August 2, 2022 will go down as arguably one of the more somber days in the short history of the Washington Nationals. It’s the day Juan Soto was traded to the San Diego Padres. On Friday, less than two weeks after being traded, Soto was back in Nationals Park as an opponent for the first time.
As Soto stepped in the batter’s box for the first time, he was greeted with a standing ovation from the appreciative Nationals fans. Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz stepped in front of home plate to give Soto his moment.
Soto tipped his helmet to the crowd and smiled to the crowd.
Prior to the start of the game, the Nationals played a video thanking Soto and Josh Bell, who was also traded to the Padres from the Nats. Afterwards, Soto had a message to the fans.
Nationals starter Cory Abbot got Juan Soto to fly out to left field in foul territory during his first at-bat. But Soto bounced back, going 2-for-6 with an RBI single, and a run scored. The Padres jumped out to a 8-0 lead before winning with a 10-5 score.
After the game, Soto spoke about his emotions during the standing ovation.
“You never realize it until you’re there,” Soto said, per Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports. “When I stepped to the plate and saw all my teammates and everybody’s clapping, it was a pretty cool moment.”
Soto admitted before the game, he cried when he learned he was traded. Friday appeared to be a different set of emotions. One in which the Nats fans got to celebrate Soto for nearly five astonishing seasons.
