The strangest thing about October baseball is how quickly the past can become part of the present.

For Yankees fans, few names carry more historical weight than Lou Gehrig.

Nearly a century ago, Gehrig entered the 1928 World Series as one of the central figures in a Yankees lineup that also featured Babe Ruth. In four games against the St. Louis Cardinals, Gehrig hit four home runs, drove in nine runs and batted .545 with a 2.433 OPS as New York swept the Series.

Now Ben Rice has reached the same home run total through four postseason games.

That comparison needs context. Rice is not being placed on Gehrig’s level after four games, and four postseason games cannot define a career. But the fact that the Yankees’ current first baseman has already reached a number associated with one of the most iconic players in franchise history is remarkable.

It is even more remarkable because Rice has done it while the Yankees are under enormous pressure.

New York entered the ALDS after sweeping Boston in the Wild Card Series. Rice was the offensive centerpiece of that opening round, hitting two home runs and collecting six RBIs in Game 1 against the Red Sox.

Then came Tampa Bay.

The Rays were the American League’s best regular season team and entered the Division Series with a pitching staff specifically designed to make life difficult for Rice.

Tampa Bay knew exactly what Rice could do against fastballs. During the regular season and postseason combined, Rice had hit .347 with an MLB best .855 slugging percentage against four seam fastballs, including 17 home runs.

So the Rays tried something different.

They attacked him with changeups, cutters and sinkers.

Rice still found a way.

In Game 2, he hit his first home run off Freddy Peralta’s changeup in the fourth inning, tying the game at 1. Later, he launched another solo homer against Ian Seymour’s changeup in the eighth.

Both home runs came against the very type of pitch Tampa Bay had been using to neutralize him.

That is what makes Rice’s performance more interesting than simply counting home runs.

He is adjusting.

The second homer came on an 84.1 mph changeup and left his bat at 98.9 mph, traveling 358 feet. The first came against an 89.8 mph changeup and left the bat at 100.1 mph.

But there was one problem.

The Yankees lost.

Tampa Bay won Game 2, 5 2, taking a 2 0 series lead back to Yankee Stadium. Rice supplied both of New York’s runs, but his historic night could not prevent the Yankees from falling into a serious postseason hole.

That is the tension surrounding Rice right now.

He is producing like the Yankees need him to produce, yet the team still finds itself one loss away from elimination.

And that is where the Gehrig comparison becomes emotionally powerful.

In 1928, Gehrig’s four home runs were part of a championship. In 2026, Rice’s four home runs are part of a fight to stay alive.

The historical connection is real, but the stories could not be more different.

Rice has also already established a record that belongs entirely to him. He is the first player in postseason history to record two multihomer games within his team’s first four games of a single postseason. He is also the first Yankee to have two multihomer games in one postseason.

For a player who had only one postseason home run in six games entering 2026, the transformation has been sudden.

The Yankees now need more than another statistic.

They need another game.

Then another.

And another.

Rice cannot control the pitching, the defense or what happens around him. He can only continue stepping into the batter’s box and trying to create the next moment.

Maybe that is the real significance of seeing Gehrig’s name beside his.

It is not a declaration that Ben Rice has become Lou Gehrig.

It is a reminder that Yankees history has always been built by players who produce when the pressure becomes almost unbearable.

In 1928, Gehrig helped finish a championship.

In 2026, Rice is trying to prevent the Yankees’ season from ending.

And now, with the series moving back to New York, everyone will be watching to see whether the young hitter can turn a historic start into something even more meaningful.

Because four home runs can put your name beside a legend.

Only October victories can give that name a permanent place in Yankees history.