Juan Soto: 'It's an honor' to be chosen as Topps Series 2 cover player

Juan Soto is in love with the New York Yankees. He has been with them only since Dec. 6, when he was traded by the San Diego Padres, but the fit has been incredible — like a hand in a perfectly tailored glove.

Soto's resurgence with the Yankees, after a tough season-plus in San Diego, has not gone unnoticed. Topps chose him to be the cover player for their 2024 Series 2 baseball cards, meaning he's not just on the box — he's on the wrapper of each individual card pack in the box, too.

“It was incredible, you know," Soto told Yahoo Sports about his selection as cover player. "It’s an honor, and the picture they have on it is a real exciting moment, I think just after a big hit with all the lights in the stadium on me."

Soto "can't wait" to see his cards in Series 2 and said he is excited to sign them — or any other Soto cards fans bring his way.

“I like signing the cards," he said. "They really mean something to the kids who are giving them to me. You can see it in their faces.”

While Soto undoubtedly has found some favorite places to eat and get a fresh cut since he moved to the city, he told Yahoo Sports that his current favorite place is Yankee Stadium, where the fans "have really embraced me."

Those fans are one of the reasons Soto adores his home field. He loves "how loud Yankee Stadium can get and how fans enjoy every single play in the game. They are on the whole game.”

And Soto is giving those fans plenty of reason to cheer for him. He's currently leading his teammates in pretty much every significant offensive category. He has the best batting average (.314), on-base percentage (.414) and OPS (.955) on the team. He has the most hits (50) and RBI (34), he's tied for second in home runs (9) with Aaron Judge, and he has just 24 strikeouts in 42 games.

Soto also leads the AL in OBP and RBI. His Yankees just took two of three in a weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays and sit a half-game back of the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East.

Soto's current personal goal is to hit a home run in every major-league park (he has four stadiums to go: T-Mobile Park, Angel Stadium, Guaranteed Rate Field and Globe Life Field ), but he knows on which side his bread is buttered. Hitting a home run in every MLB park would be nice, but they don't give you a trophy or a ring for doing that. No parade, either.

There's only one way to get those things, and Soto said that's what he's striving for: "For me, to win a championship with the Yankees and be part of their history."

That's the only thing Yankees fans — especially those who will soon be getting their hands on one of Soto's Series 2 Topps cards — need to hear.