It’s almost too perfect to believe, right? The mighty New York Yankees, looking to navigate the vagaries of October and end their recent wave of playoff anxiety, are making a mega-trade to acquire baseball’s best young offensive player. Juan Soto.

The implication, of course, is, “Take us to the World Series, Juan.” You are the missing piece.” But it all worked – Soto turned out to be the missing piece. The perfect hitter helped an imperfect team become American League champions for the first time since 2009.

Soto delivered the biggest hit in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series, the one that eliminated a very strong Guardians team. In the top of the 10th inning, Soto hit a three-run home run, a hit that propelled the Yankees to a 5–2 victory over Cleveland. The Yanks won the series four games to one.

It could be Soto’s signature moment. But he’s so good that it probably won’t be his signature moment in a few years when his career is over. Whatever the case and whatever happens in this World Series, Soto has etched himself deeply into Yankee lore. Maybe his homer wasn’t the sudden, runaway dagger of Aaron Boone‘s explosion in 2003 that killed the Red Sox or that one Chris Chambliss hit in 1976 to beat the Royals, but it did the same thing.

“Just such an ability to seize the moment,” Boone said of Soto in the interview room after the game in Cleveland. “Every big moment he was in the middle of, he delivered for us over and over again.

“In the biggest moments, that’s what he does and it shouldn’t be taken for granted.”

So now Soto, his wrecking crew partner, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, who won the ALCS MVP after hitting four home runs in the series, and the rest of the Yankees are headed to the Fall Classic against the Mets or the Dodgers.

This is why the Yankees brought Soto here, and it’s also what everyone else in pinstripes wants. But at several points during the summer it seemed so unlikely that they would still be playing in the cold of October. After a dismal 82-80 season last year, the Yankees roared to a 50-22 start in the 2024 regular season but faltered after that.

And swam some more.

Yes, there were days when they seemed unstoppable. But there were too many others who looked ordinary, as if they were preparing to become another team’s October patsy. Again. Many of their own fans doubted their chances of doing any damage after the season.

Here they are though. They defeated the Royals in the AL Division Series in four games and then eliminated the Guardians in five games. They didn’t have to face their foes, the Astros, who weren’t playing well enough to meet them on the road. Oh well. That’s a demon to maybe exorcise for another season.

During the Yanks’ sometimes difficult season, Soto was one of the few constants. He never stopped hitting and showed the baseball world why the Yankees sent five players to the Padres in exchange for just one guaranteed season from Soto. This. It’s hard to imagine what the atmosphere around the Yankees would have been like if they hadn’t even gotten this far. It’s only been 15 years since they won the award, though the calendars consulted by Yankee fans consider that time an excruciating glacial period in which minutes turn into hours.

That, plus the future uncertainty swirling around Soto, is why they needed to make it to the World Series now. Soto is a free agent who will spark epic winter intrigue, reverberating from The Bronx to Queens and beyond. That’s a story for a colder day, but honestly, every team should try to sign a talent like him.

For now, he’s a huge part of a World Series team, one that’s positioned to accomplish all of their goals, especially if he has more at-bats like the one he unleashed in the 10th inning on Saturday night.

Soto put on a masterclass in the batter’s box against Cleveland’s reliever Hunter Gaddis. Soto walked around and nodded between pitches. He seemed to enjoy the battle with Gaddis, one of the top players in what had been the best bullpen in baseball all season.

Soto and Gaddis matched guile and wit for seven pitches, and Soto fouled the last four pitches before the at-bat ended with his swing. When Gaddis came to power, Soto emulated him. He hit a 90.2-mph fastball — the only fastball Gaddis threw him — 400 feet. According to Statcast, he hit the ball at a speed of almost 180 km per hour.

Not long after, the match was sealed. Soto, perhaps fittingly, caught the final one in right field. The Yankees are heading to their 41st Fall Classic and aiming for their 28th World Series title. That’s why Soto is here.

Game 1 is Friday. Friday is Juan Soto’s 26th birthday. Good omens, anyone?