HR-in-all-30-parks done, Soto's next goal? Postseason
Slugger becomes 8th player to hit 200 career homers before turning 26
Bryan Hoch
@BryanHochSEATTLE -- Juan Soto arrived in the American League with a mission in mind, voicing his desire to homer in six specific ballparks so he could claim a long ball in each of the 30 current stadiums.
That checklist is now complete.
Soto cracked a two-run homer in the Yankees¡¯ 11-2 victory over the Mariners on Tuesday at T-Mobile Park, the final remaining facility in which he had not cleared the fences. The milestone was top of mind, Soto acknowledged, as soon as he connected off right-hander Bryan Woo.
"It¡¯s a great feeling for me; so many different ballparks, so many different dimensions,¡± Soto said. ¡°I just want to get all of them checked in. What a way to go into free agency, with all 30 ballparks checked on my list."
Yankees fans might be unsettled by the last piece of that quote, which was offered unprompted, but that¡¯s too far ahead to look. Let¡¯s focus instead on Wednesday, when one more Bombers victory would assure a return to the playoffs after last year¡¯s dark October.
With just 11 regular-season games remaining, Monday¡¯s win padded the Yanks¡¯ lead in the American League East to four games over the Orioles, their largest advantage since June 6.
"We¡¯d definitely be excited, especially after the season we had last year, missing out on the postseason,¡± said captain Aaron Judge, who drove in four runs on Tuesday and leads the Majors with 136 RBIs. ¡°That¡¯s what we came into this season to do, get into the postseason and give ourselves an opportunity to go out there and win a World Series.
"So that will be step one, but we¡¯ve got to get there first.¡±
With Soto having clipped his career-high 40th homer, he and Judge are now the third pair of Yankees teammates with 40 or more homers in the same season, joining Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig (1927, ¡¯30, ¡®31) and Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris (1961).
"Those are baseball legends you¡¯re talking about,¡± Judge said. ¡°So to get an opportunity to share something like that with Soto, who¡¯s such a special player in his own right, it¡¯s definitely something that we enjoy.¡±
Soto had not registered a hit within the Seattle city limits in 17 career plate appearances (four games) before roping a first-inning double, at which point he said he noticed his swing felt strong. Soto was primed for a long ball in the fifth inning, when he drove a 95.9 mph Woo fastball over the wall in left-center field.
"I made some adjustments in the cage; we¡¯ve been working on it,¡± Soto said. ¡°After I hit the double, I felt so good that I was like, ¡®You know what, I think I have a good chance in this series.¡¯¡±
It was also the 200th career homer for Soto, who became the seventh-youngest player in Major League history to reach the plateau, at 25 years and 328 days old.
Soto¡¯s 200 homers are tied with Frank Robinson for seventh most before celebrating a 26th birthday, behind: Jimmie Foxx (222), Eddie Mathews (222), Alex Rodriguez (216), Mel Ott (211), Mantle (207) and Albert Pujols (200).
"You¡¯re always like, ¡®Man, this guy is just 25, maybe he¡¯s just scratching the surface of who he is,¡± said manager Aaron Boone. ¡°In a lot of ways, he¡¯s not necessarily even entered his prime. Maybe he¡¯s entering it now. So I think we all would acknowledge that we¡¯re watching a really special hitter.¡±
Acquired from the Padres via trade this past December, Soto¡¯s travelogue has seen him crack his first homers at Progressive Field (April 13), Angel Stadium (May 28), Guaranteed Rate Field (4, Aug. 13-14), Globe Life Field (Sept. 4) and now T-Mobile Park.
He also hit his first regular-season homer at Minute Maid Park (March 30), where he went deep twice during the 2019 World Series while with the Nationals. Rounding the bases, Soto admitted he was thinking more about polishing off his personal 30-for-30 than hitting No. 200.
"It¡¯s one of the goals I really put into my career going into this year,¡± Soto said. ¡°Being in the American League now, I was like, ¡®You know what? I have a really good chance to do it.¡¯ So right when I hit it, I was like, ¡®Finally, I got the last one.¡¯¡±
With the side mission achieved, Soto said he¡¯ll be excited to spray bubbly and celebrate the first step of the Bombers¡¯ postseason journey, understanding that the goal is to be the last team standing.
"Definitely, our goal is to win the division. That¡¯s what we want to do,¡± Soto said. ¡°We¡¯re grinding, everybody in here. It¡¯s going to be a great feeling. ¡ We¡¯re going to focus on that and try to finish strong."