This is a follow up to the previous post. See excerpts:
Pitchers HITTING Home Runs in GAMES: post and regular season. Sunday, October 19, 2025
Ohtani's astonishing virtuoso performance in the final game of a sweep in the 2025 NLCS putting the Dodgers into the World Series for the second consecutive year. In 2024 the Dodgers beat the New Yankees in the World Series 4-1.
Shohei Ohtani faced 2 batters in the 7th inning and was relieved. He then hit his third HR as DH, NOT as pitcher. See my similar comment below about Babe Ruth in the regular season. Ruth had the burden of then playing the outfield. Ohtani has played only 8 innings in the outfield in his entire MLB career...
https://stathead.com/tiny/syzOv
For single games, Playing in the AL or NL, Played at P, in the regular season, requiring Home Runs >= 2, sorted by descending Home Runs.
71 times ...
Babe Ruth is included for June 13, 1921 playing for the Yankees. Ruth was the pitcher the first five innings, then switched to center. He homered once in each position. I don't think Ruth should have been included but Stathead did...
Jim Tobin: 3 HR:
HR: Jim Tobin 3 (5, 2 off Jake Mooty, 5th inn, 0 on, 0 outs; 7th inn, 0 on, 0 outs, 1 off Hiram Bithorn, 8th inn, 1 on, 2 outs)
Tobin pitched a complete game victory and had 4 RBI.
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In writing that post I had made my observation about Ruth first. Then later I decided to check when exactly Ohtani had hit his third HR. I then updated accordingly but thought that the point should be emphasized, hence this follow up post.
Lest you think I am being unfair to Ohtani, I have long made this point about the season HR record by catchers.
Cal Raleigh season Home Run records: catcher, switch hitter. Thursday, September 18, 2025
Javy Lopez (NOT Cal Raleigh) still has the most Home Runs in a season as a CATCHER. Tuesday, August 26, 2025
No more.
Updated 9/29/2025: ...
Cal Raleigh has hit 49 Home Runs (HR) in 2025 as a CATCHER! That had been considered the record because Johnny Bench hit 45 HR in 1970, ignoring the fact that Bench hit "only" 38 as a catcher.
The real record had been held by Javy Lopez: 42 of his 43 HR in 2003 were hit as a catcher.
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Recently an announcer stated that Raleigh broke the catcher record of Salvador Perez: 48. But Perez hit only 33 as a catcher and 15 as a Designated Hitter (DH).
Maybe if Ohtani had been removed after the 6th inning it would have been more clear that he was still batting in the game because of a silly rule change made for him a few years ago to allow him to pitch but remain in the game as DH. It is clear that Ohtani batted in the bottom of the 7th inning only because his status had changed from pitcher to DH.
Ohtani's performance is still stunning but he hit "only" two HR as a pitcher. Two is still a post season record for a pitcher. At least two HR have been hit by pitchers in the regular season 70 times, excluding that game by Babe Ruth.
Jim Tobin is the only pitcher to hit 3 HR in either a regular or post season game in AL and NL history since 1903.
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