Juan Soto’s celebrity is hard to ignore, even on a night when Aaron Judge hit two home runs

Aaron Judge showed why he’s the frontrunner for this year’s American League MVP award by hitting his 46th and 47th home runs of the season in the New York Yankees’ 8-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday. But Juan Soto’s at-bat performance was just as captivating, and it was enough to catch Judge’s attention.

Soto’s performances in the last two games against the Guardians are a reminder of what a special talent he is in Major League Baseball. Just ask Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who after Wednesday’s win put into perspective the fact that Soto is still in his early days.

“He’s 25 years old. He’s still, in many ways, early in his career,” Boone told reporters after the game. “Which is remarkable given his experience. This guy is still growing and learning and developing.”

“I don’t think it hurts to have Aaron (Judge) behind him, but I think it’s just a consequence of his hitting ability. I don’t think he’s necessarily focused on hitting a certain number of home runs. You see a guy who is obsessed with having a good at-bat, and he lives that every day.”

In the first of three games against Cleveland, Soto hit a home run to right field in his first at-bat. In the Yankees’ win Wednesday, he hit another home run in his first at-bat, this time on a 427-foot, two-run homer to center field. The home run marked his career-best 36 this season. He had reached his previous career-high of 35 last season with the San Diego Padres.

“I’ve worked a lot this year,” Soto told reporters after the game. “I’m more than happy to see the results and everything, and I’m trying to help the team as much as I can.”

While Soto’s home run record will certainly be one of the highlights of his MVP-caliber season, that wasn’t necessarily his goal heading into this year with the Yankees.

“(The goal was) to be more consistent,” he said. “Not to have too many ups and downs throughout the year. Try to stay in the same line all year.”

With the bases loaded Wednesday, Soto emptied the bags on a double, giving him five RBIs on the night, which tied his single-game season high.

Judge, who is the oddsmaker’s favorite to win his second AL MVP award this year, has hit as well as Soto in the last two games. Judge has three home runs this series, but he says Soto gets his attention as he stands in the dugout circle.

“It’s fun for me because I see the crowd get involved. They’re there for every pitch,” Judge said. “He’s fouling off tough pitches. He’s stringing together great at-bats. It’s fun. We’re lucky to have him, and we’ve got to keep pushing.”

After another solid outing from Soto, Judge highlighted how “consistent” he was in sharing why he admired the star so much.

“He uses the whole field. It doesn’t matter if it’s two takes, it doesn’t matter if it’s…