Where Mets superstar Juan Soto ranks ahead of his 1,000th career MLB game

These stats are a testament to Soto’s approach to every at-bat: miss outside the strike zone and he’ll take the walk, miss inside, and he’ll take that pitch out of the park. Soto has led MLB in walks in three of his eight seasons in the league. With 50 walks already this season, Soto is trying to lead the league for the fourth time in nine seasons. 

Perhaps more impressive than Soto’s patience at the plate is his refusal to swing at bad pitches. His 820 walks are overshadowed by his paltry number of strikeouts: just 740 in 4,366 at-bats. Soto has also twice led the league in OBP in his career, and his .943 career OPS (On-Base Percentage + Slugging) ranks 31st all-time in MLB history and fourth among active players behind Aaron Judge (1.0247), Mike Trout (0.9873), and Shohei Ohtani (0.9521). 

Despite Soto’s struggles this season, the star outfielder has turned it up at the dish over the past couple of series. Over his last eight games, Soto has amassed nine hits, including three home runs, with eight runs scored and six RBI. In patented Soto fashion, he’s also collected seven walks during that time and has struck out just twice. 

Soto is just 62 games into his Mets career with potentially over 2,300 more during his record-setting 15-year contract. His first 1,000 MLB games have already placed him among baseball immortality. Mets fans will hope that his next 2,000 are as great as his first.