ANAHEIM, Calif. -- While the Angels are getting ready to play game three of a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday night, today marks a milestone that not every Major League Baseball player comes across.
As Jorge Soler will step onto home plate tonight batting leadoff, he will have officially reached 10 years of service time in his MLB career.
"It's been 10 years full of sacrifices. Ups and downs, and it means a lot to me." Soler said.
Hitting the 10 year mark is a big deal for players, as it means they will be guaranteed a full pension once they decide to retire.
According to the MLB Players Association, fewer than 10% of players have played for a decade or more.
"My family and I, we're happy. I don't care if I don't celebrate, but the goal is there."
Soler's career has had a lot of great moments. From being crowned the American League home run leader in 2019 with the Kansas City Royals to being a part of a Chicago Cubs team that won the World Series in 2016 for the first time since 1908. He was also the recipient of a World Series MVP trophy in 2021 with the Atlanta Braves.
While Soler is in his first season with the Angels, this is the second time the two have crossed paths, as Angels manager Ron Washington was the third base coach of the Braves in 2021.
Soler thanks Washington for everything he has done to help him on his journey and says he feels like he's family.
"It's an outstanding milestone," Washington said. "You usually don't get to hang around baseball that long in this generation."
While the Angels offense has been rather quiet as of late, Soler has not shown signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Being 33 years old, Soler has a batting average of .262 with a .783 OPS and four home runs on the season.