The Hundred and the Hallway

The Hallway

Juan Soto reached 100 career stolen bases on May 21, 2026, in a Mets uniform. The number does not lead his résumé. Six Silver Sluggers, a .416 career on-base percentage, a World Series title at 21 — those are the figures that follow him.

But the first bases he ever ran were imaginary. His mother, Belkis Pacheco, limited his outdoor time growing up in Santo Domingo, so he practiced in the family hallway — hitting taped paper balls, running bases that did not exist.

His father, Juan Soto Sr., a salesman who caught in the local leagues, threw bottle caps for him to swat using a bottle as a bat. The elder Soto would tire. The boy did not. Soto credits that creative training with starting his baseball passion. His father also steered him left-handed: Soto is naturally right-handed, and the switch was his father's suggestion to gain an edge.

The Arc

Soto signed with the Nationals at 16 for a $1.5 million bonus. In April 2018, at 19, he was in Low-A Hagerstown, living three weeks with a host family — his first request was finding a GameStop to fix a PlayStation. He debuted that May and hit a three-run homer in his first start. Bryce Harper called him a special player.

By 2019, his father's prediction — that his son would play in a World Series on his birthday — came true: Game 3 fell on October 25, Soto's 21st, and the Nationals won the title.

The career moved from there. Washington to San Diego in 2022, San Diego to the Yankees for 2024, then to the Mets. Nine seasons, 1,179 games, 1,169 hits, 265 home runs.

He turned 27 last October. He is in his second season with the Mets, playing outfield, batting left-handed the way his father suggested.

Reporting: Britannica, Wikipedia, MLB.com, The Athletic. Career and biographical data: MLB StatsAPI, via the Fever engine.