Statisticians
Statisticians take many factors into account when deciding whether or not playoff home runs should be included in a player’s career performance. For example, the competition level of the postseason is much higher compared to regular season games. Additionally, fewer at-bats, game sequences, and game lengths often skew statistics during a seven game playoff series compared to regular season baseball. However, statistically speaking, if a highly talented team is playing a low-level team, the playoff home runs still count.
Team Achievement
Other factors must be taken into account as well. For example, if a home run has been hit by a particular player in a pennant-clinching game, it should absolutely be counted in their career total since the outcome of the game can often be attributed to the player’s achievement.
The Debate Continues
As you can see, the debate surrounding playoff home runs will likely remain blurred until an official decision is reached by the MLB or a committee tasked with making such decisions. Some may argue that the difficulty level being increased justifies playoff home runs being counted, while others may argue that these types of games are different, so they should not count as part of a career total.
The decision also has a major impact on overall season and career home run totals. For example, a player who hits 10 home runs in the regular season and three in the playoffs would end up with a total of 13 for the season.
The Bottom Line
Ultimately, the decision of whether to count playoff home runs towards a player’s career total has yet to be settled, and each team and individual honors players’ career achievements in different ways. Most statistical records account for combined regular and postseason production. Similarly, teams may give players an added sense of accomplishment by considering their playoff home runs in their overall career total.
Key Takeaways:
- Statisticians must consider multiple factors when deciding whether playoff home runs should count.
- Team achievement should be taken into account when evaluating the impact of a home run.
- The debate of whether playoff home runs count towards career totals continues.
- Most statistical records count regular and postseason production.
