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Juan Soto shockingly led Mets and NL in this statistic in 2025

Originally posted on New York Mets on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Oct 1, 2025 3:00 PM ET

The 2025 season did not go as the New York Mets planned. They got off to a scorching hot start, owning the best record in baseball on June 12 at 45-24. Things slowly deteriorated after that, resulting in them missing the playoffs altogether.

Arguably, the wildest development from their hot start to their ice-cold stretch was the performance of right fielder Juan Soto. Signed to a historic 15-year, $765 million deal this past offseason, his tenure with the Mets got off to a slow start.

That didn’t stop the team from performing at a high level. One of the reasons baseball fans bought into the Mets was because they believed Soto would eventually turn things around, elevating the team to another level.

Those fans were correct about the superstar right fielder eventually finding his way. Alas, as he started to heat up, the rest of the team cooled down; he produced at a historic rate at points in the second half of the season, but it wasn’t enough to carry the squad to victory.

Juan Soto was incredibly productive for Mets in 2025

This offseason is going to be a long one for Soto and the Mets. It stings more because their crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees, won 94 games and qualified for the playoffs despite losing Soto in free agency last winter.

However, New York’s shortcomings should not be placed on his shoulders. He stuffed the stat sheet all season long, putting together an MVP-caliber campaign. Had the Mets not suffered such a collapse, he would be featured in the award discussion more prominently.

Soto's season-long stats are truly remarkable. He hit a career-high 43 home runs, and led MLB in walks (127) for the fourth time in his career. His .396 on-base percentage was the best in the National League.

However, there is one statistic that stands out amongst all the gaudy numbers he produced: his stolen bases. Soto has never been regarded as being fleet of foot, but he was as prolific a base stealer as there was in the major leagues this year.

Juan Soto shockingly leads NL in stolen bases

The 26-year-old swiped a career-high 38 bags, getting caught only four times. Credit needs to be given to New York’s first base coach, Antoan Richardson, who is the best in the business at helping his guys get jumps by reading opposing pitchers.

Soto took full advantage of that aid, tying for the NL lead in steals with Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates. After the All-Star break, he got super aggressive on the basepaths, recording 27 steals, which was the most in MLB.

An absolute monster of a first season for Juan Soto in Queens! pic.twitter.com/L3YhKXQfXx
— MLB (@MLB) September 29, 2025

This production on the basepaths isn’t something anyone could have seen coming. His previous career-high for a single season was 12 stolen bases, and he entered 2025 with 57 stolen bases in 936 career games. Yet, only three players (Jose Caballero, Jose Ramirez, and Chandler Simpson) swiped more bags than Soto this year.

Soto put together one of the most productive offensive seasons in baseball history, and he should be lauded for that. Alas, missing the playoffs is all anyone is going to talk about when it comes to the Mets for the foreseeable future.

This article first appeared on New York Mets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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