Right now – it’s Soto-mania in the baseball world – and we’re here for it. Notably, the Washington Nationals capped off a Cinderella run to the world series last night with a dominating sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Remember, they wouldn’t be here without Juan Soto in the first place. Soto announced his presence to all viewers in the NL Wildcard game, getting the hit that got Washington into the real dance against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Of course, then he gained more eyes by homering off Clayton Kershaw to tie game five of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. By then, everyone who has been paying attention knew the name. You can tell a star is being born on the national (no pun) stage.
Now, Soto celebrates the NL pennant by celebrating like a responsible young adult. On twitter, he was seen drinking sparkling grape juice. Moreover, Soto won’t turn 21 for another nine days. Therefore, he couldn’t join his teammates in having the real stuff. Still, he didn’t seem to mind.
Juan Soto turns 21 on October 25, so he celebrated with grape juice 😂 pic.twitter.com/VZAmwebcV6
— Baseball Bros (@BaseballBros) October 16, 2019
This excerpt is from Sports Illustrated on the Nationals’ big win, and celebration that followed:
Sean Doolittle wielded a lightsaber. Trea Turner donned a helmet with the emblem of his alma mater, N.C. State, to dive into the fracas. Naturally, 20-year-old Juan Soto enjoyed some sparkling grape juice. (He’ll turn 21 on October 25—Game 3 of the World Series, which will be, no matter the team’s opponent, the first Fall Classic home contest in Washington, D.C., since 1933.) Max Scherzer drank from the trophy. This time, they were not celebrating the end of historic franchise misfortune, the realization of a win that had seemed out of reach or the sheer marvel of existence in October. They were simply celebrating themselves.
Everyone talks about Stephen Strasburg or Max Scherzer. Even Anthony Rendon has gotten a fair share of attention, as he should. But the Batman in this act – and the future of the Nationals – is Juan Soto.
As the World Series storylines develop and the Nationals get an opponent here in a few days, this is a guy the world is going to be curious about. It’s good to see him having a good time, even legally.
