Which Yankee Had the Greatest Start to a Season?
A Blog by Greg
It is no secret that Aaron Judge is on pace for another historic season. So far, through 74 games, Judge has put up some absolutely ridiculous offensive statistics:
HR: 26
RBI: 60
SB: 6
BB: 48
AVG: .366
OBP: .463
SLG: .728
While on their own these numbers are undeniably impressive, as the numbers started screaming at me like Mason in Call of Duty Black Ops II, I thought to myself, how do Aaron Judge’s first 74 games compare to other Yankees greats in the same time period?
To make this a little more difficult for myself, I decided to add a couple of stipulations. First, only one season per player could be eligible for the list. And second, it couldn’t be any given 74-game stretch throughout the season but rather the first 74 games the player appeared in. Ok, now let’s jump straight into the list.
Alex Rodriguez, 2007
A-Rod had a number of incredible seasons with the Yankees throughout his tenure in New York; however, the first 74 games of his 2007 season in the Bronx were truly incredible. The stats he put up before the calendar flipped to July were remarkable and would be considered a great full season for most MLB players. In 2007, through 74 games, Alex Rodriguez put up the following stats:
HR: 28
RBI: 77
SB: 9
BB: 42
AVG: .332
OBP: .431
SLG: .700
Don Mattingly, 1986
Donnie Baseball was the face of the New York Yankees in the 1980s. Despite being best known for his 1985 AL MVP-winning season, in which he hit 35 home runs, had a .324 batting average, and held a 156 OPS+, Mattingly didn’t really hit his stride until after the All-Star break. 1986 was a different story. Donnie Baseball came out hot and didn’t slow down: Through 74 games he hit:
HR: 13
RBI: 55
SB: 0
BB: 26
AVG: .340
OBP: .384
SLG: .557
Rickey Henderson, 1986
In the same season that Mattingly finished 2nd in AL MVP voting and had an outstanding first half, Rickey Henderson arguably had a better start. His hitting stats were comparable to his teammate, Mattingly, and in typical Ricky fashion, he stole an ungodly amount of bases. Through 74 games, Rickey Henderson did the following in 1986:
HR: 14
RBI: 43
SB: 46
BB: 41
AVG: .289
OBP: .372
SLG: .503
Roger Maris, 1961
1961 was a special season for Yankees’ fans, as they had two players finish in the top two in MVP voting. The man who won, Roger Maris, ended up breaking the AL home run record, a record he would keep until another Yankee, Aaron Judge, broke it over 60 years later. While Mantle had a better start to the season than Maris, both players put up unreal stats through their first 74 games worthy of an addition on this list (also, Mantle had another season that rivals his 1961 campaign that I will get to shortly). Maris did the following through 74 games in 1961:
HR: 28
RBI: 67
SB: 0
BB: 45
AVG: .266
OBP: .374
SLG: .618
Mickey Mantle, 1956
Before I did my full research for this article, I knew Mantle would be included; I just wasn’t sure which season it would be. Narrowing it down to just one season was a difficult task considering Mantle was such an unstoppable hitter during his prime. I ended up landing on his AL MVP-winning 1956 season, and, frankly, the numbers speak for themselves:
HR: 29
RBI: 71
SB: 5
BB: 52
AVG: .371
OBP: .471
SLG: .749
Joe DiMaggio, 1937
DiMaggio was another guy who I found difficult to pinpoint a single season in which he had his best 74-game start to a year. While there were many contenders, I decided to go with his sophomore campaign with the Yankees in 1937, in which he ended up finishing 2nd in AL MVP voting. Through his first 74 games, DiMaggio did the following at the plate:
HR: 25
RBI: 86
SB: 1
BB: 18
AVG: .363
OBP: .401
SLG: .710
Babe Ruth, 1921
The Great Bambino, arguably the greatest player in MLB history (argue with a wall if you disagree), was destined to be placed on this list. I thought Ruth’s single best 74-game start to a season would be as difficult to select as it was for Mantle and DiMaggio; however, it turned out to be a much easier task than anticipated, thanks to Ruth’s absolutely unreal start to the 1921 season. Through 74 games in 1921, Babe Ruth took the term “video-game number” to an entirely different level, putting up the following stats:
HR: 31
RBI: 78
SB: 8
BB: 76
AVG: .379
OBP: .524
SLG: .833
While it seems that Aaron Judge’s incredible start to the 2025 MLB season might not be the best first 74-game stretch in Yankee history, it is without a doubt noteworthy and puts him in the company of some of the greatest hitters the game of baseball has ever seen. As Judge seeks to win his 3rd AL MVP and contends to be the first Triple Crown winner in the MLB since Miguel Cabrera, it will be interesting to see how his full 2025 offensive statistics match up to other seasons by all-time great Yankee ball players.