The New York Mets’ $700 million slugger, Juan Soto, is having another fantastic season. As of May 30th, Soto has a 176 OPS+ and a .977 OPS.
Not too long ago, fans in Queens were questioning his deal. Now, former MLB legend Joey Votto is sending him praise.
Joey Votto Thinks Extremely Highly of Juan Soto
In a recent segment with MLB Network, Votto was asked about his thoughts on Soto.
“What do you see when you see Juan Soto and you see him hitting these last few years?” asked host Brian Kenny.
“Well, the headlines are Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, as they should be,” Votto replied. “But I personally think that Juan Soto is maybe the most important hitter of this generation.”
He continued, “Why do I say that? I think he’s gonna give us 20 years, maybe even 25 years of greatness. I think he’s changed the culture of baseball–and he started doing this at 19 years old. And I also think he compares favorably to one of the most unheralded hitters in the history of baseball, Mel Ott. Like Mel Ott, he played with two gargantuan players, Jimmy Foxx and Babe Ruth, and he was a lesser-known player even though he was among the greatest hitters of all time.”
Votto Sees Similarities Between Ott and Soto
“[Ott} had a fantastic 20-25 years of play and he’s not really remembered all time. But I would argue that Juan Soto may be amongst the best 3-5 left-handed hitters, maybe even higher, left-handed hitters of all time. Why do I say that?”
“Because all of the players that we reference as the greatest left-handed hitters of all time, Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, they played pre-integration. I think this is a crucial, crucial fact. Juan Soto is playing against the BEST players, literally of all time, we’re at the peak of baseball, we’re at the peak of drug testing, and as you can see amongst the post-integration players, in his first 4500 plate appearances, he scores the best.”
Votto’s legendary comparison is almost serendipitous for Mets fans. In a lowly season with almost nothing to gloat about, they still have the modern-day Ted Williams.
Votto and Soto Have Similarities As Hitters
Another intriguing part of this comp by Votto is the similarities they share as hitters.
The main one? Ball four.
Soto and the Reds’ legend both drew walks at an absurd rate their entire careers. The occasional home run would be sprinkled in, and the batting average often lands around .250-270. Respectable, but not a contact-oriented approach.
Votto did most of his dirty work at Great American Ballpark with Cincinnati. Likely giving him a boost in his offensive numbers. Soto had one season with a short porch in New York and launched 41 home runs.
You might think that Soto’s power was a mirage, a glimmer in the Bronx. And then, he went cross-town to the Mets and topped it with 43.
Soto is a once-in-a-generation type of talent. Players who dominate hitting in so many different ways rarely come around. There’s almost no concrete plan of attack to induce an out. When it’s all said and done, in the words of Joey Votto, Soto will go down as one of the greatest left-handed hitters of all time.
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