Juan Soto's romance with New York continues with autographs during live play

Is there anything more romantic than baseball? In New York? Juan Soto seems to have fallen in love with New York, the Yankees and their fans.

In December, the San Diego Padres traded Soto and Trent Grisham San Diego Padres to the New York Yankees for catcher Kyle Higashioka and pitchers Michael King, Randy Vásquez, Jhony Brito, and Drew Thorpe. Soto is in his final year of arbitration and agreed to a one-year deal with the Yanks for $31.5 million.

Soto will be a free agent after this season, and the Yankees hope the love affair between him and his fans will grow enough to make it certain he will sign long-term with them.

How deep is Soto's love affair with Yankees' fans?

The young outfielder's love for the fans might be so deep, he gets in trouble with manager Aaron Boone.

Your eyes are not deceiving you. Soto is walking around the right field when he catches the eye of a fan who wants an autograph. While there was no action taking place, the fan threw Soto the ball and a Sharpie. Soto signed the ball for the fan and tossed it back to him. The fan had a big smile on his face, and Soto quickly got set to make a play. Thankfully, there wasn't a hit!

Boone likely wants to avoid seeing his star outfielder always doing this for fans. It would be better not to do this when in the middle of a game. But everything worked out, with the fan getting a prized autograph from one of the league's star players.

It does show that Soto loves playing in front of adoring fans in the right field section of Yankees Stadium. Hopefully, this is a love affair for Soto and Yankees fans for years to come.

Statistically speaking, Soto also makes the case for a long-term relationship with the Yanks. He is slashing .348/.456/.522 with an OPS of .978. Through 12 games, Soto has hit two doubles and two home runs, with seven runs scored and 11 RBIs. He's also walked ten times and stolen one base. Again, that's through 12 games.

Soto and Yankees fans are in for a fun summer if they keep up their current pace.