Juan Soto makes his New York Yankees debut with a throw that saves the game.

Given that Juan Soto is a superstar who always performs at his best in the greatest situations, it was not surprising that his first memorable Yankee moment occurred on his Opening Day debut.
But for it to occur on a defensive play that may have won the game? That wasn’t what anybody, outside of the game, had in mind for Soto, whose defense has been a liability, particularly in the last two seasons.

That’s what happened at Minute Maid Park on Thursday afternoon against the Houston Astros. Kyle Tucker hit a single to Soto in right field in the ninth inning with one out and two men on and the Yankees holding a one-run lead. Soto had a straight path to the ball, collected it with ease, and unleashed a one-hop rocket to home plate, which catcher Jose Trevino grabbed before he turned to tag Mauricio Dubon with difficulty.
Soto let out a couple yells and punched his chest. After a thorough investigation, the play was found to have stopped the Astros from tying the game and maybe building momentum for the victory. Clay Holmes shut the door a few moments later, completing the Yankees’ 5-4 comeback win.
Aaron Judge, the center fielder for the Yankees, claims that just before to the play, the team’s outfield players discussed the urgency of coming up with a throw to win the game.
Judge said, “That right there was a Yankee classic.” “Juan’s debut, that was pretty special out of him.”
There were other classic Soto items in that premiere. a walk on eight pitches in his first at bat with the Yankees. An RBI single off of Framber Valdez in a hard left-on-lefty matchup. One more stroll.
However, the difference lay in the throw home.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone praised the player’s “process, work ethic, and care factor about not just hitting, he takes a lot of pride in his defense.” “He aspires to play excellent defense. He aspires to be a great baserunner. And he produced a really successful defensive play today.”
The one area of concern on Soto’s resume has been defense. The eyes corroborated the data, which indicates that he has performed at a below-average or worse level recently.
He was aware that in order to maximize his value to the Yankees and in free agency the following winter, he had to become better. He thus focused his spring training efforts on defense.
The first stage was getting used to right field again after representing the San Diego Padres in all 154 games last season in left field. This included learning the routes and throwing angles. Luis Rojas, the third-base coach for the Yankees, was helpful.
On Thursday, that labor paid off in the ninth inning.
“It’s simply an amazing sensation,” Soto said. “It tells you I’m going the right way, what I’ve been doing, and I’m more excited to keep going.”

More in Sports: https://buzzing.today/sports/
Photo Credits: https://commons.wikimedia.org/