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Nationals stud rookie Juan Soto broke the space-time continuum with a home run

chris cwik
Staff writer

Washington Nationals standout rookie Juan Soto made his major-league debut May 20. He hit his first major-league home run in a game that started May 15.

What you just read wasn’t meant to melt your brain. It’s all true. How did Soto’s first home run come before he was even in the majors? Allow us to explain.

What happened?

The Nationals continued a suspended game against the New York Yankees that started May 15. On that day, Soto was still in the minors. With Soto up and mashing in the majors now, he was inserted into the lineup when the Nationals continued the contest June 18. In his first at-bat, he crushed a towering home run to right field.

How is that home run counted?

Soto came into the game with five career home runs. He hit a sixth home run Monday, but does that count as his first home run or his sixth? While some were definitive about the blast being his first career home run, others weren’t so sure.

What about his major-league debut?

That became another point of contention. Should this game, which was played on June 18, but is a continuation of a game from May 15, count as his major-league debut? Or did that happen May 20 … when he was actually called up and played in his first major-league game?

Has this ever happened before?

Oddly, yes. And Soto has good company. It happened with Barry Bonds.

How is that reflected on Bonds’ stat pages?

Baseball-Reference has that April 20 game as the first game Barry Bonds ever played in. It is noted on the site that the contest was a suspended game. Baseball-Reference still lists Bonds’ debut as May 30.

This is confusing

Yes it is.

Instead of focusing on this particular quirk, we should focus on Soto’s overall numbers. The 19-year-old outfielder continues to tear up the majors. In 24 games, Soto is hitting .316 with six home runs.

When he hit those home runs doesn’t matter. No matter what you consider his major-league debut, Soto has performed like a star since he’s been in the majors.

Juan Soto didn’t need a time machine to mash his first career home run. (AP Photo)
Juan Soto didn’t need a time machine to mash his first career home run. (AP Photo)

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik

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