Juan Soto etches name alongside legends Barry Bonds & Jeff Bagwell after completing remarkable season milestone

New York Mets superstar Juan Soto etched his name in history after he hit a towering home run against the Texas Rangers in the seventh inning. This was Soto's 40th home run of the season, placing him in the same company as Barry Bonds and Jeff Bagwell in one statistical category.

With his solo shot on Saturday evening, Soto now has 40 home runs, 32 stolen bases and 118 walks. He joins Bonds and Bagwell as the only hitters in MLB to have 40+ home runs, 30+ stolen bases and 100+ walks in a single season.

Bonds and Bagwell achieved this statistical feat twice.

In 1996, while playing for the San Francisco Giants, Bonds hit 42 home runs, stole 40 bases and recorded 151 walks. The following season, Bonds hit 40 home runs, swiped 37 bags and drew 145 walks.

The same year, Bagwell also achieved the feat by hitting 43 home runs, along with 31 stolen bases and 127 walks. Two seasons later, in 1999, Bagwell did it again. This time, he hit 42 home runs, stole 30 bases and was walked 149 times.

Juan Soto becomes ninth hitter to slug 40+ HRs for two different teams

Juan Soto's 40th home run also made him only the ninth hitter in MLB to have hit 40+ home runs for at least two different teams. He joins Shohei Ohtani, Nelson Cruz, Jim Thome, Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., Rafael Palmeiro, Greg Vaughn and Andres Galarraga. Moreover, Soto, Cruz and Thome are the only ones to do so in their first season with different teams.

Soto's 40th home run made it 2-0 for the Mets in the seventh inning. But the long hit went in vain as the Mets' bullpen exploded yet again in late innings.

Texas scored its first run in the eighth inning when Joc Pederson hit a sac-fly against Tyler Rogers. Manager Carlos Mendoza brought in closer Edwin to put the lid on the game, but his move backfired. Rangers slugger Rowdy Tellez hit a game-tying double to tie the game 2-2.

Then, in the ninth inning, Diaz allowed another runner to reach home, as Wyatt Langford hit an RBI single. On the other hand, Rangers' Shawn Armstrong earned the save, handing Mets their ninth loss in the last 10 games.

Edited by Krutik Jain