Photo: えすぱにぃ / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
I have such a soft spot for the slugger-who-finds-his-second-act-in-Japan story, and Neftalí Soto is exactly that for me. He's a big Puerto Rican first baseman, all 185 cm of him, who got his cup of coffee with the Cincinnati Reds but never quite locked down an everyday MLB job. Then he crossed the Pacific and just mashed for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, leading the Central League with 41 home runs in 2018 and 43 in 2019. I love that. There's something so satisfying about a guy whose raw power finally gets a full canvas, and Soto delivered the kind of loud, scoreboard-rattling home runs that make a ballpark gasp. To me he's the quiet pro who let the bat do all the talking, and honestly it talked plenty.
Overview
Neftalí O. Soto (born February 28, 1989) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball first baseman for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and in NPB for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. He led the Central League with 41 home runs in the 2018 season, and with 43 in the 2019 season.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Neftali Soto
- Name (Japanese)
- ネフタリ・ソト
- Reading
- ねふたり・そと
- Born
- February 28, 1989 (age 37)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Pisces / Snake
- Origin
- Manatí, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 185 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- baseball player
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Baseball player — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.