Juan Soto's emphatic move in the batter's box following a pitch -- dubbed the "Soto Shuffle" -- has become a well-known part of the rising star's game. From stealing the spotlight in the World Series to being added to a video game, everyone is now keeping an eye out for it.
But, how did the routine move start? According to Soto, it wasn't something that he ever planned on doing, but rather the move stemmed from one moment in a Low-A game.
Soto at the time was still learning to be disciplined at the plate and lay off pitches out of the zone. So, when he laid off a particularly strong off-speed pitch that landed in the dirt, he couldn't help but get a little excited.
"One day they throw me a pitch down in the dirt and I just jump," Soto said on MLB Network's Intentional Talk. "How happy I was because it was a nasty curveball."
Teammates and opponents alike were rather confused with his reaction, but Soto was not trying to show up anyone. Instead, the young player was just proud of himself for improving at the plate.
"They were like, ‘What you doing kid?'" Soto said. "I was like, ‘I'm just happy to take these pitches, he's throwing one hundred up there. What do you mean?'"
From there, the "Soto Shuffle" was born. His way of celebrating his ability to tell a ball from the strike became an easy way for him to focus and control his tendencies in the box. It also doesn't hurt that it is rather intimidating.
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Still, sometimes the move doesn't always work. In a recent game against the New York Mets, Soto did the maneuver on what the thought was a ball, but it turned out to be a called third strike. If you ask him, however, he'll tell you that really wasn't the case.
The "Soto Shuffle" is never wrong when it comes to balls and strikes.
"I don't care, I know it was ball," Soto said. "Did you see the box? Ball. I did the shuffle on a ball."
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Juan Soto details the origin of the 'Soto Shuffle' originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
