San Diego Padres fans are still bitter about the way the Juan Soto era ended after a season and a half of service.
With the New York Yankees in town this weekend, and Soto now wearing pinstripes, Padres fans wanted to let their feelings about the superstar be known.
After receiving applause from the Petco Park crowd following his first strikeout at bat, Soto was booed when he was introduced for his second plate appearance during the Yankees’ 8-0 victory on Friday.
To no one’s surprise, the man hitting .315 was unaffected by the crowd’s displeasure and proceeded to send Yu Darvish’s second pitch 423 feet.
“I wasn’t expecting applause or boos, but they did both,” Soto said. Who could be a free agent? in winter. “I was right in the middle. That was great. Alright. “I don’t care at all.”
Soto started a difficult inning for Darvish. After his home run, Aaron Judge hit his 16th home run of the season. Two batters later, Giancarlo Stanton sent his 13th of the year out of yard to make the score 6-0 Yankees.
The game was Soto’s first in San Diego since a Dec. 7 trade that sent him to New York. He’s off to a bright start for the AL East-leading Yankees, with 14 home runs and 43 RBIs.
“It’s a little hard for me because they were there every day for me.” Soto said via The Athletic before Friday’s game. “And I did the best I could. I played hard every day. But I didn’t play the best I could. That’s one of the things I was a little sad about, because I couldn’t really show them how great I can be. But it is what it is. It really feels good to have the opportunity to give my 100 percent. But I don’t know how they will react. It’s baseball, it’s crazy. I hope for anything tonight.”
In 214 games with the Padres over parts of two seasons, Soto hit 41 home runs and drove in 125 runs with a .265 average. He helped the team reach the 2022 National League Championship Series, where they fell to the Philadelphia Phillies, but then finished third in the NL West last season and missed the playoffs.
“To me, it’s just baseball,” Soto said. “I think I had a great time in San Diego. We had a great group in 2023. I think it’s baseball. At the end of the day, even if you have the best team on paper, you have to go out and try to win games. But things happen. We didn’t have luck on our side in 2023. We had some games where we couldn’t do anything. But it is what it is. Now it’s a thing of the past.”
Soto’s future is still in doubt as he is expected to earn a huge contract and his current contract expires after this season. The Yankees have made it known that they want him to stay, but money will talk and it will be up to Hal Steinbrenner to decide if Soto’s desired dollar amount and term match what the club has in mind.