Yankees' Aaron Judge and Juan Soto could wind up among the best offensive duos in MLB history

If Juan Soto’s stay in the Bronx is limited to just this season, it’ll be a sad time for Yankees fans.

But Soto and Aaron Judge will always have 2024.

With about three weeks to go in the regular season, Judge already has put up what slugging teammate Giancarlo Stanton recently called “video game” numbers.

Soto has some pretty good numbers himself.

As the Yankees finish the regular season in search of the AL East crown, Judge and Soto are not thinking of their places in Yankees and baseball history.

So we’ll do it for them.

Simply put, with strong performances down the stretch, Judge and Soto have a shot at being spoken of in the same breath as the greatest offensive duos in MLB history.

And none are greater than the Yankees’ own Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig (circa 1927) and Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris (1961).

“To be honest, I don't think either of us have really looked into it or really seen what we're doing,” Judge told Newsday recently. “We're pretty focused on what we’ve got to do on the field. But at the end of the year, I think we could maybe look back and see where it all ends up and where we end up with that type of company. Any time you’re mentioned in any sentence with Ruth, Gehrig, Maris, Mantle — any guys that have etched their name in baseball history, not only Yankees history but baseball history — it’s pretty special.”

Soto, a free agent at season’s end, recently said: “Great year. Great vibe and everything. It’s been a great year for me. I’ve been performing well and we’ve been winning a lot of games. I think it’s been really good for me.”

Asked about what makes Judge so special, Soto joked: “He’s 6-7. No, but he’s a great player. He’s coming every day to the field to work hard, doing everything that he needs to get ready for the game. I think his work ethic is one of the best I’ve ever seen so far. He’s showing it off every day. How lucky to see him hitting behind me. It’s really cool to see it. It’s different to see it from the other side. When you’re with him, you really enjoy it.”

Judge — who broke Maris' American League record  by hitting 62 homers in 2022 — is batting .321 with 51 homers, 125 RBIs and a 1.151  OPS.   Those numbers were even more spectacular before  he went 7-for-40 with 17 strikeouts and no homers  in his last 11 games. Judge hit two homers on Aug. 25 and at that point had hit 45 in his last 94 games. He was on pace to break his own record  but now is on pace for "only'' 58.

Soto is batting .294 with 38 home runs, 98 RBIs and a 1.009 OPS. On pace for 43 homers even after hitting only one in the last 11 games, he already has surpassed his previous career high of 35 set with San Diego last season.

In making historical comparisons, let’s start with the easiest stat: home runs.

In 1927, Ruth (60) and Gehrig (47) totaled  107.

In 1961, Maris (61) broke Ruth’s single-season home run record. Mantle finished with 54 for a combined total of 115.

Judge and Soto are on pace for 101   home runs. If they total 100, they will become the sixth pair of teammates to reach that mark but only the third pair to do so without performance-enhancing drugs on at least one of the hitters’ resumes.

So the only “clean” duos would be . . . no shock here . . . Ruth/Gehrig 1927, Mantle/Maris 1961 and Judge/Soto 2024.

If Soto hits at least 40 home runs, it will be the 33rd time in MLB history that at least two teammates have reached that number in the same season. No Yankees duo has reached 40 since Mantle and Maris in 1961.

Judge's and Soto’s seasons diverged a bit in August, when Judge was on fire — earning his third AL player of the month award this season — and Soto slumped.

In August, Judge hit .389 with 12 home runs, 24 RBIs, 25 walks and a 1.386 OPS in 26 games.

Soto hit .222 with 10 home runs, 19 RBIs, 20 walks and a .929 OPS in 26 games. Not his best month in pinstripes.

Still, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, Judge and Soto became the third pair of teammates ever to each have at least 10 home runs and 20 walks in a single calendar month.

The others are Ted Williams and Vern Stephens for Boston in August 1949 and Ruth and Gehrig for the Yankees in July 1931.

Another simple stat to contemplate is an advanced one: OPS+, which measures a player’s performance relative to the rest of the league. One-hundred is considered league average.

This stat helps lessen the issue of players putting up numbers in different eras and how to compare them.

When Ruth ruled baseball, team owners realized fans liked offense — especially home runs — so the Ruth/Gehrig era included inflated offensive stats.

In 1927, for example, Ruth hit .356. Gehrig hit .373. The AL batting title was won by Detroit’s Harry Heilmann, who hit .398.

Similarly, 1961 featured increased offense because it was an expansion year in the AL, with the league going from eight to 10 teams and the season getting longer: 154 to 162 games.

That’s why Maris breaking Ruth’s home run record in a season that lasted eight more games was so controversial that they made a movie about it (“61*). The 2001 Billy Crystal flick featured the asterisk that was proposed (but never actually added) to Maris’ feat in the record books.

Anyway, OPS+ neutralizes differences across eras. In 1927, Ruth had an OPS+ of 225, Gehrig 220. Remember, an “average” player’s OPS+ is 100.

In 1961, Mantle’s OPS+ was 206. Maris’ was 167, probably because he hit only .269 to Mantle’s .317.

Going into Saturday, Judge’s OPS+ was 221, tops in MLB. Soto was second in MLB at   182. So by this measure, Judge and Soto are 1-2 as the top offensive players in baseball.

Whatever Judge's and Soto’s totals end up at when the regular season ends on Sept. 29, they both know they ultimately will be judged by how they perform in the postseason.

Soto has a World Series ring from the 2019 Washington Nationals. Judge has never made it past the ALCS.

In case you’re wondering, the 1927 and 1961 Yankees both won the World Series.

The 1927 squad — considered by some the greatest team in baseball history — dispatched the Pittsburgh Pirates in four games. Ruth hit .400 with two home runs. Gehrig hit .308 with no home runs, but he had two doubles and two triples.

In 1961, the Yankees beat the Cincinnati Reds in five games without much production from Mantle, who was injured, appeared in only two games and went 1-for-6. Maris hit .105 with one home run.

No matter. They will forever be known as World Series champions for those magical seasons.

Would Yankees fans sign up for World Series rings this year for Judge and Soto even if it meant that Soto eventually would sign elsewhere as a free agent? Even if it’s with the Mets, where Soto could team with National League MVP candidate Francisco Lindor as another dynamic duo?

That could be historic, too.

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.