Juan Soto

Soto arrived as one of baseball’s greatest young hitters and immediately changed the size of the Mets’ expectations. His patience, power, and fearless at-bats made every plate appearance feel important.

Soto arrived in New York with a résumé that made normal expectations useless. He had already been a World Series champion, an elite on-base hitter, and one of the most feared young bats in baseball. The Mets signed him because they wanted to change their scale, not simply improve one lineup spot. Every at-bat came with the feeling that the franchise had entered a new financial and competitive era.

His game is built on patience that looks almost disrespectful. Soto lets good pitches pass, refuses to chase many bad ones, and then attacks the mistake with a swing that can travel a long way. The walks are part of the drama, not a pause in it. Citi Field fans quickly learned that a nine-pitch at-bat could be as exciting as a home run because Soto was deciding exactly when the pitcher had lost.

The larger Mets story is still being written. A star like Soto raises the expectations for every player and every front-office decision around him. Whether his Queens years end with a championship or another near-miss, he has already changed what the lineup feels like. The Mets no longer look like they are waiting for the next era to begin when number 22 is standing in the box.