2 weeks ago
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ESPN News Services
May 16, 2025, 10:41 PM ET
NEW YORK -- Fans roseate to their feet for Juan Soto's Yankee Stadium instrumentality successful a uncommon lasting jeer, and helium responded by taking disconnected his helmet, tipping it to the assemblage and touching it against his heart.
Having turned down a $760 million, 16-year connection from the Yankees for a grounds $765 million, 15-year declaration with the Mets, Soto was the halfway of attraction backmost successful the Bronx, wearing agleam orangish wristbands that could beryllium spotted from the farthest seats.
"I talked to him a mates of days agone and he's ready. He knows what's coming," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said earlier Friday night's 6-2 Subway Series nonaccomplishment to the Yankees. "He's conscionable got to bask it, clasp it and beryllium himself."
Soto had a quiescent nighttime successful his return. He walked successful his archetypal 3 sheet appearances, scoring connected Brandon Nimmo's azygous successful the fourth, grounded retired successful the seventh and deed a game-ending flyout with 2 on. He made a anemic three-hop propulsion location connected Anthony Volpe's 243-foot sacrifice fly.
When Soto jogged to close tract for the bottommost of the first, galore of the Bleacher Creatures turned their backs connected him. When helium caught Cody Bellinger's inning-ending flyout successful the eighth and tossed the shot successful the seats, a instrumentality threw it close backmost onto the field, prompting cheers.
With the Mets trailing badly, proprietor Steve Cohen near his second-row spot by the seventh inning.
Yankees fans had wanted Soto to stay successful their lineup, hitting 2nd up of Aaron Judge. New York acquired Soto from San Diego successful December 2023 and helium helped them scope the World Series for the archetypal clip since 2009.
Both teams pb their divisions going into the archetypal of six Subway Series matchups this season, the Yankees atop the AL East astatine 26-18 and the Mets archetypal successful the NL East astatine 28-17.
"This twelvemonth is unsocial evidently due to the fact that of each the quality and storylines astir Juan the past mates of years, truthful you recognize that ratchets up the strength of it," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
Soto entered with a .255 batting average, 8 homers, 20 RBIs and an .845 OPS successful 43 games, down from a .313 average, 9 homers, 34 RBIs and a .947 OPS done the aforesaid fig of games past year.
He deed .288 with 41 homers, 109 RBIs and 129 walks past year, batting 2nd successful the bid up of Judge successful a 21st period mentation of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Soto deed a go-ahead homer successful the AL Championship Series opener against Cleveland and a tiebreaking, three-run homer successful the 10th inning that won the pennant against the Guardians successful Game 5.
"Juan evidently was lone present for a year, but what helium was capable to bash and what helium meant for the squad past twelvemonth was huge," said pitcher Clay Holmes, who followed Soto from the Bronx to Queens. "He's crossed town. There's radical that astir apt don't similar that."
Soto received his archetypal boos astir 1 hour, 40 minutes earlier, erstwhile helium went to close tract during batting practice, headdress backward successful the benignant of Ken Griffey Jr.
"I had a beauteous bully spot backmost successful 2022 erstwhile Houston came implicit present and I felt similar the louder the boos got, those guys raised their game," said Mendoza, a manager for Boone from 2018-23. "Somebody's capable to grip it, it's Juan Soto."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
