Yankees are best in MLB against one type of pitcher thanks to Ben Rice and Aaron Judge originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The New York Yankees are one of the top teams in Major League Baseball this season, and a huge reason for that is their supremely talented offense.
With Aaron Judge and Ben Rice leading the charge, the Yankees’ offense is one of the scariest to face in all of baseball right now. A huge reason why they’ve become so feared is how they’re so dominant against one kind of pitcher.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report highlighted how the Yankees are the best team in MLB against left-handed pitchers, and it’s thanks to Judge and especially Rice, being the best left-on-left hitter in the sport this year.
Yankees are best team vs. lefty pitching
“They’ve stepped it up a notch this year, though, on pace for 100 home runs against lefties,” Miller writes. “Judge has five of those 21 dingers, but so does Ben Rice, who has become the best left-on-left hitter on the planet with a 1.324 OPS.”
The Yankees are absolutely demolishing left-handed pitching this season, whether it’s starting pitchers or relievers; lefties aren’t safe when facing the Yankees.
In the regular season, that’s going to amount to plenty of success for individuals, but come the postseason, this dominance against lefty pitching will be a huge asset.
Judge dominating against lefty pitching is hardly a surprise, as he’s coming off hitting 16 homers against lefties last season for a Yankees team that hit 70 homers off southpaws in 2025.
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That 70-homer mark was the best in the sport in 2025, and this season, the Yankees are on pace to smash that total, with a 100-homer pace against left-handed pitching being an alarming statistic for opposing teams.
While Judge has been great, the production of Rice against lefty pitching is even more noteworthy. Despite having a platoon disadvantage, there’s not a hitter performing better against lefty pitching this season despite being a lefty themself.
Rice and Judge are a dynamic duo against not just righty pitching, but lefties as well. If this keeps up, the Yankees might put together a truly stunning season against left-handed pitchers, which could lead to immense postseason success as well.
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