On September 12, 2026, Juan Soto stepped into the batter’s box at Yankee Stadium — the other team’s house — and sent a Tim Hill offering 400 feet to right-center field. Home run No. 25. And with it, a place on one of the shortest, most loaded lists in baseball history.
Seven seasons with 25 or more home runs before turning 28. The names Soto now stands beside: Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodríguez, Darryl Strawberry, Johnny Bench, Miguel Cabrera, Andruw Jones, Jimmie Foxx and Mel Ott. Only Mike Trout and Eddie Mathews — with eight each — have done it more times. That’s the entire list.
A Home Run in the Rival’s Backyard
The setting made it better. Seventh inning, Subway Series at full intensity, and Soto — wearing Mets blue — became the first player to hit a home run at Yankee Stadium in a New York Mets uniform. The Mets won 12-2, hitting six home runs in the game, the first time in history any team has hit six in a single game against the Yankees. Soto was the centerpiece of an afternoon that statistically belonged entirely to the visitors from Queens.
The Context That Makes the Number Even Bigger
Here’s the part that matters for perspective: Soto reached 25 home runs in just 98 games. A left calf strain kept him out of the lineup from July 24 through August 29, so his 2026 totals aren’t a full-season line — which makes the milestone more impressive, not less. He turns 28 on October 25, 2026, so the statistical window is still open with several September games remaining.
The Full Club
Every player with seven or more seasons of 25+ home runs before turning 28:
- Mike Trout — 8
- Eddie Mathews — 8
- Juan Soto — 7
- Miguel Cabrera — 7
- Albert Pujols — 7
- Andruw Jones — 7
- Alex Rodríguez — 7
- Darryl Strawberry — 7
- Johnny Bench — 7
- Frank Robinson — 7
- Hank Aaron — 7
- Jimmie Foxx — 7
- Mel Ott — 7
Hall of Famers. Nicknames that grandparents remember. And the most expensive contract in professional sports history.
What the Numbers Say in 2026
When the Mets signed Soto in December 2024 for 15 years and $765 million — the largest deal in the history of professional sports — the debate over whether he was worth it started immediately. The Statcast numbers through September 12 make the case without needing opinions:
- AVG: .275
- OBP: .392
- OPS: .927
- xwOBA: .417 (100th percentile in MLB)
- Exit velocity: 92.4 mph (92nd percentile)
- Barrel rate: 14.2% (92nd percentile)
- Hard-hit rate: 48.1% (86th percentile)
- Chase rate discipline: 96th percentile
- 25 home runs and 60 RBI in 98 games
An xwOBA of .417 — what Statcast says a hitter should be producing based on quality of contact — puts him at the very top of the league. A barrel rate of 14.2% means that in nearly one out of every seven batted balls, he’s combining the perfect exit velocity and launch angle for extra bases.
The conversation about whether Juan Soto belongs among the best hitters of his era doesn’t need hyperbole anymore. The numbers are doing the talking on their own.
