This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo’s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
NEW YORK — Asked this week if he’s eager to play in his first Subway Series as a member of the Mets, Juan Soto did not hesitate to answer in the affirmative.
What is he most excited about?
“The crowd,” Soto said.
That’s good news, considering Soto is near certain to endure a hailstorm of negative energy in the Bronx after leaving the Yankees for the Mets on a record $765 million deal. Although the early reviews of his performance with his new club have been good-not-great, few doubt Soto’s ability to round into MVP-caliber form before long.
A three-game Subway Series at Yankee Stadium would be just the place to do it.
“We’ll see how he’s treated,” said Mets starter Clay Holmes, who will also be returning to Yankee Stadium for the first time since leaving through free agency. “His focus is going to be on putting up good at-bats. He’s always able to lock it in in those big moments. So it will be fun to watch him.”
Perhaps the Subway Series will offer both Soto and Yankees fans a sense of closure. Since Soto spurned the Yankees for the Mets last December, he hasn’t quite been able to escape the shadow of his former team.
First there were Soto’s comments during his introductory press conference, when he said he hadn’t spoken to any of his ex-teammates since the World Series. (Soto has since heaped plenty of praise on Aaron Judge and Co., but some fans in the Bronx bristled at the idea of him ghosting the Yankees.)
There were pejorative Soto chants during a Yankees game in April that didn’t even involve him, then there were Soto’s observations to The New York Post about pitchers treating him differently without Judge behind him — words that seemed innocent enough on the surface but that nonetheless sparked their own 24-hour news cycle.
Apparently, this is what happens when one of the most talented players of a generation leaves one rival for another on the largest contract in professional sports history.
Yet the man at the center of it is the one who seems least emotional about the whole thing.
“He’s going to go in there with good memories,” said another Yankee-turned-Met, manager Carlos Mendoza. “He had a really good year with them, went to the World Series with them. It will be exciting.”
Soto aside, this year’s Subway Series, part of Rivalry Weekend presented by Booking.com, carries additional weight for the simple fact that both teams rank among baseball’s best. Both are in first place (with some cushion) in their respective divisions. Both are coming off strong playoff runs. Both expect to last deep into October yet again.
Soto, who’s batting .255 with eight home runs and an .845 OPS through his first 43 games as a Met, should be at the center of any such run his team is able to make. But first he must face the music this weekend at Yankee Stadium — and those around him don’t think he’ll have any trouble handling it.
“I think he just is the same guy regardless of what the moment is,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “He’s very consistent in his preparation. He enjoys the moment. He also doesn’t make more of it than it is, and he understands he’s got to keep himself focused and centered. And I think he does a very good job of that.”
