Alfonso Soriano

Alfonso Soriano was a Dominican baseball star who began his professional career in Hiroshima with the Toyo Carp as part of the NPBL.

He was signed as an international free agent in 1998 with the New York Yankees, though because of his age (22 at the time), he was required to sign a minor-league contract. He won MVP in the All-Star Futures Game in 1999, and made his MLB debut at the tail-end of the same season. 

Soriano established himself as the Yankees' primary second baseman in the 2001 season, though he did win a ring with the team in 2000. After finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting, Soriano had the best season of his career in '02, leading the American League in plate appearances (741), at-bats (696), runs (128), hits (209), and steals (41). He finished third in AL MVP voting that season, and also began a streak of seven consecutive All-Star campaigns. He fell just one home run shy of the 40-40 club, though he would later make his way into that hallowed circle, in 2006 with the Washington Nationals.

The Yankees traded Soriano after the conclusion of the 2003 season to the Texas Rangers, who would trade him after two seasons to the Nationals, who converted him into an outfielder. An established star with prodigious power and blazing speed, Soriano signed a then-Cubs record eight-year, $136 million deal with Chicago after a 2006 season in which the team finished last in the National League with a 66-96 record. At the time, it was the fifth-biggest deal in baseball history, behind just Alex Rodriguez ($252 million for 10 years), Derek Jeter ($189 million for 10 years), Manny Ramirez ($160 million for eight years) and Todd Helton ($141.5 million for 11 years).

In the first two years of the contract, Soriano more or less lived up to his deal. He was initially asked to play center field by manager Lou Piniella, though he moved to left field after struggling with injuries. He won National League Player of the Month in June of 2007, helping the Cubs erase an eight-game deficit to the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. He suffered a torn quadricep in early August, missing most of the month, though he would return with a vengeance. He proceeded to have the most productive September in the franchise's history, hitting fourteen home runs, twenty-seven runs batted in, and recorded a .320 batting average in 29 games. The Cubs won the division, though they were swept in the NLDS by the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks.

In 2008, Soriano was an All-Star yet again, though he had to miss the festivities due to a broken finger in his left hand. He hit 29 home runs and posted an .876 OPS in just 109 games played. The team won the division again with a 97-64 record, though they were swept in the NLDS for a second straight year, this time by the Dodgers.

That would, unfortunately, be the last great season for Soriano on the North Side. From 2009 to his eventual trade back to the Yankees at the 2013 trade deadline, he was worth just 2.0 WAR. His defense continued to decline to the point where he was nearly unplayable in the outfield, and he went from being an annual 30-30 threat to huge strikeout totals and a waning batting average. Still, his OPS never dipped below .700 during his entire contract with the Cubs, and from 2001-13, his OPS never finished below .726. Soriano retired after a difficult, -1.2 WAR 2014 season with the Yankees.

Soriano is one of only 58 major league players to hit 400 or more career home runs, and was seventh among active players in home runs at the time of his retirement. He is one of just six players in the 40-40 club, and was the most recent member prior to Ronald Acuna Jr. (2023) and Shohei Ohtani (2024).