WATCH: Yankees skipper Aaron Boone imitates Juan Soto's famous shuffle
Juan Soto's famous shuffle stance at the plate has intimated pitchers since his time with the Washington Nationals. It was his shuffle and intimidation tricks that helped the Nats clinch the World Series in 2019. Now with the New York Yankees, his shuffle has his skipper hooked.
Before Sunday's game against the Detroit Tigers, Yankees manager Aaron Boone imitated Soto's shuffle in front of the camera. This included him sizing up the pitcher and fouling off a ball, which is often followed by a home run or an extra-base hit.
However, Juan Soto's shuffle and Aaron Judge's unreal power hitting didn't come to play in Sunday's game, as the Yankees lost the game 3-2. While Soto went 1-3 with a walk, Judge could muster one hit in his four plate appearances.
Aaron Boone credits Juan Soto making the most of every at-bat
One thing that makes Juan Soto's at-bat prowess unique is his ability to drive up a pitcher's count. While modern baseball is captivated by swings and misses, Soto is more akin to fouling them off, at the very least if he is going for it. This worries the opposing team, as he could get into a troublesome stretch, especially for starting pitchers.
This is also the quality Aaron Boone loves in Soto's at-bat each time around, giving him a "theatre-like" feeling.
“It’s a show,” Boone said in May. “You can feel the energy of the crowd… literally every pitch it’s theater. That’s been fun to witness. Obviously how good he is and how disciplined he is at his craft, but how just the relentless nature of his at-bats. [via SNY].
"I’ve heard all my life over the years ‘this guy never gives an at-bat away.’ Juan embodies that, he doesn’t give a pitch away. Every pitch you kind of hold your breath a little bit.”
This season, Juan Soto has been on a tear, hitting .302 with 34 home runs, 87 RBIs and 103 walks.