Before Juan Soto became a household name, he was an international free agent. He signed with the Washington Nationals in July 2015 and made his professional debut in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League in 2016.
In 2018, he started his year in Low-A, arriving in Hagerstown, Maryland. Here, he was greeted by his new host family, the Campbells. Head of the family, Brian, introduced himself, and the rest was history.
Soto only stayed with the Campbells for three weeks before moving up to High-A. However, those three weeks still stick with him to this day.
“Every time we came back from a game, we had our table for playing cards, video games, karaoke. I was really surprised by everything they had. And every night, it didn’t matter whether we were tired, we would always go back down to the basement and try to have fun,” said Soto.
Juan Soto remembers just how much fun he had during his short stay with the family. The family made their home a fun atmosphere, and many of Soto’s teammates came over to join in on the fun.
“They always had fun with us. We played cards. We talked. We sang. Every day we found something different to do. That’s what made it special” he added.
The Campbell family did their best to make Soto feel welcomed. While they did not have much experience being a host family prior to Soto, they were able to great at what they did.
Juan Soto still keeps in touch with the Campbell family
Juan Soto was more than dedicated to his craft. When playing cards or a board game with the Campbell family, he often whipped out a resistance band to stretch out his muscles.
That dedication was a reason he had moved so quickly through the minor leagues to the majors. When he made his debut with the Washington Nationals in 2018, Brian became a season ticket holder.
Brian would sometimes pick Soto up from the ballpark in Washington. However, when he played for the San Diego Padres, he would still keep in touch with the family.
During a game in Washington, Soto noticed his former Hagerstown teammate, Telmito Agustin, in the stands. Soto tried to get Brian’s attention to tell him, and did so by writing it down on a baseball and flipping it to him.
Soto often leaves the family guest passes to come and watch batting practice. There is no denying that this family left their mark on one of the richest players in all of MLB.
