Unsurprisingly, New York Yankee fans cascaded New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto with boos when he returned to Yankee Stadium on Friday night.
The jeers didn’t seem to bother Soto, who left the Yankees for their crosstown rival this offseason. He tipped his cap to Yankee fans when he walked to the plate.
Aside from the boos, Soto’s first at-bat wasn’t notable. Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon walked him on five pitches. However, he stole second base when Rodon wasn’t concentrating on him.
Soto played for the Yankees for one season, helping the team make the 2024 World Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games. Although he left this offseason, Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge still seems to have a deep respect for Soto.
“It’s definitely personal for the fans and they can have their opinion and we’ll keep it at that because Soto is a good friend of mine,” Judge told Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media in a story published Thursday. “We built a great relationship when he was here, so I’m always wishing him nothing but the best. I think Soto made that decision for what he thought was best for him and his family, so nobody can really say anything about that besides him.”
Soto signed a record-breaking 15-year, $765M deal with the Mets in December. According to Forbes, Soto is the seventh-highest-paid athlete in the world.
So, what are a couple of boos to the outfielder? He’s laughing all the way to the bank.
