juan soto is in my collection

here's a new series for me. i've picked up, over the last couple of years, some autographed cards of current players who may or may not be on a hall of fame trajectory. eventually, i would expect most of these guys to enter my hall of famer collection (even if they don't get the call to cooperstown) but it's still a bit early to say.

while i consider yordan alvarez to be one of those players, i'm formally starting these posts with juan soto and this card

that's a 2022 topps tier one autograph card, numbered 063/125. here's the back:

i was prompted to buy a soto auto over the offseason after he joined the yankees. i saw a graphic that noted soto was still only 25 years old, which is younger than adley rutschman and some other players who may have had a higher profile than soto while he was in san diego. it was really only his 2022 season that was subpar as he had a pretty darn good 2023 campaign and is doing even better in 2024.

he currently has over 850 hits, 175 homers, 700 walks, and a career obp of .422. barry bonds is the only modern player with a better obp than soto. i am not sure he will get to 3,000 hits because he walks so much, but he has a real shot at breaking rickey henderson's all-time walk record - that's for sure. my guess is that soto winds up a 400+ homer, 2,500+ hit guy and that is pretty good! the only players at that level who aren't in the hall of fame are the ones that have ped suspicions/issues to blame.

i've seen soto play in person only once - that was on mother's day in 2023 at dodger stadium - and he went 0 for 4. i definitely plan to get out to see him play again, and with him being so young, i hope there are many more opportunities to do so in the future.