Yankees vs. Nationals: Juan Soto hits mammoth home run in a game that started five days before his MLB debut
The game started in May and ended in mid-June. This one requires a little explanation
The first game of the Yankees-Nationals "doubleheader" on Monday was in reality the completion of a suspended game from May 15. They picked up in the sixth inning with the score tied 3-3. The big blow for the Nats in their eventual win (WAS 5, NYY 3) came from 19-year-old rookie phenom Juan Soto, who did this to a pitch from Chad Green:
Pretty sure baseballs aren't supposed to land up there... Juan Soto doesn't care.
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 18, 2018
(via @Nationals) pic.twitter.com/xOFpzRCvKY
They called it 433 feet, but that seems a tad conservative. Whatever the case, the highly-regarded Soto as of the completion of Game 1 is batting .316/.407/.608 through his first 24 big-league games. Over that span, he's got six home runs. Soto entered the season as a consensus top-50 or so prospect, and then he set about abusing opposing pitchers across three levels despite being much younger than his peer group at every stop.
Speaking of the minors, that's where Soto was when this game started:
Juan Soto 5/15/18: 3-for-4 in AA
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 18, 2018
Also Juan Soto 5/15/18: 1-for-2 with an @MLB HR pic.twitter.com/GNapA96Aih
Yep, Soto was cutting a swath through the high minors back on May 15. He technically entered Monday's resumed game as pinch-hitter for Matt Adams (who's now on the DL), which explains the time-traveling aspect of all of this.
So ... does this go in the books as Soto's first career home run? Or is it still the three-run shot off Robbie Erlin on May 21? The answer from Jamal Collier of MLB.com:
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, even though the stats for Monday's game will count toward May 15, Soto's upper-deck blast will not be considered his first career homer.
Also, May 20 will remain the official date of Soto's debut. Peruse his game logs, though, and you'll find that home run from five days before his major-league debut. That is to say, Juan Soto belongs to the realm of quantum physics.
















