David Lennon: Aaron Judge gets bragging rights over Juan Soto
The Yankees' Aaron Judge, left, and the Mets' Juan Soto at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Credit: AP / David J. Phillip; AP / Lynne Sladky
MIAMI — Aaron Judge and Juan Soto were supposed to be Bronx buddies for the rest of their careers. They were the most lethal hitting duo in the game, perhaps ever.
Then Steve Cohen threw in a few bucks more than Hal Steinbrenner and the relationship between the two changed, permanently.
No longer Yankees teammates, Judge and Soto now are inextricably linked as the primary antagonists in New York’s crosstown rivalry. On Sunday night, however, we got another chapter, courtesy of the World Baseball Classic semifinal between Judge’s United States squad and Soto’s crew from the Dominican Republic.
At least that’s how we viewed it through our New York-centric goggles. And really, how could you see it any other way?
Judge is the only three-time MVP wearing the Stars and Stripes, along with carrying the captain’s title over from the Bronx, so this undeniably is his team.
Soto also was surrounded by a roster of All-Stars on Sunday, but he stands out as the $765 million slugger for the big-market Mets as well as a chief ringleader of the DR’s Big Fun Machine.
And on this night, it was Judge’s squad that prevailed, 2-1, on homers by two of his AL East foes, the Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson and the Red Sox’s Roman Anthony.
Judge nearly provided a third, but his 407-foot blast was reeled in by Julio Rodriguez, who made a leaping grab above the centerfield wall to rob him. Judge carried his bat to first base as he watched the ball’s flight, then flipped it away by the barrel in disgust.
“As it kept going, I was OK, maybe we got a shot here,” he said. “I wasn’t too happy when he caught it, but just a tip of the cap to him.”
Judge could afford to be gracious. He made his WBC debut this year with the mission of bringing home the proverbial gold for the U.S., and now he stands one win away from a title.
Even with J-Rod’s heist, Judge helped out with his arm, throwing out Fernando Tatis Jr. trying to go first-to-third on Ketel Marte’s single in the third inning. That was huge in the one-run game, and at 95.7 mph, it was faster than any of his throws from last season, suggesting that his right elbow no longer is something to worry about.
“Talking with the guys, you’re not going to have your best game all the time,” Judge said. “But if you just go out there and do the fundamentals, make the plays that you need to make, we’re going to be in the spot that we need to be in, fighting for a gold medal. You love hitting the homers, but a moment like that was pretty cool.”
Judge also made a diving catch to take a hit away from Soto, who went 0-for-4 for a team that had scored 51 runs in its previous five WBC games.
Going in, you could say that Judge hasn’t sweated Soto defecting to Queens. His Yankees still won 94 games last season, the Soto-less lineup still led just about every offensive category and Judge was named MVP for the third time in four years.
And Soto? The Mets took a huge step backward in his Flushing debut, staggering to 83 wins, missing the playoffs and then blowing up the roster. Soto shook off a slow start to get within two stolen bases of a 40-40 season, then finished third in the MVP voting for the second straight year.
But now? The Yankees’ captain maintained some bragging rights over his former teammate.
“Aaron is a great person, great friend and he was a great teammate,” Soto said before Sunday’s game. “We keep in touch. We chat. But when we are on the field, it’s a different thing. He is wearing U.S. on his shirt and I am wearing the Dominican Republic. I’ll do my best to win the game and he’ll do the same.”
Also, know this: Judge and Soto clearly take it seriously, so Sunday’s result was especially meaningful to them. Judge understands that the success or failure of the U.S. is tied to him, and that makes this much more than a mid-March international marketing ploy for MLB — especially with the Dominican Republic’s superteam in the other dugout.
Leading up to Sunday, Judge was hitting .263 (5-for-19) with two homers and a 1.072 OPS. He went 1-for-4, lining a single to left in the first inning that was fielded by Soto before striking out against former teammate Luis Severino in the third with runners on second and third and one out.
Soto’s romp to Sunday’s showdown was more joyride than white-knuckler. He was hitting .316 (6-for-19) with two homers and a 1.090 OPS, but that performance put him in the second tier of his team’s sluggers, behind the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr. and Junior Caminero, who homered off Paul Skenes in the second inning for a 1-0 lead.
Beyond the numbers, Soto was having a blast, showing a side of his personality that we didn’t see very often during his Mets debut. His swim-slide into home plate during the mercy-rule win over South Korea? That was a whole different level, and prompted me to ask him before Sunday’s game if this WBC experience is making him a better player, too.
“I would say yes, because the way we play the game here, all the time you play at 100% — you’ve got to give it everything,” Soto said. “We definitely give our 100% in the big leagues, too. But it’s just a different way, a different feeling, a different energy that runs through your veins.”
Judge didn’t use those same words but spoke of a similar intensity. He talked about taking dry swings at 2 a.m. in his hotel room with his wife, Samantha, shooting video on her phone. He’s the prototypical modern Yankees captain — speak softly and carry a big stick. But that shouldn’t detract from his commitment to Team USA or suggest he’s not burning to win this tournament.
On Sunday, it was Soto & Co. that stood in the way.
Not anymore.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
