Albert Pujols: Ranking the 8 Most Unreal World Series Performances of All Time

It may just have been the most spectacular single game individual World Series performance in baseball history. Albert Pujols had six at-bats and had five hits, three of them were home runs. He drove in six runs and scored four. Not bad right? 

The World Series has been taking place since 1901. That's a lot of players in a lot games over a 110 year period. Was Pujols' performance the greatest of all time, or are we forgetting some that were better? 

Paul Molitor: 1982 World Series, Game 1

We've all seen superstars get to their first world series only to experience a slump or a slow start—not Paul Molitor in 1982, though. Nope, in that year, Molitor, who was one of the stars on a star laden Brewers team, wasted no time at all in finding his World Series groove. 

Actually, there was a slight delay. Molitor led off Game 1 with a ground out. He found his groove after that though. He had five hits—singles in the second, fourth, sixth, eighth and ninth innings—in leading the Brewers to a 10-0 route. On the day he was 5-for-6 with two RBI and one run scored. Until last night, it was the only five hit performance in World Series history.

Bobby Richardson: 1960 World Series, Game 3

It may have been one of the greatest individual games ever played, and it took place in what may have been one of the greatest World Series ever played as well.  

The game itself? Not that exciting, not if you were a Pirates fan—that's for sure. It was Game 3 of the 1960 World Series and the series was knotted at one game apiece. The Yankees and Pirates had split games playing in Forbes Field in Pittsburgh and now it was back to New York City for three games in the Bronx. 

The first game was over before it began. Over in large part because in the bottom of the first inning the Yankees blitzed the Pirates for six runs, four of them scoring on a grand slam by Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson. He would go on to add a two-run single in the fourth inning to extend the Yankees' lead to 10-0. 

That was all the scoring the Yanks would need on this day. Whitey Ford would record a complete game shutout (imagine a manager leaving an ace pitcher in to finish a game with a 10-0 lead in the fourth inning under any circumstances today??!!).

Ironically, while Richardson was the brightest star on this day it was his second base counterpart on the Pirates, Bill Mazeroski, who would end up providing one of sports' all-time lasting images when he hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth in Game 7, snapping a 9-9 tie and leading the Pirates to the World Series title. 

Willie Stargell: 1979 World Series, Game 7

Albert Pujols had a fantastic night on Saturday but it was only Game 3 and it was only one game. In 1979, Willie Stargell had a dominant series. He never had the type of game that Pujols had last night and for all we know Pujols may be on the cusp of seizing every major offensive record for a World Series. 

He hasn't done it yet though. 

The 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates were Willie Stargell's team, and just on the off chance there was a shred of doubt about that, he had a memorable series punctuated by a memorable Game 7 performance. That night of October 17th, 1979 saw the Pirates squaring off against the Baltimore Orioles in a winner-take-all Game 7. 

Stargell had a single in the second and a double in the fourth. Entering the sixth inning the Pirates trailed 1-0 but then Stargell launched a two-run homer to to deep center, electrifying the Pittsburgh crowd and eliminating the last deficit the Pirates would face that season. Pittsburgh would win the game and the series. Stargell would would end the night 4-for-5 with one run and two runs batted in—the go-ahead ones on that sixth inning homer.  

Hideki Matsui: 2009 World Series, Game 6

It took Pujols five hits to drive in six runs. If efficiency is the standard, than Hideki Matsui's performance in Game 6 of the 2009 World Series fits the bill. 

Matsui would go 3-for-4 on the night. He would drive in six runs by tallying two RBI on each hit. A second inning two-run home run, a third inning two-run single and finally a fifth inning two-run double. 

Matsui was a triple short of hitting for the cycle. It was not only one of the greatest single game performances in World Series history, it was also Matsui's last in a Yankee uniform. To say he left on a high note would be an understatement. 

Babe Ruth: 1928 World Series, Game 4

In 1926, Ruth hit three home runs against the Cardinals in a single World Series game. Yet, the St.Louis won the series. In 1928, Ruth got a little revenge. 

The 1927 Yankees get most of the historical hype, but the '28 Yanks weren't exactly a collection of slouches. Squaring off against the St Louis Cardinals for the second time in three seasons, the Yankees left very little question who the better team was. 

No game was decided by less than three runs and, after winning Games 1 and 2 in Yankee Stadium, the Bombers traveled west to St. Louis where they won Game 3, 7-3, and finished up the Cards by the very same 7-3 score in Game 4. 

Game 4 featured the second single game three-home-run outburst of Babe Ruth's career. In the fourth, Ruth tied the game at 1-1 with a leadoff blast to deep right field. In the seventh, with the Yanks down 2-1, he tied the game again with another solo shot to deep right. Then, in the eighth, with New York now leading 5-2, he provided more breathing room for his pitchers by launching one more solo shot to right field.

Only The Babe can boast of two three-homer games in the World Series.  

Reggie Jackson: 1977 World Series, Game 6

Only New York Yankee fans have the luxury of thumbing through World Series lore and enjoying the performances of "The Sultan of Swat" and "The Straw That Stirs The Drink."

Babe Ruth's 1926 performance is immortalized in a just a few available pictures. Reggie Jackson's 1977 performance has been replayed more times than one could hope to count. It was Game 6, and it was in Yankee Stadium on October 18th, 1977 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Yankees were up 3-2 in the series and were looking to close out the Dodgers.

Reggie slammed the door shut on them. In the fourth, the Yanks were trailing 3-2 when Reggie hit his first shot, a two-run smash to right field, which gave the Yanks a 4-3 lead and chased Dodgers starter Burt Hooton from the game. 

In the fifth, with the Yankees now leading 5-3, Jackson extended the lead off of Elias Sosa when he hit another two-run homer to deep right. As with Hooton, Jackson would be the last batter that Sosa would face on this night. 

Finally, with a 7-3 lead in the eighth inning, Jackson came to the plate with the bases empty to face knuckleball pitcher Charlie Hough. Different pitcher, different pitching style, same result, as Jackson launched Hough's first pitch to center field for his third home run of the night. Legend born and game in hand, the World Series title was now a foregone conclusion as the Yanks closed out the Dodgers for their 21st title. 

Jackson's line on the night: 3-for-3, four runs, five runs batted in and, of course, three home runs. Jackson's place in both New York Yankees and Major League Baseball history? Secured as one of legend.  

Babe Ruth: 1926 World Series, Game 4

Babe Ruth is about as legitimate a "legend" as exists in the history of professional American sports. There is perhaps no other American sports figure who occupies space in our imaginations in the same manner that Ruth does. Unlike other American sports icons like Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Mohammed Ali and Michael Jordan, there are precious few pictures, very little film footage and an increasingly small amount of individuals left to provide first hand accounts of his dominance and stature in our society.

Ruth is the rarest of sports icons. His name recognition throughout the nation, and even throughout the world, likely exceeds that of Albert Pujols. One hit three home runs in a World Series game less than 24 hours ago and the other did it last over 83 years ago.

Perhaps the fact that his three home run outburst 83 years ago was merely the second time he had done that in his career can provide a glimpse into why Ruth holds such a unique place in American History.

His first entry into World Series lore took place two years earlier. That was on the afternoon of Wednesday October 6th, 192,6 and the location was Sportsman's Park III, the home field of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals were led by Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby, while the Yankees would counter with the immortal Babe and, of course, his counterpart in 1920's dominance, Lou Gehrig.

With St. Louis holding a 2-1 series lead, Game 4 was clearly critical for the Yanks. Babe Ruth seems to me like the type of player who had a sense of the moment and how his own star power could dominate. That day Ruth would go 3-for-3 with three home runs, four runs scored and four runs batted in. The Yanks would win 10-5, but would end up losing the series in seven games, as the Cardinals and Hornsby would win Games 6 and 7 in Yankee stadium. Ruth's performance is still legendary though.   

Albert Pujols: 2011 World Series, Game 3

Was last night's performance the greatest of all time? Most evidence suggests it was. Clearly it would depend on one's definition of "greatness."

Pujols' performance was not in a clinching game to seal a title. Nor did it take place in a dramatic or close game. There would be those who may contend that there have been some games with less gaudy numbers that still carried more weight in determining the outcome of a series or an individual game. 

This list is about those great individual performances though and in that arena Pujols has to be considered the greatest. Consider that in one game Pujols:

Tied the record for runs batted in at six.

Tied the record for most home runs at three.

Tied the record for hits with five. 

Tied the record for runs scored with four.

Set a new single game record for total bases with 14. 

For those waiting to hear about the other members of that club, don't bother, they don't exist. It's all Albert. 

The other members of the three-home-run club don't have the RBIs.  Paul Molitor, the other member of the hits club, has none of the other three categories. Ruth, Reggie—they never drove in six runs. Matsui and Richardson never hit the long balls or had the five hits.

One more thing, not one of the other players listed in this slideshow so far ever entered the game with the specter of a World Series slump and superstar status raging in the same manner that Pujols did yesterday.

Pujols entered this game in the midst of an 0-for-6 series. Adding insult, he had committed a costly error in the ninth inning of Game 2 which contributed to the Cardinals losing that game. In short, Pujols was having a bad series.

That's all over now. In one game Pujols went from having a disappointing World Series to placing his personal stamp on the word "classic" in "The Fall Classic." This series isn't over yet, and history has taught us that one great game does not always lead to a ring for that player or his team. Will the Cardinals win this series? Maybe. Will Albert Pujols be remembered for having the greatest single game performance in World Series History? Yes, that title is now his.