Juan Soto told reporters that his trademark Soto Shuffle would be back once he was feeling locked in and like himself in the box, and Mets fans impatiently waited for their new star to show that he was locked in and ready to break out.
Wednesday night in LA seemed like the night that Soto revealed to the baseball world that he was feeling all the way back to his typical confident self.
Twenty four hours after smacking a two-run home run, the third time he went deep in his last four games, Soto drew three walks in New York’s win over the Dodgers, but it was the way he drew those walks that had fans excited. Soto worked the count full against Tony Gonsolin in the third inning and broke out the shuffle multiple times, perhaps some of his most overt showings of the shuffle so far as a Met. After falling behind 0-2, Soto drew a walk and stared down Gonsolin for a few steps as he made his way to first.
Soto drew another walk against Gonsolin later in the game, sharing a smile with the Dodger righty after holding up on a check swing for ball four.
The three walks for Soto pushed his season OPS back above .800, and the power stroke seems to be back as he has logged five extra-base hits in the last six games. The smiles are back, the shuffles are back, and as promised by Soto, his typical demeanor fans have come to know and love have returned.
Soto was having so much fun on Wednesday that he took part in the water bottle flip game in the Mets dugout while the team was holding a commanding six-run lead in the ninth, and Soto nailed it on his first try, much to the delight of his teammates.
All the more evidence that Soto is locking in, and that is good news for the Mets.