Thanks to a truly unique series of events, Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto homered Monday in a game that will go down as having been played before he had made his major league debut.
The Nationals restarted a game against the New York Yankees that had been started and suspended on May 15, tied at 3. The Nationals were able to use their current roster to finish the game, which meant Soto, who was called up on May 20, was able to play.
Play he did. He hit a two-run home run to put the Nationals ahead, prompting some serious confusion.
Juan Soto just hit a two-run, go-ahead homer to give the #Nats a 5-3 lead in the 6th inning of a game that officially will have taken place on May 15 … even though he made his official MLB debut on May 20.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) June 18, 2018
Fear not, though. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Soto’s big league debut will not be backdated, though it will undoubtedly throw off an entire future generation of baseball historians.
After talking it over with @EliasSports…even if he plays in the suspended game tonight, Juan Soto's Major League debut will still be May 20, 2018, with an * denoting that he subsequently played in a suspended game that started before his official debut.
— Kyle Brostowitz (@KyleBrostowitz) June 18, 2018
Soto has done some incredible things since his call-up. Transcending space-time and hitting a home run in a game that happened before he played in the big leagues is just the latest example.
