Aaron Judge and Ben Rice are emerging as a powerful home run duo for the Yankees, reminiscent of legendary pairings in baseball history. In a recent game against the Rangers, Rice hit his 10th home run, followed by Judge hitting his 11th.
ARLINGTON, Texas â Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle didnât start out in 1961 by hitting home runs like Aaron Judge and Ben Rice have so far this year.
Neither did Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig when they were mashing for a team that has been called the greatest ever, the 1927 Yankees.
These Yankees have completed only 29 of 162 games, but Rice and Judge are the majorsâ new Batman & Robin home run duo.
In Monday nightâs 4-2 Yankees win over the Rangers, Rice hit his 10th of the season in the third inning with a man on, then Judge came up next and hit his 11th.
After returning to the dugout after his homer, Judge called out, âIâm not gonna let Benny catch me.â
This is only the second time in franchise history that two Yankees have reached double-figure homers through 29 games, joining Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle in 1956.
Rice smiled upon hearing that.
âPretty cool,â he said. âI definitely would not have anticipated something like that, but obviously, the three names Iâm surrounded with there are pretty big ones, so itâs definitely very humbling.â
Judge has won three AL MVPs, including two in a row, but Rice is an early favorite this year with top 5 league stats in hitting (.322), homers (10), RBIs (23), walks (21), on-base percentage (.447), slugging (.744) and OPS (1.191).
âIâm trying to keep (Judge) honest, keep him motivated,â Rice joked. âHeâs getting a little complacent!â
Rice hit 26 homers in 2025, his first full season in the majors. He was asked whether he had 60 in him this year to keep up with Judge, who hit an AL record 62 in 2022 and has topped 50 three other times.
âI donât know how long this is gonna last, but Iâm enjoying it right now being this close,â Rice said with another grin.
The Yankees are sure this is no fluke, and they can point to Riceâs home run in Mondayâs game.
The left-center power alley is 372 feet from home plate at Globe Life Field. Thatâs a long poke for a left-handed hitter, but Rice cleared it with ease, lining a 404-foot, opposite-field blast that put the Yankees ahead 2-0.
Aaron Judge has hit 11 home runs, while Ben Rice has hit 10 home runs this season.
Judge and Rice are compared to legendary duos like Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, and Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
The Yankees won the game against the Rangers with a score of 4-2.
Ben Rice hit his 10th home run in the third inning of the game.

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âMan, that ball was pummeled,â manager Aaron Boone said. âThis is a ballpark, theyâll tell you it doesnât yield a lot of home runs and to hit a line drive into the bullpen there the other way, impressive.
âThe only thing more impressive was the 1 to 12 breaking ball that Judge rifled into the seats right after him. So itâs a little bit of a hold your beer moment.â
Back to Rice âŠ
âJust consistent at-bat after consistent at-bat,â Judge said. âItâs must-watch TV at this point. He steps up to the plate, it doesnât matter: Nobodyâs on, guy on, tough situation. Heâs gonna put something in play hard, or heâs gonna take his walk and pass the baton.
âItâs just impressive to watch, and I get a front row seat hitting right behind him now. It makes my job easy when he does that.â
And vice versa for Rice, who has been hitting second, with the right-handed Judge batting third for three games in a row.. Earlier this season, Judge often was in his usual two-hole with Rice hitting third or fourth.
âI enjoy hitting in the order with him, whether Iâm in front of him or behind him,â Rice said. âI think thereâs different scenarios, different pitchers that either way works, so anytime I can be near him in the lineup is a good one.â
Judge is hitting only .252 after winning the AL batting title with a career-best .331 last year, but heâs heating up, batting .294 with eight homers and 12 RBIs over his last 15 games.
âI think weâre seeing him at his floor right now, which is just kind of crazy,â Rice said of Judge. âBut heâs looked so good. His approach is always so great. Obviously, the power is always there. And heâs our leader. Heâs the captain.â
Judge reached base in all four plate appearances Monday, going 3-for-3 with two doubles, a homer and a hit by pitch.
âIâve just come to accept that heâs different than everyone else,â Boone said. âHeâs playing a different game is the way Iâve said it, and I mean it.
âYeah, heâs been alright, and heâs probably got a 1,000 OPS and on pace for another 50, 60, 70 homers, whatever.â
The Yankees figure that Judge is going to get really hot at some point and stay that way for a month, then do it a couple more times because he has runs like that every season.
âI feel like Iâve been on a big stretch all year,â Judge said with sarcasm. âIâm kidding! Weâre winning ballgames, which is the most important thing, and itâs just about showing up every day trying to put the work in.
âGood stretches will come. Itâs baseball. Youâre gonna have a good couple weeks, couple months. Youâre gonna have some bad stretches. But itâs just about showing up and not getting too down when itâs not going your way.â
Judgeâs numbers thus far are only down a little by his superstar standards.
Boone was right, by the way: Judgeâs OPS is 1.010.
Also, his 11 homers, which are one behind the White Soxâs Munetaka Murakami for the MLB lead, have him on pace for 61 home runs.
âYouâre talking about the best player in baseball,â Yankees pitcher Max Fried said after shutting out the Rangers for six innings. âHe can change a game with one swing, but also he understands the moment, understands the game.
âHeâll take his walk if theyâre not throwing to him. But if they leave one over the middle, heâs going to make them pay.â
Riceâs star keeps rising, too.
âIâm not surprised by Ben anymore,â Fried said. âHeâs been working really hard and the hitter that heâs become has been really fun to watch. Heâs right up there with some of the best hitters in baseball.â
Riceâs 2025 breakout would have been better if he werenât so unlucky. While being in the top 95 percentile for exit velocity, he hit just .255 because so many of his hard-hit balls were outs.
This year, Rice has been finding holes.
âIt definitely helps, but if you keep focusing on the process, those things will take care of itself,â Rice said. âSo just go up there keep trying to hit the ball hard and good at-bats.â
Home runs address a hitterâs bad luck, too.
âThere are no fielders over the fence,â he said.
A month into the season, Judge and Rice have been the best righty/lefty slugging duo in the majors. They wonât be the next Willie Mays and Willie McCovey unless Rice keeps it up, but they might be just as good as Juan Soto and Judge were together in 2024, their one season as teammates.
âObviously Bennyâs off to an amazing start,â Boone said. âJudge, ho hum, 11 homers already. Yeah, itâs a pretty good combo there!â
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