When you play in New York, elevated media scrutiny comes with the territory. That's especially true for Juan Soto, who's still less than a third of the way into his first season after signing the richest contract in baseball history.
With their win over the Red Sox on Wednesday night, the Mets are now 30-20 and in fine shape considering that through 50 games last year they were eight games under .500. Still, it's a far cry from their red-hot start to the season, as they're still losers of five of their last seven and have fallen behind the Phillies for first place in the NL East.
The Mets' recent struggles as a team have fans and experts concerned, but they're especially worried about the play and demeanor of Soto, their new $765 million man. The All-Star outfielder hasn't been himself since trading Yankee pinstripes for Metropolitan blue and orange. That's been true in more ways than one, as his average and power numbers are down, but worse than that is his effort, which has really come under fire in the last week after he failed to hustle down the line on multiple grounders.
There's no excuse for not busting it out of the box, and fans and media have been right to criticize Soto for not giving 100 percent. That criticism has been exacerbated by his postgame comments earlier this week in which he said, "I think I've been hustling pretty hard."
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said on Monday that he would be meeting with Soto to address his effort level, but according to MLB.com's Mets beat writer Anthony DiComo, Mendoza wouldn't even confirm on Tuesday if he and Soto had spoken at all. Mets fans didn't even get the chance to see if their new superstar was in a hustling mood on Wednesday, because he struck out three times (twice looking) in the first six innings against Garrett Crochet and finished the game with a sac fly and a walk in his other two plate appearances.
On Tuesday, Mendoza seemed to pivot on what looked like it was going to be a disciplinarian tone with Soto, saying instead, "He’s human. He’s 26, man. He’s going to be fine. He’s Juan Soto.”
It's way too early to panic about Juan Soto
There's certainly a segment of fans that will continue to loudly proclaim that since he's making so much money, Soto should be giving 100 percent effort every play. It's true that it's unacceptable for any player, let alone one so highly paid, to be dogging it at any time, but the fans and media would do well to take Mendoza's words to heart.
Too often we as fans forget that athletes are human beings, and we treat them as a means to an end for our own vicarious happiness. Let's zoom out for a second with Soto and think about his current circumstances. He has to be feeling enormous pressure because of the contract he signed. That's not an excuse that will hold any water a year from now, but we should cut him some slack right now as he tries to make a good first impression in Flushing.
Let's also think about what Soto just had to deal with in making his return to the Bronx, where instead of being a conquering hero he's now public enemy number one. Yankees fans treated him harshly, which is certainly their right, even if it feels a bit overboard considering Soto only spent one year there after being traded from the Padres in the offseason. Nevertheless, he spent all weekend being booed and taunted, and it clearly had an affect on him.
Will he get over that in time? Sure, but for now, score one for Yankees fans for rattling him as they took the first Subway Series of the year two games to one.
Mendoza doesn't seem to be worried about Soto or his club, and neither does owner Steve Cohen.
Cohen is great because he always keeps a level head. The last time he tweeted was back when the Mets were destroying everyone in late April, and even then he said, "There will be mean reversion at some point but there is something special happening at Citifield." At a time when so many sports owners are far too reactionary, Cohen's calm practicality trickles down through the rest of the organization.
Mets fans can also look to team leader Francisco Lindor if they want to feel better about Soto's play. Lindor has always gotten off to a slow start (this year has been the lone exception), but by the end of the season, his numbers have always put him in the MVP conversation. A slow start doesn't equal a bad season. Hitters as good as Soto don't go into 162-game slumps.
There's also ample evidence that Soto has been getting unlucky this year. As of Wednesday, he was fourth in the majors in batted balls with an exit velocity of over 100 mph, trailing only Shohei Ohtani, Yandy Diaz and Corbin Carroll.
Soto needs to give a bit more effort on his grounders, but there's no reason to panic about his performance. Only alarmist fans or media members looking for clicks are suggesting otherwise. The Mets as a team have been dreadful with runners in scoring position, but once one guy gets going, the rest of the team will follow. Even so, they're still 10 games over .500.
In a 162-game baseball season, there are going to be ebbs and flows, both for a team and for individual players. The Mets started hot and have come back to earth. They're still in great shape. Soto hasn't played like the MVP candidate that Mets fans thought they were getting, but he'll be fine, too. A couple weeks from now this will all be forgotten.