Greatest Yankees won’t jump on Baby Bombers hype train just yet

Not so fast.

On this 20th anniversary of the Yankees’ record-setting 1998 season, it’s natural to compare that squad’s talent to that of this 2018 Yankees team. Yet while the now-retired members of the earlier group are happy for their pinstriped descendants, they aren’t quite ready to tip their collective caps.

“Not yet. The season isn’t over. It’s way too soon,” said David Wells, who hosted a Manhattan gathering Thursday to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his 1998 perfect game and benefit his Perfect 33 Foundation. “At the end of the year, the record will speak for itself, but they’ve got a hell of a team right now.

“… They’ve got the ability to do it. They’ve got the strength. They’ve got the manpower. But it’s the pitching that’s going to win you ballgames. If you don’t have the pitching, it’s hard to score five, 10 runs a game. But if the pitching is solid, they’ve got a hell of a chance.”

The 1998 Yankees set a then-American League record with 114 regular-season wins, and they proceeded to win the World Series. These Yankees, with a 28-12 record entering Friday, are on pace to finish 113-49.

Bernie Williams, like Wells, noted his Yankees team finished the job, whereas this team must complete its task. “Ask me that same question at the end of the season,” he said. “I’ll have a different answer.”

In contrasting the two squads, Williams said, “I would probably venture to say that they probably are more potent offensively. I think we were more a group of consistent hitters all across the board. Probably about 20 home runs, 75 RBI all over. There were no easy outs in the lineup. But at the same time, there was not a big bopper that we would say we’re going to hang all our hopes on this guy and he’s going to hit a 500-foot home run and he’s going to save the game.

“So everybody was kind of leaning on each other at that time, walking, working the pitch count, kind of getting to that bullpen as soon as we could. Do our thing, and if we were winning by one run after the seventh, it was all about the bullpen and Mariano [Rivera] closing the game. It was a great combination for us.”

Said Rivera: “We had a lot of veterans on the team in ’98. You have barely any veterans here. It’s exciting. It’s amazing seeing the boys play day in day out. They’re young, but they’re electrified. It seems like they’re enjoying it. That’s what I like. They’re playing the game and they’re enjoying it.”

Added Jorge Posada, whose foundation also benefited from the event: “We had a hell of a pitching staff. They have a hell of a pitching staff. The bullpen is amazing. I think this bullpen is probably better than the ’98 team. I’m looking forward to later. Hopefully October comes around and everything keeps clicking and gets hot and everybody pulls for each other, the pitching staff can compete against them and it’ll be a lot of fun.”