Saturday, October 19, 2024

Soto The Straw That Stirs The Drink For 2024 Yankees

 

Juan Soto connecting on a home run on May 18 at Yankee Stadium. Photo by Jason Schott.


Juan Soto hit the game-winning home run for the Yankees on Saturday night in Game 5 of the ALCS to beat the Cleveland Guardians, 5-2, in 10 innings to go to the World Series.

This was just the reason the Yankees made the massive trade with the San Diego Padres on December 5, 2023, in the hopes that Soto would be the final piece for a team that has been so successful since their last World Series appearance in 2009, but just couldn't finish the job.

It was apparent early in the season that Soto relished this role, as this columnist wrote on May 18:

Nearly fifty years ago, the Yankees brought in a veteran outfielder who was one of the best hitters in baseball, who upon arrival in The Bronx, said he would be “the straw that stirs the drink.”

That, of course, was Reggie Jackson, who arrived after the Yankees were swept by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1976 World Series. They proceeded to win the next two, breaking a thirteen-year drought.

Fast-forward 47 years and you could insert Juan Soto into that statement nearly word for word. 

The Yankees haven’t won the World Series since 2009, and have knocked on the door since 2017, with three ALCS appearances, with it always feeling like they’re just one player away.

When the Yankees acquired Soto - who won a World Series with the Washington Nationals in 2019 - it felt like they might have finally gotten that final piece.

The Yankees entered Friday with the best record in the American League, at 30-15, and that’s despite ace pitcher and defending Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole yet to pitch this season.

The most consistent force in the lineup, who already is earning MVP conversation, is Soto, who has played in all 45 games, and is hitting .302 with nine home runs and 34 RBI, with a .403 on-base percentage, a .517 slugging percentage, and a .920 OPS.

Soto has been such a perfect fit with the Yankees that owner Hal Steinbrenner confirmed in a YES Network podcast this week that he wouldn’t mind starting contract negotiations with the pending free agent during the season. Soto, when asked about it after the Yankees swept Minnesota Thursday, said he was open to it as well.

Yankees Manager Aaron Boone was asked how Soto has blended in with the team, and if he thinks he’ll end up staying, and he said, “I mean, certainly, I hope so, right? I mean, he’s one of the game’s great players, and he’s been awesome in our room. Since very early on in spring training, I feel like he’s fit in really well with the guys and, obviously, you know, he’s made a huge difference with our team and our lineup.

“Obviously, his performance between the lines, but the way he goes about things has been fun to witness for me, and fun to get to know him in that way, see how serious he is about the game, while striking that balance. You know, he does such a good job of striking the balance about being really about his craft, and, like really obsessed with winning, but also a carefree way about him, and an easy way about him to where he’s having a lot of fun playing the game, and I think it’s really important that you strike that balance, even as a Major Leaguer. It’s a grind, and you’ve got to enjoy what you’re doing, and he does that really well.”

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