Teen Baseball Phenom Makes History By Booming Pair of Bronx Bombs

19-year-old Juan Soto of the Nationals joined elite company on Wednesday night.

Juan Soto #22 of the Washington Nationals follows through on his seventh inning home run against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 13, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Nationals defeated the Yankees 5-4.  (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Juan Soto #22 of the Washington Nationals follows through on his seventh inning home run against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 13, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Nationals defeated the Yankees 5-4. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Getty Images

He isn’t old enough to buy a beer yet, but 19-year-old Juan Soto still knows how to take shots.

On Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, Soto powered the Washington Nationals to a 5-4 win by mashing home runs in the fourth and seventh inning, driving in four runs overall.

With the long-range bombs, Soto became the first 19-year-old to blast a pair of homers at New York’s home ballpark in the regular season since Ken Griffey Jr. did it at the old Yankee Stadium on May 30, 1989.

Griffey was 19 years, 190 days old when he did it, whereas Soto hit his homers at 19 years, 231 days old.

“He’s a good-looking player,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “The ball was carrying real well [Wednesday night]…He’s been really good obviously since he came up. And for where he started this year to be here, there’s good reason, and we got a peek at it.”

Since being called up from Double-A about three weeks ago, Soto is batting .344 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 20 games in the majors.

Win the Ultimate Formula 1® Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix Experience

Want the F1 experience of a lifetime? Here’s your chance to win tickets to see Turn 18 Grandstand, one of Ultimate Formula 1® Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix’s most premier grandstands!