After signing a 15-year-old, $ 765 million this season with the New York Mets, Star Outfielder Juan Soto had another number in mind.
He wanted to continue having No. 22, but Mets third basseman Brett Baty already had those figures.
Soto thanked Bato for switching to No. 7 with a surprise on Thursday and gave him a 2025 Chevy Tahoe at the team’s spring training facility in Port St. Lucie, Fla. SUV’s rear window was painted with “Thanks for No. 22,” and even had a large red band on the hood as in TV advertising.
“That’s all yours,” Soto, 26, told Bato in a video of the presentation published on Mets’ social media accounts. “You can drive it and everything.”
Baty, 25, hugged and thanked Soto.
“I really appreciate the number,” Soto told Bato in the video. “It’s the first one I ever wore.”
The exchange follows a story in professional sports of star players that rewards a new teammate to give up their sweater number. For example, when superstar Shohei Ohtani signed with Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2023, he delivered a new Porsche to Kannan Joe Kelly and his wife, Ashley, to give up No. 17.
Soto beat .288 last year with 41 home races, 109 RBI and an American league leader 128 runs in 157 regular seasonal games in their lone season with the New York Yankees. He also beat .327 with four homers and nine RBI in the 14 playoffs to help Yankees reach the World Series against the possible champion Dodgers.
For his career, Soto is a .285 Hitter with 201 Homers, 592 RBI, a .532 sluggish percentage and a .421 base percentage that leads all active large Leaguers. He has played 936 games with regular season for Washington National (2018-22)-won the World Series 2019-San Diego Padres (2022-23) and Yankees.
Mets chose Baty 12th overall in the MLB draft 2019. He beat .229 last season with four home races and 16 RBI in 50 games. He is a career .215 Hitter with 15 Homers and 55 RBI in 169 matches over parts of three seasons (2022-24). He will earn reported $ 800,000 in 2025.
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