Juan Soto was everything the Yankees could have asked for and more.

A jaw-dropping platform year in which he helped lead the Bombers back to the World Series for the first time in 15 years sets the stage for a gripping offseason. Given Shohei Ohtani was only ever going to sign with the Dodgers, Soto might be the most sought-after free agent in history, which makes this a particularly nervy winter for Yankees fans. They’ve made their position known from the day he signed, the question is whether that unwavering public desire will hold any weight in his decision.

Yankees fans don’t often get it right. In fact, they frequently get it quite wrong. Quick is the fanbase to turn on a new player if they don’t produce in short order, and often in vicious ways. Joey Gallo avoided leaving his apartment because of the fans who would wait outside and boo. Gary Sánchez’s weight and Gleyber Torres’ defensive miscues have drawn the fans’ ire, a certain subset questioning the pair’s mentality and motivation with thinly-veiled racial overtones. Some saw fit to boo captain Aaron Judge when he was slow to get out of the gate in April. Most egregiously, a pair of morons grabbed Mookie Betts after he caught a ball at the sidewall in Game 4 of the World Series.

However, there was one arena in which Yankees fans got it right this season and that was the constant love and affection they showered upon Soto in every game. It’s almost like they collectively understood the assignment when the trade was made to bring him to the Bronx last winter. It would always be a dogfight to secure his signature in a year’s time, but if they made it clear how much they wanted him to stay, maybe just maybe those memories would sway his hand.

For his part, Soto was also unwavering in his response to the constant affection from the fans, and genuinely seemed to enjoy interacting with those behind him in right. He would respond to roll call with an air hug. He would make a heart symbol to the bleacher creatures after hitting a home run. He often looked genuinely surprised that he could hear the chants of support at away games. He also expressed how much it meant to have the turnout of Dominican fans and what it would mean to represent that community in the City.

That the Yankees made their first appearance in the Fall Classic in a decade-and-a-half the year they acquired Soto reinforces why they must keep him in pinstripes for life if we are to take ownership’s stated goal of competing for titles at face value. There is no player in the foreseeable future who helps them return more than him, and we saw the fans’ support of the right fielder reach a climax in the playoffs. The loudest “Re-sign Soto” chants during the ALCS celebrations came the moment owner Hal Steinbrenner lifted the AL trophy.

Of course, none of this means anything if the Yankees are not willing to compete at the top of the market. Recent speculation has Soto’s potential contract breaching the $600 million mark. He has spoken in the past about how it’s important to him that he sets the market for future generations so you can be sure he will not be offering the Yankees nor any team a discount.

There’s also the issue of signing for a winner. The first thing agent Scott Boras mentioned when discussing his client’s future is that Soto’s priority is playing for a team that competes to win every single year. That means an organization not only committed to investing every year but also engendering winning ways.

Soto already turned down a a 15-year, $440 million extension offer from the Nationals in 2022, despite saying he would have been happy to remain a Nat his entire career. When the Yankees played Washington and Soto got to play in front of his old fans, he acknowledged that they would always hold a special place in his heart. On one hand, it shows that Soto’s relationship with the fanbase is important to him, but on the other, it will only go so far in influencing decisions about his future. Yankees fans often earn the bad name they get, but when it came to their unyielding support of Juan Soto, this is one thing they finally got right.