Yankees fans resort to their very worst tendencies and burn Juan Soto jerseys

If there's one thing we know about New York Yankees fans, it's that they don't handle adversity particularly well. You can't really blame them; their team has missed the playoffs just five times in this millennium, and hasn't finished with a losing record in over 30 years. But with all that success comes a certain ... let's say "entitlement".

Losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series? Cheer on an injury to Shohei Ohtani. Mookie Betts about to catch a fly ball down the right-field line? Go ahead, nearly tear his hand off. So when word broke late Sunday night that Juan Soto was leaving the Bronx behind to sign a massive 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets, no one expected Yankees fans to handle it well. Even by their standards, though, this was a bit pathetic.

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Yankees fans burn Juan Soto jerseys after outfielder signs with Mets

To be fair, you can understand why fans would be upset. They spent the entire 2024 season showing Soto plenty of love, starting from his very first roll call at Yankee Stadium. And it felt like the feeling was very much mutual, with Soto extolling the franchise's virtues whenever he could. To then turn around and go to the crosstown rival, turning down a healthy offer from the Yankees in the process, hurts, as does what it means for the Bronx Bombers (and their standing in New York City) moving forward.

But no matter how upset you are, burning a player's jersey is never, ever going to be a good look.

Grieve Soto's departure however you want. Rally around Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Start fantasizing about offseason acquisitions like Max Fried or Cody Bellinger. Remind the Mets that they still haven't won a World Series since the 1980s.

This, though, is not helping Yankees fans beat the allegations. Soto gave his all to New York during his one season in the Bronx, almost singlehandledly willing them to their first World Series appearance since 2009. And the simple fact is that Mets owner Steve Cohen was willing to go above and beyond his counterpart Hal Steinbrenner. It would be one thing if Soto spat in the Yankees' face on his way out the door, but this is just a business decision, a player maximizing his value while he can and still setting himself up to compete for championships for years to come.

And Yankees fans responded to that in the most disrespectful way imaginable. The next time a star balks at putting on the pinstripes, you can't pretend to be confused as to why.