In the Nationals’ first game of the season on April 6, Soto hit a walk-off single off of Will Smith of the Atlanta Braves for his first career walk-off hit. On April 20, Soto was put on the 10-Day IL for a left shoulder strain. Soto was one of four Nationals named to the All-Star team in 2021; his first invitation to the game. He made his debut appearance in the Home Run Derby, where he upset top-seeded Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani in double-overtime before losing in the semifinal to eventual winner Pete Alonso of the Mets.
In 2021, Soto batted .313/.465/.534 with 29 home runs, 95 RBIs, and 111 runs scored. He reinforced his reputation as the most disciplined hitter in baseball by swinging at an MLB-low 15.1% of pitches outside the strike zone, leading the next closest player, Max Muncy of the Los Angeles Dodgers, by 4.0 percentage points. Soto joined Ted Williams as the only players in MLB history to have led the major leagues in on base percentage multiple times by age 22. His total of 145 walks was the highest in a single season since Barry Bonds set the major league record with 232 in 2004. Soto’s former teammate Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies ranked second in the league with 100 walks, making Soto only the 6th player in the live ball era to have led his league in walks by a margin of 40 or more. He led the major leagues in walk percentage, at 22.2%, and intentional walks, with 23. He had the best walk/strikeout ratio in the majors, at 1.56. He swung at the lowest percentage of pitches of all major leaguers, at 35.0%.
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