In the playoffs, Corey Seager of the Texas Rangers said he didn't like receiving walks. He takes them when he needs to, but it's not his #1 choice.
For what? Because “the Rangers pay him to hit home runs” and not to hit a 90-footer after four balls.
Seager plays for a team that has no problem generating offense and he has such a speech. Imagine what it would be like if he was with a weak club.
Which brings us to Juan Soto.
Freshly traded to the Yankees for his final year before becoming a free agent, Soto is a master of walks.
But he is also, when he gives himself, a master of power.
Last year, we saw that apart from Aaron Judge, the Yankees had little power. And with Soto potentially hitting right after Judge, we agree that the Yankees won't need walks.
They will need circuits.
Ben Verlander is right: Soto will always have a good batting eye. He can't just start jumping at anything either.
It's not Javier Baez who wants.
But sometimes, when push comes to shove, he may be forced to read the moment and go for it. In a stadium like Yankee Stadium, it could pay off.
In any case, I'm sure that Scott Boras explained to him that in the autonomy market, it's not walks that result in contracts of $500 million and more: it's bombs.
Soto will therefore have to adjust.
And if he forgets it a little along the way, Boras can always remind him of the example of his client Corey Seager, recently named World Series MVP.
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