Ruth/Gehrig, Mantle/Maris, Stanton/Judge: another Yankee 60 Home Run race?

In 1927 Yankee teammates Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig engaged in a dramatic Home Run race to see which would break Babe's season record of 59 set in 1921, Ruth's second Yankee season. The intensity of the race has been obscured by Gehrig fading after he and Ruth were tied at 45 early in September. Ruth beat Gehrig 60-47. Through 1927 only Ruth had hit more HR in a season than Gehrig.

Rk	Player	HR	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Babe Ruth	60	1927	32	NYY	AL	151	691	540	158	192	29	8	165	137		89	0	14			7	6	.356	.486	.772	1.258	*97
2	Babe Ruth	59	1921	26	NYY	AL	152	693	540	177	204	44	16	168	145		81	4	4			17	13	.378	.512	.846	1.359	*78/13
3	Babe Ruth	54	1920	25	NYY	AL	142	616	458	158	172	36	9	135	150		80	3	5			14	14	.376	.532	.847	1.379	*978/3H1
4	Lou Gehrig	47	1927	24	NYY	AL	155	717	584	149	218	52	18	173	109		84	3	21			10	8	.373	.474	.765	1.240	*3
5	Babe Ruth	47	1926	31	NYY	AL	152	652	495	139	184	30	5	153	144		76	3	10			11	9	.372	.516	.737	1.253	*79/H3

In 1961 the American League (AL) added two new expansion teams, the Angels in Los Angeles and the new Washington Senators, who replaced the previous who transferred and renamed  itself the Minnesota Twins. The schedule was also expanded, it was thought temporarily, from 154 to 162 games. Yankee teammates Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris engaged in a dramatic Home Run race to see which could break Babe's season record of 60 set in 1927. Maris beat Mantle 61 to 54. However, Maris took more than 154 games to hit number 60. And number 61 didn't come until the last game of the season. Both the 1927 and 1961 Yankees played a tie game and so 155 and 163 games respectively. Through 1961 Mantle had the 7th most HR in a season.

Rk	Player	HR	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Roger Maris	61	1961	26	NYY	AL	161	698	590	132	159	16	4	141	94	0	67	7	0	7	16	0	0	.269	.372	.620	.993	*98/H
2	Babe Ruth	60	1927	32	NYY	AL	151	691	540	158	192	29	8	165	137		89	0	14			7	6	.356	.486	.772	1.258	*97
3	Babe Ruth	59	1921	26	NYY	AL	152	693	540	177	204	44	16	168	145		81	4	4			17	13	.378	.512	.846	1.359	*78/13
4	Hank Greenberg	58	1938	27	DET	AL	155	681	556	143	175	23	4	147	119		92	3	3			7	5	.315	.438	.683	1.122	*3
5	Jimmie Foxx	58	1932	24	PHA	AL	154	702	585	151	213	33	9	169	116		96	0	0			3	7	.364	.469	.749	1.218	*35
6	Hack Wilson	56	1930	30	CHC	NL	155	709	585	146	208	35	6	191	105		84	1	18			3		.356	.454	.723	1.177	*8
7	Mickey Mantle	54	1961	29	NYY	AL	153	646	514	131	163	16	6	128	126	9	112	0	1	5	2	12	1	.317	.448	.687	1.135	*8/H
8	Ralph Kiner	54	1949	26	PIT	NL	152	667	549	116	170	19	5	127	117		61	1	0		10	6		.310	.432	.658	1.089	*7
9	Babe Ruth	54	1928	33	NYY	AL	154	684	536	163	173	29	8	146	137		87	3	8			4	5	.323	.463	.709	1.172	*97
10	Babe Ruth	54	1920	25	NYY	AL	142	616	458	158	172	36	9	135	150		80	3	5			14	14	.376	.532	.847	1.379	*978/3H1

In 2017 Giancarlo Stanton hit the 9th most home runs ever in a season: 59 to lead the National League (NL) playing for the Miami Marlins. Stanton had led NL with 37 HR in 2014. In 2017 25 year old Yankee rookie Aaron Judge led the American League with 52 home runs.

Rk	Player	HR	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Barry Bonds	73	2001	36	SFG	NL	153	664	476	129	156	32	2	137	177	35	93	9	0	2	5	13	3	.328	.515	.863	1.379	*7/DH
2	Mark McGwire	70	1998	34	STL	NL	155	681	509	130	152	21	0	147	162	28	155	6	0	4	8	1	0	.299	.470	.752	1.222	*3/H
3	Sammy Sosa	66	1998	29	CHC	NL	159	722	643	134	198	20	0	158	73	14	171	1	0	5	20	18	9	.308	.377	.647	1.024	*9/8
4	Mark McGwire	65	1999	35	STL	NL	153	661	521	118	145	21	1	147	133	21	141	2	0	5	12	0	0	.278	.424	.697	1.120	*3/H
5	Sammy Sosa	64	2001	32	CHC	NL	160	711	577	146	189	34	5	160	116	37	153	6	0	12	6	0	2	.328	.437	.737	1.174	*9
6	Sammy Sosa	63	1999	30	CHC	NL	162	712	625	114	180	24	2	141	78	8	171	3	0	6	17	7	8	.288	.367	.635	1.002	*98
7	Roger Maris	61	1961	26	NYY	AL	161	698	590	132	159	16	4	141	94	0	67	7	0	7	16	0	0	.269	.372	.620	.993	*98/H
8	Babe Ruth	60	1927	32	NYY	AL	151	691	540	158	192	29	8	165	137		89	0	14			7	6	.356	.486	.772	1.258	*97
9	Giancarlo Stanton	59	2017	27	MIA	NL	159	692	597	123	168	32	0	132	85	13	163	7	0	3	13	2	2	.281	.376	.631	1.007	*9/HD
10	Babe Ruth	59	1921	26	NYY	AL	152	693	540	177	204	44	16	168	145		81	4	4			17	13	.378	.512	.846	1.359

The only two teammates to hit 50 home runs in the same season are Mantle and Maris. But it could happen again as Stanton was traded to the Yankees after the 2017 season. Stanton and Judge will be the only teammates other than Mantle and Maris who both hit 50 home runs the previous season. Obviously, Stanton and Judge did it for different teams.

Ruth's contract was sold to the Yankees for the start of 1920 and Ruth was released after 1934. Gehrig played full time for the Yankees 1925-1938. Ruth led the AL in HR for the Red Sox 1918 (11) and 1919 (29 - new record). After Ruth left, Gehrig led AL in HR for the third and final time with 49 in 1936.

Mantle played 1951-1968. Maris was traded to the Yankees for the start of the 1960 season and played through 1966.

Below are the seasons when these pairs of Yankee HR hitters were full time teammates. BOLD means led AL:
- year: team wins, i.e., won pennant
- player: HR champ

Ruth and Mantle +- (plus, minus) HR relative to their teammate.

Finally, Ruth and Mantle HR in Yankee seasons before their teammate joined the lineup.

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	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	tot
Ruth	25	47	60	54	46	49	46	41	34	22	424
Gehrig	20	16	47	27	35	41	46	34	32	49	347
Ruth +-	5	31	13	27	11	8	0	7	2	-27	77
	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	tot
Mantle	40	54	30	15	35	19	23	216
Maris	39	61	33	23	26	8	13	203
Mantle +-	1	-7	-3	-8	9	11	10	13
	1920	1921	1922	1923	1924
Ruth	54	59	35	41	46
	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
Mantle	13	23	21	27	37	52	34	42	31

In 2018 it's very unlikely that either Stanton or Judge will hit 50 HR again, much less 60. It's even more unlikely that both will hit 50 again, much less 60. However, conditions are conducive:
- 2017 had the most HR of all time
- baseballs fly like they are made by Titleist, a famous brand of golf balls.

Their 2018 HR projections on baseball-reference.com:
Stanton: 43 HR in 516 AB
Judge: 37 HR in 453 AB