Aaron Judge vs. Juan Soto: Battle for New York 2025
They were the dynamic duo of 2024. You have to look back nearly 100 years to the days of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig for a source of comparison. They were a one-two punch that terrorized the American League like no other. It was a rarity that was not meant to last. What remains is a distant memory of what could have been. What replaces this void is a civil war between two franchises and the men who are the faces of their respective teams in one shared city.
The players in question are Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. Once they were teammates and in 2025, they will be on opposite sides of the river. We start with Judge, a two-time AL MVP who decided to remain on the team he loved. He entered free agency and returned despite having better offers. On the other side is Juan Soto, the definition of a hired gun now playing for his fourth team in his young career. He was a world champion in 2019 and his trade to the Yankees coincided with the team’s first appearance in the World Series in 15 years. His free agent signing with the crosstown New York Mets was a paradigm shift in that rivalry that will be felt for years to come.
What we will see in 2025 is the beginning chapter of the Battle of New York. Let's take a look first at what these two accomplished together in 2024. First, we begin with the captain, Aaron Judge, who is the New York Yankees single-season home run leader. Soto's arrival moved Judge to third in the lineup where he benefited from having a classic tablesetter who owns elite OBP numbers. This contributed to Judge flirting again for the triple crown where he hit over .300, hit over 50 homers, and drove in a career-high 144 RBIs. Soto, with the best batting eye in the game, gained lineup protection with Judge that he had not experienced at any point in his career. The result was a career-high 41 home runs to go along with his 109 RBIs.
Yankee manager Aaron Boone’s decisions certainly looked sounder by having these two weapons side-by-side placing in the top five in the American League in home runs, runs scored, base on balls, RBI, OPS as well as WAR. Aaron Judge's shifting over to center field allowed Juan Soto to play the less demanding right field. This helped to cover many team weaknesses on both sides of the field. This twin attack brought memories of such duos of the past such as Babe Ruth-Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle-Roger Maris, and David Ortiz-Manny Ramirez. This union brought the New York Yankees to a place where they had not been in 15 years and three wins away from a world championship. Juan Soto set the tone in his devastation of the Houston Astros, a Yankee thorn for many years, in the opening series of the year setting the table for the expectations to come. The Yankees went on to win their division, claiming an AL Pennant and a World Series appearance.
Now that Judge and Soto are apart once again it is only natural to compare how they will impact their respective clubs without each other. It is a certainty that they were great players on their own but can they translate their 2024 numbers apart? Judge started the season very slowly but once he warmed up he started generating video game numbers in the flesh. He hit .322, knocked out 58 home runs, and had 180 hits while driving in the most runs in a season in his career. He garnered an all-star appearance, a Silver Slugger, a Hank Aaron Award, and MVP in 2024. Aaron Judge's pedigree states that they will continue to produce those types of numbers. Soto, in turn, brought a professional bat that got on base and still generated his best home run season along with a 100 RBI season from the number two slot.
The shadow of Soto was removed and pitched camp in the other borough. Now Judge comes into 2025 having the spotlight back on him and a motivation to prove once again that he alone is still the best player on this team and the best that the American League can offer. He will have support with a more balanced lineup with the additions of Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt. He also will remind fans that he is not only an elite hitter power-wise but also a great fielder with an arm that will play big again from right field. The bat of Juan Soto is in a league with Judge as he hit .288 with 41 home runs and 166 hits in 2024. The expectations and pressure to replicate those numbers will come with a New York Met lineup that was not much better than the one he left. He will now have the burden of being the man and taking this team to the heights that his MLB record-shattering 15-year $765,000,000 contract implies that he will. The Mets, however, know they are getting one thing. They are getting a primetime player. The home run Juan Soto hit against the Cleveland Guardians in the 2024 ALCS brought the Yankees their first pennant since 2009. The Mets are hoping for a repeat performance to put them over the top.
Baseball is also played on the field and the Yankees improved their defense immensely with addition and subtraction. Soto leaving puts Judge back in his best position in right field and with Cody Bellinger manning center will save the legs of Judge and improve production as well as bring back his cannon arm to more effect from the shorter field. In addition with the acquisitions of pitcher Max Fried will keep the ball on the ground with Goldschmidt anchoring first and Jazz Chisholm Jr. manning the hot corner now more comfortable with time there under his belt. Soto on the other hand will play in a field with more ground to cover and his weaknesses there may be highlighted. He has a good arm but often looked lost in reads to the ball.
Perception is everything. Judge is seen as a good teammate doing something Derek Jeter never did. By giving up his best position to make Soto more at home benefitted the team. He is the captain, revered by his team, and respected among most players in baseball. Soto however is the villain in this story. After spending a year appearing to immerse himself in the love of the Yankee fanbase, he left them for the highest offer which was practically matched by the Yankees for a rival that is despised. He cannot claim loyalty or love to anything but money. Judge will see a return to the love that was exclusively his previously. Ultimately the debate will be decided by who goes further or who claims the brass ring. The battle for the hearts and minds of a city begins in four months and when the subway series begins this year it can be argued that it will exceed the hype of even the 2000 World Series and results will matter. Whoever comes through in the clutch will be the focus more than ever as time is on Soto’s side and Judge must maximize the last of his prime years and avoid being the Don Mattingly of his era, with all the accolades but no championships.
