Out of Cleveland, George Steinbrenner was indoctrinated into the culture of his new home by his theater partner, James Nederlander, who told the future owner of the Yankees that marquee value could never be underestimated in the big city. 

“New York is a star-vehicle town,” Nederlander assured the Boss-to-be. Steinbrenner learned all about it when they put on some Broadway plays. 

“We had a good one, ‘Applause,’ ” he once told me. “It was better when we got Lauren Bacall and had her fighting Katharine Hepburn for a Tony.” 

Bacall won that 1970 Tony as sure as the Steinbrenner family’s baseball team won another ballgame Monday night, their second after the combustible Boss’ even-tempered son, Hal, found out the hard way Sunday how New Yorkers react when your show isn’t worth the price of admission. 

This is why the Yankees can’t even think of losing Aaron Judge in free agency. He is the ultimate star in this star-vehicle town, which he proved again by hitting his 47th homer of the year in the Yanks’ 4-2 victory over Max Scherzer and the Mets. 

The blast off Scherzer and over the W.B. Mason sign in right ended a streak of nine games in which Judge failed to homer (God forbid). The slugger was 4-for-30 with 12 strikeouts in those games (God forbid). With Scherzer trying to get out of the seventh with one special full-count delivery on pitch No. 101, Judge ripped his slider into left field for a single and sent the Great One to the showers. 

But so much more spoke to the big-picture necessity of Judge than his small-picture at-bats, which included a deep fly in the fifth on an 0-2 pitch that caught too much of the plate, and sent Scherzer spinning in anger — as if he realized the four-seamer wasn’t worthy of staying in the yard. 

Judge’s mere presence in the box accentuated his value. After the rain cleared, a supercharged sellout crowd gathered in The Bronx under the bright lights, the year’s highest paid attendance of 48,760 along with YES and SNY audiences taking in the spectacle of two first-place teams fighting to strengthen their sometimes wobbly control of their seasons. And nobody made the place feel half as big and alive as Judge did when he stepped to the plate. 

Andrew Benintendi had himself a night on the winning side with the bat, and with the flair and athleticism he showed on his headfirst slide across the plate in the first. On the losing side, Daniel Vogelbach advanced his cult-hero status with his outsize physique and eye black and — after a Yankee drop that summoned the 2009 Subway Series memory of a Mets drop, by Luis Castillo, of an Alex Rodriguez pop — a flick of the wrist that produced a two-run moon shot and a whole new ballgame. 

And yet in the end, this was Judge’s house and Judge’s stage and Judge’s season. He was the one who inspired the “MVP” chants. He carried the biggest stick in the biggest city. 

“These are the games you like to play,” Judge said. “You always look forward to the Subway Series. The fans were bringing it. Quite a few Mets fans here tonight, and the Yankee fans were pretty loud too. 

“This is as close to a playoff atmosphere as you can get, and you like to step up in moments like that.” 

Especially against an opponent with Scherzer’s competitive spirit. The Mets starter won the battle in the first inning, whiffing Judge on a slider. 

“After the first at-bat, I tried to get something up and do some damage,” Judge said. 

And do that damage, he did, homering once and nearly homering a second time before ending Mad Max’s night in the seventh. No, it wasn’t the first time Judge had hurt Scherzer — he went deep on him at the All-Star Game four years ago. 

“This is what it’s all about,” Judge said. “That’s one of the reasons why I love this game, the little chess match you get to play with the pitcher, and the pitcher and the catcher. And you’ve got a future Hall of Famer like that you get to do that with, it’s electric. You’ve got the crowd on their feet every pitch right along with you, so it’s fun. I look back on moments like that.” 

At one point during his postgame clubhouse interview, Judge was asked about ending his home-run “drought.” He shot the inquiring mind an incredulous look and said, “Home-run drought? I didn’t know that. That’s news to me. I don’t really worry about that. I’m just happy to barrel something up.” 

His barrel helped write the Yankees a happy ending on a night when they were in dire need of one. Outside the home clubhouse, GM Brian Cashman — also booed Sunday -— walked the hallways snapping his fingers in a celebratory way. 

It was a great night on Broadway for the Yankees and their gentle giant, No. 99, a 6-foot-7, 282-pound man graceful enough to play a position once manned by Joe D. and the Mick. It was a night that provided more evidence why the Yanks will have to pay their center fielder whatever he asks for after the season, and give him a nine-figure contract that starts with the number 3, not the number 2. 

New York is a star-vehicle town, after all, and Aaron Judge is one of the biggest baseball stars this town has ever seen.