Juan Soto Ready for Hostile Environment at Yankee Stadium

The Subway Series is always a momentous occasion, though it’s fair to say that this season’s iteration has an extra spark.

As the New York Mets descend upon Yankee Stadium for the first game of their weekend set against their crosstown rivals, they’ll do so knowing that the environment will be more hostile than usual due to the presence of Juan Soto.

The 26-year-old superstar, who spent the 2024 campaign with the Yankees after coming over in a trade from the San Diego Padres, slashed .288/.419/.569 with 41 home runs while batting in front of eventual AL MVP Aaron Judge. Soto also blasted an extra-innings homer in Game 5 of the ALCS vs. the Cleveland Guardians that sent the club to the World Series, where the Los Angeles Dodgers promptly disposed of them in five contests.

The Bronx Bombers were viewed as the favorites to sign Soto once he hit free agency this past offseason, though he instead opted to join the Mets on a 15-year, $765 million pact that could rise all the way up to $805 million should the organization void his potential opt out following the 2029 season.

Steve Cohen and David Stearns have both put in a ton of leg work over the last year or so to reverse any preconceived notions about the Mets and place them on an upward trajectory. The results have been rather staggering thus far, as they went 65-40 after June 1 last season and went on a run all the way to the NLCS. So far this campaign, the blue and orange sit atop the NL East with a 28-16 record after signing perhaps the highest-profile free agent in league history with Soto.

Yankees fans, understandably upset about losing one of the best players in the game, will certainly shower Soto with boos over the next few days. That won’t phase him, however, and he appears ready for whatever comes his way in his return to The Bronx.

“It’s going to be 50,000 against one,” Soto said in an interview with the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. “They’re going to try to get on me, you know. It’s part of it.

“Whatever they do, they have a right to do it. I’m just going to go out there and do my stuff.”

After a slow March and April by his standards, Soto has exploded for a 1.077 OPS over 56 plate appearances in May. On the season as a whole, he’s hit .255/.380/.465 with eight home runs and 20 RBIs. The fact that some have deemed those numbers as a disappointment is a testament to just how talented Soto is, and the Mets are lucky to have a player of his caliber in place for the foreseeable future.

Soto made it clear to Heyman that he has zero regrets about picking the Mets over the Yankees, and he believes his new club will remain competitive for a long time.

“No, no. I made a decision, and I’m happy that I made it,” Soto said. “You look around. We have an unbelievable team. And it’s going to be a good team for a long time.”

Clay Holmes, who was a member of the Yankees for parts of four seasons before signing with the Mets this past offseason, believes Soto will flip a switch this weekend in what’s shaping up to be a high-pressure environment.

“We’ll see how he’s treated,” Holmes said, via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. “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.”

Soto has proven himself capable of meeting the moment throughout his storied career up to this point, and it remains to be seen if he can do the same in a playoff-like atmosphere on the road against his former team.

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