Top 25 MLB batting seasons of all time

10 of 25

1956: Mickey Mantle #7 of the New York Yankees hits a home run during an MLB game circa 1956. (Photo by Stanley Weston/Getty Images) /

16. Mickey Mantle, 1956

The Numbers: MLB Triple Crown, .353/.464/.705, 52 homers, 130 RBI, 210 OPS+

Every young outfielder who arrives in the big leagues at a young age, possessing all five tools and destined for early success, is compared to the great Mickey Mantle. His age-24 season was one for the as he won the MLB Triple Crown, the MVP, and led the Yankees to the World Series.

Mantle’s five tools were all on display in 1956. He was batting well over .400 by the end of May before coming down to Earth slightly. For the year, he batted .369/.472/.746 at Yankee Stadium with 27 home runs. The 1956 season would also mark the first time Mantle made a run at breaking Babe Ruth’s record of 60 home runs. He hit 16 home runs in May, and had 29 homers at the All-tar break. Mantle had seven two-homer games, but did not have a three-homer game.

All of Mantle’s best years came before the age of 30. He broke his foot in 1963 when he got it caught in a fence in a freak accident. That type of injury would not have happened in modern-day baseball. He had also injured his knee in 1951 when he caught himself on a drain pipe. Mantle did not hit over .300 or more than 30 home runs over his final four seasons. Up until his death, Mantle continued to refer to the 1956 season as his favorite year of professional baseball.

Who knows how great Mantle could have been had injuries not derailed the second half of his career. As it stands, he won three MVP awards, won an MLB Triple Crown, led the league in home runs four times, and helped the Yankees to seven World Series titles. Mantle was an easy choice for MLB’s All-Century team, and is still one of the top-five offensive center fielders in baseball history.

Home/MLB