This past winter, New York Yankees’ fans were left stunned by the perceived betrayal of their prominent star right fielder and Aaron Judge setup man, Juan Soto, who took a record-breaking $765 million to make the move across town to the New York Mets. Soto had excelled in pinstripes, posting a slash line of .288/.419/.569/.988 with a career-high 41 home runs during his one year in the Bronx. With his departure, it seemed like the Yankees’ run production was doomed to plummet.
But any assumption like this proved premature.
The Yankees have begun the year with a bang, hitting an MLB-leading 22 home runs in six games entering Friday’s action against the Pittsburgh Pirates. On a historic pace for long balls, it seems the Yankee offense isn’t truly lacking Soto’s brilliant talent that combines both on-base percentage and slugging. And it’s in large part thanks to their new DH who now bears Soto’s old number that Yankee fans can forget their one-year wonder.
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Ben Rice is picking up where Juan Soto left off
Ben Rice made his MLB debut last season replacing the injured Anthony Rizzo as the Yankees’ first baseman wearing Ni. 93. He quickly catapulted his way into the franchise history books with a three-homer game, the first ever for a Yankees rookie. His seven RBI that day also matched the team’s rookie record, set by none other than MLB legend Lou Gehrig. Unfortunately, after a torrid stretch, Rice finished the year with a lackluster .171 batting average with 7 home runs in his 152 at-bat stint, seemingly exposed at the highest level.
This year, after making plenty of hard contact in spring training, Rice was chosen to fill in for the ailing Giancarlo Stanton. However, not only did he inherit the DH slot, but jersey No. 22 as well, still warm after being vacated by Soto.
With his new (and possibly temporary) role and new number, Rice is vindicating the Yankees’ confidence in him. Sporting a powerful new swing, Rice is 7-for-19 (.368 average) with two home runs and two walks so far this year. Compare this to his predecessor, who is hitting .240 with one home run so far with the Mets. While this isn’t to say Rice will perform better in the long run, his recent success takes the sting out of losing the hitter that pushed the Yankees to the World Series last season.
