Do big things, and bigger things are expected.
That's what falls on Aaron Judge's plate this year because of the 52 home runs he hit a year ago as a rookie. How many more will he hit this year and in the years after? These are the questions we all begin to ask.
In some cases, setting the bar remarkably high early in a career can prove impossible to repeat. And in a nonetheless spectacular career, that's what happened to Dan Marino.
In 1984, Marino set all-time NFL records with 5,084 passing yards and 48 touchdowns. Both marks stood for more than 25 years before they were broken. The Dolphins went 14-2 in a season that ended with a 38-16 loss to Joe Montana and the 49ers in Marino's only trip to the Super Bowl.
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Marino played 15 more years, many filled with gawdy numbers, but he never again matched what he did in 1984. However, the lessons of that season inspired him every year after.
"I got close a couple times, but that was a very special year," Marino told me this week over the phone. "It was my second year in the league and it kind of felt like it just happened. And you look back on that as time goes on, you might not match the same numbers, but you've got to draw on that experience."
And for Marino that meant using the past experience to build future confidence.
"You always tell yourself, 'I did it before, I can do it again,'" Marino said.
"Now, that might not happen, but it's going to give you some perspective on what you had done in the past. You can always visualize it and understand that it's something you've already done and can do again."
Marino passed for over 4,000 yards three times in the next four seasons after his record-setting year and in two other seasons after that. The closest he came (4,746 yards in 1986) to his previous mark was still more than 300 yards short. He eclipsed 40 touchdowns only once more (44 in 1986) and 30 touchdowns twice on his way to a then-record 420 career TD passes.
There was no doubt that Marino had compiled a Hall of Fame career when it was over. But everything seemed to go almost perfectly for Marino and the Dolphins in that '84 season.
"We had to play all the way through to get homefield advantage, and a lot of good things happened," Marino said. "(Mark) Clayton and (Mark) Duper ... all three of us started rolling together, and it just kind of happened."
This is an important distinction when it comes to making this imperfect comparison between 25-year-old Judge and then-23-year-old Marino. As the quarterback, he was obviously important to his team's offensive success, but he needed the rest of that unit to perform at a high level. Duper, Clayton and four members of Miami's offensive line -- along with Marino -- earned All-Pro honors that year. Judge's individual success relies mostly on his own performance in the batter's box as part of the team concept.
But one thing Marino remembers is that no one set out to reach record-breaking numbers. They just went out to win, and along the way historic things happened.
"We definitely did something special, but at the time we were just kind of playing ball," Marino told me. "And that's what you have to look at -- just go out and do your job."
Judge took much of the same approach a year ago, downplaying his own individual performance to highlight the team's achievements. He is embracing the Yankees' desire to go farther than they did a year ago and get to the World Series in 2018. The talk about how many home runs he can hit is left for the rest of us while Judge goes about his work in getting ready for the season.
While we wonder if Judge can hit 60 or more home runs, his season will be by all measures a success if he hits, say, 38 home runs, while leading the Yankees to the Fall Classic.
"It's the only factor," Marino told me when I brought up winning as a team. "The individual numbers really don't matter. They're nice, you talk about 'em, and when he retires he'll say, 'Oh man, I hit 52 home runs that year.'
"But it's all about winning," Marino continued "They were close last year. They feel really good about their team (this year). That's more important. If he hits 40 or if he hits 52, or whatever he hits, it's all about the team."
And Marino knows a thing or two about baseball, too. As a pitcher, he went 25-0 over his last two years at Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School and batted .500 his senior year when he also played shortstop. All of that was good enough to make him a fourth-round draft pick by the Kansas City Royals in 1979. (Future Atlanta Braves general manager and Hall of Famer John Schuerholz was KC's scouting director, and in the 19th round of the same draft, he chose a high school quarterback/outfielder out of California named John Elway.)
Marino still watches baseball on occasion, rooting for his childhood favorite Pittsburgh Pirates and his adopted hometown Miami Marlins.
Before he jetted off to Indianapolis for the NFL Combine, I asked Marino what advice he would offer Judge as he enters this season.
"Just believe in yourself," Marino said. "Keep doing what you're doing, enjoy your time and work hard every day."
Follow Sweeny on Twitter at @YankeesWFAN.
