Carlos Beltran Now Has More Postseason Home Runs Than Babe Ruth

Carlos Beltran passed Babe Ruth on the all-time postseason home run list Sunday, drilling a solo shot off Mark Melancon in the eighth inning of Sunday’s NLDS Game 3 in Pittsburgh to tie the game at 3-3. It was his 16th homer in the postseason for Beltran.

The Pirates rallied following Beltran’s homer in their half of the eight, going on to win 5-3 and take a 2-1 series lead.

Beltran’s homer was the first run allowed by the Pirates bullpen in four postseason games.

It’s easy to scoff at comparing Beltran to Ruth, as Keith Olbermann has (justifiably) done on TBS. Yes, in Ruth’s day the postseason consisted entirely of the World Series, whereas Beltran gets the Divisional and Championship rounds. That said, MLB Network posted this interesting graphic after Beltran homered in Game 1 against the Pirates on Thursday.

Next up for Beltran is Jim Thome, in seventh place with 17 postseason homers. Manny Ramirez leads the all-time list with 29. The 36-year-old Puerto Rico native entered Sunday’s game with an unreal .774 slugging percentage in the postseason, first all-time. (Ahead of Carlos Delgado, of all players.)

Beltran is a free agent after the season. Looks like he’ll be in line for one more payday. After his great postseason with the Astros in 2005, the Mets handed him a seven-year deal worth $119 million. If you’re a contender, it would be money well spent.