PHILADELPHIA -- It was around the middle of this season, after months of extensive work on his baserunning, that Juan Soto realized he had a real chance to join Major League Baseball’s 30-30 club.
At the time, Soto was stealing bags at a more rapid rate than ever before in his career, thanks in large part to the tutelage of first-base coach Antoan Richardson. As Soto grew more comfortable with his newfound skill set and began to realize what was possible, he increased his aggression on the bases even further.
Power has never been a problem for Soto, who hit his 30th homer on Aug. 15. But since the All-Star break, Soto actually has more stolen bases (19) than homers (15). The last of those came in the eighth inning Tuesday, when Soto swiped third for his 30th steal of the season.
He became the fifth Met in the 30-30 club, joining Darryl Strawberry, Howard Johnson (three times), David Wright and Francisco Lindor as the only Mets to produce a season of at least 30 homers and 30 stolen bases.
“Definitely, a lot of hard work was put in since the beginning of the season,” Soto said. “Antoan has done an unbelievable job. He’s been helping me since Day 1. So I give him all the credit. He’s the one who put me in this situation and in this spot to do what I’ve done.”
Considering the Mets were trailing by five runs at the time, the eighth inning of Tuesday’s 9-3 loss didn’t seem like an obvious time for Soto to swipe No. 30. But it would be difficult to challenge the judgment of Soto, who has only been caught three times all season. Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto did not come close to throwing him out.
“Obviously this is a guy that you trust with the decision-making,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It’s a big deal for him getting to 30 there, but if you ask him, he’s not about his own stats. He’s about winning.”
Still, Soto’s own stats have been impressive. He now has 38 homers and 30 steals, putting him two shy of the much rarer 40-30 club. There have only been 15 such seasons in MLB history, including campaigns by Hank Aaron, Alex Rodriguez and Shohei Ohtani.
“For me, it means a lot,” Soto said of potentially joining that group as well. “It’s part of the journey of your career. But at the end, you’ve just got to think about the team. If you accomplish that, what we’re trying to do here is just help the team as much as I can.”