TAMPA — New Yankees slugging superstar Juan Soto, who wowed fans and impressed teammates by hitting a long, three-run home run off the left-field scoreboard in his pinstriped debut here Sunday, hasn’t revealed any personal goals or predictions yet for his first (and possibly only) season in The Bronx. He does, however, guarantee two things.
1. The famed Soto Shuffle will be on full display this year, and;
2. He will not be shy about crowd-pleasing bat flips whenever the situation arises.
Soto, already a calm, positive presence inside the storied clubhouse, looks terrific at bat. The homer the opposite way off veteran Jays righthander Trevor Richards plus a walk in three plate appearances represented a typical midseason Soto performance.
Soto, who noted how it was nice to be cheered instead of booed by Yankees fans, clubbed the homer on a high pitch, well out of the strike zone.
“I enjoyed every minute,” Soto said of the day.
This promises to be one enjoyable year, and in an interview with The Post the day before, he guaranteed he isn’t changing his fun style, including his famed post-pitch shuffle.
“One hundred percent, I’m doing my shuffle every time,” Soto told The Post. “Everyone knows that it’s part of my game. If [people] like it or they don’t, I’m going to do it.”
Soto said he actually enjoyed it when new Yankees teammate Marcus Stroman imitated the shuffle after striking him out once. Pitchers who whiff him can celebrate however they want, he said.
“I always tell guys I will do my stuff, and you can do your stuff,” Soto said. “If you strike me out big-time, big moment, you can do whatever you want. It’s part of the game.
“I won’t get mad,” he continued. “I’m just going to tip my cap, and I’ll see you next time. But definitely, when I get you, don’t be mad at me because it’s going to be loud. When I hit a big home run, I’m going to flip my bat 500 feet in the air.”
Soto might be loud about that but he’s not going to say a discouraging word if, as expected, he bats second in the lineup instead of his previously preferred No. 3 spot, as he did Sunday. He gets it. Aaron Judge has won an MVP and set the American League home run record in this uniform.
Beyond that, Soto a student of the game at only 25, knows he’ll be in the best spot in the sport, in front of the game’s most feared and arguably also its best hitter (although Yordan Alvarez, Shohei Ohtani and Soto himself may have a case, too). Soto said he figures with Judge behind him, he won’t walk quite as much, which should be a plus for him.
“I don’t care anymore,” Soto said about whether he hits No. 2 or 3. “In the past, [batting second] was uncomfortable. I liked third because I’d never done the two-hole. It was tough for me to do that. But I have experience in the number-two hole now [in San Diego last year], so that’s going to be fine.”
Soto in front of Judge should be a real treat, and so should Soto in Yankee Stadium, where great left-handed hitters have dominated and he himself has a career .826 slugging percentage. While he’s thrived in his cameos in The Bronx, the inviting right-field dimensions aren’t something he thinks will aid him.
“They talk about the short porch at Yankee Stadium. But I’m more of a left-field hitter,” Soto said. “I’m not trying to pull anything I’m going to keep trying to go the other way. If they try to attack me, I will react. But mostly, I’m going to go that way.”
According to Statcast, Soto is on to something.
Their analytics suggest he would have hit only 29 home runs playing all his games at The Stadium last year instead of 35 playing home games at PETCO Park, which is generally pitcher-friendly.
Over his career, the discrepancy is just as stark. Statcast says he would have hit 141 homers rather than 167.
His Sunday drive well over the fence might have rolled to Dale Mabry Highway if the scoreboard hadn’t interceded.
“You don’t see balls hit like that,” Aaron Boone said.
Judge was more impressed by the approach. Judge said he’d “admired [Soto] from afar,” but loved seeing the pitch-by-pitch intensity up close.
Soto, a free agent after the 2024 season, felt mixed reactions upon hearing he was traded during the winter meetings in a phone call from Padres GM AJ Preller. However, he was pleased to be going to the Yankees. It wasn’t anything to do with the park or prestige, it was more about the players.
“I know about the Yankees’ tradition but the reason I’m glad to be here is I got another chance to win,” Soto said. “That’s what gets me excited. I was going to be with Judge, [Anthony] Rizzo, all the guys … [DJ] LeMahieu, Gerrit [Cole], Carlos [Rodon]. We have a really good group.”
Upon hearing his new destination, he didn’t do a 500-foot bat flip. But he may have felt like it.