Juan Soto is a special talent.
This is not news. But Soto joining this exclusive club is.
Soto hit a two-out single for the New York Mets off of Braves starter Spencer Strider in the first inning of Thursday’s game against Atlanta. The hit was the 1,000th of Soto’s MLB career.
In securing the hit, Soto joined a club of elite MLB talent that includes two Hall of Famers and nobody else.
Soto, who’s 26 years and 237 days old, now has 1,000 hits, 700-plus walks (830) and 200-plus home runs (215) in his seven-plus season MLB career. The only other players in MLB history to achieve that milestone before turning 27 are New York Yankees Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle and New York Giants Hall of Famer Mel Ott.
None of the other great sluggers in MLB history have done it.
The milestone speaks to Soto’s blend of plate discipline, power and ability to reach base that makes him so valuable and is rivaled by few of his contemporaries. It’s in large part the reason the Mets were willing to shell out a record $765 million contract to Soto in the offseason to lure him from the rival Yankees.
Soto’s off to a relatively slow start with the Mets while slashing .248/.387/.462 in his first 73 games with the franchise. But his history dictates that there’s little for Mets fans to worry about over the long run. Soto is almost certain to deliver.
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