The New York Yankees made their biggest splash in years this past offseason by acquiring Juan Soto in a trade with the San Diego Padres to bolster a lineup that was disappointing and injury-prone in 2023, and Soto has been everything they could have asked for so far.
He is off to a historic start, and the recent history he made last night puts into perspective just how special he has been throughout his young career so far.
MLB Stats shared a graphic from last night’s game on Twitter that shows how Soto just passed Mickey Mantle for the most walks before the age of 26 by any player in MLB history.
Juan Soto just passed Mickey Mantle for the most walks by a player before the age of 26 (AL/NL history) pic.twitter.com/mBswHn6yA6
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) May 15, 2024
Soto now has 669 walks and won’t turn 26 until after the season.
His walk rate and pitches per plate appearance are at a career low this season, but nobody is complaining, as he is still on pace for 109 walks and is hitting .313 while sitting fifth in the majors with 34 RBI.
Mel Ott, Eddie Yost, and Bryce Harper rounded out the top 5 for walks before turning 26, and by the time Soto is 26, this record will be tough to break, as a healthy season at his current pace will put him around 750 career walks.
Soto hit a career-high 35 home runs last season and already has nine this year while he is yet to take advantage of the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium, as his shortest homer at home this year was 384 feet.
Soto is raking and is still the base-on-balls savant he always has been as he continues on his quest to earn a massive bag this offseason.
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