It’s that time again for the New York classic known as the Subway Series. Only this time, the table is set for one of the most contentious regular-season matches between the two age-old foes. On Friday, the New York Mets will be rolling into the bastion of the crosstown New York Yankees while both teams hold the top spot in their respective eastern divisions. But it isn’t the standings that will be front and center in the tale of the tape; there is a much larger shadow that will be cast over the city.
After a fantastic year with the Yankees, that being his only year with the Yankees, Soto will be shuffling back into the Bronx for the first time since being minted a Met for the next 15 years. The bidding war in his free agency was long and hard fought; but in the end, the bottomless pockets of Steve Cohen won out and pried the off-season’s top free agent away from the Yankees, bringing him to their hated rivals. So, with his Yankee homecoming on deck, how are Yankee fans going to react?
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Will Yankees fans boo Juan Soto?
Will Soto’s arrival spark a wave of bittersweet tears and rounds of applause followed by subsequent cheers every time he shuffles while hitting? Will Yankee fans be indifferent, upset with his new Mets’ tenure but respecting his decision that has made him rich beyond all imagination? Or will they utterly hate his guts and not be shy about making their distaste for him and his perceived betrayal known? I think we already have the answer.
In an April game against the visiting D-Backs, chants broke out around Yankee Stadium that were seemingly aimed at Soto and made use of a particular expletive we won’t repeat. No one really knows why the flood of obscenities started, Soto wasn’t even there. But if this says anything about the feelings Soto left in the Bronx, it likely means Yankee fans were only warming up; a mere rehearsal before the choir is ready to welcome their one-year wonder back to Yankee Stadium.
It seems like a foregone conclusion that there will be booing – and then some. Yankee fans have always been up-front and honest about their feelings with provocative adversaries (like Josh Naylor) and struggling Yankees (like Devin Williams), even booing Aaron Judge last season. Despite helping the team reach the World Series for the first time in over a decade just last October, Soto will be no exception.