Well, Look At That. Yankee Sluggers Are - Surprise! - NOT The Greatest Thing Ever. Betts & Martinez Make ESPN Eat A Bit Of Crow.

David Schoenfield, ESPN:

Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton have about 13 inches and 125 pounds on Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez, but they don't have anything on them in the power department, at least through May 20. We expected an American League East duo to crush its way through distressed pitching staffs, but it's Betts and Martinez who are tied for the major league lead with 15 home runs each, not the pair in pinstripes.

You sound a bit surprised, David. Anointing a player or players as The Second Coming before the season has even begun is both foolish and almost guaranteed to be wrong. While you may not have done that, numerous writers did, breathlessly fawning over Judge and Stanton to the point where if I saw little hearts drawn around A.J. and G.S. on the writers' spring training scorecards, I would not be surprised. ... But I cut you off. Please continue.

Betts and Martinez not only share the home run lead, but they rank first and third, respectively, in the majors in batting average; first and second in wOBA; first and second in isolated power; first in runs (Betts); and second in RBIs (Martinez). Martinez, with his .343 average and 41 RBIs, has established himself as a Triple Crown candidate.

Despite their long history of explosive offenses, this is the first time the Red Sox have had two players with 15 home runs by the end of May. It's quite the change from last season, when the Red Sox had just one player hit 15 by the All-Star break, when Betts had 16.

The comparison to Judge and Stanton? No contest:

Betts:     .365/.438/.760, .504 wOBA, 15 HR, 32 RBI, 48 R
Martinez:  .343/.397/.680, .459 wOBA, 15 HR, 41 RBI, 31 R

Judge:     .282/.416/.546, .417 wOBA, 11 HR, 35 RBI, 33 R
Stanton:   .263/.345/.526, .378 wOBA, 11 HR, 27 RBI, 32 R

... When Martinez signed with the Red Sox, the minor concern was how his power would translate to Fenway Park. He's the rare slugger who hits the majority of his home runs to the opposite field -- last year, he hit 24 of his 45 home runs to right-center or right field -- which means hitting to the deepest part of Fenway. So far, it hasn't affected his output: He has hit four home runs to center field and eight to right, and he's hitting .365 at Fenway with nine home runs.