Juan Soto Delivers His Signature Yankees Moment

What an incredible three nights in Cleveland, capped by Saturday night’s 5-2 victory in 10 innings to close out an ALCS that was spellbinding, heart-pounding, and was ultimately ended by one of the great clutch moments in Yankees history. Thus, the Yankees are headed to the World Series. Lets get to it.

Oct. 19: Yankees 5, Guardians 2 (10)

Hal Steinbrenner better make sure his portfolio is lined up properly, all of his mega million-dollar revenue streams are renewed, and his sales staff is hitting the bricks lining up new streams and sponsorships because if he wants to re-sign free agent Juan Soto in the offseason, the price tag might start at $600 million, and it could go higher than that.

In the bottom of the 10th inning in Game 5 of the ALCS Saturday night, Soto delivered his signature moment as a Yankee, a moment that will live in perpetuity in Yankees history. Given this team’s history, that’s quite a thing.

Soto put together the greatest at bat of the season, and that’s not hyperbole or recency bias. Top of the 10th inning, two outs, two men on, 2-2 game, one of Cleveland’s best relievers on the mound in Hunter Gaddis, and the AL pennant hanging in the balance. Yeah, no hyperbole or recency bias.

Soto did exactly what Steinbrenner brought him to New York to do - deliver a moment like that, and because he rose to the occasion, the Yankees won their 41st pennant and will now go after their 28th World Series championship starting Friday.

“We gave up a lot,” general manager Brian Cashman said of the trade with the Padres that brought Soto to New York. “It was a big chess move, no doubt about it, that was designed to increase our chances. And it did.”

“Since Day 1 of spring training I have been saying, ‘Give me every hard moment, every tough time,’” Soto said. “I’m going to step up and try to do my best.”

Did he ever.

With the count 1-1, he fouled off four straight tough, competitive pitches, the tension mounting with every one, and finally, on Gaddis’ seventh offering, Soto barreled a top of the zone fastball and sent it soaring through the crisp Cleveland air and into the bleachers in right-center, a three-run bomb that will go down as one of the biggest home runs anyone in pinstripes has ever hit. And again, this is the Yankees, so think about the club Soto just joined.

On Twitter/X, former Yankee and current manager of the Yankees’ Triple-A team in Scranton, Shelley Duncan, tweeted, “Best at bat I have ever seen in my life.”

Holy shit, it was unbelievable.

“The crazy part is it’s not surprising,” Aaron Boone said. “You’re sitting there waiting for it. He’s just an amazing hitter. What an at bat, what a swing; we’re going to the World Series.”

When Luke Weaver closed it out in the last of the 10th, it brought down the curtain on three absolutely incredible nights of baseball at Progressive Field. Naturally, at least for me, it was impossible to enjoy because I’m a lunatic and these games are actually quite detrimental to my long term health. My God, after the stress, the tension, and the exhilaration of these three games, when I turn 62 next week it’s going to feel like I’m 72.

I remember what it was like in 2009 when they last won the World Series, so many nights in that postseason run that were epic. But what these three nights reminded me of were the three games at Yankee Stadium in the 2001 World Series, three of the most remarkable baseball games the sport’s most storied franchise has ever played.

Yes, these games rose to that level, and a lot of that was due to the Guardians playing way above their heads and giving the Yankees everything they had, but also because the Yankees showed the type of resolve and resiliency and fortitude that many of us - my hand is raised straight in the arm - have questioned for the entirety of Boone’s reign as manager.

This is not the same team that buckled against the Astros three times in the ALCS, teams that didn’t have Soto. Yes, Giancarlo Stanton was a beast, the series MVP, and the Yankees would still be trying to wrap this up in New York Monday if not for him. But Stanton was there for the last two of those ALCS flops against the Astros, and Aaron Judge was there for all three. The Yankee needed a superstar, a guy who could deliver in the clutch, like Soto. Now that they have him, well, they’re going to the World Series.

“It’s great, but this ain’t the trophy I want. I want the next one,” Stanton said.

And he’s right, the pennant is awesome, but we all know the deal in the Bronx: It’s World Series or bust.

“I’m overwhelmed with emotion,” Boone said. “I’m so proud of these guys right now. We’ve been knocking on the door a few times, but we’re finally going to the dance. We’ve had some great groups, some great camaraderie, some great clubhouses. This group is as close as I’ve ever seen, and they trust each other. They lean on each other. They love each other. They play for each other. Those are special things to have in a team sport.”

Jazz Chisholm was asked amid the champagne celebration about Soto and he blurted out, surely to Steinbrenner’s consternation, “I think we should re-sign Soto. $700 million. Final offer.”

Yeah, that might be what it takes, and it will probably be worth it.

Here are my observations:

➤ For the better part of three hours, I was convinced that the Yankees blew this game in the first four minutes of it. Gleyber Torres singled, and Soto ripped a double to the gap in right-center. For some reason, third base coach Luis Rojas sent Torres home even though he should know that Gleyber can’t run. Yes, it took a magnificent relay throw from Andres Gimenez to nail Torres, but it was still a stupid send. The Yankees would have had second and third with no outs and Judge and Stanton coming up. Instead, Torres was out. When Guardians starter Tanner Bibee hit Judge and Jazz Chisholm with pitches on either side of a Stanton strikeout, the bases were loaded, but Anthony Rizzo flied to left and despite putting four men on base, the Yankees did not score. I said several times during the night on Twitter/X that the first inning was going to haunt the Yankees. And it did until Soto came through at the end.

➤ After that Houdini act, Bibee settled in and dominated the Yankees the next four innings, retiring 10 straight at one point. By the time he went out for the sixth inning, he had a 2-0 lead and it was looking ominous for the Yankees. But then Guardians manager Stephen Vogt made a mind-numbing decision that started his team’s downfall.

➤ In the sixth, Torres and Soto singled but then Judge grounded into a gut-punch double play. So, with two outs and Torres at third, the absolute decision was to intentionally walk Stanton, and the reasons were so obvious. Stanton was killing the Guardians and he was the hottest, most destructive hitter on either team. Behind him was one of the absolute worst hitters in the series, Chisholm. I mean, it was so simple, but Vogt decided to let Bibee pitch to Stanton for a third time int he game. Thanks, dude. Bibee got ahead 0-2, then Stanton laid off three straight balls before Bibee put one on a silver platter, an 82 mph slider that hung in the middle of the plate and Stanton hit it 446 feet to left-center to tie the game. No words, except thank you. What a gift.

➤ It was only 2-0 going to the sixth because Carlos Rodon pitched pretty well. Not great because he only last 4.2 innings, allowing his two runs on five hits and a walk, but it wasn’t a disaster, that’s for sure. In the second, he gave up a one-out single to Josh Naylor, struck out Jhonkensy Noel, but then somehow lost a 10-pitch battle with weak-hitting Bo Naylor who doubled home his brother for a 1-0 Cleveland lead. Oh, that was rough. And then in the fifth, Gimenez doubled and after Rodon struck out Brayan Rocchio for the second out, he gave up Steven Kwan’s RBI single. When David Fry singled, Boone ran to the mound and took him out at 85 pitches, which I wasn’t thrilled about. “I’m grateful for this opportunity because this is what you dream of as a kid,’’ Rodon said. “The goal was to go out there and compete.”

➤ However, the bullpen did not allow another run, continuing a shockingly efficient postseason run of success. Mark Leiter Jr. got the last out of the fifth and one in the sixth, then Tim Hill balled out again. He finished the sixth by getting Gimenez to ground into a double play with men on first and second, then walked Rocchio to start the seventh but got Kwan to ground into a DP. What a signing he has turned out to be.

➤ Next was Jake Cousins who finished the seventh, then struck out Jose Ramirez, Lane Thomas and Noel in the eighth. Like Hill, Cousins has been a fantastic midseason signing.

➤ While all that was going on, the Yankees were scuffling badly on offense and it was looking hopeless. Austin Wells killed a chance in the seventh with a double play, they went 1-2-3 in the eighth, and in the ninth against Emmanuel Clase, Judge and Stanton made outs and after Chisholm singled, Oswaldo Cabrera - who had pinch run for Rizzo and taken over at first - grounded out.

➤ Weaver, after taking Game 4 off, came on for the ninth and he mowed down Bo Naylor, Gimenez and Rocchio, and on to the 10th we went.

➤ I thought Vogt would stick with Clase with the Guardians’ season on the line, but he brought in Gaddis and just like the Yankees did the entire series, they got to the best bullpen in MLB. Volpe lined out, but Wells - horrific at the plate this entire postseason - worked a six-pitch walk and that set up one of the biggest plays of the game. Verdugo hit a grounder to second and the Guardians were probably only going to get the force. However, they got nothing because Rocchio, a Gold Glove caliber shortstop, dropped the flip from Gimenez and everyone was safe. Gaddis struck out Torres, but because of the Rocchio gaffe, that gave Soto a shot. And, well, he called ballgame.

➤ OK, it wasn’t over. Three outs to go, but Weaver worked around a Kyle Manzardo single by getting Ramirez and Thomas on fly balls to end it. “You win with good people and good players,” said Judge. “When you go out and get a guy like Juan Soto, you put him in this lineup with other great guys we have … good things are going to happen.”