When Juan Soto opted to leave the Yankees and sign a massive 15-year contract with the crosstown rival Mets, he knew those visits to Yankee Stadium were not going to be pleasant.
But in his first series back at Yankee Stadium, though, Soto may have underestimated the hostility he’d receive, and that reportedly weighed on the Mets star. All weekend, Soto heard the taunts and expletive-laden chants. And he didn’t necessarily silence the crowd with his play either — going just 1 for 10 in the series with three walks.
It got to a point that by Sunday, Soto had no interest in doing an agreed-upon in-game interview with ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. According to a report from NJ.com, Soto simply was tired of being asked about Aaron Judge and the move to the Mets.
Via NJ.com:
He’d agreed to be (mid’d) up by ESPN in the second inning but changed his mind minutes before the game. Soto told Mets officials he was tired of answering questions about Yankees captain Aaron Judge and sick of explaining why he chose the Mets.
It was a telling reversal. Most major leaguers jump at the chance for the easy Q&A on a national broadcast. They’re designed to make the players look good. The fact that Soto blew off the network was only the first sign of his darkening state of mind.
ESPN did ultimately get Brandon Nimmo to do the in-game interview in Soto’s place. But you just know ESPN would have loved to have Soto for that broadcast, considering he was the biggest story around the weekend’s series.
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