Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees' Juan Soto Expresses Excitement About Free Agency After Historic Night

New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto sent a clear message about free agency after Tuesday's win.
Grant Young|
Sep 12, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Fox broadcaster interviews New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto (22) after getting the game winning hit against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
Sep 12, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Fox broadcaster interviews New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto (22) after getting the game winning hit against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

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In the fourth inning of Tuesday's game against the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto blasted a 96 mph fastball into the left-center field bleachers.

This blast was historic for three reasons; one being that it marked the 40th home run of the year for the 25-year-old, which is the first time he has ever reached that mark in his seven-season MLB career.

In addition to that, the opposite field shot was the 200th home run of Soto's career. This makes Soto just the seventh player to enter the 200-home run club before turning 26, joining MLB legends like Jimmie Foxx and Yankees icons Alex Rodriguez and Mickey Mantle.

However, the most meaningful history for Soto was that Tuesday's home run meant he had homered in all 30 MLB ballparks.

This is an incredible achievement for any MLB player; let alone someone who is still 25 years old. With Soto achieving this goal, he becomes the third player (along with Manny Machado and Yankees teammate Giancarlo Stanton) to have homered in all 30 current MLB ballparks.

Soto was asked why hitting home runs in all 30 ballparks was so important to him postgame.

"It's a great feeling for me. It's so many different ballparks, so many different dimensions. I just want to get all of them checked in," Soto said, per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.

"What a way to go into free agency, with all 30 ballparks checked on my list," Soto added.

While Yankees are are happy for Soto, social media is lamenting the fact that he's excited about any aspect of entering free agency.

Of course, Soto is slated to enter free agency regardless and has every right to be excited about that fact (especially considering the money he'll make). But Yankees fans don't want to hear their beloved slugger alluding to his eagerness to test the open market.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for On SI. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee. You can follow him on X: @GrvntYoung

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