LOVERRO: Soto’s growing exploits as a Yankee overtake his legacy as a National

OPINION:

Juan Soto is gone now. He belongs to New York. He belongs to the Yankees.

He is no longer Washington’s.

The home run he hit in the 10th inning of Game 5 of the American League Championship Series sent the Yankees to their first World Series since 2009 with a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians.

But it did more than that. It carved for Soto a singular place in Yankees history, and, let’s face it, Yankees history is baseball history.

That home run is the defining moment, so far, of Soto’s career — one that will be remembered. 

Nationals fans will always have their own memories of Soto’s dramatic three-run hit in the eighth inning of their 2019 National League Wild Card Series victory over the Milwaukee Brewers that would pave the way to their World Series championship. But it has boundaries now. Beyond Nationals fans, it is a search engine item.

I know Soto has been gone since Aug. 2, 2022, when Washington — unable to sign Scott Boras’ free agent in waiting — traded him for the prospects that fans hope will create new moments and memories.

Soto might as well have been in witness protection when he joined a San Diego roster that cost a lot and accomplished little. Back in Washington, the absence of the departed Soto was real. 

He was gone, but at least his legacy as a clutch-hitting superstar still said “Nationals.” 

No longer. 

Now he’s the Yankees’ 21st-century Reggie.

“Just an at-bat for the ages,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone, the only other Yankee to ever homer in an extra-inning, series-clinching win.

Soto is 25 years old (he will turn 26 on Friday) and on the brink of historic free agency, about to become the second-richest free agent in baseball history, behind the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, who signed a $700 million deal with Los Angeles last winter and who will be part of the star-studded World Series that starts Friday night.

Soto will be the back-page tabloid star, as both the Yankees and the Mets, who were bounced by the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, will be bidding for his services, as will the handful of other teams who shop at the high-priced store.

That does not include the Washington Nationals. There will be no homecoming.

According to those who know Soto, he is very happy being a Yankee. From all accounts, they love him as well.

“He’s just easy to be around,” Boone said after the team’s ALCS win. “You bring a superstar player in, how is he going to look? What’s he going to be like? He’s just one of the guys. That’s been rewarding to see, man. I don’t have to go out of my way to worry about him. He’s good. I feel like I’ve developed a great relationship with him, but he’s one of the guys.”

This has been the consistent book on Soto since he arrived in the big leagues, which is remarkable when you consider his act at the plate. He put on quite a performance in Game 5 Saturday, full Soto, shuffling, shaking his head, muttering, fouling four straight off Hunter Gladdis before driving the 1-2 pitch he was waiting for over the center field wall. Yet he is not considered a showboat. If anything, his style is celebrated for his skill and judgment at the plate. He is considered as professional a hitter as you’ll find in baseball. His joy overshadows his showmanship.

“He loves the game of baseball,” Boone said.

By the way, it was another former National, Lane Thomas, who ran up to the wall before watching the ball disappear. There’s been a lot of former Nationals pain in the postseason.

When the Yankees came to Washington this season, Soto said he was happy with his new team, traded to New York during the offseason.

“Right now, I’m playing for the Yankees,” he said. “I’m happy. We’ll see where it’s at … we have good energy in here. Nothing is going to be like we had with the Nationals in 2019. But this is really close to what we had then. We all get along together, and we are playing really hard.”

Of course, for him, nothing will be like what Soto had in 2019. He was just 20 at the time, his second major league season. He’s seen the business now, having been traded away from the place he loved to the Padres and then traded again.

Soto is about to reap the rewards of that business like almost no one before him has. When that happens, there will be yet another layer of separation between him and Washington — his legacy as a National overshadowed by the symbolism, the power and the impact of that home run in Cleveland.

⦁ You can hear Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.