With 5th All-Star nod, Soto proves ASG is 'the place he deserves to be'

NEW YORK -- When Mets interim manager Andy Green broke into the big leagues as a player in 2004, he shared his first clubhouse with 40-year-old Randy Johnson and 36-year-old Roberto Alomar, two future Hall of Famers nearing the ends of their careers. Twelve years later, in his first year as manager with the Padres, Green occupied a dugout alongside retired slugger Mark McGwire, who sometimes shared the mindset he used to hit a Major League-record 70 homers in a season.

Green brought these stories up recently when asked about Juan Soto.

“He’s on paths like that,” the manager said. “There’s very few people in the game that you can say that about.”

That is certainly true in general, but particularly for a player like Soto, who has developed a similar reputation by age 27. At an age when some players are still trying to establish themselves as Major Leaguers, or to stick around long enough to hit arbitration, or free agency, Soto has climbed the mountain and set his sights higher. He has a World Series title. He has a $765 million contract. He has a batting title, an OPS crown, and so much more.

Perhaps the best representation of Soto’s career arc is the fact that he is about to become the youngest player to appear in the All-Star Game for four different teams. The next-youngest player to achieve that feat did so at age 31.

“With any team that I made it, it’s always an unbelievable experience, and I’m expecting to have the same thing here,” said Soto. “Definitely, I’ve been in the AL and now in the NL again. I think it’s going to be great.”

At age 27, Soto is already nearing likely surefire Hall of Fame status, which makes the rest of his career a test of exactly how much more he can achieve. Can he win a home run crown? Can he win an MVP, the major trophy that has so far eluded him? Can he be the one to rescue the Mets from 40 years of mostly uninterrupted ineptitude? Can he win two titles? Three? More?

Those answers will come in time. As successful as Soto has been so far, maintaining success into a player’s 30s requires an altogether different skillset.

Working in Soto’s favor is the fact that, in Green’s words, “he loves baseball.”

“I think he’s set out to be one of the best players in the history of the game, and the best players in the game are at the All-Star Game every year,” Green said. “So it’s the place he deserves to be. It’s the place he belongs. … I certainly believe he relishes the opportunity to be around other great players.”

To that end, Soto said his favorite part of every All-Star Game is catching up with old teammates or respected opponents. This year, he has a particular interest in chatting up Yordan Alvarez, perhaps the only MLB hitter having an objectively better season than him. Soto has made it clear that the All-Star Game is important to him. He intends to relish his time there.

Last year, in his first season with the Mets, Soto slumped early and was hitting merely .229 with a .797 OPS on June 5 -- numbers poor enough to shut him out of a third consecutive All-Star appearance. Unwilling to suffer that fate again, Soto said, he redoubled his efforts and -- thanks to an increased comfort level in Queens -- shot out to a much better start this year. Outside of his two-and-a-half week stint on the injured list due to a strained right calf, Soto has ranked among the game’s most consistent hitters.

Green compared his focus to McGwire’s, saying, “You could see it in the on-deck circle. You could see nothing getting in his head other than what he wanted to do. And the great ones have that type of focus that goes beyond what us average people have.”

There’s a reason why Soto is often compared to Mickey Mantle and Jimmie Foxx and Eddie Mathews and other young greats of the game. Only a scant few people have achieved what he has by this age.

Consider that, earlier this spring, when Mets rookie Carson Benge saw Soto for the first time, his reaction was wonder laced with an expletive.

“When I saw Soto,” Benge said, “I was like, ‘Holy s---.’”

Benge is 23. Soto is 27. Though the gap in age is not that great, the gap in accomplishment is massive -- not just between Benge and Soto, but between Soto and nearly everyone else.

Where Soto goes from here, then, is one of the modern game’s great questions. Part of that will include how many All-Star Games he makes along the way.

“It’s always a lot of gratitude for me,” Soto said. “I just fell short last year. Definitely, it motivated me. I’ve got to be better. I’ve got to be better to be with the best of the best in the league. This year, I came in with a different mentality, and thank God I made it.”