ARLINGTON, Texas — Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle didn’t 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 majors’ new Batman & Robin home run duo.
In Monday night’s 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, “I’m not gonna let Benny catch me.”
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.
“Pretty cool,” he said. “I definitely would not have anticipated something like that, but obviously, the three names I’m surrounded with there are pretty big ones, so it’s definitely very humbling.”
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).
“I’m trying to keep (Judge) honest, keep him motivated,” Rice joked. “He’s getting a little complacent!”
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.
“I don’t know how long this is gonna last, but I’m enjoying it right now being this close,” Rice said with another grin.
The Yankees are sure this is no fluke, and they can point to Rice’s home run in Monday’s game.
The left-center power alley is 372 feet from home plate at Globe Life Field. That’s 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.
“Man, that ball was pummeled,” manager Aaron Boone said. “This is a ballpark, they’ll tell you it doesn’t yield a lot of home runs and to hit a line drive into the bullpen there the other way, impressive.
“The only thing more impressive was the 1 to 12 breaking ball that Judge rifled into the seats right after him. So it’s a little bit of a hold your beer moment.”
“Just consistent at-bat after consistent at-bat,” Judge said. “It’s must-watch TV at this point. He steps up to the plate, it doesn’t matter: Nobody’s on, guy on, tough situation. He’s gonna put something in play hard, or he’s gonna take his walk and pass the baton.
“It’s 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.”
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.
“I enjoy hitting in the order with him, whether I’m in front of him or behind him,” Rice said. “I think there’s different scenarios, different pitchers that either way works, so anytime I can be near him in the lineup is a good one.”
Judge is hitting only .252 after winning the AL batting title with a career-best .331 last year, but he’s heating up, batting .294 with eight homers and 12 RBIs over his last 15 games.