Juan Soto said, "I don’t try to be a mentor — I try to be one of them." That line came with visible signs of Soto’s work in the Mets outfield: personalized handshakes, regular in-game communication and celebrations shared with younger teammates.
Juan Soto and Carson Benge
Opening Day saw Soto and Carson Benge perfect an individualized handshake that has become a routine signal for the outfield trio. Soto was a few feet behind Benge when Benge hit a walkoff against the Yankees in May and then enveloped him in a bear hug; on May 31 Soto celebrated with Benge after Benge hit a grand slam against the Miami Marlins in the sixth inning.
A.J. Ewing on Juan Soto
"Juan has been great with me," A.J. Ewing said, adding, "He's made me feel that super welcome, and really loved." Ewing called sharing the outfield with Soto "awesome" and said, "We do a lot of communicating and we have a great relationship." Those mechanics — pregame handshakes, constant chatter on fly balls, and postplay embraces — are concrete ways Soto is present during games.
2018 and 2019 Nationals
Soto traces his approach to teammates back to his earliest big-league seasons. "Every single guy in that locker room, they really had respect for me, and I had a lot of respect for them," he said, and, "They made me feel like who I am." Soto listed Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Michael A. Taylor, Adam Eaton, Anthony Rendon, Max Scherzer and Victor Robles as players from those years who showed him respect, and he said the 2018 and 2019 Nationals seasons are "stitched into the fabric of who he is right now." He has translated that history into a set of personal rituals: there are personalized Soto handshakes for MJ Melendez, Christian Scott and Freddy Peralta as well as the Mets youngsters.
The visible product is a trio described in the clubhouse as exuberant in the Citi Field outfield. Benge noted Soto's duality: "Being able to get to know him over the past few months, you know, his goofy side has kind of come out," and, "He knows when to be serious, but he knows when to relax and have a good time." Those moments — the goofy gestures, the serious alignments on fly balls, the hug after a walkoff — are working ones: they reinforce trust in the moment and reduce communication errors on plays that can decide games.
There is, however, a contradiction built into Soto’s description of his role. He says he does not seek the formal title of mentor while simultaneously building rituals and lines of communication that operate like mentorship: personalized handshakes, constant in-play talk and public celebrations tied to key plays. The behavior produces the leadership outcomes Soto describes even as he rejects the label.
How much of Soto’s mentoring style is affecting the Mets on the field beyond clubhouse chemistry?
