THE SILVER SLUGGER AND HARRY

Juan José Soto Pacheco (born October 25, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder (he probably hits as well!) for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball. He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres and New York Yankees. Soto has won the Silver SLUGGER Award five times and is a four-time All Star. In the USA (and maybee in the World!!) this means quite a lot.

Soto signed with the Nationals in 2015. He made his MLB debut in 2018 and was the runner-up for the NL Rookie of the Year. In 2019, he played a key part in the Nationals' first World Series championship, earning him the Babe Ruth Award. In 2020, he won the NL Batting Title with a .351 average (whatr ever that means). After being traded to the Padres at the 2022 trade deadline, Soto was dealt (SOLD?) to the Yankees following the 2023 season. In his lone season with the team, he reached the 2024 World series and finished third in AL MVP voting (must be important!). He then signed a 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets in the offseason, YES, the largest contract in Sports' history.

Soto is renowned for his exceptional plate discipline (not washing up...he has somebody to do that for him) and known for his unique batter's box movements, dubbed the "Soto Shuffle". You can work that out for yourselves.

and in comparison....The most expensive transfer in football history is the transfer of Neymar from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain, August 2017, for £200m.This transfer is unlikely to be surpassed anytime soon. The first confirmed record transfer was of Willie Groves from West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa for £100 in 1893. (equivalent to £14,000 in 2023). This occurred just eight years after the introduction of professionalism by the Football Association in 1885. Here are some other expensive transfers:

• João Félix: Left winger, Atlético de Madrid, €127.20m
• Enzo Fernández: Central midfielder, Chelsea FC, €121.00m
• Eden Hazard: Left winger, Real Madrid, €120.80m
• Jack Grealish: Left winger, Manchester City, €117.50m
• Declan Rice: Defensive midfielder, Arsenal FC, €116.60m
• Romelu Lukaku: Centre-forward, Chelsea FC, €113.00m 

Some of the most expensive defenders include:

• Harry Maguire – £80m/€97m (Leicester to Man Utd, August 2019) a world record for a defender!
• Josko Gvardiol – £77m/€89m (Leipzig to Manchester City, August 2023)
• Virgil van Dijk – £75m/€84m (Southampton to Liverpool, January 2018)