The Judge-Soto Show: A Modern-Day Ruth and Gehrig?
Sometimes it takes a while before it hits us what we’re watching. One minute, we’re just doing what we do, tuning into baseball in 2024. The next, it begins to dawn on us. We’re witnessing something special. Then we ask: Just how special? Next thing we know, we’ve taken a trip back in time, to that place where legends dwell. And that’s where Aaron Judge and Juan Soto have taken us.
It never feels comfortable to do what we’re about to do. But we’re about to do it anyway. As they near the finish line of an astonishing season in the modern-day incarnation of Yankee Stadium, Judge and Soto are connecting the dots to a very different incarnation of Yankee Stadium.
Is it OK to argue this? That we’re watching the 21st-century version of the two most prodigious and productive teammates who ever played baseball? Can we really connect those dots, from Judge and Soto to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig? I think we can.
They’re not the same — in many ways. Ruth and Gehrig were all-time behemoths, cranking out seasons we’ll never see again. I get that. But am I crazy to make this comp? I don’t think I am. I’m not alone.
“I think you’re on firm ground,” said STATS Perform’s Steve Hirdt, one of baseball’s most prominent and all-knowing historical minds.
“Just the fact that you’re contemplating it might answer your question,” said Buck Showalter, former manager of two New York baseball teams, the Yankees and Mets. “And the fact that it’s so interesting to contemplate is the beauty of baseball. You’ve just described the beauty of baseball — that we can ask those questions and compare guys from different eras.”
We’re about to make that comparison in all sorts of ways. You’ll have fun thinking about it. I promise. But you should also know that not everyone who got dragged into this project agrees with its premise. Of course they don’t.
The Jury Deliberates
I turned to our jury members. They were mostly with me. Steve Hirdt had only one reservation: “Obviously, I’d have to put Gehrig and Ruth in 1927 above what Judge and Soto have done,” he said … with good reason! But I’m not arguing that this Judge/Soto Show is superior to any Ruth/Gehrig season — only that it’s fair to use the expression: best since … So he’s in.
Cash and the AL executive I spoke with had zero problem with this premise. They didn’t particularly want to compare themselves with Connie Mack, trying to outfox those Yankees behemoths. But they get where I’m going with this.
“In any era that you put these guys in, they would stand out as generationally talented,” the exec said, “both in what they’re doing today and the track record. So when you talk about comparing them with Ruth and Gehrig, you could roll your eyes if it was somebody who was a flash in the pan, that we didn’t know.
“But these guys already have the credentials. They were on Hall of Fame tracks before. And now they’ve converged — to hit second and third for the New York Yankees.”
Final Verdict
Ultimately, Costas was willing to nudge himself about half an inch in my direction. I’ll take it.
“I certainly feel comfortable,” he said, “if I were writing the story, with saying they’ve put themselves in the discussion with such legendary duos. And if they sustain this for a few more years, then we’re looking at Ruth/Gehrig territory.”
So, have we witnessed the modern-day reincarnation of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in the form of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto? The evidence is compelling, the comparisons are intriguing, and the numbers tell a remarkable tale. As we reflect on the performances of these two remarkable players, we can’t help but draw parallels to the iconic duo that defined a baseball generation.
