Yankees' Aaron Judge, Ben Rice Could Be Next Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris

Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Ben Rice are tied for second in the American League with 16 home runs this season.

Aaron Judge and Ben Rice are on track to follow in the footsteps of another all-time Yankees duo. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

You can't stop Ben Rice; you can only hope to contain him. The Yankees' first baseman hit his 16th home run of the season in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. It was Rice's third home run in five games and tied him with right fielder Aaron Judge for the team lead.

As you would expect, the power surge, which has the Yankee sluggers tied for second in the American League in home runs, is getting some attention around the baseball world.

"Yankees duos with 16-plus home runs each before team’s 50th game: 2026 Aaron Judge, Ben Rice  1956 Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle," MLB.com's Sarah Langs posted Tuesday.

"The Bronx Bombers lead MLB in home runs and are third in OPS thanks to Aaron Judge and Ben Rice, who have become one of the best power duos in the game," The Athletic's Jim Bowden wrote Tuesday.

Power projections paint a promising outlook

ESPN is projecting Rice will hit 53 home runs this season. That's the same number ESPN is projecting for Judge. If both top the 50-home run plateau, it will put the sluggers in rare air.

The last time a pair of Yankees batters each hit at least 50 home runs was that magical 1961 season, which saw Mantle club 54 homers while Roger Maris set a new single-season record with 61 home runs.

Can Aaron Judge and Ben Rice replicate Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris's magic? | David Boss-Imagn Images

In fact, Mantle and Maris are the only teammates in MLB history to record 50-home-run seasons in the same year.

Is it too early to call Judge and Rice the next Mantle and Maris? Probably. But the numbers never lie. Rice could finally be the Robin to Judge's Batman he has so desperately needed during his 11-year career. Of course, the Yankees had visions of Giancarlo Stanton filling that role, but the designated hitter can't stay healthy.

Yankees' home run history

Now, if we really want to have some fun, we could put Judge and Rice in even more select company. Here are the only Yankees batters to record at least 50 home runs in a season:

Player name	Number of 50-HR seasons
Aaron Judge	4: 2025 (53), 2024 (58), 2022 (62), 2017 (52)
Babe Ruth	4: 1928 (54), 1927 (60), 1921 (59), 1920 (54)
Mickey Mantle	2: 1961 (54), 1956 (52)
Roger Maris	1: 1961 (61)
Alex Rodriguez	1: 2007 (54)

That means if Judge tops 50 this season, he will do something not even Ruth managed to do: hit at least 50 home runs in three consecutive seasons (and five times overall).

Side note: Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani could pull off the same feat this year, after having hit 55 in 2025 and 54 in 2024.

Rare air

But back to Judge.

He is one of four players to hit at least 50 home runs in four seasons. The others are Ruth, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. If Judge goes for 50 this year, he will be the first player in MLB history to do so five times.

Of course, if Judge can hit 50 home runs this year, some of the credit will go to Rice, who currently leads the majors in slugging percentage (.671) and OPS (1.068).

Are Rice and Judge the next Mantle and Maris? It sure will be fun to watch them this summer to find out.