Juan Soto is acquainting himself well to the New York Yankees already. The superstar slugger was part of a blockbuster offseason trade, as the Yankees acquired Soto from the San Diego Padres.
Soto stepped up and delivered in spades on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Tampa. Playing in a Spring Training game, the Yankees cleared Soto for takeoff as he launched an awe-inspiring three-run home run.
Soto’s blast came in his first Spring Training game as a Yankee. Quite the way to pronounce yourself, huh?
Juan Soto goes deep in his first (spring training) game as a Yankee! ⚾️💣pic.twitter.com/b1LzWMlf3G
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) February 25, 2024
In a short time, Juan Soto has become one of Major League Baseball’s best hitters. He’s a career .284 hitter who hit .275 last season. He’s posted a career OPS of .946 and a career on-base percentage of .421. Soto’s recorded an impressive .524 slugging percentage for his career as well.
In the abbreviated 2020 season, he led in batting average, OBP, slugging, OPS, and OPS+. He also led the league in walks in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Amazingly, the lowest-recorded OPS he’s posted in a single season is .853. He posted a career-best .351 batting average in the abbreviated 2020 season. Otherwise, the highest he’s posted was .313 in the 2021 season.
The Yankees are hoping that Soto’s unbelievable talent translates at least for one season in the Bronx. New York hasn’t won a World Series since the 2009 season, and their ravenous fanbase can’t get any more anxious at this point.
