Is Juan Soto the Modern Day Ted Williams?
Getting on base is what these two do!
It is no mystery that Ted Williams and Juan Soto are two of the most talented players ever to play the game of baseball. Quite often, these two draw comparisons to each other due to their ability to hit the ball and, most importantly, get on base! There is no question that Ted Williams is one of the best players of all time or that Juan Soto is one of the best players of the modern day, but are these two comparable?
Sure, they both get on base at an outstanding rate. They both put up incredible numbers from the batter's box and play the outfield. The issue is that they played in two different periods, and Ted Williams's career is long over while Juan Soto is in the middle of his prime. I think it would do Soto a disservice to compare him directly to Ted Williams because if you simply look at the counting statistics, this is a no-brainer. Williams > Soto.
Ted Williams Career Accolades
2x MVP (1946 & 1949)
12x Top 10 MVP Finish (1939, 1941, 1942, 1947, 1948, 1954-1958)
19x All-Star (1940-1942, 1946-1951, 1953-1960)
5x TSN ML PoY
6x Batting Titles
4x AL HR Leader
4x AL RBI Leader
2x Triple Crowns
Hall of Fame
Career Stats:
2292 G | 2654 H | 521 HR | 1839 RBI | 24 SB | .344 BA | .482 OBP (All-Time Record) | .634 SLG | 1.116 OPS | 121.9 WAR
Juan Soto Career Accolades
4x Top 10 MVP Finish (2019, 2020, 2021, 2023)
4x All-Star (2021 - 2024)
1x Batting Title (2020)
5x Silver Slugger (2020-2023)
World Series Champion
Career Stats:
936 G | 934 H | 201 HR | 592 RBI | 57 SB | .285 BA | .421 OBP | .532 SLG | .953 OPS | 36.4 WAR
Comparing their stats head-to-head is a dumb exercise. Dean brought up the idea of comparing their first seven years, and I liked that, so I will dive into that today. Unfortunately, Ted Williams's career was broken up by military service from 1943 to 1945, so we must look at 1939-1942 and 1946-1948.
Ted Williams' First 7 Years
.355 BA
222 HR
939 BB
6x All-Star
MVP 1x
62.6 WAR (Baseball Reference)
World War II Veteran
Juan Soto’s First 7 Years
.291 BA
201 HR
769 BB
2x All-Star
36.4 WAR (Baseball Reference)
World Series Champion
As you can see from the numbers, Williams has the advantage over Soto both in the career argument and the first seven years of their careers. Soto is a generational talent and a future Hall of Famer. The key word is “future”. Williams’ legacy is etched in stone, and he is considered one of the best players ever to play the game.
The one legacy-wise advantage Soto will always have over Williams is a World Series title. That accomplishment is team-oriented, so this isn't a deal breaker, but it is something. The moral of the story is that both Juan Soto and Ted Williams are incredible players of the game of baseball, but Ted Williams is just on a different level for most, even Juan Soto.
Juan Soto has batted over .300 for a season twice in his career. Ted Williams accomplished this feat in seven of his first seven seasons. In fact, Ted Williams only batted below .300 once in his career (1959, his second to last season).
I am not saying that there aren’t differences between the game that Williams played and the game that Soto is playing, as that would be ignorant. Soto is playing in a time with bigger and better athletes, faster pitching, advanced technology and research, better medicine, and rehabilitation—the list can go on and on.
I have found that Williams's overall stats are just so absurd that you cannot deny how he stood out against his peers compared to the way Soto ranks amongst those in the modern game. Both in the career and first seven seasons argument, Williams triumphs over Soto in every way you look at it besides a title.
Conclusion: Williams > Soto