New York Yankees fans on Friday quite literally turned their backs on their team’s former superstar, Juan Soto.
Soto returned to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y., for the first time since signing his record-setting contract with the cross-town New York Mets. Friday marked Soto’s first Subway Series contest wearing a Mets uniform.
Yankees fans showered Soto with boos all game long, starting their serenade as soon as the Dominican-born outfielder began warming up in right field. Yankee Stadium’s die-hard “Bleacher Creatures” section all stood up just so they could turn their backs on Soto. There wasn’t a single Soto jersey in sight.
Juan Soto runs onto the field with the entire bleacher creature section turned around pic.twitter.com/tSq3G0EGiX
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 16, 2025
The chorus of boos reached a crescendo as Soto came up to bat for the very first time. The 26-year-old smiled in the face of hostility, exchanged pleasantries with his former teammate, catcher Austin Wells, and even tipped his helmet toward the fans.
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
Soto walked in his first plate appearance, eventually tying his career high with three walks in the contest. He went 0-for-2 in two at-bats with a run scored during the Mets’ 6-2 loss to the Yankees.
The boos were hardly unexpected for Soto. Asked earlier in the week about potentially getting heckled by Yankees fans, Soto claimed he didn’t mind one bit.
Once the lights were on at Yankee Stadium, Soto seemed to confidently shake off the vitriol Yankees fans sent his way. But only the man himself knows how he’s feeling about his franchise-altering move during the offseason.
Last month, Soto caused a Mets-Yankees stir with his comments about Aaron Judge. Some felt like Juan’s comments hinted at him feeling some buyer’s remorse about moving across town.
