WATCH: Juan Soto playfully salutes booing Yankees fans in his first visit to the Bronx since joining Mets
The Mets opened a three-game series at Yankee Stadium on Friday with a loss
Friday night, Juan Soto returned to Yankee Stadium for the first time as a member of the Mets. Soto left the Yankees, who he helped reach the World Series last year, for the Mets and a record $765 million free-agent contract this past offseason. The Yankees, nevertheless, won the first game of the 2025 Subway Series by a 6-2 final (box score).
How would Soto be received by the Yankee Stadium crowd? Listen for yourself:
Juan Soto tips his helmet to the Yankee Stadium crowd ahead of his first time up. #RivalryWeekend pic.twitter.com/IXTHzInzC2
— MLB (@MLB) May 16, 2025
No love lost, I would say. Soto, after acknowledging the crowd, would work a 3-0 count against Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón before eventually drawing a five-pitch walk. Overall, Soto would go 0 for 2 with three walks, a stolen base, and a run scored. He made the final out of the evening.
When it was time to play in right field, some of the fans in the bleachers turned their backs on Soto:
Juan Soto goes out to right field for the first time tonight.
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 16, 2025
Some of the bleacher creatures turned their backs to him as he took the field. pic.twitter.com/1NxxofO1na
Soto had an incredible season for the Yankees last year, and was a significant contributor during their postseason run, but he rejected their $760 million offer and signed elsewhere, and that's not going to earn you cheers. Not when you were a one-year Yankee rather than someone who spent years with the team, I suppose.
"It's going to be 50,000 against 1. They're going to try to get on me, you know. It's part of it," Soto said about his return to Yankee Stadium earlier this week. "Whatever they do, they have a right to do it ... It's going to be good. We're going to have a good time."
Soto, 26, entered the Subway Series with a .255/.380/.465 batting line and eight home runs. That is career best production for most players but it represents a down year for Soto, who hit .288/.419/.569 with 41 home runs with the Yankees last season. That earned him a third-place finish in the AL MVP voting.
The Yankees pivoted to Max Fried, Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, and others soon after Soto signed with the Mets. Fried, who will start Sunday's Subway Series finale, has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year. Goldschmidt is having a resurgent season as well.
Both the Mets and Yankees were in first place as the Subway Series began. The Mets are now 28-17 and the Yankees are 26-18.
