6 MLB Postseason Chokers Who Were Worse In October Than Clayton Kershaw
By Michael Luciano
No one is denying that Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw is a future Hall of Famer and one of the great pitchers of our era. Unfortunately, multiple postseason meltdowns are a part of Kershaw's legacy, as his reputation for postseason struggles might not ever totally go away -- even if he wins a championship before he hangs up his spikes. Kershaw has it easy compared to these six, however, as they famously shrunk in key moments when the calendar flipped to October.
6. Joe Morgan
Morgan is a two-time MVP and one of the most complete players ever to man the middle infield, as evidence by the fact he hit 268 home runs while stealing 689 bases. While Morgan might have been the engine that drove the Big Red Machine, he didn't do much in the postseason. The second baseman hit just .182 in the playoffs in his career, going .125 in Cincinnati's 1972 World Series loss and hitting under .200 in six of his 11 postseason series.
5. Jake Peavy
Jake Peavy started nine postseason games with the Padres, Red Sox, and Giants, and he failed to make it past the sixth inning in any of them. Furthermore, he gave up four or more runs in five of those starts, giving the former Cy Young winner and two-time NL ERA champ a a nightmarish 7.98 postseason ERA. Even when he got a ring in 2014 with the Giants, he lost two World Series starts, giving up nine runs in 6.1 combined innings. Peavy turned into a Triple-A player once the bright lights shined on him.
4. Jeurys Familia
Before the 2015 World Series, Familia didn't allow a single run in eight possessions appearances. After that series, his name became synonymous with the likes of postseason failures Mitch Williams and Mark Langston. Familia blew three separate saves in one World Series, the first player to ever pull off that dubious feat. The Kansas City Royals won all three games in which he blew a save, and in the NL Wild Card game against the San Francisco Giants next year, he surrender a three-run home run to Conor Gillaspie that sunk the Mets.
3. David Price
Price was solid for the Red Sox in the 2018 postseason, posting a 3.46 ERA in a triumphant postseason march, but he still has all of his playoff demons to wrestle with from years prior. Price won just two games in the postseason before 2018, and he wasn't the starter in either of those games. A 5.03 ERA in those games looks even worse. Kershaw has some bad performances mixed in with some really excellent starts, while Price was mostly awful before a serviceable 2018 postseason.
2. Jose Canseco
Jose Canseco was a career .184 hitter in the postseason, though his seven home runs showed that when he needed to, he could crank out a dinger or two. After hitting three home runs in the 1988 ALCS, Canseco launched a grand slam off of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tim Belcher in the 1988 World Series. Unfortunately for Canseco, that would be the only hit of the entire series. Canseco made it back to the Fall Classic in 1990, but once again managed just one hit in five games. Canseco looked like he was swinging a wiffle ball bat whenever he played in the World Series, and those struggles are one of the black marks on his legacy.
1. Prince Fielder
Prince Fielder was one of the most powerful sluggers in the game right up until he retired, but he was legendarily bad in the postseason. Fielder hit just .189 in 164 playoff at-bats, hitting just five home runs and driving in a putrid 12 runs. As a Tiger, Fielder had just two extra-base hits and one home runs in 29 postseason games and 112 at-bats. Fielder went 25 playoff games without a home run and 22 without even one RBI. There is no other way to put it, Fielder was garbage in the playoffs.