Former MVPs Set Franchise Record for New York Yankees With Historic Starts

Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt have been a historically good one-two punch for the New York Yankees this year.

Mar 30, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. (13) celebrates his three run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers with right fielder Aaron Judge (99) and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (48) during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

When you put two elite sluggers in the same lineup together, good things tend to happen.

It worked wonders last year for the New York Yankees, who had one of the best lineup combos in recent memory in Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. Judge won AL MVP honors and Soto finished third after combining for 99 homers and 253 RBI.

After losing Soto to the New York Mets this offseason, the Yankees did their best to replace him by bringing in not one, but two former MVPs in Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt.

While Bellinger hasn't worked out so far, Goldschmidt has been a home run.

Followjng Monday's 6-4 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, the 37-year-old slugger is batting .372/.421/.465 (159 wRC+) with 0.7 WAR, providing his best offensive production in years.

Meanwhile, Judge is off to a historically good start and putting up MVP-caliber numbers again. The 32-year-old two-time MVP is slashing .384/490/.698 (239 wRC+) with seven homers, 25 RBI and 2.0 WAR, sparking early speculation that he might win the Triple Crown.

Entering play on Tuesday, Judge leads MLB in batting average at .384, while Goldschmidt is second at .372. That's the first time New York has ever had the top two hitters in batting average at least 23 games into the season.

Aaron Judge (.384) and Paul Goldschmidt (.372) rank 1st and 2nd in MLB in AVG.

It’s the first time in franchise history the @Yankees have had two hitters lead MLB in AVG at least 23 games into the season. pic.twitter.com/q3S126jhT4

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) April 22, 2025

That's a remarkable stat given all the iconic duos in Yankees history, from Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig to Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris.

Neither Judge nor Goldschmidt has ever won a batting title, so it will be interesting to see if they can maintain their high averages for an entire season. Goldschmidt's career-high is .321, one point below Judge's personal best, and they both have identical career .290 marks.

Both All-Stars have the same BABIP -- .456 -- which is unsustainably high and will come down eventually (the league average is historically close to .300). The only question is by how much?

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