Things You Might Not Know About 5 New York Yankees Hall of Famers

The New York Yankees have had so many legendary players - wonderful stars who have done fantastic things in the game of baseball. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra are five New York Yankees legends that have gone on to the Hall of Fame and baseball immortality. These five New York Yankees stalwarts' feats have been documented over and over, with Ruth's home runs, Gehrig's games-played streak, DiMaggio's hitting streak, Mantle's power and Berra's MVP seasons all common knowledge. However, here are five things about these New York Yankees legends that the average baseball fan might not be aware of.

1. Babe Ruth hit over .370 a remarkable 6 times!

The Babe is associated with his home runs and pitching accomplishments, but he holds 6 of the top 10 single season batting averages in Yankees' history. Ruth never hit .400, but he did hit .393 in 1923, with 5 other seasons of at least batting .372. The only other pair of players on this particular Yankees' season roster is DiMaggio and Gehrig. Ruth would wind up with a career average of .342, good for 10th all-time in baseball.

2. Lou Gehrig had no less than 7 seasons with at least 151 runs batted in!

In 2007, Alex Rodriguez collected 156 RBI. That total would have put him on the top of almost any other team's all-time list for a single season, but on the Yankees it barely got him to 10th place. Gehrig alone had 7 campaigns when he had 151 or more runs batted in and he went over 164 on 4 separate occasions! He holds the American League record with 184 in 1931 and he had seasons of 174, 175, and 165. Lou has to his name 10 different baseball seasons with the New York Yankees in which he knocked in at least 126 runs; that low-end 126 total would have led the AL 37 times since his retirement in 1939.

3. Joe DiMaggio only struck out 9 more times than the number of homers he hit!

The "Yankee Clipper" clocked 361 home runs in his 13 seasons in the Bronx, striking out 369 times during that span. The most he ever fanned in one year was the 39 times he did so in his rookie campaign of 1936. "Joltin Joe" had 7 years in which he had more round trippers than whiffs. In contrast, a modern day player such as Manny Ramirez has well over 1,000 more strikeouts than home runs.

4. Mickey Mantle had just 4 seasons of more than 100 runs batted in!

Due to the many injuries that Mantle suffered over the years, he only twice played in more than 150 games in a single season, keeping his RBI totals down. Mantle was walked an awful lot with men in scoring position as well; a dozen times he was in the top 3 in the AL in bases on balls. He went over 100 RBI in 1954, '56, 1961, and for the last time in 1964. He did break the 90 plateau 5 times on his way to over 1,500 runs batted in.

5. Yogi Berra never hit more than 30 home runs in a season!

Berra was another Yankee great who disdained striking out, with only 414 in all his years in the major leagues. Yogi hit 358 home runs, but only twice did he hit as many as 30 in a season. He was remarkably consistent with his totals, smashing at least 20 during the course of 11 different seasons. The 3 time MVP at one time held the record for most homers by a catcher, but he never came closer than third place in an American League home run race.

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