New York Mets fans hoped Juan Soto would have a $765 million-type of series against the New York Yankees this past weekend. That did not happen, as the Mets lost two of three against their crosstown rivals.
While he drew several walks, Soto had only one hit across the three games, didn't look good in the field and, perhaps most alarmingly, did not hustle on an eighth-inning grounder in the series finale on Sunday night. His body language also looked off all weekend, all of which had some media members piling on Monday afternoon, especially one column in particular that claimed the Mets were already concerned that he was regretting his decision to come to Queens.
While frustrating, this should be considered much ado about nothing for Mets fans. Again, Soto did not just look bad at the plate this past weekend, but his body language looked bad. It appeared as if the chorus of boos and other chants coming from 40,000+ at Yankee Stadium got to him.
While Soto didn't look good, Mets fans shouldn't let the hit pieces that surfaced on Monday bother them.
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Mets have nothing to worry about with Juan Soto
The entire piece from NJ.com's Bob Klapisch, a writer known for stirring things up when nothing's really going on, was just a strange read. It felt as if he was voicing his opinion on things more than speaking objectively. Klapisch going as far as to say "the man is downright miserable" just because he believes he is miserable, and that "my hunch is that not only does Soto miss the Yankees, but the permanence of his decision is sinking in" is exactly what I mean. Most of this article is opinionated, which is fine, but not anything Mets fans should be putting stock into.
I mean, did Soto look miserable when he was right in the middle of a walk-off celebration less than one month ago?
As if Klapisch's article wasn't strange enough, Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay chimed in with his own view on the situation.
Why Soto actually chose the Mets is a decision only he knows, but this is a man who went out of his way to say that Yankees fans should boo Juan Soto and said his request for a suite "borders on piggish." Kay has had some truly wild things to say about Soto since he left his team for their crosstown rivals. Why should Mets fans believe anything he has to say about how Soto is feeling right now?
The two main reports that surfaced on Monday came from media members with Yankees connections. We did not hear a single thing from a single Mets beat writer or from a tier-one national columnist about Soto. Why is that? Might he not be quite as miserable as those with Yankees connections want him to be?
The cherry on top was Boomer Esiason of WFAN randomly saying that Soto was given a private jet to use to travel to away games as part of his contract with the Mets, a rumor that ESPN's Jeff Passan debunked rather quickly.
Was Soto's body language bad? Absolutely. Again, not hustling in the eighth inning of what was a tie game was a terrible look. At the end of the day, though, it's really hard to believe that he's as miserable as guys like Klapisch and Kay believe he is when not a single person not affiliated with the Yankees has suggested that. It's entirely possible, if not probable, that Soto underestimated what was coming his way and let his emotions boil over into his play. Until someone who actually has a connection to the Mets front office or Soto himself says that he's miserable, though, it's best for Mets fans to do their best to ignore.