New York – The Subway series always creates a buzz here, and the accumulation of this year’s Crossstown rivalry had a higher level of spices. The Yankees and the Mets are not only in the first place in their divisions, but the biggest villain of the Bronx, Juan Soto, made his first return trip to Yankee Stadium since he was drawn for queens.
Yankees fans have waited for this day in early December. When the time finally came, they packed the house with the largest crowd (47,700) of the year, and then let it listen to it. The guttural sounds that are supplied in the ear were the strongest that Soto had heard having been directed to him. Still, hey, he didn’t care.
“You have to hug him,” Soto said after the Mets lost, 6-2, against the Yankees on Friday night. “At the end of the day, whatever they give you, is what it is. You have to be professional. You have to take it as a man and I was just enjoying the moment.”
It is difficult to listen to the person sitting next to Yankee Stadium; Thus deafening is the music before the game in the Bronx. But the angry that rained in Soto when he went out to the field for stretching prior to the game exceeded only the Yankees sound system. The crowd married again and again, and again, and again, when his face appeared in the presentations of the Jumbotron alignment, and when he walked to the plate at the top of the first entrance.
Unfortunately, Soto is nothing if it is not prepared. The former Yankees slugger responded to the vicious Jeers taking off his helmet, touching his chest and saying “thank you” several times while using an ironic smile. Soto knew what he was doing when he chose the Mets about the Yankees in the free agency, a decision that was informed by the reception that would be recurrent in the Bronx for the rest of his career.
“We were joking in the shelter that I should do it, and I did,” Soto said on his hat. “The boys loved it.”
The METS manager, Carlos Mendoza, was proud of the way Soto handled as Public Enemy No. 1.
“It’s very stable,” said Mendoza. “He doesn’t get too high, it’s not Goow. I knew this was coming. Just like I touched it a couple of days ago, he embraces him. He tries to enjoy every second and be yourself. Hey Hey Tawt Hey Thame really good.
While it is possible that he has not enjoyed breaking the hearts of the Yankees fans, Soto seemed to enjoy his hatred towards him. He smiled every time he walked from the bench to the plate, as he was still serenade for the acrimony. The Yankees fans also came prepared, with a fan holding a sign that said “Boo this man!” Under an image of a Petulant -looking Soto in a Mets uniform, he hit the white paper. Another sign said: “22 It looks better in Ben Rice.”
When Soto ran to the right garden to take his position at the bottom of the first entrance, the section of the fans behind him, called the creatures of the stands, turned his back on him, not recognizing his presence equally. Perhaps the gesture was a metaphor for Soto turning his back on the Yankees when he chose to represent Queens. Moments later, “We have Grisham!” The songs exploded in the right garden, referring to the acquisition of the Yankees Trent Grisham gardener as part of Soto’s trade.
“I didn’t realize that,” Soto said when he was asked if he saw fans turn his back to him. “I was listening angry. I had no visual contact. I just included the angry.”
If the point of the crowd was to declare that the Yankees of the first place were fine without Soto, the Bronx bombers supported that conviction by forcing the starter of the Mets to Tylor Megill to get out of their excursion after 72 pitches in the third entry. The Yankees hit around the order and scored four races when Megill lost their command and allowed a maximum of five walks in the third.
Soto had the opportunity to limit the damage of his former team when the Yankees Campocorto, Anthony Full, hit a rapid right -right ball with two outs in the third. Soto Caht The ball, but did not make his best home release, and the two jumps for the dish was too slow to beat Cody Bellinger, who scored the third race of the entrance for the Yankees.
On the other hand on the plate, Soto was harmed by the noise. He launched a walk in each of his three appearances on the dish against the right of the Yankees, Carlos Rodon. The Mets entered Friday with the tenth offensive of maximum score in the major leagues, but did not do enough behind the free passes of Sotos to return to the rivals.
“He was loud,” said the Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, about the crowd. “That is what makes this place unique. I thought they were very respectful, and that is what you want. You can boo everything you want and all that, but as long as they are not crossing the line.”
About six months ago, Soto was treated as a king at the Bronx.
He hit 41 homers, a maximum of his career, before taking the Yankees to the World Series for the first time in 15 years. He formed one of the most mortal duos in the history of the major baseball leagues, hitting Aaron Judge. He was loved by the Yankees fans base, who bought the Sotos No. 22 shirt and appeared in units to see him play in stripes for a year. Everything I had to get the keys of the city was to stay.
But Soto not only left, he found a new home less than 10 miles away. The 26 -year -old signed a 15 -year contract and $ 765 million with the METS, the largest agreement in the history of professional sport. For Yankees fans who are accustomed to obtaining what they want, Sotos’s decision to play for a mets franchise known as “The Little Brother” for bombers was a personal crime. Then Boud, Boud and Boud.
Only in this way, the bat in Sot’s hand represented an opportunity to silence noise. The Mets, following the Yankees for four races, had runners in second and third with two outs in the ninth against the Yankees, Luke Weaver, when Soto reached the plate. A swing could cut its deficit to a race. A walk would load the bases for Pete Alonso, who would have represented the tie race.
But, in the second launch of the bat, Weaver made Soto fly to the shallow central field to deliver a Yankees victory. Just although the boo finally stopped, Soto was no longer smiling.
“It’s uncomfortable that we can get the victory,” Soto said. “I do not concentrate, at all, on fans. We have to focus on the game and be a professional, trying to win the game. Yes, we stinks that we lose the game. But we have two more to win the series.”
And two more games for Yankees fans to let Soto know how they feel. Maybe the next time the new Mets slugger allows your bat to speak.
Deesha thosar It covers the major leagues as a reporter and columnist of Fox Sports. Follow her in X in @DeShathosar.
Juan Soto
New York Mets
Major Leagues Baseball
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