It’s not even June and Mets fans have completely turned on Juan Soto
And just like that, the honeymoon is over. Juan Soto is 48 games into a 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets, and already the New York media machine is in overdrive, fans are turning on him, and WFAN callers are foaming at the mouth like it’s a rite of passage.
A few sluggish groundouts, a single that looked like a homer off the bat, and Soto’s now Public Enemy No. 1 in Queens.
24 hours after the Philadelphia Phillies leapfrogged the Mets into first place in the NL East (and took the best record in the National League with them), Juan Soto has turned into the scapegoat for — checks notes — admiring a shot he thought was gone and being friendly with Aaron Judge.
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Welcome to the Queens meat grinder, where winning baseball is never quite enough and everything turns into a referendum on your loyalty, your hustle, and your friendships.
Let’s rewind.
This little soap opera started when Soto made a very true and not remotely controversial statement: pitchers are coming at him differently without “the best hitter in baseball” hitting behind him.
Logical, right?
Apparently not in Mets LaLa Land. Never mind that Pete Alonso is literally having a monster season. The fans latched onto that quote like it was a betrayal.
Then came the Subway Series.
Juan Soto was seen laughing and chatting it up with Judge, Aaron Boone, and Jazz Chisholm before the game. You’d think he was handing out Yankees merch the way Mets fans reacted.
But what really broke the dam was Soto not sprinting out a grounder on Sunday Night Baseball, followed by the infamous Fenway almost homer Monday night. He admired it, thought it was gone, and it stayed in. Single. Cue outrage.
“Juan Slo-Mo,” screamed the New York Post back page. WFAN floated a rumor that he doesn’t even travel with the team (debunked almost immediately by Anthony DiComo and Jeff Passan). Barstool’s Frank the Tank basically declared the Soto era over. Carlos Mendoza is now “planning to speak” to Soto about hustle.
This is the same Juan Soto who’s hitting .303 with a .954 OPS.
This is how it goes in New York. The back pages and talk radio have to eat, and they’ll eat their own. Juan Soto is just the latest main course. The idea that a 25-year-old future Hall of Famer, 50 games into a FIFTEEN-year contract, is already a storyline for media drama is ridiculous—but it’s New York, baby.
Mets fans booed Jacob deGrom. They turned on Francisco Lindor halfway into year one. They’ve now reached that part of the cycle with Soto.
The reality? He’ll be fine. He’ll hit. He’ll win. But man, it’s hilarious watching this team and fanbase combust every time the barometric pressure drops.
The Phillies are back in first place. The Mets hate Juan Soto in mid-May. If the New York Knicks lose in the Eastern Conference Finals, we might as well hang the banners here in Philly. Summer is off to a great start already.
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