For the 1931 season, Lou Gehrig paced the AL in both homers and RBI, generated more hits than any other player in the league, tallied more total bases than anyone, scored more runs, had more extra-base hits and reached safely as much as anyone. The numbers – gazing at them from all these decades away – retain a sense of awesomeness. The multiple areas of leadership are a treasured artifact of Gehrig’s eminence.
Right now, Aaron Judge leads the AL in hits, total bases, runs, extra-base hits and times on base. While he can’t match Gehrig in the homers and RBI leaderships, he does own league-leading marks in all three of the main rate stats. The numbers themselves, witnessing them transform and grow since the start of the season, pulsate with wonder. The coverage atop the leaderboards is an evolving expression of Judge’s repute.
Through 61 team games, Lou Gehrig’s 1931 and Aaron Judge’s 2025 look an awful lot alike: the exact same number of extra-base hits (although arranged a little differently); the exact same number of times reaching safely; a difference of one run scored (in Gehrig’s favor). Gehrig also has more RBI and more walks with fewer strikeouts, while Judge owns the edge in hits and average/on-base/slugging, along with total bases. The numbers themselves are exceptional, the connection between the inner circle immortal from another era and the superstar from the present is yet another intricate, yet simply arresting illustration of baseball’s web.
Aaron Judge had a pristine day at the plate, converting his four plate appearances to a double, two walks and a hit by pitch. Through this stage of the season, it’s unusual to see a player post Judge’s volume when it comes to the combination of times on base and extra-base hits.
1901-2025: Through 61 Team Games, 135+ TOB/39+ XBH
1921 Babe Ruth 141 & 50
1930 Babe Ruth 146 & 42
1930 Lou Gehrig 136 & 40
1931 Lou Gehrig 135 & 39
1948 Stan Musial 136 & 41
2025 Aaron Judge 135 & 39
Max Fried (6.0 IP, 0 R, 7 K’s) picked up his eighth win, as he started things off in a Yankees 4-0 shutout of the Guardians. Aside from being tied for the AL lead with the eight wins, Fried’s Triple Crown stats offer a 1.78 ERA and 77 strikeouts. The liveball era has seen three other Yankees with Fried’s numbers (or better ones) through 61 games.
1952 Allie Reynolds 9 wins, 1.63 ERA, 78 strikeouts
1964 Whitey Ford 10 wins, 1.47 ERA, 92 strikeouts
1978 Ron Guidry 10 wins, 1.57 ERA, 86 strikeouts
Robbie Ray (7.0 IP, 2 R, 9 K’s) picked up his eighth win of the season as his Giants edged the Padres, 3-2. Aside from the NL-leading eight victories, Ray’s Triple Crown stats offer a 2.44 ERA and 87 strikeouts. The liveball era has seen three other Giants with Ray’s numbers (or better ones) through 63 games.
1965 Juan Marichal 11 wins, 1.73 ERA, 97 strikeouts
1967 Juan Marichal 10 wins, 1.95 ERA, 118 strikeouts
2012 Matt Cain 8 wins, 2.18 ERA, 96 strikeouts
Using the worse of the two numbers for Fried and Ray in each of the Triple Crown categories, there are six seasons in the liveball era that have had multiple left-handers post them (or better ones) at this stage of a season.
1920-2025: Multiple LH’ers with 8+ Wins, 77+ K’s, ERA at or Below 2.44, Through 63 Games
1964 Whitey Ford & Sandy Koufax
1968 Woodie Fryman & Jerry Koosman
1972 Mickey Lolich & Wilbur Wood
1978 Vida Blue & Ron Guidry
2016 Clayton Kershaw & Jon Lester
2025 Max Fried & Robbie Ray
Athletics first baseman Tyler Soderstrom homered twice and drove in six as his club roughed up the Twins, 14-3. The two longballs gave the 23-year-old four multi-homer games this season. Soderstrom is the sixth Athletic to have at least four through the team’s first 64 games, joining this group:
Reggie Jackson in 1969 (7)
Gus Zernial in 1951 (5)
Jimmie Foxx in 1934 (4)
Reggie Jackson in 1974 (4)
Mark McGwire in 1990 (4)
Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson singled twice, homered and walked to support his teammate’s powerful day at the plate. For context ahead, Wilson is playing in his age-23 season, his rookie season.
~Wilson is now slashing .363/.402/.523. In AL/NL history, there are 10 qualifying players who posted a .300/.400/.500 line in a rookie season, including the Athletics’ own Mitchell Page in 1977 (.307/.405/.521). The list begins with Jimmy Williams in 1899 and then jumps to the 1920s and ‘30s, where you find Kiki Culer (1924), Paul Waner (1926), George Watkins (1930), Johnny Mize (1936) and Ted Williams (1939). Minnie Miñoso (1951) and Fred Lynn (1975) directly precede Page, and then Albert Pujols (2001) closes the loop … for now.
~On that .363 average, the highest season-ending marks for any qualifying AL/NL shortstop (min. 67% of games at SS) in an age-23 or younger season:
.385 Arky Vaughan in 1935 (age-23 season)
.358 Álex Rodríguez in 1996 (20)
.346 Joe Cronin in 1930 (23)
.344 Cecil Travis in 1937 (23)
.343 Gene DeMontreville in 1896 (23)
*The highest average to come from a 21st century season: Hanley Ramírez’s .332 in 2007, which was the follow-up to his Rookie of the Year campaign.
Framber Valdez fanned a season-high 11 and recorded his sixth win of the year as Houston defeated Pittsburgh, 8-2. Valdez has 14 double-digit strikeout games in his eight-year career (all with the Astros), more than any other left-hander for the franchise (Mike Cuellar is second, with 12).
Jeremy Peña collected two doubles and a single in the Astros’ win and is now slashing .366/.417/.570 in his 35 games as the club’s leadoff hitter. There are 33 players since 1901 to finish a season with at least 300 plate appearances and a .300/.400/.500 line from the top spot in the order. The list includes a trio of Astros: Joe Morgan in 1965 and Craig Biggio in 1997 and 1998.
White Sox infielder Chase Meidroth singled twice and walked thrice. At 23 years and 317 days old, the rookie is the 24th youngest player in the franchise’s history to reach safely at least five times in a game without making an out. Of those who are younger, only Sammy Sosa (1989), Kevin Bell (1976) and Mark Johnson (1999) were as inexperienced (by games played) as Meidroth, who just participated in his 40th career big league contest.
In the first game of a doubleheader, Kansas City’s Noah Cameron worked the first six, allowing two hits and two walks without surrendering a run. The left-hander has made five Major League appearances (all starts) and owns a 0.85 ERA. There are a dozen pitchers in the liveball era who’ve opened their careers with a sub-1.00 ERA through five outings (with at least 25.0 innings). As a southpaw, Cameron joins this small collection:
0.96 Luis Arroyo in 1955
0.87 Zach Duke in 2005
0.98 Shota Imanaga in 2024
Cal Raleigh hit his 24th home run. In the expansion era, there are 13 players now who’ve reached 24 longballs through 61 team games.
32 Barry Bonds (2001)
28 Mark McGwire (1998)
26 Reggie Jackson (1969), Ken Griffey, Jr. (1994)
25 Ken Griffey, Jr. (1997), Barry Bonds (2000), Luis Gonzalez (2001), Albert Pujols (2006)
24 Dave Kingman (1979), Albert Belle (1996), Álex Rodríguez (2007), Aaron Judge (2022), Cal Raleigh (2025)
Ian Happ drove in four runs from the leadoff spot to ignite the Cubs toward a 7-1 win over the Nationals. The career Cub has a pair of games this season in which he’s batted first and driven in at least four runs. A dozen other Cubs since 1901 have had multiple games like this in a single season, including Rick Monday (1976) and Alfonso Soriano (2007 and 2008) – the only ones with three in a year. Organized by decade, here’s the baker’s dozen:
1900s Topsy Hartsel (1901)
1930s Clarence Blair (1930), Kiki Cuyler (1931), Augie Galan (1935, 1937)
1970s Rick Monday (1976)
1990s Brant Brown (1998)
2000s Jerry Hairston, Jr. (2005), Alfonso Soriano (2007, 2008)
2020s Rafael Ortega (2021), Nico Hoerner (2023), Ian Happ (2025)
Thanks to Baseball Reference and its extraordinary research database, Stathead, for help in assembling this piece.
Roger Schlueter
As Sr. Editorial Director for Major League Baseball Productions from 2004-2015, Roger served as a hub for hundreds of hours of films, series, documentaries and features: as researcher, fact-checker, script doctor, and developer of ideas. The years at MLB Production gave him the ideal platform to pursue what galvanized him the most – the idea that so much of what takes place on the field during the MLB regular and postseason (and is forever beautifully condensed into a box score) has connections to what has come before. Unearthing and celebrating these webs allows baseball to thrive, for the present can come alive and also reignite the past.