
Lou Gehrig
Position: First Baseman
Bats: Left • Throws: Left
6-0, 200lb (183cm, 90kg)
Born: June 19, 1903 in New York, NY us
Died: June 2, 1941
Buried: Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, NY
Yankees career Home Runs: Judge joins top five 1957-2024. Tuesday, September 2, 2025
The New York Yankees top five in career Home Runs (HR) has been the same players 1957-2024 with only the order changing and even that has been the same since 1966 when Mantle hit 23 HR to pass Gehrig by 3...
Mantle hit 34 HR in 1957 to pass Dickey to have the fifth highest HR total.
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Lou Gehrig played in 8 games in his final season in 1939. He had 33 Plate Appearances (PA) and 28 At Bats (AB) but only four hits, all singles.
The Yankees swept the Chicago Cubs in the 1938 World Series, Gehrig's last. He had four hits in 14 AB, all singles.
Gehrig led the American League (AL) with the yet unknown OPS+ 176 in 1937. He had 37 Home Runs, third in the AL:
1. | DiMaggio • NYY | 46 |
2. | Greenberg • DET | 40 |
3. | Gehrig • NYY | 37 |
4. | Foxx • BOS | 36 |
5. | York • DET | 35 |
6. | Trosky • CLE | 32 |
7. | Dickey • NYY | 29 |
Clift • SLB | 29 | |
9. | Johnson • PHA | 25 |
Moses • PHA | 25 |
In 1938 Gehrig's HR dropped from 37 to 29.
https://stathead.com/tiny/lDCUR
For single seasons, in 1938, Playing in the AL, in the regular season, requiring Home Runs >= 25 and Adjusted OPS+ >= 0, sorted by descending Home Runs.
Rk | Player | HR | Season | Age | Team | Lg | G | PA | AB | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hank Greenberg | 58 | 169 | 1938 | 27 | DET | AL | 155 | 681 | 556 |
2 | Jimmie Foxx | 50 | 183 | 1938 | 30 | BOS | AL | 149 | 685 | 565 |
3 | Harlond Clift | 34 | 144 | 1938 | 25 | SLB | AL | 149 | 658 | 534 |
4 | Rudy York | 33 | 140 | 1938 | 24 | DET | AL | 135 | 557 | 463 |
5 | Joe DiMaggio | 32 | 139 | 1938 | 23 | NYY | AL | 145 | 660 | 599 |
6 | Bob Johnson | 30 | 142 | 1938 | 32 | PHA | AL | 152 | 652 | 563 |
7 | Lou Gehrig | 29 | 132 | 1938 | 35 | NYY | AL | 157 | 689 | 576 |
8 | Bill Dickey | 27 | 143 | 1938 | 31 | NYY | AL | 132 | 533 | 454 |
9 | Ken Keltner | 26 | 103 | 1938 | 21 | CLE | AL | 149 | 619 | 576 |
10 | Joe Gordon | 25 | 109 | 1938 | 23 | NYY | AL | 127 | 520 | 458 |
Gehrig was second among four Yankees and none were Babe Ruth.
This was the first season in which two players hit at least 50 HR.
Career HR leaders for any MLB team through 1938:
https://stathead.com/tiny/lVbaG
For combined seasons, up to 1938, Playing in the AL or NL, in the regular season, requiring Adjusted OPS+ >= 0 and Home Runs >= 200, sorted by descending Home Runs.
Rk | Player | HR | From | To | Age | G | PA | AB | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Babe Ruth | 714 | 206 | 1914 | 1935 | 19-40 | 2503 | 10628 | 8399 |
2 | Lou Gehrig | 493 | 179 | 1923 | 1938 | 20-35 | 2156 | 9632 | 7973 |
3 | Jimmie Foxx | 429 | 169 | 1925 | 1938 | 17-30 | 1710 | 7294 | 6116 |
4 | Mel Ott | 342 | 157 | 1926 | 1938 | 17-29 | 1739 | 7300 | 6148 |
5 | Rogers Hornsby | 301 | 175 | 1915 | 1937 | 19-41 | 2259 | 9481 | 8173 |
6 | Al Simmons | 298 | 136 | 1924 | 1938 | 22-36 | 2023 | 8882 | 8164 |
7 | Chuck Klein | 280 | 144 | 1928 | 1938 | 23-33 | 1447 | 6286 | 5701 |
8 | Cy Williams | 251 | 125 | 1912 | 1930 | 24-42 | 2002 | 7727 | 6780 |
9 | Goose Goslin | 248 | 128 | 1921 | 1938 | 20-37 | 2287 | 9831 | 8656 |
10 | Hack Wilson | 244 | 144 | 1923 | 1934 | 23-34 | 1348 | 5557 | 4760 |
11 | Wally Berger | 227 | 140 | 1930 | 1938 | 24-32 | 1231 | 5245 | 4791 |
12 | Earl Averill | 225 | 137 | 1929 | 1938 | 27-36 | 1486 | 6651 | 5854 |
13 | Jim Bottomley | 219 | 125 | 1922 | 1937 | 22-37 | 1991 | 8358 | 7471 |
14 | Gabby Hartnett | 218 | 127 | 1922 | 1938 | 21-37 | 1792 | 6711 | 5912 |
So when Gehrig reached 493 HR, he was still second only to Ruth among all MLB players.
Career HR leaders for any MLB team through 1966:
https://stathead.com/tiny/TCBgf
For combined seasons, up to 1966, Playing in the AL or NL, in the regular season, requiring Adjusted OPS+ >= 0 and Home Runs >= 400, sorted by descending Home Runs.
Rk | Player | HR | From | To | Age | G | PA | AB | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Babe Ruth | 714 | 206 | 1914 | 1935 | 19-40 | 2503 | 10628 | 8399 |
2 | Willie Mays | 542 | 162 | 1951 | 1966 | 20-35 | 2157 | 9270 | 8146 |
3 | Jimmie Foxx | 534 | 163 | 1925 | 1945 | 17-37 | 2317 | 9677 | 8134 |
4 | Ted Williams | 521 | 191 | 1939 | 1960 | 20-41 | 2292 | 9792 | 7706 |
5 | Mel Ott | 511 | 155 | 1926 | 1947 | 17-38 | 2730 | 11347 | 9456 |
6 | Mickey Mantle | 496 | 175 | 1951 | 1966 | 19-34 | 2113 | 8810 | 7227 |
7 | Lou Gehrig | 493 | 179 | 1923 | 1939 | 20-36 | 2164 | 9665 | 8001 |
8 | Eddie Mathews | 493 | 145 | 1952 | 1966 | 20-34 | 2223 | 9533 | 8049 |
9 | Stan Musial | 475 | 159 | 1941 | 1963 | 20-42 | 3026 | 12721 | 10972 |
10 | Henry Aaron | 442 | 156 | 1954 | 1966 | 20-32 | 1964 | 8543 | 7683 |
11 | Ernie Banks | 419 | 127 | 1953 | 1966 | 22-35 | 1961 | 8218 | 7426 |
12 | Duke Snider | 407 | 140 | 1947 | 1964 | 20-37 | 2143 | 8237 | 7161 |
Mathews tied Gehrig. 1966 was a tough year for the Iron Horse.
Mantle passed Gehrig with this HR:
HR: Mickey Mantle (21, off Bruce Howard, 4th inn, 0 on, 1 out to RF).
Bruce Howard threw righty, so the switch hitting Mantle homered batting lefty.
The Yankees were 47-52 (99 games). There were 63 games remaining but Mantle hit only two more Home Runs. Frank Robinson led the AL with 49 HR in 1966 (also BA and RBI for the triple crown). Robinson also homered on that date giving him 31 HR.
Mantle homered in both ends of a doubleheader July 8, 1966 giving him 18 HR.
The Yankees were 36-45 (81) games, half of the 162 scheduled games.
Frank Robinson did not homer July 8, 1966. His Orioles were 57-27 (84 games). Robinson had 20 HR.
So:
Robinson 20
Mantle 18
Obviously, Mantle could not sustain it ... at age 34.
Mickey Mantle 1966: lightning back in his bat ... for 11 days. Thursday, July 7, 2011
I stumbled onto something that I long recalled: the Mick getting his old power back after he had declined.
In 1966 from June 28 through July 8, the Mick hit 11 home runs in 11 days, 14 games, raising his total to 18.
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Aaron Judge has 358 HR: 493-358=135. Judge has a long way to go to reach Gehrig, much less Mantle at 536. Judge will be 34 in April 2026.