NEW YORK — If Game 2 of the Subway Series on Saturday afternoon was any indication, Yankees fans won’t stop booing Juan Soto when he returns to Yankee Stadium any time soon.
This is his new norm whenever he steps foot in the Bronx.
The Mets’ superstar outfielder has been bombarded with boos, one-fingured gestures and so much more this weekend, a therapeutic reception from those who bleed pinstripes after Soto’s big-money defection across town in free agency.
There’s no doubt it’ll continue Sunday as these crosstown rivals wrap up the first half of the 2025 Subway Series with a rubber match on the national stage.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked Sunday afternoon if he thinks Soto will be on the receiving end of this type of treatment … forever.
“Yeah,” Boone said. “I mean, it probably could be. It’s New York. To some degree, probably.”
It’s not like this is a new concept.
Take the Astros and the big-name players from the teams involved in the sign-stealing scandal.
Whenever Jose Altuve, George Springer and more return to Yankee Stadium, Yankees fans let them hear it. Sure, it‘s calmed down over the years, but the “F— Altuve” chants haven’t gone away. You’ll still hear them every once in a while, even when the Astros aren’t in town. It’s a testament to how these fans can hold a grudge and they don’t forget.
That doesn’t come as a surprise for those in the Yankees clubhouse either. Several players have commented on the atmosphere this weekend and how Soto has been treated. They expected this, as did the players and personnel in the Mets’ dugout and the fans who planned out how they were going to turn their backs on Soto when he took the field.
From what Yankees fans have been saying this weekend, it certainly doesn’t sound like they’ll be letting go.
Soto has handled it all in stride. He waved his cap to say thank you as he was showered with boos and profane chants during his first at-bat in the series opener on Friday night. So even if this continues indefinitely — amplified in the biggest moments — then he’s shown it won’t faze him.
“You’ve got to embrace it,” Soto said on Friday. “At the end of the day, whatever they give you, it is what it is. You got to be a professional. You got to take it as a man. I was just enjoying the moment.”
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Max Goodman may be reached at [email protected].