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The New York Yankees are one of the most potent lineups in baseball helped significantly by the exploits of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. The hard-hitting duo has been tremendous this season and helped the Bronx Bombers be at the top of the American League East with a 78-54 record.
The outfield tandem has already started the 2024 All-Star Game together and looks to bring a World Series title back to New York for the first time since 2009. If Soto and Judge can keep up their current production for the remaining 30 games, they could find themselves in the rarified territory of the all-time greats.
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"The numbers are undeniable: Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are the best 1-2 punch since Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Who else is on the short list? Watch the latest video essay here" - @jayhaykid
Before Tuesday's action, Judge sits at a whopping 51 home runs and is currently on pace to top his American League single-season homer record of 62. While this will require him to keep up his red-hot production level and remain healthy, the hulking outfielder may reach 63 bombs this year.
On the other hand, Soto sits at a career-high 37 home runs and is on pace to hit 45 before the end of the year. If the duo were to reach their current projected totals, their 108 longballs would put them second all-time in New York Yankees history when it comes to combined homers for two players.
"Here are Juan Soto and Aaron Judge's first-inning home runs synced up side to side. Take a moment to appreciate that we're witnessing the greatest duo baseball has seen since Mantle/Maris and Ruth/Gehrig. It's special." - @ABechamps
This would cement them as one of the top duos in Yankees history, finishing ahead of two of the greatest players of all time: Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig who combined for 107 in 1927. Only Roger Maris (who Aaron Judge passed to set the AL single-season record) and Mickey Mantle will have hit more homers as a pair, racking up an unfathomable 115 in 1961.
It's not only home runs that link Aaron Judge and Juan Soto to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig
The 2024 Yankees have been largely buoyed by the impressive batting skills of both Soto and Judge. Before Tuesday's matchup against the Washington Nationals, Soto owns an 184 OPS+ whereas Judge sits at a whopping 229 OPS+. OPS+ represents on-base plus slugging percentage while considering factors such as the number of games played in certain ballparks.
To put this into perspective, if the Yankees pair can stay above 180 OPS+, they will join only Ruth and Gehrig as the only teammates to accomplish this feat in MLB history. While Soto and Judge will likely never reach the legendary heights that Gehrig and Ruth hold in baseball history, the numbers show that at least for this season, they were nearly as dominant as the icon pair.
