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Ben Rice joins joins exclusive Yankees 40-homer club with huge night

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Joyce, G. (2026, September 24). Ben Rice joins joins exclusive Yankees 40-homer club with huge night. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/24/sports/ben-rice-joins-joins-exclusive-yankees-40-homer-club-with-huge-night/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-24 · by Greg Joyce

Quick Summary

Ben Rice hit his 40th and 41st home runs of the season on Wednesday, joining Aaron Judge and Joe DiMaggio as the only Yankees to achieve at least 40 homers within their first three major league seasons. With this feat, Rice's production has become crucial for the Yankees, especially since they have been without their established power hitters, Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, due to injuries. Rice’s milestone comes in a season where he surpassed his manager Aaron Boone’s preseason prediction of 39 home runs.
Written by AI on 2026-09-24, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Ben Rice joined an elite group of Yankees players by hitting his 40th and 41st home runs this season, becoming only the third player to achieve at least 40 homers within their first three seasons in Major League Baseball. This milestone was reached during a 9-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night. Manager Aaron Boone had predicted Rice would hit 39 home runs earlier in the year, but Rice surpassed that number by hitting two more, earning a joke-filled interaction with his manager when he returned to the dugout after each homer. With key players like Judge and Stanton missing time due to injuries, Rice’s consistent production has been crucial for the Yankees' performance throughout the season.

Written for “Yankees Ben Rice Homer Record” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Yankees Ben Rice Homer Record
Sports · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 37 claims Outlet record 64/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different games and dates; ARTICLE A is from September 19 against the D-backs, while ARTICLE B is from September 24 against the Rays.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-24 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 16821 article(s) · 36 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 36 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Greg Joyce
60 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Except in practical terms for the Yankees, it will be crammed into the next month before the sport is expected to shut down because of a lockout.
🔮 Whether the two will finally match up again to allow him to be any kind of contributor for the Yankees in 2027, though, remains very much in question, setting up a $15 million decision. Access the Yankees beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees. Try it freeAfter three separate calf strains sidelined him for five-plus months and relegated him to a pair of pinch-hit at-bats in October, the soon-to-be 37-year-old DH entered the offseason healthy.
🔮 Pitching coach Matt Blake and the team are in the midst of negotiating a new contract and moving toward a deal, The Post’s Joel Sherman reported Friday, which would ensure that the Yankees hang on to one of the best at his job in the game.
🔮 Some Yankees bosses may have been irked by Aaron Judge questioning whether they have gone all in enough, but Hal Steinbrenner insists he was not one of them.
🔮 After another disappointing playoff exit, Boone is coming back for a 10th season as manager next year, with Cashman also expected to return for his 30th season as general manager on a new contract.
🔮 The current president of baseball operations for the Mets was the top decision-maker for the Brewers (as general manager and then president of baseball operations) from September 2015 through October 2022, then spent the following year in an advisory role to ownership before landing in Queens. Access the Mets beat like never before Don’t miss Mike Puma’s text messages from Queens and beyond — he’s giving Sports+ subscribers the inside buzz on the Mets. Sign up NowDuring that time, through amateur drafts, international signings and trades, Stearns helped build the foundation of the roster that just swept the Dodgers in the NLCS and will play in the organization’s first World Series in 44 years.
🔮 Boone also dropped Spencer Jones — the Yankees cleanup hitter in each of the prior three playoff games — down to batting eighth in the lineup, the lowest he has hit against a right-hander since May 19 (facing Dylan Cease).
🔮 He may have more talent and tools than almost any other player on the roster, most notably his speed, athleticism and power, but the Yankees have not been able to get that out of him regularly enough, especially this year.
🔮 McMahon has not brought much offensively and then committed a fielding error on the first ball put in play in the bottom of the first inning on Saturday night at Tropicana Field, the first of four the Yankees would make in Game 2.
🔮 “So there would’ve been a right-hander I would have used at some point had we gotten runners on base, but by the time he was in the game it was 5-1.
Also by Greg Joyce
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 60 articles by Greg Joyce →

Topics

Arizona Post Sports+ for Rays Yankees the American League

Subjects

Rice PERSON · 7× Yankees ORG · 7× Judge PERSON · 2× Aaron Judge PERSON · 1× Ben Rice PERSON · 1× Giancarlo Stanton PERSON · 1× Greg Joyce PERSON · 1× Joe DiMaggio PERSON · 1× Post Sports+ for ORG · 1× Rays ORG · 1×

Narrative

Rice’s production has helped the Yankees weather the extended absences of Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, and with neither guaranteed to be on the roster for the AL wild-card series because of their respective injuries, the Yankees will need Rice to stay hot after breaking out of a quieter summer.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-24
🔮 Rice’s production has helped the Yankees weather the extended absences of Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, and with neither guaranteed to be on the roster for the AL wild-card series because of their respective injuries, the Yankees will need Rice to stay hot after breaking out of a quieter summer.
2026-09-24 · New York Post
Ben Rice joins joins exclusive Yankees 40-homer club with huge night · assertive framing

Claims (24 extracted, 0 hedged)

In a season where the Yankees have missed their two most established power hitters for months at a time, Ben Rice has provided a powerful presence in their stead. asserted
Rice → miss → stead
The lefty slugger crushed his 40th and 41st home runs of the season Wednesday in a 9-2 win over the Rays, joining Aaron Judge and Joe DiMaggio as the only Yankees in franchise history to hit at least 40 homers within their first three major league seasons. asserted
slugger → crush → seasons
’s a cool milestone,” Rice said. asserted
Rice → ’ → ?
“It’s not something you go into the season aiming for. asserted
you → ’ → season
You don’t really know how it’s going to go, but as I was approaching that number, it was definitely something I was hoping to achieve.” asserted
I → know → number
Rice’s production has helped the Yankees weather the extended absences of Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, and with neither guaranteed to be on the roster for the AL wild-card series because of their respective injuries, the Yankees will need Rice to stay hot after breaking out of a quieter summer. asserted
Rice → help → summer
“Just a complete hitter,” Judge said. asserted
Judge → say → ?
“Each year he’s gotten better, each month he’s gotten better. asserted
he → get → ?
Even through bad slumps, he’s making the reads and making the changes he needs to [make] to get back to his normal self. asserted
he → make → self
So it’s been fun to watch.” asserted
it → watch → ?
When Rice hit his 39th home run over the weekend in Arizona, Aaron Boone revealed that was his preseason prediction for the DH/first baseman. asserted
that → hit → baseman
But Rice said he knew his manager was short-changing him one from a nice round number, so when he got back to the dugout after his two long balls Wednesday, “he let me know it,” Boone said with a grin. asserted
Boone → say → grin
“I think I said, ‘Hey, there’s 40 for you,’” Rice said. asserted
Rice → think → you
“I was joking with him after the 41st one, saying, ‘Hey, thanks for inspiring me this year.’ asserted
I → joke → me
But it’s all in good fun.” asserted
it → ’ → fun
Rice’s 41 home runs are now tied with Yordan Alvarez, Pete Alonso and Junior Caminero for the most in the American League and the third most in the majors. asserted
runs → tie → majors
Fernando Cruz is still holding out hope of pitching again this season despite being diagnosed with a partially torn UCL, a diagnosis he said Wednesday he was “not going to accept.” asserted
he → hold → UCL
The reliever threw his first bullpen session — using all four of his pitches, he said — Sunday and is slated to throw another Thursday. asserted
he → throw → another
“I think I’m in a really good position to be back, I will say, in the next couple weeks,” Cruz said. asserted
Cruz → think → weeks
“But that’s not my call. asserted
that → ’ → ?
I’m just getting in position to be there for my guys and perform the way I perform.” asserted
I → get → guys
The 36-year-old said he is “100 percent” ruling out surgery at this point and later added, “I’m going to beat this.” asserted
I → say → this
Carlos Rodón was named the Most Valuable Philanthropist for September by the Players Trust, the charitable arm of the MLB Players Association. asserted
Rodón → name → Association
The left-hander, who is also the Yankees nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, and his wife, Ashley, are active in supporting families facing infertility and pregnancy loss through the Carlos Rodón Foundation. asserted
who → support → Foundation
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