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Juan Soto was brought to the New York Yankees to help the franchise win its 28th World Series. Just over 10 months after the Yankees acquired him, Soto brought home the winning run in a pennant-clinching game for New York.
It could serve as the defining moment for Soto this postseason, but anyone who's watched him over the past seven years knows he wants more. A three-run, extra-inning homer to send your team to the World Series is awesome, but producing clutch hits in the World Series is something else.
It won’t be Soto's first taste of the Fall Classic. He celebrated with the Washington Nationals five days after his 21st birthday when they won Game 7 of the 2019 World Series. This time it feels different given how far Soto has come since his second MLB season.
He had the makings of a star from the jump, finished ninth in NL MVP voting after that 2019 season, and has since established himself as arguably the best hitter in baseball. Soto is a different beast now than he was five years ago. The Los Angeles Dodgers better take notice.
Soto is a good bet to win World Series MVP should the Yankees triumph. He could do enough to win it even if they lose. Regardless if he takes home individual hardware, Soto is primed for a monster performance in the 2024 World Series.
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Juan Soto, the record-breaker
If you want bold, you've come to the right place. Few players in baseball history have possessed the hitting skills Juan Soto does. Being able to perform well in the regular season and playoffs puts him in an elite class. A second trip to the World Series does so too.
When you look at the World Series record books, the lists are riddled with Hall of Famers and some of the greatest players to step foot on an MLB diamond. It's time for Soto to join those lists.
2024 was arguably Soto's best season yet. He tallied career-highs in several offensive categories, including total bases. His 41 home runs and 31 doubles led the way for 328 total bases. If all goes to plan, he'll be on the basepaths more often than not against the Dodgers.
The record for the most total bases in a single World Series is 29, set by George Springer in 2017. Soto can certainly achieve that, but we're going to stick with the single-game record of 14, established by Albert Pujols in Game 3 of the 2011 World Series.
Soto will have one particular monster game where he collects five hits – which would tie the single-game World Series record – with a pair of homers, two doubles and a triple, giving him 15 total bases in one game. If that happens, it'd be hard not to give him the MVP award.
Yankees ride Soto to key victories
One player typically can’t win a baseball game, but one swing of the bat can swing the outcome on a dime. We've seen it happen on numerous occasions this October, including Soto's 10th-inning blast in Game 5 of the ALCS.
Not every player is built for clutch time. Juan Soto is one of those players.
His playoff track record altogether is enough to suggest he'll be a key figure in the World Series. His numbers from the 2019 Fall Classic make it seem like Soto was playing a video game.
During that seven-game series, Soto posted a 1.178 OPS with three home runs and two doubles. He was part of nearly 40 percent of the runs the Nationals scored as he drove in seven and scored six times. He also drove in the winning run in two of Washington's four victories.
Five years later, he'll put up those numbers and clutch performances again. The Yankees will win at least three games in this series (selfishly all of us neutrals want a seven-game series), with Soto scoring or driving in the winning run in all three wins.
At 26 years old, Juan Soto will punch his ticket into baseball immortality with another dazzling display in the World Series. Perhaps no player was made for the limelight more than Soto. Win or lose, he'll provide unforgettable memories for Yankees fans on baseball's biggest stage.
