Ruth, Mantle, Judge: SO relative to league.

In 2017 25 year old Yankee rookie Aaron Judge hit a rookie record 52 Home Runs (HR), which led the American League (AL). Judge also led the AL in Strike Outs (SO) and Bases on Balls (BB).  In a series of posts, Judge will be compared to legendary Yankee home run champions Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle, who also often led the league in SO and BB. Since Judge has played only one full season, this will be done for individual seasons for Ruth and Mantle.

Judge had 208 SO, tied for sixth most ever and one of only ten 200 SO seasons.

Aaron Judge: 200 SO, joins five others. No Joe DiMaggio he. Sunday, September 24, 2017

Judge joins these five players who did it nine times...

Judge also leads with 46 HR ...

Judge has these ratios:
SO/BB: 1.7
SO/HR: 4.4

Judge also tied Joe DiMaggio for third most HR by a Yankee righty batter. Alex Rodriguez hit 48 and 54. DiMaggio hit more than 39 HR only once, the 46 in 1937. That season in 621 AB DiMaggio had 37 SO and 64 BB for these ratios:

SO/BB: 0.58
SO/HR: 0.80

In 1941 DiMaggio had his famous 56 game hitting streak. And in 541 AB he also had his best full season numbers: 13 SO, 76 BB. DiMaggio hit 30 HR in 1941.
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200 SO in a season:

Rk	Player	SO	HR	BB	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	IBB	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Mark Reynolds	223	44	76	2009	25	ARI	NL	155	662	578	98	150	30	1	102	3	5	0	3	8	24	9	.260	.349	.543	.892	*53/H
2	Adam Dunn	222	41	105	2012	32	CHW	AL	151	649	539	87	110	19	0	96	3	1	0	4	8	2	1	.204	.333	.468	.800	*D3/7H
3	Chris Davis	219	38	88	2016	30	BAL	AL	157	665	566	99	125	21	0	84	3	8	0	3	6	1	0	.221	.332	.459	.792	*3/9D
4	Chris Carter	212	29	70	2013	26	HOU	AL	148	585	506	64	113	24	2	82	1	4	0	5	8	2	0	.223	.320	.451	.770	37D/H9
5	Mark Reynolds	211	32	83	2010	26	ARI	NL	145	596	499	79	99	17	2	85	7	9	0	5	8	7	4	.198	.320	.433	.753	*5/3H
6	Aaron Judge	208	52	127	2017	25	NYY	AL	155	678	542	128	154	24	3	114	11	5	0	4	15	9	4	.284	.422	.627	1.049	*9D/H
7	Chris Davis	208	47	84	2015	29	BAL	AL	160	670	573	100	150	31	0	117	6	8	0	5	6	2	3	.262	.361	.562	.923	*39D
8	Chris Carter	206	41	76	2016	29	MIL	NL	160	644	549	84	122	27	1	94	1	9	0	10	18	3	1	.222	.321	.499	.821	*3/HD
9	Drew Stubbs	205	15	63	2011	26	CIN	NL	158	681	604	92	147	22	3	44	1	7	6	1	2	40	10	.243	.321	.364	.686	*8/H
10	Mark Reynolds	204	28	64	2008	24	ARI	NL	152	613	539	87	129	28	3	97	0	3	1	6	10	11	2	.239	.320	.458	.779	*5/H3

Ruth had his most SO in 1923: 93. Through that season, that was the 21st most SO in a season. Of the twenty seasons with more only two batters had HR in double figures:
1. Jake Stahl: 10 HR, 128 SO; SO king
12. Jimmy Dykes: 12 HR, 98 SO

Through 1923 at least 100 SO happened nine times by seven batters. That's pretty similar to 200 through 2017. Ruth led the AL in SO:
1918 58 SO, 11 HR with the Red Sox; short season because of WWI
1923 93 SO, 41 HR
1924 81 SO, 46 HR
1927 89 SO, 60 HR
1928 87 SO, 54 HR

Each season that Ruth led in SO he also led in HR.

Here are the seasons in which Mickey Mantle led in SO:
1952 111 SO, 23 HR
1954 107 SO, 27 HR
1958 120 SO, 42 HR
1959 126 SO, 31 HR
1960 125 SO, 40 HR

In two of those five seasons Mantle also led in HR. 1960 was his final season leading in either SO or HR. Let's look at 1959 when  Mantle had his most SO.

Most SO through 1959:

Rk	Player	SO	HR	BB	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	IBB	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Jim Lemon	138	27	65	1956	28	WSH	AL	146	613	538	77	146	21	11	96	2	2	2	6	12	2	4	.271	.349	.502	.850	*97/H
2	Vince DiMaggio	134	14	65	1938	25	BSN	NL	150	611	540	71	123	28	3	61		2	4		4	11		.228	.313	.369	.682	*8/4
3	Jake Stahl	128	10	42	1910	31	BOS	AL	144	598	531	68	144	19	16	77		8	17			22		.271	.334	.424	.758	*3
4	Chet Ross	127	17	59	1940	23	BSN	NL	149	632	569	84	160	23	14	89		3	1		5	4		.281	.352	.460	.812	*7
5	Mickey Mantle	126	31	93	1959	27	NYY	AL	144	640	541	104	154	23	4	75	6	2	1	2	7	21	3	.285	.390	.514	.904	*8/H
6	Vince DiMaggio	126	15	70	1943	30	PIT	NL	157	651	580	64	144	41	2	88		0	1		8	11		.248	.329	.403	.733	*8/6
7	Steve Bilko	125	21	70	1953	24	STL	NL	154	642	570	72	143	23	3	84		1	0		17	0	1	.251	.334	.412	.746	*3/H
8	Wally Post	124	36	37	1956	26	CIN	NL	143	586	539	94	134	25	3	83	2	4	4	2	10	6	0	.249	.301	.506	.807	*9/H
9	Larry Doby	121	29	96	1953	29	CLE	AL	149	617	513	92	135	18	5	102		6	2		7	3	2	.263	.385	.487	.873	*8/H
10	Jim Lemon	120	26	50	1958	30	WSH	AL	142	555	501	65	123	15	9	75	3	1	1	2	11	2	4	.246	.314	.467	.781	*9/H7
11	Mickey Mantle	120	42	129	1958	26	NYY	AL	150	654	519	127	158	21	1	97	13	2	2	2	11	18	3	.304	.443	.592	1.035	*8
12	Gus Williams	120	4	36	1914	26	SLB	AL	144	553	499	51	126	19	6	47		4	14			35	20	.253	.308	.339	.647	*9/H

Vince DiMaggio broke Stahl's SO record in 1938 and held the record through 1955. Through 1959 Stahl was still number three. Mantle was tied for numbers five and ten and in 1960 Mantle would have one fewer than his 1959 high.

Both Ruth and Mantle retired with the career SO record.

Most SO through 1935:
Ruth 1,330
Dykes 799

1,000 SO through 1968:

Rk	Player	SO	HR	BB	From	To	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	IBB	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos	Tm
1	Mickey Mantle	1710	536	1733	1951	1968	19-36	2401	9907	8102	1676	2415	344	72	1509	126	13	14	47	113	153	38	.298	.421	.557	.977	*8397H/645	NYY
2	Eddie Mathews	1487	512	1444	1952	1968	20-36	2391	10100	8537	1509	2315	354	72	1453	107	26	36	58	123	68	39	.271	.376	.509	.885	*53/H7	BSN-MLN-ATL-HOU-DET
3	Babe Ruth	1330	714	2062	1914	1935	19-40	2503	10623	8399	2174	2873	506	136	2214		43	113		2	123	117	.342	.474	.690	1.164	971/H83	BOS-NYY-BSN
4	Jimmie Foxx	1311	534	1452	1925	1945	17-37	2317	9676	8134	1751	2646	458	125	1922		13	71		69	87	73	.325	.428	.609	1.038	*35H2/7916	PHA-BOS-CHC-PHI
5	Duke Snider	1237	407	971	1947	1964	20-37	2143	8237	7161	1259	2116	358	85	1333	104	21	52	32	166	99	50	.295	.380	.540	.919	*89H/7	BRO-LAD-NYM-SFG
6	Harmon Killebrew	1154	397	938	1954	1968	18-32	1533	6262	5239	885	1367	189	17	1008	79	38	0	45	135	7	8	.261	.374	.531	.905	357/H49	WSH-MIN
7	Willie Mays	1147	587	1137	1951	1968	20-37	2446	10386	9130	1763	2812	446	129	1654	165	33	7	76	212	299	93	.308	.384	.578	.962	*8/H96375	NYG-SFG
8	Gil Hodges	1137	370	943	1943	1963	19-39	2071	8102	7030	1105	1921	295	48	1274	31	25	56	50	165	63	31	.273	.359	.487	.846	*3/H275984	BRO-LAD-NYM
9	Ernie Banks	1088	474	695	1953	1968	22-37	2262	9426	8551	1216	2368	380	86	1480	187	62	33	86	208	50	53	.277	.333	.508	.840	63/5H7	CHC
10	Joe Adcock	1059	336	594	1950	1966	22-38	1959	7303	6606	823	1832	295	35	1122	55	17	52	35	223	20	25	.277	.337	.485	.822	*37H/9	CIN-MLN-CLE-LAA-CAL
11	Frank Robinson	1047	418	929	1956	1968	20-32	1916	8159	7003	1317	2117	402	60	1277	158	147	13	68	185	182	67	.302	.392	.556	.948	9738/H5	CIN-BAL
12	Frank Howard	1027	242	401	1958	1968	21-31	1226	4692	4234	548	1150	169	29	732	55	23	7	28	110	4	6	.272	.336	.497	.833	79H/3	LAD-WSA
13	Larry Doby	1011	253	871	1947	1959	23-35	1533	6299	5348	960	1515	243	52	970	19	38	20	25	97	47	36	.283	.386	.490	.876	*89/H7436	CLE-CHW-DET
14	Ken Boyer	1010	282	711	1955	1968	24-37	2009	8236	7421	1104	2136	316	68	1137	97	20	17	63	183	105	77	.288	.349	.463	.812	*58/H36	STL-NYM-CHW-LAD

At least 1,880 SO through 2017:

Rk	Player
1	Reggie Jackson
2	Jim Thome
3	Adam Dunn
4	Sammy Sosa
5	Alex Rodriguez
6	Andres Galarraga
7	Jose Canseco
8	Willie Stargell
9	Mike Cameron
10	Mike Schmidt
11	Fred McGriff

Rk	Player	SO	HR	BB	From	To	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	IBB	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos	Tm
1	Reggie Jackson	2597	563	1375	1967	1987	21-41	2820	11418	9864	1551	2584	463	49	1702	164	96	13	68	183	228	115	.262	.356	.490	.846	*9D8H/7	KCA-OAK-BAL-NYY-CAL
2	Jim Thome	2548	612	1747	1991	2012	20-41	2543	10313	8422	1583	2328	451	26	1699	173	69	1	74	165	19	20	.276	.402	.554	.956	3D5H	CLE-PHI-CHW-LAD-MIN-BAL
3	Adam Dunn	2379	462	1317	2001	2014	21-34	2001	8328	6883	1097	1631	334	10	1168	122	86	2	40	100	63	25	.237	.364	.490	.854	*73D9/H1	CIN-ARI-WSN-CHW-OAK
4	Sammy Sosa	2306	609	929	1989	2007	20-38	2354	9896	8813	1475	2408	379	45	1667	154	59	17	78	202	234	107	.273	.344	.534	.878	*98D/H7	CHW-CHC-BAL-TEX
5	Alex Rodriguez	2287	696	1338	1994	2016	18-40	2784	12207	10566	2021	3115	548	31	2086	97	176	16	111	261	329	76	.295	.380	.550	.930	65D/H3	SEA-TEX-NYY
6	Andres Galarraga	2003	399	583	1985	2004	24-43	2257	8916	8096	1195	2333	444	32	1425	106	178	1	58	179	128	81	.288	.347	.499	.846	*3H/D5	MON-STL-COL-ATL-TEX-SFG-ANA
7	Jose Canseco	1942	462	906	1985	2001	20-36	1887	8129	7057	1186	1877	340	14	1407	63	84	1	81	178	200	88	.266	.353	.515	.867	D97/H81	OAK-TEX-BOS-TOR-TBD-NYY-CHW
8	Willie Stargell	1936	475	937	1962	1982	22-42	2360	9027	7927	1194	2232	423	55	1540	227	78	9	75	143	17	16	.282	.360	.529	.889	*73H/98	PIT
9	Mike Cameron	1901	278	867	1995	2011	22-38	1955	7884	6839	1064	1700	383	59	968	19	87	31	60	114	297	83	.249	.338	.444	.782	*89/HD7	CHW-CIN-SEA-NYM-SDP-MIL-BOS-FLA
10	Mike Schmidt	1883	548	1507	1972	1989	22-39	2404	10062	8352	1506	2234	408	59	1595	201	79	16	108	156	174	92	.267	.380	.527	.908	*53/H64	PHI
11	Fred McGriff	1882	493	1305	1986	2004	22-40	2460	10174	8757	1349	2490	441	24	1550	171	39	2	71	226	72	38	.284	.377	.509	.886	*3D/H	TOR-SDP-ATL-T

But simply looking at totals does not provide context. Let's compare SO rates and then do it compared to the league rates for the individual seasons in which Ruth, Mantle and Judge had their most SO.

year	Yank	SO	AB	SO/AB
1923	Ruth	93	522	17.82%
1959	Mantle	126	541	23.29%
2017	Judge	206	542	38.01%

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	AL	AL	AL	Dif	Pct Dif
year	SO	AB	SO/AB			Yank
1923	3,613	42,016	8.60%	9.22%	107%	Ruth
1959	6,079	41,964	14.49%	8.80%	61%	Mantle
2017	19,794	83,094	23.82%	14.19%	60%	Judge

Mantle's SO rate in 1959 was about the same as the league rate in 2017. The percent above the league uses the league rate as the base. Surprisingly, that percent above league is about the same for Mantle and Judge: 61% and 60%. However, Ruth is a whopping 107% above.

So, the Babe is the SO king among these three Yankee HR hitters. Who knew?