As has so often been the case in recent years, George Springer once again played a central role in an Astros' postseason victory. Houston prevailed over the A's on Tuesday in Game 2 of the best-of-five ALDS (HOU 5, OAK 2), and now leads the series 2-0.
As for Springer, he went 2 for 4 on the day, and at this point we'll have a look at those two hits:
Yep, Springer homered twice and drove in three in Game 2. As a partial consequence, his Astros are now one win from advancing to the ALCS for a fourth straight year, and Springer himself continues to add to his impressive postseason dossier. Now let's have an updated look at the updated career playoff numbers for the 2017 World Series MVP:
By way of comparison, Springer for his regular season career has a slash line of .270/.361/.491 with a HR/PA of 4.9. He's been at his best, particularly in terms of power, when the stakes have been the highest. Let's put those numbers in some historical context (minimum 100 career postseason plate appearances for rate-based stats):
- Springer's 17 postseason home runs tie him for seventh on the all-time list.
- He's tied for ninth in postseason extra-base hits.
- Springer's 128 total bases in the playoffs is good for 14th place.
- That .579 slugging percentage ranks 13th all-time among those with at least 100 postseason plate appearances.
- In terms of HR/PA, Springer's mark of 6.8 is good for eighth all-time, again among those with at least 100 playoff PAs.
- Within that same group, Springer's playoff OPS of .943 is in 19th place.
Yes, it's easier to rack up the counting stats in the age of the expanded postseason, but Springer also grades out impressively in terms of rate stats. It's no exaggeration to call him one of the best playoff hitters of all-time and certainly of the contemporary era.
Springer also isn't done. The Astros need to win just one of the next three games to advance to the ALCS, which will afford Springer more chances for October glory. The 31-year-old fly-catcher is also in his walk year, and he's likely to be of serious interest to teams with near-term designs on contention. Throw in the distinct possibility that the 16-team playoff field is here to stay, and Springer is likely to get even more chances to climb the all-time ranks in things like homers, extra-base hits, and total bases. Who knows, depending upon the arc of his eventual decline phase, that playoff body of work may wind up being a key part of Springer's Hall of Fame argument.
Whatever the course ahead, Springer should be regarded as a truly elite playoff performer, and he loudly reminded us of that on Tuesday. More to come, one assumes.
