One tryout. Three superstar hitters. Guess who stole the show?
Back in 2014 in the Dominican Republic, a trio of future All-Stars put their talents to the test. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. — none of them more than 16 years old — all shared the field at the Nationals’ academy on a day none will soon forget.
With Soto and Tatis stationed in the outfield, tasked with shagging stray baseballs, Guerrero took batting practice for 30 minutes. He delivered a performance for the ages.
“He was hitting balls 500 feet, all over the field,” Soto recently recalled. “We don’t even need shagging. We’re just watching balls go out on the field, boom, boom, boom, and we’re like, ‘What is going on?’”
Unfortunately for Soto and Tatis — outstanding hitters in their own right — they were upstaged. After just a couple of swings each, their tryout was over.
“‘You guys can go,’” the pair was told. “‘Let’s talk to Vladdy.’”
The Nationals, of course, didn’t end up landing Guerrero, who inked a deal with the Blue Jays at the start of the summer 2015 international signing period. But all’s well that ends well: On the same day — July 2 — Washington signed Soto, who helped lead the club to a World Series championship in 2019.
But still, more than 10 years after that star-studded tryout, Soto can’t help but remember what he saw from his Dominican countryman.
“Vladdy was putting on a show every day,” Soto said.
