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Juan Soto was snubbed from the All-Star Game this year despite having a National League leading offensive WAR of 4.0 over there stalwarts of the game like Shohei Ohtani. The New York Mets superstar had a rough start to the season, which played into his selection.
Dealing with the pressure of signing the biggest contract in sports history worth $765 million, Soto took time to get into his groove in Queens. In the first 25 games, he hit at .233 with just three home runs. But he has sprang back to life and leads NL outfielders in on-base percentage (.399), runs scored (66) and walks (72).
Because of his slow start, Juan Soto wasn't voted as one of the finalists for the National League outfielders spots. Those went to Ronald Acuna Jr., Pete Crowe-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker.
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Without the fan balloting, it would have been tougher for the 26-year-old to get in when teams, players and managers get their say to decide the reserves. Those three reserve spots in the National League lineup for the outfielder positions went to Corbin Caroll, Fernando Tatis Jr. and rookie James Wood.
As per Chris Rose, on the Baseball Today podcast, while Fernando Tatis made the All-Star game roster and was picked because of his superior defensive prowess, the Padres superstar should have made way for Juan Soto. Rose reasoned that Soto, as a former member of the Washington Nationals, divisional rivals of the Atlanta Braves, could rile up the Atlanta crowd further.
"There are two guys in the sport who have an above .900 OPS and did not make the All-Star team, and he is one of them. The guy I would take off is Tatis. And I love watching Fernando Tatis play, so I understand why he's there, but he doesn't even have an .800 OPS. Soto, I get it. He's not the defender. He doesn't run the bases the way that Tatis does.
"But I also love it when either hometown guys play — so like when Matt Olson's there, Ronald Acuña is there. And I love it when the arch-enemy has to wear their home whites in Atlanta for, like, a ... that's going to be awesome. I want to hear him get booed — like, that's fun," Rose said.
Juan Soto accepts reality of missing first All-Star game since full-season debut
Juan Soto had made the All-Star Game each season since his first MLB full season in 2019. Despite his exclusion, the Dominican was ready to accept it and move on to the next year.
“For me, I try to play as hard as I can and help the team and enjoy the moment,” Soto told the New York Post.
“Everyone wants to be an All-Star and live the experience of being there, but this year it didn’t happen. I was glad I was able to be there four years in a row. If I didn’t make it this year, it’s no big deal. I’ll come back stronger next year.”
Juan Soto has become an offensive leader in the Mets' ranks. He drove in the crucial go-ahead run in extra innings in the Mets' 7-6 win against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.
