Juan Soto names Red Sox Hall of Famer and Yankees World Series champion as childhood favorites (Source: Getty)Juan Soto names Red Sox Hall of Famer and Yankees World Series champion as childhood favorites (Source: Getty)

Just days after singing Juan Soto to a historic $765 million contract, the New York Mets released a video of the superstar answering some rapid fire questions on social media.

Titled “Get To Know Juan Soto,” the short video features the Dominican outfielder answering questions about his life, career and lifestyle. When asked to name his favorite baseball player growing up, Soto chose two Dominican legends:

“Growing up, it was Manny Ramirez and Robinson Canoe.”

Manny Ramirez and Robinson Canoe are Dominican legends who played in the MLB during the 1990s and 2000s.

Ramirez was an outfielder who played for the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers during his peak years. He’s best remembered as a Red Sox Hall of Famer after helping them to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007.

Canoe, meanwhile, started his major league career in 2005 with the New York Yankees. He was a part of the star-studded Yankees roster that lifted the World Series title in 2009. While he went on to play for the New York Mets, he also won the World Baseball Classic with the Dominican national team, getting named MVP of the tournament.

It’s natural that Soto looked up to both players, as they were legends of the game while he was growing up. Now in the peak of his career himself, the Dominican will look to have a similar legacy like his legendary compatriots.

Comedian Chris Rock lands controversial joke about Juan Soto and the Mets in SNL monologue

Popular comedian Chris Rock, on Saturday Night Live, delivered a controversial joke during his opening monologue. Referring to Juan Soto’s $765 million contract with the New York Mets, Rock said:

“A lot less immigrants would come to America if you stopped paying them $700 million to play baseball. Steve Cohen bought one Dominican for $700 million, used to be able to get a whole bushel for that much.”

Chris Rock’s joke was met with criticism for two reasons, for touching on complicated social issues like immigration and capitalism, and second for reinforcing old stereotypes about Latin American players in the MLB.