San Diego Padres outfielder Juan Soto hasn’t had the kind of start fans and media have come to expect from such a talented player.
As of Wednesday afternoon, he is slashing a relatively disappointing .244/.400/.433 with five home runs.
Make no mistake, though: he is starting to come around.
In his last ten games, Soto is slashing an incredible .405/.542/.649 with six doubles and a home run.
On Tuesday, he went 4-for-4 with a walk, two doubles, and a run.
Seeing him reach base four times in the same game is nothing new.
In fact, he is very close to an age-related record regarding his ability to get on base multiple times in a game.
“Most games reaching base safely 4+ times, before turning 25 (since 1901): Ted Williams: 81, Mickey Mantle: 69, Jimmie Foxx: 68, Arky Vaughan: 67, Juan Soto: 65,” MLB stats expert Sarah Langs tweeted.
most games reaching base safely 4+ times, before turning 25 (since 1901):
Ted Williams: 81
Mickey Mantle: 69
Jimmie Foxx: 68
Arky Vaughan: 67
Juan Soto: 65— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 10, 2023
Soto will turn 25 on October 25, so he has the entire regular season to keep climbing up that list.
He is fifth at the moment, but has a realistic shot at finishing second behind Ted Williams (one of the best hitters in the history of the game and perhaps Soto’s closest player comp) if he gets five more games reaching base four or more times.
He would need 16 additional games of that kind just to tie Teddy Ballgame, which seems unlikely (but not impossible!) given how difficult it is to reach base four times in the same game at the MLB level.
Still, when Soto is on, he doesn’t know the meaning of the word “impossible”.
He seems to be trending in the right direction, and is earning himself more and more money in the process.
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