Soto tops Rodriguez in final
LOS ANGELES — Juan Soto bet heavily on his own talent and health by turning down a massive, longterm contract extension from the Washington Nationals.
Soto then went to the Home Run Derby at Dodger Stadium and showed why he almost certainly can’t lose.
Soto won the Derby for the first time Monday night, holding off Seattle Mariners rookie Julio Rodriguez 19-18 in the final.
The 23-year-old Soto hit 53 total homers, beating each of his three opponents by one homer while hitting second each time in the midseason power showcase. Soto was locked in at the plate even after spending an hour earlier at Chavez Ravine answering repeated questions about his possible departure from the Nats after turning down a $440 million offer.
“It feels amazing. It feels tiring,” said Soto, a reserve on the NL All-Star team for Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic. “I just tried to concentrate to square off the balls, because I know I have the power.”
With a big celebratory bat flip after the final homer
dropped into the stands, Soto became the second-youngest Home Run Derby winner in baseball history — by a single day. At 23 years and 266 days old, Soto is only one day older than Juan Gonzalez was when he won in 1993.
Soto hit a 482-foot blast to right-center while beating Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez 18-17 in the first round, and he got past 42-year-old Albert Pujols 16-15 to reach the final.
Rodriguez was even more impressive in the first two rounds while signaling his arrival on baseball’s
biggest stages, particularly when he knocked off two-time defending champion Pete Alonso of the Mets 31-23 in the second round.
Soto hit the winning 415foot homer with 20 seconds of bonus time to spare, then whipped his bat in the air before being swarmed by other Dominican All-Stars. His homers traveled a total of 5.41 miles.
Soto earns a $1 million prize — a whole lot more than his $700,000 salary this season — and another highlight on his resume as his time with Washington possibly nears an end.
Soto turned down a $440 million, 15-year contract to stay with the Nationals in a decision first reported by The Athletic last weekend, and he could be traded by the end of the month. That contract would have been the biggest in total value and the 19th-largest by average salary in baseball history.