Mets' Juan Soto is only 104 walks away from ridiculous MLB record

The New York Mets spent a fortune to sign Juan Soto away from the New York Yankees last offseason, and while it's only been one season, it's been a great addition for the Mets.

Soto is one of the best hitters in baseball, and after posting 38 stolen bases last season, he's continued to add to his game. But one phase of his game that's been present since the beginning is his uncanny ability to generate walks.

Soto, the 27-year-old Mets outfielder, is heading into 2026 with a 1,000-walk goal. As Sarah Langs of MLB.com outlined, Soto, who is 104 walks away from 1,000 for his career, can make some ridiculous MLB history if he reaches 1,000 walks this season.

Juan Soto can set ridiculous MLB history with 104 walk season

"Soto's 896 career walks are most in MLB history before turning 27, which he turned in October, and 28, which he will turn this October," Langs writes. "Soto needs 104 walks for 1,000. His fewest in a season in which he played at least 120 games was 108, in 2019."

Coming into the 2026 MLB season, Soto needs 104 walks to reach 1,000 for his MLB career. In his career, that total is very reachable, as he's done so every season since 2021, reaching at least 127 walks every year since then.

Getting to 104 walks in 2026 is very doable for Soto. But what makes this walk total and subsequent 1,000-walk career so ridiculous is that he would hold some wild MLB records.

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His current walk total of 896 is the most for a player before turning 28 years old. Soto accomplished that feat before turning 27 years old in October.

If he can reach 104 walks in 2026, which would put him at 1,000 walks in his career, he would break the record for the youngest player to reach that mark in MLB history.

The great Mickey Mantle holds the current record, as the Yankee great reached that total when he was 29 years old. Soto could reach that total before turning 28 years old.

Soto could not just reach 1,000 walks this season, an impressive feat on its own, but he could do so as the only player younger than 29 years old to reach that total, and he'd skip 28 entirely to set the record at 27 years old.

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