New York Yankees broadcaster and ESPN talk show host Michael Kay was not happy when New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto said things are "different" in Queens than they were in the Bronx when he had the best hitter in baseball, Aaron Judge, hitting behind him.
“You could have spent the next seven years of your career with Aaron Judge hitting behind you,” Kay said on ESPN Radio. “You chose to ignore that. Now, if I’m a Met fan, not only does that bother me that you seem like you have this wanderlust for a guy that you left, but it’s also kind of a backhanded slap at Pete Alonso.”
Kay was right with this — to an extent. Should Soto have been as honest as he was? Probably not. Was Soto wrong with what he said, though? Absolutely not. Pete Alonso, as great as he is, is not Aaron Judge. Nobody is Aaron Judge. Not having Judge behind him will obviously make things different.
“My advice to Juan would be pipe down,” Kay said. “Walk this back. Everybody knows that Judge is great, but you left him. ... “Bad look. That’s all I can say from an impartial observer. Bad look. Cause everything that you want, you had everything. And you left a perfect situation for you because you got seduced by a shiny new toy.”
Kay went on and on questioning Soto's loyalty to Judge and his new Mets team. Well, ever since Kay started talking, Soto has started to show why the Mets gave him that record-setting contract.
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Juan Soto is starting to show why the Mets gave him the money they did
In Soto's last 19 games, dating back to April 18, just a couple of days after Kay's rant, he's performed like the superstar he's always been. His .300 average in that span is 16 points higher than his career mark of .284. His .950 OPS is two points higher than his career mark of .948. This is the player that the Mets expected.
Did it take longer than Mets fans might've liked for Soto to find it? Sure, but as Soto said, he was getting pitched to differently. He was not seeing nearly as many pitches to hit as he did hitting in front of Judge.
Now that he knows how he's going to be pitched, the results have started coming. I mean, this swing certainly looked like the Juan Soto of old to me.
Soto might not have Judge behind him anymore, but he appears to be just fine. He's on a team that currently has the second-best record in the majors right now, and his numbers are perking up. If Kay is who woke Soto up, Mets fans can only say thank you.