NY Mets coach has somehow helped Juan Soto add another weapon to his repertoire

At first glance, Juan Soto stealing bases for the New York Mets feels about as likely as Po becoming a kung fu master. In Kung Fu Panda, the roly-poly underdog wasn’t exactly built for stealth and fighting techniques, but with the right teacher, he found a way to succeed on his terms. Soto’s no different; he ranks in the bottom 26% of MLB in sprint speed, yet he’s already set a career high with 13 stolen bases this season and has been caught only once.

The secret scroll behind this transformation? Antoan Richardson. The Mets’ first base coach has turned base stealing into a team-wide art form, and Soto might be his most surprising student. Like Master Shifu tailoring his methods to fit Po’s strengths, Richardson has helped Soto learn when to strike, how to read pitchers, and how to weaponize instincts over raw speed—the result: a superstar adding a new chapter to his skill set.

Antoan Richardson’s coaching has helped Juan Soto add a new weapon, boosting the Mets’ base-stealing success this season.

Back in May, Peter Sblendorio of the New York Daily News highlighted Juan Soto’s surprising early success stealing bases—a feat many didn’t expect from a player not built for speed. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza praised the work Soto and first base coach Antoan Richardson have been putting in to add this skill to Soto’s repertoire. Even Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo mentioned Richardson’s impact following the July 23 game against the Angels, emphasizing how the coach’s influence is turning the team into one of the sharpest base-stealing units in baseball.

What’s been key to Soto’s unexpected success? He can get excellent jumps on pitchers. Soto ranks eighth in all of MLB for distance away from first base at pitch release—an impressive 30.1 feet. When you can’t rely on blazing sprint speed, mastering timing and anticipation is the next best weapon, and Soto has sharpened that edge under Richardson’s watchful eye.

The results speak for themselves. The New York Mets lead the league with an 89 percent stolen base success rate, successfully swiping 81 bases out of 91 attempts. While 81 stolen bases put the Mets 11th overall in volume, it’s the precision and timing that separate them from the pack. Soto’s career-high 13 steals this season, including a recent swipe on July 22, highlight how he’s contributing to that efficiency, and with 59 games still left to play, he’s poised to shatter that mark.

Looking at the bigger picture, his baserunning run value, a stat that blends stolen bases and extra bases taken to quantify a player’s overall basepath contribution, is in the top third of MLB this year. That’s a huge jump from last season, when he ranked in the bottom 10 percent while with the Yankees. Under Richardson’s guidance with the Mets, Soto isn’t just running bases; he’s evolving into a smarter, more impactful threat on the basepaths.

Soto’s steal game proves you don’t need blazing speed to be the fiercest. With Antoan Richardson as his sensei, the New York Mets have unleashed a new kind of base-running kung fu, quiet, calculated, and deadly effective. Sometimes the best moves are the ones no one sees coming, and Soto’s rewriting the playbook on how smarts and timing can outmatch pure speed.