Juan Soto Had One Of The Greatest At Bats In Baseball History Last Night To Send The Yankees To The World Series

Maddie Meyer. Getty Images.

It's the morning after the Yankees won the American League pennant and life just tastes a little bit sweeter than it did the day before. Don’t get me wrong, the job isn't finished. Four wins to go for the real glory, but the Yankees got over a big hump last night to get to this point. Haters will call it an easy road, but I’ve seen great teams trip up countless times and deny themselves this opportunity. The fact of the matter is that the Yankees were the best team in the American League this year and deserve to be here. Did they have slumps? Oh yeah, no question, but they stood tall when it mattered most. Boston, Houston, Baltimore? You don’t get a word in right now. Enjoy the sunshine on the beach. 

In the 10th inning last night, when it seemed inevitable the scrappy, pesky Guardians would find a way to squeak one by and force a Game 6, Juan Soto put his foot down. It was his moment. It was time for the Yankees to return to the World Series. 

I really don't know how to describe how good of an at bat this was. I genuinely believe it's one of the best of all time, given the circumstances and everything in between. We learned this quick with Juan with how he treats his at bats. It's an all out war to him. A duel to the death. If you're the opposing pitcher you're his sworn enemy. He envisions you’ve kidnapped his family and if he doesn’t get a hit off of you, he’ll never see them again. We saw that in full effect in his Game 5 clash with Gaddis. The MLB Network guys did a great job breaking it down. You knew in the middle of this that he wasn't going to let up. When you get that nod after a foul bal it’s over. Like a shark smelling blood in the water. It's spectacular. 

His whole goal that at bat was to find a fastball to drive. To get there he had to fight off a number of off-speed pitches. I don't know how he does it. He just never gives in. Never. It was a game within the game. Just spoil everything until the pitcher caved and gave him what he wanted. Juan won.

I don't know what I did to deserve this beautiful man in my life, but I'm not gonna let him go. At least GM Stanton won't. 

Speaking of Stanton, my god. 2009 A-Rod reincarnated. Is it better? Four homers in the ALCS alone, easily securing him the MVP award. While that shit means nothing to him, it's still surreal to watch him explode like this. 

Enjoy it the next few days and then reset for the World Series on Friday. Try to wipe the smile off my face, you can't. Buy some merch. 

P.S. Haven't heard from Tate, have you?