The first round of the Subway Series is complete, but Mets outfielder Juan Soto is the last player on anyone’s minds. Well, save for maybe a handful of shitkickers on X/Twitter.
Soto continued his aggressively mediocre season in his return to the Bronx, where the boo-birds nested aplenty. The former Yankees rental went 1 for 10 in the series with two runs scored. He struck out three times and saw his batting average dip to .246.
What’s more, it was a fairly one-sided series. The Yankees outscored the Mets 16-7. We should also note that, across three games in the baseball matchbox that is Yankee Stadium, the Mets failed to hit a single home run.
The Bronx Bombers, by comparison, hit three. Two of them belonged to Cody Bellinger, including a grand slam in Sunday night’s 8-2 route. The man who, for all intents and purposes, took Soto’s spot in the lineup turned out the MVP of the series. Bellinger hit .583 with a pair of homers and seven RBI, and is also batting .315 this month.
And it all comes back to Soto. His wRC+ is a respectable 138, but his hitting .246 with eight home runs and 33 RBI makes it feel almost like empty calories. 14 years and over $700 million to go.
Look, I know we’ve made Soto take his fair share of abuse since his signing with the Mets. And believe me, I don’t want to dump on the guy. Anyone with any horse in the race immediately welcomed him with open arms or called him a sellout. Such is free agency, at least one fanbase winds up disappointed.
Except Soto didn’t just sign with the Mets. No, he signed with the Mets and then ran his mouth.
On more than one occasion, he said the Yankees would have been his first choice in fee agency if they’d simply matched the Mets’ offer. He called himself the best hitter in baseball in an interview with ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
And finally, for reasons no one quite understands yet, Soto kinda sorta took a shot at his new teammate Pete Alonso.
“I had the best hitter in baseball hitting behind me. Soto told The Post, discussing his struggles. I was getting more attacked and more pitches in the strike zone, less intentional walks and things like that. I was pitched differently last year.”
Alonso, though not Aaron Judge by any stretch, is batting .308 with nine homers and 33 RBI.
We’ll wrap up and keep it brief. You don’t get to make a big show of signing with a new team in free agency, say how your former team was actually your first choice all along, and then give idiot excuses when you’re not living up to the money. That’s not how it works. Not in New York, not anywhere.
And instead of bearing down, ignoring the boos and just playing ball, what did Juan Soto do? He walked to the plate for the first time on Friday night, tipped his helmet to the crowd, and then walked before stealing second.
1 for 10 in the series. Loser numbers and equally loser behavior for someone who won out and got the big money he so desired.
FOR FULL STORY ON STANDARD WEBSITE: Juan Soto the only loser as Yankees take Bronx leg of Subway Series | Elite Sports NY