Juan Soto found the pants he was given for his Team Dominican Republic uniform last year were too tight.
So what a break for him that his idol not only was two lockers away, but had an extra pair of pants.
Which is how Soto learned that his hero, Robinson Cano, put his pants on one leg at a time — and also was generous. Cano said Soto wore his spare uniform pants during the four games the Dominican played in the World Baseball Classic.
And after the D.R. was eliminated, Soto had a request. Cano said the slugger not only wanted him to autograph the pants, but to jot all his accomplishments. So on the pant legs Cano wrote — among other items — World Series champion and Home Run Derby champion and eight-time All-Star.
“For me, it was one of the coolest moments because one of the best players in the game wanted my autograph,” Cano said by phone from his native Dominican. “A guy, I was one of his idols, but now I am such a big fan of his because I love to watch him play.”
In a press conference this week at Steinbrenner Field, Soto mentioned that Cano was his idol growing up. He said how important it was to him to play on that WBC team with Cano and how meaningful it was that Cano texted in December after he was traded from the Padres to the Yankees. Cano might have tarnished his reputation with two long suspensions for failing tests for banned substances. Nevertheless, among Dominican players, in particular, he generally remains greatly admired.
And so beginning after that press conference, I had been trying to connect with Cano to talk about the relationship. Because I knew it would be meaningful to Cano. The lineage of respect matters to him. After all, Cano grew up idolizing Bernie Williams. He wore his No. 51 for a few years in the minors as tribute. And it remains a cherished part of Cano’s career that in his first two major league seasons (2005-06), he got to play alongside Williams in his final two years. So that Soto is a Yankee now resonates with Cano, who played his first nine years with the team.
Cano first communicated with Soto after his breakout rookie season in 2018 and then played regularly against him as a Met in 2019-20 when Soto was a National before Cano’s year-long suspension in 2021.
Cano, even after being released by three teams last season, played winter ball for his hometown San Pedro de Marcoris team, Estrellas, and also became part of the ownership group for the Dubai-based professional Baseball United league, which played a few exhibitions in November with hopes of a league starting next winter. He has not officially announced his retirement, but at 41, the closest he is likely to get to the majors this year is a player who grew up trying to emulate his swing and was thrilled as a 14-year-old when his idol won the WBC MVP for the championship D.R. team.
He’s going to the best team,” Cano said. “That is the team you get everything you want. And all they want in New York is that you be ready to play and to play hard. … I think the fans will embrace him right away. At the end of the day, I think he will love to stay there [Soto is in his walk year]. I can see a guy like [Aaron] Judge working on him really good. From what I can see from the outside is a great bunch of guys who will embrace [Soto] right away and make him feel part of that family.”
