Fastball

Former Yankees Star Alfonso Soriano Made History En Route to Latin Baseball Hall of Fame

The former New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals star was a vastly underrated player during his time in the big leagues.

Brady Farkas

New York Yankees designated hitter Alfonso Soriano (12) rounds the bases on his home run during the seventh inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Yankee Stadium. New York Yankees won 7-1.
New York Yankees designated hitter Alfonso Soriano (12) rounds the bases on his home run during the seventh inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Yankee Stadium. New York Yankees won 7-1. / Anthony Gruppuso-Imagn Images
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This past weekend, former major league star Alfonso Soriano was inducted into the Latin Baseball Hall of Fame in the Dominican Republic.

He went in alongside Felix Hernandez, Johan Santana, Andruw Jones and Alex Rodriguez.

Enrique Rojas of ESPN captured a photograph of the newest class:

The 48-year-old Soriano spent 16 years in the big leagues with the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs, becoming one of the more underrated players of the 21st Century.

He was a seven-time All-Star and a four-time Silver Slugger who hit 412 career home runs and drove in 1,159 runs. He hit 30 or more home runs in seven different seasons and also led the American League in stolen bases (41) back in 2022. He stole more than 40 bases in three different seasons and owned a .270 career average.

Soriano also made plenty of history in his big-league career, including this note from Eric Cross on social media:

Hitters with at least 240 HR and 240 SB in the 21st century.

Carlos Beltrán
Bobby Abreu
Ian Kinsler
Hanley Ramirez
Alfonso Soriano
José Ramírez #ForTheLand

And from Matthew Brownstein of the New York Times:

Players with the most seasons of 30+ doubles, 30+ homers & 25+ stolen bases in major league history:

Barry Bonds: 5X
AlfonsoSoriano: 4X
José Ramírez: 3X
Francisco Lindor: 3X (2018, 2023, 2024)

@Metsmerized #Mets

Soriano finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting (AL) back in 2001 as the Yankees won the World Series. He also received MVP votes in five different seasons, finishing as high as third in 2002.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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