OAKLAND – Juan Soto wasn’t feeling well.

When he woke up Friday morning, his left knee was stiff, swollen and sore. The night before, he had hit the wall while making a sliding catch at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. With just nine games left in the season and a month until his highly anticipated free agent signing, he was worried that something might be very wrong.

Turns out he wasn’t just OK. He was on pace to deliver another game-changing moment in his first and—look away, New York Yankees fans—perhaps only season in a pinstripe uniform.

Soto fought through pain in his knee and delivered a heroic performance as a pinch-hitter in the 10th inning in a decisive 4-2 victory over the Oakland A’s at the Coliseum.

“Showman-like,” said Gerrit Cole, the other hero of the evening, who allowed only one run in nine innings and 99 pitches.

Let’s go through the most outstanding parts of Soto’s short but impressive performance.

Soto. Clutch. pic.twitter.com/w8Xf28blfL

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) 21 September 2024

Playing despite pain

Soto wasn’t quite ready. Although the 25-year-old was scheduled to play second at bat and right field in manager Aaron Boone’s original lineup, Soto’s pregame work was enough to prompt the team to pull him from the game just hours before first pitch.

Earlier that same day, Soto had received the best news of all: X-rays of his kneecap showed no structural damage.

“It was really a relief,” he said.

A bigger relief? He did his job when Boone asked him to when the game was on the line.

In the 10th inning, tied 1-1, after Anthony Rizzo singled to right field to first, moving automatic runner Jasson Domínguez to third base, Boone thought it was the right time, so Soto was brought in as a pinch hitter for center fielder Trent Grisham.

With the score tied 1-1, Oakland relief pitcher TJ McFarland hit an 88 mph sinker that flew to the backstop and became a wild pitch. Domínguez slid feet first under the pitcher’s tag. The Yankees had taken the lead.

Then, on the next pitch, Soto hit a slider into the right field corner. The ball (exit speed: 177 km/h) whizzed over the left fielder’s head and brought pinch-runner Oswaldo Cabrera home from second base.

Soto made it to second base with ease and was then substituted for reliever Jon Berti.

“What a great batting performance,” Boone said.

“That was great,” said catcher Austin Wells. “I mean, he couldn’t play the whole game? He came in at the end? Just a no-brainer. No, I’m glad he’s healthy and he did a great job coming in as a substitute.”

It reminded me of Soto’s performance nine days earlier when he let a ball bounce off his foot, fell to the ground in pain, and then kept at bat only to hit a long two-run home run against Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragan. The Yankees won the game 4-3.

Willingness to put your body at risk

On Friday afternoon, Soto spent time hitting in the cage with assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler and doing squats in the weight room. But he wasn’t ready. Soto and the Yankees decided to give him more time to rest, so Aaron Judge moved to right field and Grisham started in center.

But halfway through the game, Boone said, Soto approached him and told him he could strike out if the game was on the line.

Soto didn’t have to do that. He could have taken the rest of the day off to rest his knee – and his readiness for the postseason. The Yankees secured a playoff spot on Wednesday, maintaining their four-game lead in the American League East with eight games remaining.

But Soto wanted to play.

“I know we’ve done it and this and that,” he said. “But ultimately the goal is to win the division and we’re really close. I haven’t thought about an off day or anything. But we’re also trying to be smart and think about October and not now. So, yeah, all the options have been going through my mind.”

Cole had a simple explanation.

“He loves the moment, man,” Cole said. “He loves it.”

Juan Soto talks about the condition of his knee, pinch hitters, playoff anticipation and more. pic.twitter.com/WnpFPVpna2

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) 21 September 2024

A nod to his teammates and training staff

After Soto’s double, the Yankees’ dugout erupted. It was clear how much Soto adores his teammates as he danced with them and sprayed champagne on Wednesday as he celebrated the Yankees clinching a playoff spot.

But he put it into words on Friday.

“These guys are amazing,” he said. “These guys are great. I love every single one of them. We’ve been together since day one and we’ve shown our love day after day and it’s just a great feeling.”

Soto also thanked the Yankees’ medical staff and strength training team for their work on his knee.

“The trainers did a pretty good job of helping me get the swelling down and it felt really good,” he said.

He added: “(The knee) responded pretty well. So I felt good the whole game. After all the work we put in, it wasn’t sore or anything, and that’s when I knew I had a good chance to be an option.”

(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)