"I won't be scared to shuffle his a**" - When Juan Soto was primed to face Shohei Ohtani's electric pitching for the first time
Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani will meet in the World Series this weekend, but they will not face off directly. Ohtani is not pitching this year due to a Tommy John surgery in the offseason. In 2022, he did face Soto from the mound. Before the matchup, Soto was asked about seeing the two-way player for the first time.
He said:
"We all know he's an impressive player, but whenever he steps on that mound, I won't be scared to shuffle his a**."
Soto also said that Ohtani might have trouble with the loaded San Diego Padres lineup. In the first matchup between the two, Soto went down looking on a curveball at the bottom of the zone. Soto popped up in the second at-bat and chased a high fastball for strike three in his final matchup with Ohtani.
Soto has never been afraid to shuffle, his trademark move, on any pitcher. He did it to Hunter Gaddis the entire at-bat before he blasted the ALCS-winning three-run home run. Ohtani just happened to get the best of him that day despite Soto's confidence.
Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani enjoyed career years on new teams
Fast forward over a year from that first encounter and both Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani joined new teams. Ohtani went to the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency, and Soto was traded to the New York Yankees.
2024 was their first chance with either of their teams. They turned in outstanding years, with Ohtani likely to win MVP and Soto setting career-best marks. Ohtani, despite being a DH, led the NL in fWAR, hit 50 home runs and stole 50 bases. He was the first MLB player to do that.
Soto enjoyed a career-high 8.1 fWAR and will likely be an MVP finalist. He also had a career-high 180 wRC+, not including the shortened 2020 season. He hit 41 home runs, which was also a career-best mark. He enters free agency off the strength of that and a possible World Series title with the Yankees.