When Juan Soto signed a 15-year contract with the New York Mets worth $765 million last December, he cemented himself as the richest man in the history of professional baseball and tabbed New York as a “Mets town.”
“It’s been a Mets town for a long time. I think we just gotta bring it to the top,” Soto said at his introductory press conference. “Championships are gonna tell you if it’s a Yankees or a Mets town at the end of the day.”
The four-time All-Star and former World Series champion seemingly was leaving his one-year Yankees tenure that led to a trip to the World Series behind him without looking back.
But this week, Soto reportedly made comments that contradicted that statement from several months prior, claiming that he “misses” the Yankees and that his time in the Bronx were a “great learning experience” per SNY’s Andy Martino on “Baseball Night in NY.”
The report drew mixed reactions from both Mets and Yankees fans.
“Too late to comeback, better get use to it Juan,” one fan responded on X.
“His fault for just caring about money,” another said.
“He wanted the money and perks. Even saluting the folks in RF. He wanted out of Judge’s shadow,” a third user posted.
Soto had expressed his feelings toward Yankees fans right after signing with the Mets.
“I want to say thank you to them… they really show me all the love… they really have a spot in my heart… It’s hard… to leave all the love that they gave me,” Soto said.
New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Soto’s remarks about who owns New York elicited angry reactions from pinstriped fans in the first place, however.
Rich Eisen, host of “The Rich Eisen Show” and lifelong Yankees fan, voiced his displeasure with Soto’s claims following the signing.
“This one got me,” Eisen said. “Juan Soto ‘It’s been a Mets town for a long time’. What is he talking about? Juan, I’ve been around New York City for 55 years. He’s been around for the proverbial New York minute. Dude, get out of here. Get out of here with that noise. It is just like here in Los Angeles. Clipper town? Get out of here. It’s a Mets town? Yeah, in your head. He just lived the Yankee life for a year.”
