On May 11, 1903, the New York Yankees began to form their identity on what would not exactly be described as a bomb by today’s standards. John Ganzel hit the first home run in New York Highlanders history on that day. It was a fifth-inning solo shot off Detroit Tigers’ pitcher George Mullin.
It marked the beginning of a legacy that would see the team, later renamed the Yankees and nicknamed the Bronx Bombers, become synonymous with power hitting.
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Fast-forward to May 10, 2025. The Yankees have hit 66 home runs in the current season, leading baseball. Since that day in 1903, the Yankees have hit over 17,300 home runs, the most in MLB history. Yankees fans have seen Babe Ruth hit 659 career-home runs, Mickey Mantle his 61 in the 1961 season and then Aaron Judge top it with 62 home runs 61 years later.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge.Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images
The 2025 season has an extraordinary example of the Yankees’ power display. On March 29, they set a franchise record by hitting nine home runs in a single game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Additionally, they became the first team in MLB history to hit three home runs on the first three pitches of a game.
The Bronx Bombers is not just a nickname anymore.
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The Yankees’ rosters are consistently built on power-hitting now. It’s a living legacy from Babe Ruth’s legendary blasts to Aaron Judge’s towering shots; the Yankees have slugged their way through the seasons.
So, John Ganzel’s 1903 home run may have seemed like a run on the scoreboard back in the day, but it was really the first inkling of a team’s identity. It was the first home run in that set the tone for generations of Yankees and Yankees fans.
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