NEW YORK (AP) — Greeted by a rare standing jeer in his return to Yankee Stadium, Juan Soto stepped out of the batter's box, took off his helmet, tipped it to the crowd and touched it against his heart.
Joking around in the Mets dugout, teammates suggested the animated response.
“I just did it," Soto recalled after the game. "The guys loved it.”
After spurning the Steinbrenner family's fortune for the even more immense money of Mets owner Steve Cohen, Soto went 0 for 2 with three walks in a 6-2 Subway Series loss on Friday night, his first game back in the Bronx since last fall's World Series-ending loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
When Soto jogged to right field for the bottom of the first wearing bright orange wristbands, many of the Bleacher Creatures turned their backs on him. Some fans chanted “Overrated!”
After Soto caught Cody Bellinger’s inning-ending flyout in the eighth and tossed the ball in the seats, a fan threw it right back onto the field, prompting cheers.
“To be expected,” said Yankees starter Carlos Rodón, who walked Soto three times.
Soto made a weak three-hop throw home on Anthony Volpe’s 243-foot sacrifice fly in a four-run third, then scored after his second walk, on Brandon Nimmo’s single in the fourth.
Soto had laughed and smiled when the onslaught began. A 26-year-old four-time All-Star, Soto thought it was the worst booing he's been subjected to.
“You’ve got to embrace it,” Soto said. “At the end of the day, whatever they give you, it is what it is. You got to be a professional. You got to take it as a man. I was just enjoying the moment.”
Both teams lead their divisions after the first of six Subway Series matchups this season, the Yankees atop the AL East at 26-18 and the Mets first in the NL East at 28-17.
Yankees fans had wanted Soto to remain in their lineup, hitting second ahead of Aaron Judge. New York acquired Soto from San Diego in December 2023 and he helped them reach the World Series for the first time since 2009. Then he left the Bronx as a free agent after one season in pinstripes for a record $765 million, 15-year contract with the Mets, a team with two World Series titles to the Yankees’ 27.
Soto turned down a $760 million, 16-year offer from the Yankees, feeling more appreciated when Cohen included personal security for the outfielder and his family, free use of a luxury suite and up to four premium tickets.
Yankees fans had been waiting since December to let Soto hear their thoughts.
“It was loud,” said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, a former Yankees coach. “That’s what makes this place a unique place, too.. I thought they were very respectful.”
Soto hit an inning-ending groundout against Mark Leiter Jr. in the seventh and a game-ending flyout off Luke Weaver that stranded two runners. Cohen had left his second-row seat behind the plate by the seventh inning.
Hours earlier, Soto spoke with former teammates and manager Aaron Boone during batting practice. He said they were “showing the love.”
“It was a pretty great environment,” Boone said. “Certainly one of those nights where you can really feel the energy in the building.”
Mendoza had spoken to Soto about the return earlier this week.
“Embrace it,” the manager told him. “Try to enjoy it, every second of it, and just be yourself.”
Soto entered with a .255 batting average, eight homers, 20 RBIs and an .845 OPS in 43 games, down from a .313 average, nine homers, 34 RBIs and a .947 OPS through the same number of games last year.
He hit .288 with 41 homers, 109 RBIs and 129 walks last season, batting second in the order ahead of Judge in a 21st century version of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Soto hit a go-ahead homer in the AL Championship Series opener against Cleveland and a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the 10th inning that won the pennant against the Guardians in Game 5.
“Juan obviously was only here for a year, but what he was able to do and what he meant for the team last year was huge,” said pitcher Clay Holmes, who followed Soto from the Bronx to Queens. “He’s across town. There’s people that probably don’t like that.”
Soto received his first boos about 1 hour, 40 minutes before the first pitch, when he went to right field during batting practice, cap backward in the style of Ken Griffey Jr.
“They boo you because something happened,” Soto said. “I liked it a little bit.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Ronald Blum, The Associated Press
