It will be a while before we see another duo like Aaron Judge and Juan Soto in the same lineup, as they were with the Yankees two years ago.
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Memories of that one-two punch rushed back Friday when the two sluggers embraced on the field during the Subway Series opener at Citi Field.
But what Judge is doing with his current left-handed teammate also has been special.
With Judge and Ben Rice seemingly going deep on a daily basis, they entered Saturday as only the second pair of teammates in franchise history to have hit at least 14 home runs in the Yankees’ first 45 games of a season.
Ben Rice (22) and Aaron Judge are pictured during the Yankees’ May 16 win against the Mets. Jason Szenes for the NY Post Not Judge and Soto.
Instead, it was Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in their famous 1961 season, when both threatened Babe Ruth’s home run record and Maris broke it.
The only other duo to have done it in the majors since 2008 was George Springer and Alex Bregman with the Astros in 2019, as they combined for 31 home runs.
They’ve done plenty of damage recently, as Rice entered Saturday with 10 home runs in his previous 23 games, while Judge had 13 in his last 31 appearances.
As Aaron Boone noted Friday, Soto remains “one of the game’s best hitters.”
Increasingly, though, it appears Rice may belong there with him.
Juan Soto hits a home run during the Mets’ May 14 game against the Tigers. Charles Wenzelberg The lefty-swinging Rice entered Saturday with an OPS of 1.092 versus left-handed pitching, nearly as lethal as the 1.109 OPS he posted against righties.
That’s quite a leap from the .752 mark against lefties from a year ago, as well as his still-impressive .860 against right-handers.
As Boone said Friday, Rice’s season thus far has been “awesome.”
“There have been really great at-bats [and] consistent at-bats from the start of the season,’’ the manager said. “He’s hitting for power [and] controlling the strike zone. He’s hit left- and right-handed pitching. He’s been one of the best hitters in the sport six or seven weeks in.”
The numbers back it up, with Rice leading the majors with a 1.104 OPS and a slugging percentage of .686, as well as the fourth-best on-base percentage (.418).
Rice is also hitting the ball harder than he did a year ago.
He also wears the same No. 22 that Soto wore in The Bronx and still wears for the Mets.
On Friday, it was Rice — and Judge — who started the key three-run rally with two outs in the top of the third against former teammate Clay Holmes.
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Rice, after losing an ABS challenge that put him down in the count, pulled a single to right before Judge followed with a base hit to the opposite field.
Cody Bellinger then came through in the cleanup spot and made the Mets pay with a run-scoring double, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. drove in two more with another double to right.
Nobody on the roster has more hits or RBIs on the season than Rice and Judge.
While they have a long way to go to match the shared production of Judge and Soto two seasons ago, Judge and Rice are off to a promising start.
