If there's anything we've learned about Juan Soto over the course of his already-remarkable MLB career, it's that he really, really thrives on being challenged. Some players wilt in the big moments, when the lights are brighest and the crowds loudest and most hostile; Soto, however, just seems to dig in his heels and get even better. Case in point: Game 5 of the 2024 ALCS, in which the outfielder silenced Progressive Field with a three-run homer in extras to send the New York Yankees to the World Series.
Boy, this party really died. pic.twitter.com/uaMkxJHtQN
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 20, 2024
You'd think that, having seen it up close and personal for a full season, Yankees fans would know better than to try to get under Soto's skin now that he's a member of the New York Mets. But no fan base holds a grudge quite like Yankees fans, and one fan in particular had to learn that lesson the hard way at spring training.
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Juan Soto immediately puts heckler in his place with spring training homer
The fan in question thought it would be a good idea to stand beyond the right-field fence during New York's game against the St. Louis Cardinals this week and start heckling Soto from afar. "Overpaid," "overrated," you name it — he hurled everything you can think of at the outfielder, no doubt trying to shame him for his perceived betrayal.
Perhaps this fan thought that the distance would protect him. He's hundreds of feet away from home plate, after all; surely Soto couldn't hear him, let alone do anything to retaliate, right? Very, very wrong.
This some funny sheeeet! Soto is a generational hitter. #LGM pic.twitter.com/q1nQT7PoWr
— LFGM (@TheAmazins) March 11, 2025
Not only did Soto go yard for his third homer of the spring, but he managed to go yard directly at the fan in question. Hey, that's one way to silence the haters. And it also makes us even more excited for Soto's first trip back to the Bronx this season, scheduled for Friday, May 16.