Petey Halpin

Photo by Russell Lee Verlinger/Cleveland Guardians/Getty Images

October 16, 2026

Unless someone was a diehard Cleveland Guardians fan, they likely had no idea who Petey Halpin was before Thursday afternoon. However, the beauty of the playoffs is that someone can become a household name with one swing.

For Halpin, that’s exactly what happened. In 83 regular season games, the 24-year-old hit .225. He also posted a .594 OPS, compiling nearly as many strikeouts (35) as hits (40). But in the fifth inning of Game Three of the ALCS, Halpin launched a go-ahead, two-run home run into right-center.

In one at-bat, an unknown became a hero. Instead of beloved veteran Jose Ramirez or rookie sensation Chase DeLauter, it was a player few people thought would make the postseason roster that stole the spotlight. And that, without question, is what makes playoff baseball so great.

An Annual Occurrence

As miraculous as his Game Three home run was, Halpin’s performance wasn’t the first of his kind. For proof, simply ask players like Miguel Rojas, Rajai Davis, Travis Ishikawa, and Francisco Cabrera.

Miguel Rojas

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Entering the ninth inning of Game Seven of the 2025 World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers trailed the Toronto Blue Jays 4–3. With three outs, it looked like the Blue Jays would become World Champions for the first time since 1993. However, Rojas had a different idea. Not four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani. Not three-time World Series champion Mookie Betts. It wasn’t even future Hall of Famer Freddie Freeman. Instead, it was a 14-year utility man who hadn’t hit a home run in over two months. With one swing, Rojas tied the game, forced extra innings, and helped the Dodgers win their second consecutive World Series title.

Rajai Davis

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After Game Six of the 2016 World Series, Davis’s postseason batting average sat at .176. In fact, the 11-year veteran went two whole series without a hit, going a combined 0-for-12 in the ALDS and ALCS. However, in Game Seven, one swing erased his previous shortcomings. In the eighth inning, the then-Indians trailed the Chicago Cubs 6–4. Davis, though, tied the game with one of the most iconic home runs in World Series history. The Cubs ultimately won the game, but Davis became a hero in Cleveland.

Travis Ishikawa

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Throughout his eight-year career, Ishikawa was never known for his power. In fact, the Seattle native hit 24 total home runs in 514 games. But while only one of them came in the postseason, that home run defined his career. In Game Five of the 2014 NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals, Ishikawa lined a three-run walk-off home run into right, sending the San Francisco Giants to their third World Series in five years.

Francisco Cabrera

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For his five-year career, Cabrera was worth 0.5 WAR. However, his Game Seven performance in the 1992 NLCS proved the unlikeliest heroes arise in the postseason. With the Atlanta Braves trailing the Pittsburgh Pirates 2–1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, their season looked finished. However, when all hope seemed lost, Cabrera delivered a two-RBI single into left field to win the National League pennant for the Braves.