One of the more interesting aspects of discussing baseball records is applying context. For example, Roger Maris’ then MLB and still Yankees record of 61 long balls came in an expansion season, but that doesn’t denigrate what he did as he obviously was a great hitter who had a great season. Conversely, Mel Stottlemyre’s 20 losses in 1966 is a post-integration single season-high for the Yankees, and Tim Leary made a good run at it in 1990, finishing with 19 losses. Yet both pitchers posted FIPs that were better than league average in their seemingly awful seasons, which weren’t really awful after all.
The inglorious Yankees single-season records
