A current Juan Soto interview has reignited controversy after he mirrored on how a lot simpler it was to hit when Aaron Choose was behind him within the New York Yankees lineup.
Whereas the comment might have been extra analytical than emotional, it did not take lengthy for followers to take offense, particularly with Soto now donning a Mets uniform.
“It is positively completely different,” Soto instructed the New York Put up. “I had the perfect hitter in baseball hitting behind me, was getting extra attacked and extra pitches within the strike zone, fewer intentional walks, and issues like that. I used to be pitched in another way final 12 months.”
Soto‘s statement, rooted in his statistical actuality, is legitimate. As of mid-April 2025, he is drawn simply two intentional walks in 18 video games with the Mets-matching his whole from 157 video games with the Yankees in 2024.
Michael Kay calls Soto out
Nonetheless, context issues, and Yankees announcer Michael Kay wasn’t shopping for the innocence of Soto‘s feedback. On his KayRod podcast, he ripped into the outfielder, suggesting the remarks have been pointless and disrespectful to Mets slugger Pete Alonso.
“I’m questioning why you’ll even say this. The place is the stress coming from, Juan?” Kay requested. “Now, if I am a Mets fan, not solely does it hassle me that you appear to be you might have this wanderlust for a man that you just left, nevertheless it’s additionally type of a back-handed slap at Pete Alonso.”
Alonso, for his half, has been on a tear. His OPS+ sits at an MVP-level 227-surpassing Aaron Choose’s 223 from final season-yet Soto nonetheless is not seeing many strikes. Quite than highlighting Alonso‘s dominance, Soto‘s feedback got here throughout to some, like Kay, as undermining the very man who is meant to be his present safety.
Soto‘s nostalgia could also be born of frustration, not disloyalty. Adjusting to a brand new lineup and the other ways pitchers strategy him is a part of the job. And let’s not forget-he selected the Mets over a virtually similar $760 million provide from the Yankees, opting as a substitute for a $765 million take care of private perks and a contemporary begin in Queens.
