{"id":33971,"date":"2022-08-03T06:49:50","date_gmt":"2022-08-03T06:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/juan-sotos-trade-to-the-padres-leaves-a-star-sized-hole-in-washington-that-might-never-be-filled\/"},"modified":"2022-08-03T06:49:50","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T06:49:50","slug":"juan-sotos-trade-to-the-padres-leaves-a-star-sized-hole-in-washington-that-might-never-be-filled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/juan-sotos-trade-to-the-padres-leaves-a-star-sized-hole-in-washington-that-might-never-be-filled\/","title":{"rendered":"Juan Soto’s trade to the Padres leaves a star-sized hole in Washington that might never be filled"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WASHINGTON \u2013 For his last hit as a Washington National, Juan Soto homered off his former teammate and fellow 2019 champion, Max Scherzer, now pitching for the likely playoff-bound New York Mets. By the time the team played again, Soto had been traded to the San Diego Padres. He also walked three times, stole a base and threw out a runner at the plate in the Monday night game that also featured fans giving him an ovation after his final at-bat (one of the walks, fittingly) before the trade deadline.<\/p>\n

The Nats went down quietly in the ninth inning of their 69th loss, with Soto watching from the dugout. When it was done, he signed a baseball and handed it to a young fan. Last September, she caught Soto’s attention with a sign that says \u201cJuan My Pacemaker Beats 4U\u201d<\/a> and, according to Soto, has continued to come to games regularly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always talk to her,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Later, he stood in front of what used to be Ryan Zimmerman’s locker, a box of Cocoa Puffs on the floor nearby, and said, \u201cI feel like this has been the worst season I’ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

What’s crazy is, he’s not totally wrong. His OPS is 58% better than league average \u2014 but that’s a downturn from last year when he was 77% better than league average, or 2020 when he was more than twice as good as the average major-league hitter. Before that, he won a World Series. Before that, he went from A-ball to big-league star in a single season.<\/p>\n

Adversity though, like hitting .247 while leading baseball in walks or playing for a team that loses nearly twice as often as it wins, can force growth, rendering a player who’s famous for his youth wise beyond his years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve been learning about myself more,\u201d Soto said of how this season has changed him. \u201cI’ve been learning about the team, the business, and all that kind of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

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