Fastball

Yankees' Dynamic Offensive Duo on Pace to Join Record Books in First Season Together

It's been a great first season together for Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, who are on pace to make baseball history this year. The question is, how long will this duo actually last together?
Brady Farkas|
New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge (99) celebrates with Juan Soto (22) after hitting a two-run home run in the seventh inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on June 11.
New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge (99) celebrates with Juan Soto (22) after hitting a two-run home run in the seventh inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on June 11. | Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

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New York Yankees

The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night 9-3 at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox ran all over the Yankees, stealing a franchise record nine bases in the win. Boston is now 37-35 after the win while New York is now 50-24. The Yankees lost, but slugger Aaron Judge did hit his 26th homer of the season, going 1-for-4 in the process.

Speaking of history, Judge and new teammate Juan Soto are currently on pace to make some of their own, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Aaron Judge and Juan Soto rank 1-2 in MLB in OPS

Since 1900, AL/NL/FL teams to have 2 qualified players finish top-2 in MLB in OPS:

1989 SFG: Kevin Mitchell, Will Clark
1959 MLN: Eddie Mathews, Henry Aaron
1927, 1930-31 NYY: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig

That's a very small list that includes four Hall of Famers, so it's great company for Judge and Soto to be in. Judge has a 1.011 OPS while Soto's is 1.025. The pairing has been everything the Yankees could have wanted when they traded for Soto this past offseason in a mega-deal with the San Diego Padres.

Now, the question is just how long will this duo last? Soto is set to become a free agent at the end of the season and will command a salary of upwards of $450 million (or more). The Yankees certainly can afford that, but who knows at this point if they are willing to.

Right now, New York will focus on trying to win its first World Series title since 2009.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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