Coming off a rousing walk-off win on Wednesday night to end the series against the Kansas City Royals, the New York Yankees looked to keep their momentum going heading into a four-game home set against their archrival, the Boston Red Sox. As fate would have it, the Yankees end Thursday night the same way they did yesterday — a walk-off single hit towards the shortstop — with Juan Soto being the hero of the proceedings this time around in a 4-3 win over the Red Sox.
Soto has been every bit as good as advertised ever since the Yankees acquired him; in fact, he entered the night having put up the third-best WAR total among batters in the entire MLB (only behind his teammate Aaron Judge and Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.). However, as difficult as this might be to believe, this is the first time that the 25-year-old walked off the game for the Yankees, causing a considerable uproar on social media in the process.
“Juan Soto was meant to be a Yankee…” X user @HowUBenFeller wrote.
“The Yankees winning a late-season extra innings game against the Red Sox that has postseason implications for both teams? It’s been decades. Juan Soto needs to stay,” @AdamWeinrib added.
Yankees fans were in unison on X, calling upon the team's top brass to give Soto whatever amount of money he wants what with him being set to enter free agency at the conclusion of the season. It would be a generational fumble, fans thought, if the Yankees somehow let him walk.
“Juan Soto with a clutch hit. Give the man a blank check and give him what he wants. Soto proves again why we need him,” @4TrainExpress expressed.
“Have I mentioned how much I love Juan Soto? Yeah he has his moments but every player does regardless of being a star or not, Hal better fork over the bank to keep him here,” @NYGSucksButDex_ wrote.
“give him a juan of a kind paycheck,” @DarthEnvy furthered.
With the postseason beckoning, the Yankees are hitting their stride, eking out ballgames despite not performing at their best. The hope now is that they ride this momentum towards sealing the AL East division crown. They now have a two-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles — a major cushion with 15 games remaining in the season.
Yankees should keep Juan Soto at all costs
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There is simply no way that Juan Soto should be wearing a jersey other than the Yankees' for next season and beyond. Yankee Stadium has been home to the biggest stars of the sport for so long, and the front office better not cheap out in the name of keeping one of the best players in the entire MLB.
It's rare for a player to come in with high expectations and shatter them like Soto has. And to top it all off, he's only 25 years of age! It's not as though the Yankees are going to have to shell out the big bucks for a player whose prime years are in the rearview mirror. They are going to get Soto throughout his prime years, provided, of course, he re-ups with the team on a huge deal that could rival that of Shohei Ohtani's contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
