Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena has only played in 65 games in his career—23 in the postseason—and he has already edged a place in the history books. Going into game three of the World Series, Arozarena sat in second place in total bases in a single postseason at 48, two behind David Freeze who had 50. Well, that record fell in the ninth inning of the game when he hit his eighth home run of the postseason, tying another record, which gave him four total bases to give him a total of 52 (now has 58).
This was not the first record he had broken in the postseason though; he also broke the record for most hits in a postseason by a rookie which was held by Derek Jeter in 1996 (22). To be fair, Arozarena has had more games therefore more opportunities than Jeter had, but this does not deny the fact that he has been on fire all postseason and he has continued now having 26 hits.
In fact, the 26 hits are not only a rookie record, but he is tied for the most single postseason hits all-time with Pablo Sandoval who had 26 hits in 17 games. Arozarena has 26 hits in 18 games and it is almost certain he will break this record since there are at least two more games in the World Series since the series is tied 2-2.
While those records are great, the record that has put him above some of the great names like Barry Bonds, Nelson Cruz, Carlos Beltran, and Corey Seager (this current postseason) is the home run record. Arozarena was tied for the home run record with those four players (Seager for one inning) until the fourth inning when he hit the milestone home run in his second at bat of the night and his 76th plate appearance of the postseason.
This home run can off of Julio Urías and was the first run in the game for the Rays in their eventual 8-7 victory.
This is no doubt a great postseason appearance that Arozarena has had, but the question will always be, do these records really count considering he had an extra round to get these?
While it could be seen as a legitimate argument for some of the records such as hits and total bases, he has zero home runs in the wild card round which makes that record legitimate.
If the Rays win the World Series there will be little doubt that he will win postseason MVP and potentially World Series MVP, but that is the important thing, winning the World Series. Having a great individual performance in the postseason is great, but if it does not lead to a championship then it is in vain.
Obviously, the performance itself is not useless since one person cannot win a championship in baseball, but the records won’t feel as good as they would if a World Series ring were attached to it.
No matter what happens over the next two games (potentially three games) Arozarena will always be remembered for having one of the greatest postseason performances of all-time and he will have the records to prove it, now he just needs a ring and that will complete the greatness.