Soto determined to snatch MVP from Shohei: 'I've got to find a way to beat him'

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- It is entirely possible that Juan Soto, at age 27, has already accomplished enough to be a Hall of Famer. Yet there are plenty of things that even Soto hasn’t achieved -- chief among them a Most Valuable Player Award.

On paper, Soto profiles as the type of player whose MVP coronation seems inevitable. Over eight career seasons, Soto has six Top 10 MVP finishes. But now that he’s in the National League, Soto has one rather large and persistent problem: Shohei Ohtani.

Soto’s highest career MVP placement came in 2021, when he finished second to Bryce Harper in the NL while Ohtani won the American League award. Since Ohtani moved to the NL two seasons ago, he has won the MVP both years. Soto finished third in each of those seasons -- once in the AL, once in the NL.

Now, he and Ohtani are concurrently under guaranteed contract as NL players through 2033. If Soto wants to add an MVP to his resume anytime soon, he’s going to have to find a way around the Dodgers’ two-way phenomenon, who figures to remain an annual MVP threat.

“I’m going to be there every year, too,” Soto said in response to that notion. “So he better keep doing what he’s doing, because I’m coming.”

What has made Ohtani so difficult to beat in the MVP race is his prowess as a two-way player. Even when Soto or other hitters submit better offensive seasons, Ohtani’s pitching contributions have been his trump card. That’s largely why he owns four career MVP plaques, three of them in campaigns when he started at least 14 games on the mound. This year, Ohtani expects to pitch a full season for the Dodgers while also serving as a full-time DH.

While Soto will never be able to match that type of output, he has delivered multiple seasons in which he’s been the better offensive player. He’s also demonstrated an aptitude for improvement, last year making baserunning a focal point. He wound up co-leading the NL in steals.

“I feel like everybody tries to do better than what they did before,” Soto said, referencing areas in which he can still improve. “I would definitely love to be better around the bases and better around the outfield. Even hitting, I try to keep my hitting increased. Thank God I’ve been doing well the past couple seasons. I’ve been putting numbers up there, career highs and stuff like that. So I just want to keep doing the same thing. I try to be better year after year.”

Asked specifically what he feels he can improve offensively after hitting 43 homers, stealing 38 bases, leading the league in walks and on-base percentage and producing a .921 OPS, Soto replied: “I feel like in every standpoint. Everybody knows about walks and everything, but I try to keep showing power. I try to bring the average a little bit higher, maybe. When you see seasons like guys in the past have had, you tell yourself you have to be up there to be one of the greatest. That’s what we’re trying to do every year.”

To enter such rarified air, Soto said, he must consistently put up numbers like Albert Pujols did in his prime, or Alex Rodriguez or Barry Bonds. Soto also mentioned his former teammate Aaron Judge as someone in that mold, as well as -- of course -- Ohtani.

“He’s really good. He’s really good,” Soto said. “I’ve just got to beat him. Definitely, it’s not going to be easy, but I’ve got to find a way to beat him.”

While Soto has not had much interaction with Ohtani since they both entered the league in 2018, he harbors immense respect for the player. But beating Ohtani is hardly his only motivation to win an MVP Award. It is baseball’s highest on-field individual honor and one that seems well within his grasp. Soto also burns to become the first Dominican-born winner of the award since Pujols in 2009.

“From an individual standpoint, any player at any point in their career, they would love to win an MVP,” Soto said. “I think it [would] be really special -- not just for me, for the Dominican Republic, I think it’s going to be great to have another player be named as an MVP from the island. I think it’s going to be really cool.”