'Please sign Soto': Slugger serenaded after Yanks hit 3 straight HRs
Bryan Hoch
@BryanHochNEW YORK -- Juan Soto beamed as he heard the chants at his back in the top of the eighth inning on Sunday afternoon, having just hit consecutive homers with teammates Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton for the first time.
That three-man wrecking crew was too much fun to watch, back-to-back-to-back. So as the Yankees¡¯ 10-3 win over the Rockies continued, the fans standing in Sections 103, 104, 203 and 204 begged for an encore, but not just for one game. They rhythmically sang their long-term request: ¡°Please sign Soto!¡±
Soto responded with a wave, producing loud cheers. Asked later about the exchange, Soto chuckled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. They have to talk to [general manager Brian] Cashman.¡±
Those discussions will take place after the season, with managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner already expressing his hope of keeping the ¡°generational¡± 25-year-old outfielder in pinstripes, calling him ¡°the complete package.¡±
The price tag will be high. Soto turned down a 15-year, $440 million extension offer from the Nationals in 2022, which prompted his trade to the Padres. Industry sources speculate that Soto will land a contract in excess of $500 million this offseason, which would likely make him the Yanks¡¯ highest-paid player, should they retain him.
But that is the cost of doing business. And after three-quarters of a season watching him in their uniform, Yankees fans are finding it difficult to imagine life without the Soto Shuffle. Judge is right there alongside them.
¡°The fans are excited, they¡¯ve got every right to be,¡± Judge said. ¡°He¡¯s an incredible player, he¡¯s done a lot for us this year, and I think they definitely want to see a lot more of that to come. It¡¯s going to be his decision in the end, what¡¯s best for him and his family. So we can only do what we can.¡±
The seventh inning on Sunday represented a perfect example of just how lethal the trio of Soto, Judge and Stanton can be in the heart of the Yankees¡¯ order.
¡°Those three got the energy going big time in the building, and it was fun to witness,¡± manager Aaron Boone said.
Facing Jeff Criswell, Soto popped his 37th homer of the season (a career high) over the right-field bullpen, giving the Yanks breathing room in what had been a one-run game.
Judge launched Criswell¡¯s next pitch over the electronic scoreboard in right-center field for his Major League-leading 51st homer and second of the game. Two pitches, two big flies.
With Judge acknowledging a curtain call, chants of ¡®M-V-P!¡¯ had hardly ceased when Stanton joined the power party, hammering a slider onto the netting that covers Monument Park.
¡°None of us go up there trying to hit homers, so for that to happen, it¡¯s just that we¡¯re all locked in at that moment,¡± Judge said.
Said Stanton: ¡°It¡¯s something we have the opportunity to do every game, but it¡¯s not realistic [to go back to back to back]. So it¡¯s cool to get it done.¡±
It marked the Yanks¡¯ first time hitting three straight homers in an inning since Sept. 17, 2020, when Brett Gardner, DJ LeMahieu and Luke Voit all went deep against the Blue Jays. The cheers were synthetic then, white noise fed into an empty ballpark due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
They were genuine on Sunday, applauding a feat that the home fans would gleefully sign up to see -- again and again and again. Boone said that Soto arrived in New York ¡°with a lot of fanfare and a lot of expectations,¡± and that he has been ¡°every bit and then some as advertised.¡±
So why not stick around a few more years -- maybe the rest of your career? One reporter asked Soto point blank: Do you hope it works out that you can stay? Nice try. Soto has fielded dozens of variations of this question in recent months, and this one would be swatted away too.
¡°I¡¯ll tell you that in Spring Training,¡± Soto said.