NEW YORK — The news spread like a flash of lightning on the night of Dec. 8. The New York Mets and free agent outfielder Juan Soto had reached an agreement on a jaw-dropping 15-year, $765 million contract that would be the largest in professional sports history once signed. That’s larger than any deal global superstars such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or LeBron James have ever inked with any of their teams.

The Mets made the deal official three days later and introduced their new left-handed bat the next day at a packed news conference. They stressed to reporters their ambitious plan of building a dynasty and, equally important, earning the attention of fans in a city where their powerful neighbors, the New York Yankees, dominate the headlines.

At that point, Soto was just weeks removed from a World Series appearance with the Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers and two-way player Shohei Ohtani, whose 10-year, $700 million contract he had just topped in overall value.

Soto can opt out of his contract after the 2029 season, in which case the Mets can void the deal by increasing his annual salary in the final 10 seasons by $4 million — from $51 million to $55 million. That would take the total value to $805 million.

The road to the Dominican superstar’s record salary was not without its challenges, but much like his approach at the plate, he overcame them with patience, determination and a belief in himself. For Hispanic Heritage Month, the 26-year-old Soto, his parents and those closest to him sat down with ESPN to discuss their role in helping the slugger cash in at such a historic level.

“A lot of people can think that I didn’t work that hard, that everything came easy and fell from the sky, but behind all this there’s a lot of work and effort,” Soto told ESPN. “Lots of focus and sacrifices to be where I am today.”

Humble beginnings

Juan José Soto Pacheco is the son of Juan Soto Sr., a multisport athlete and aspiring pro ballplayer in his day, and Belkys Pacheco, who spent almost three decades as an officer with the Dominican National Police. Soto was born in Herrera, a string of poor industrial neighborhoods to the west of the Dominican capital, Santo Domingo.

Soto doesn’t remember the exact moment when his relationship with baseball began, but his dad insists it happened before Juan was born. The elder Soto himself tried to make it as a ballplayer, but when that didn’t happen he hoped for a son to carry on that dream. After the birth of daughter Natali, he received the opportunity he had been waiting for with his secondborn.

“When he was in the womb, I started talking to him about it,” Soto Sr. said. “God really listened and granted my plea, allowed me to teach that boy to be a pro. I always told him since he was little, ‘You’re going to be a ballplayer, a big leaguer.'”

Soto admits he would be lying if he said he remembered those conversations, since they happened when he was so young. What he does remember are bats, trips to ballparks and watching his father play softball.

“I remember a lot of good times that I had as a kid on a baseball field,” he said.

It wouldn’t be long before Soto starred on those fields. Like most Little Leaguers blessed with superior talent, Soto pulled double duty as a pitcher and outfielder. Though it’s unthinkable today, his coaches and family saw better opportunities for him as a pitcher as he approached 16, the age at which an international player is eligible to sign with MLB.

“That was the right goal for him because he loved to pitch,” said Rafael Zapata, the coach who molded Soto from Little League to the brink of his first professional contract.

Still, Zapata was well aware that players about to turn pro and who possess Soto’s level of talent would play anything and everything when given the chance away from their everyday surroundings, often with a bat in their hands.

“He liked to hit, but his role, his focus was pitching. Of course, I don’t like to just keep the stable kids in one position. I let them fly.”

A new approach

Around 2013, a year before Soto could sign, Zapata had an epiphany. He noticed during the young lefty’s limited at-bats that he wouldn’t swing at bad pitches. That discovery and the lack of quality left-handed hitters in the international market at that time prompted the coach to propose a radical change. He talked to all the parties involved, including Soto himself, about switching full-time to the outfield so he could capitalize as a hitter — a notion that didn’t sit well with the player.

The pitch was made to Soto’s dad and his other coaches. Zapata was willing to take on the experiment because he believed Soto’s bat was one day going to be a lucrative one. And once Soto saw the logic in that, he could have a big league career on his hands.

“He didn’t like the idea of making such an abrupt change, but he didn’t say anything because he was very disciplined,” Zapata said.

The coach then offered young Soto a piece of candy and told him he would still pitch every now and then, which seemed to smooth things over. Within the year, Soto completed the transition.

To optimize his preparation as well as his MLB opportunities, Soto enrolled in Santo Domingo’s Niche Baseball Academy.

“I liked his attitude,” said Christian Batista, who ran the academy. “He wasn’t a great ballplayer, wasn’t a runner or a thrower. And he had some weight to him. But he could hit. He took five swings and I decided to keep him.”

Batista accepted Soto into the program, initially considering him as someone who could sign for a bonus of up to $500,000. The skills were there, but his power had not yet developed.

Just two months later, Soto was able to change Batista’s perception of him.

“I told the other coaches, that kid is going to earn millions because he’s got a good head on his shoulders. He’s plenty intelligent,” Batista said. “Intelligent, and a hard worker. He’s been thinking like an adult since he was a boy. He would make adjustments at the plate at that age, which wasn’t very common. Only the great ones do that.”

Million-dollar bonus

The Washington Nationals signed Soto in July 2015 with a $1.5 million bonus. Dominican scout Johnny DiPuglia, who headed the Nationals’ Latin American operations, had an idea of Soto’s potential the first time he saw him as a position player.

“The first time I saw him, Juan was a pitcher,” DiPuglia said. “He knew how to pitch, he was competitive. But he didn’t have anything extraordinary. He wasn’t a big thing.”

DiPuglia, now with the Kansas City Royals, later attended a tryout after Soto had converted into a hitter.

“He was a talented left-handed bat, with knowledge of the strike zone and with a big power projection,” DiPuglia said. “Plus, he was a guy with a great work ethic. We had no doubt about giving him a million-dollar bonus.”

Upon receiving the bonus, Soto said his focus had never been financial, that he had never made any kind of move in his career based on money but rather for the love and appreciation he has for the game.

“I believe that’s what helped me a lot since the beginning of my career, to forget about the money, the problems,” Soto said. “Always focused on what I want, and that was reaching the big leagues.”

Soto needed only 122 games and 512 plate appearances in the minors, where he hit .362 with a .434 OBP, before being called up at just 19 years old in 2018. In his first at-bat with the Nationals, he hit a pinch-hit home run off Yankees reliever Chad Green in the sixth inning.

At the end of his first season, Soto finished second to the Atlanta Braves‘ Ronald Acuña for NL Rookie of the Year. In his second year, he led the Nationals to their only World Series title to date. He was in the running for MVP in each of his three subsequent seasons in Washington, finishing as the NL runner-up in 2021.

The ultimate bet

The Nationals made Soto two significant long-term offers. The first was for $350 million and the second for $440 million; the latter would have made him the highest-paid MLB player of all time.

In offering such a significant amount early in his tenure, Washington gambled on a strategy that has often worked with younger stars, particularly Latin American players from modest origins. Atlanta signed Acuña to an eight-year, $100 million prior to his second season that included two $17 million club options. In other words, the Braves valued Acuña’s first decade in the majors at $134 million without accounting for his successes or failures in that span.

Fernando Tatis Jr. signed with the San Diego Padres for 14 years and $340 million before he reached salary arbitration. Outfielder Jackson Chourio agreed to an eight-year, $82 million deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, including two club options, before he played in a major league game. That same year, the Baltimore Orioles signed Samuel Basallo for eight years and $67 million, plus a team option, just five days after his debut.

Bucking expectations, Soto rejected the Nationals’ overtures, staying firm on his intention to become a free agent after reaching six years of service time. The decision to forego that kind of security in favor of betting on himself surprised and even upset many in baseball.

“I have to watch myself, but those who know about baseball and know how difficult this business is know that you don’t say no to that kind of cash,” said Hall of Famer David Ortiz, who is close to the Soto family.

Soto acknowledged the pressure that comes with that decision, having the world at his feet now after coming from nothing.

“It’s very hard to say no,” Soto said. “But we left it all in God’s hands. We thought that was the best decision. We analyzed it up and down with my agent and made the best decision, left it there and continued on.”

Still, Soto found the volume of criticism over rejecting a $440 million contract surprising, especially coming from former players.

“Yes, it was astonishing what was happening at the moment because it was, ‘Boom!’ and the whole world was impressed,” Soto said. “But all I said, and still say, is that I’ve followed up on those opinions they’ve made, and time will tell who was right.”

Big payday on the way

Scott Boras, the super-agent responsible for some of MLB’s largest contracts, educated Soto and his family on what free agency entails. He advised Soto ahead of time about moves teams make that might keep him from capitalizing on free agent opportunities and on businesses that would offer guaranteed loans on his future earnings.

“I never thought about the future, what could happen in the future,” Soto said. “I was always thinking about the moment, in the now. Even more so when we won the World Series. I enjoyed that 100%, attended all the festivities, the White House, the parade, everything, just everything.

“I thought I would finish my career with Washington, but it all started to change as I approached salary arbitration.”

Soto’s father said the decision in and of itself wasn’t that difficult to make when considering all the factors.

“Because people see 440, but you have to see what’s behind it,” the elder Soto said. “As a family, we followed a script that was explained to us from early on. Whatever others saw in [his] worth, we were also seeing it.”

After exhausting their options to keep Soto, the Nationals traded him and first baseman Josh Bell in August 2022 to the Padres for Jarlin Susana, CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Robert Hassell III, Luke Voit and James Wood.

Just 16 months later, when the Padres themselves couldn’t convince Soto on a long-term extension before he reached free agency, they sent him and Trent Grisham to the Yankees for Jhony Brito, Kyle Higashioka, Michael King, Drew Thorpe and Randy Vasquez.

In his contract year, Soto surpassed 40 homers for the first time in his career, was third in AL MVP voting and, more importantly, helped the Yankees reach their first Series in 15 years. The combination of Soto and one of the most feared hitters in the league in Aaron Judge elevated the Yankees’ offense significantly.

History and family

When he finally became a free agent, the Yankees prioritized keeping Soto and offered him a record $760 million deal. However, Soto once more created shockwaves by accepting the rival Mets’ offer of $765 million.

Boras is no stranger to raising the bar for players. He negotiated baseball’s first $100 million contract (Kevin Brown in 1998), the first $200 million contract (Alex Rodriguez’s $252 million deal in 2000), Gerrit Cole‘s record $324 million for a pitcher and the $300 million deals of Bryce Harper and Corey Seager, among many others.

“Half the league wanted to participate in this,” Boras told CNBC’s “Power Lunch.” “So many teams were seeking this rare value because in the end, it was just good business to acquire it.”

Soto, the first player with an average yearly salary surpassing $50 million, said other factors aside from money ultimately drew him to accept the offer of Mets owners Steve and Alexandra Cohen, whose club drew 3 million fans to Citi Field for the first time since the stadium opened in 2009.

“The talent and the staying power we’re going to have,” Soto said. “That’s a tremendous team we have with the Mets; all the talent is young. I think that in a 15-year window, that’s going to have a big influence on what the organization is going to be. That was the biggest thing about the influence of the contract.”

The Mets remain in the wild-card hunt in Soto’s first season, holding the third and final spot with less than a week to go in the season despite a recent eight-game losing streak. The Dominican star is the first player in franchise history to have a season with 40 home runs, 20 stolen bases, 100 walks, 100 runs and 100 RBIs.

More than the money and the numbers, Soto said his family remains “1A” on his list because of the support they have shown no matter what he has decided.

“His strength is the human being that he is,” said Pacheco, his mother. “He’s always been like that. Prudent, respectful, measured. My sorrow, as a mother, is having him grow into an adult before his time.”

Soto understands that he is a role model for other kids from Latin America who need a boost to follow their dreams.

“Nothing is impossible; it can be done. It takes a lot, but it can be done,” he said. “Always hold out a little bit of hope for Latinos and Dominicans, it doesn’t matter where you’re from. If you commit to a goal and stick to it, things turns out well.”

ESPN editor Mauro Díaz adapted this story from the original Spanish-language version, which appears in ESPN Deportes.