Juan Soto is really good at baseball. Like, really good.
The former Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres star is in the midst of his first season with the New York Yankees, and it would be hard to script a better start to his 2024 season.
Soto is slashing .352/.478/.577 with four home runs, 17 runs batted in and 18 walks to just 11 strikeouts. His 1.055 OPS would be the second-best of his career, only trailing the pandemic-shortened 2020 season in which he had a 1.185 OPS in 47 games.
Most importantly, Soto has helped the Yankees win. They entered Thursday's game with a 13-6 record, firmly atop the Newsweek MLB Power Rankings.
While winning, though, Soto has put himself into some elite Yankees company. Soto has reached base safely 43 times through the first 19 games of the season. In doing so, he joined five other Yankees on an exclusive list, per YES Network Senior Writer Conor Foley. Maybe you've heard of them.
Derek Jeter was the most recent Yankee to do it, accomplishing the feat three times in 1999, 2005 and 2006. Before that, the last Yankee was Mickey Mantle, who did it in 1962. In 1941, it was Joe DiMaggio, and in 1939, it was Bill Dickey. The first Yankee to do it was a guy by the name of Babe Ruth.
Juan Soto has reached base safely 43 times through the first 19 games of the season. The only other Yankees to do that:
— Conor Foley (@ConorFoleyYES) April 17, 2024
- Mickey Mantle (48 in 1962)
- Babe Ruth (45 in 1923)
- Derek Jeter (46 in 1999; 44 in 2006 and 2005)
- Bill Dickey (44 in 1939)
- Joe DiMaggio (43 in 1941) https://t.co/6ymek5Tjmv
Each of those men has a plaque in Cooperstown in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Soto, at just 25 years old, appears to be on a Hall of Fame trajectory. In just his seventh season in Major League Baseball, Soto is already a three-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger winner, and a World Series champion. He also won a National League batting title in 2020 after hitting .351 for the Nationals.
On Wednesday, in the Yankees' come-from-behind 6-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, Soto hit the 500th RBI of his career. That makes him the seventh-youngest player to reach that feat in MLB history. According to MLB researcher Sarah Langs. Soto trails only Miguel Cabrera, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, Andruw Jones, Ken Griffey Jr. and Adrian Beltre:
that’s 500 career RBI for Juan Soto
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 17, 2024
he’s 25 years + 175 days old
only players to debut in the last 50 seasons to reach 500 RBI at a younger age:
Miguel Cabrera
Alex Rodriguez
Albert Pujols
Andruw Jones
Ken Griffey Jr
Adrian Beltre https://t.co/rxKwYOQUMS
Soto has accomplished plenty in his young career. This is his final season under team control before he's eligible to enter free agency at 26 years old. Soto already declined a 15-year, $440 million extension offer from the Nationals in 2022, which led to them sending him to the Padres for a massive prospect haul.
Soto was then traded to New York in December for another huge haul, and is already doing his best to make Yankee fans forget about the five players that were sent to San Diego.
Soto is arguably the best hitter in baseball, and he's doing what he can to earn what would be a record contract for a non-two-way player.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Noah Camras graduated from USC in 2022 with a B.A. in Journalism and minor in Sports Media Studies. He's worked ... Read more
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