Inside The Pinstripes

Juan Soto Sends Clear Message to Yankees Fans After Signing With Mets

Former New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto shared a message to Yankees fans during his introductory press conference with the Mets.
Grant Young|
Dec 12, 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto meets the media with general manager David Stearns (left) and agent Scott Boras (right) during a press conference at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Dec 12, 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto meets the media with general manager David Stearns (left) and agent Scott Boras (right) during a press conference at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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As you know by now, former New York Yankees superstar Juan Soto spurned the Yankees' 16-year, $760 million contract offer and instead decided to sign a 15-year, $765 contract (which is the largest contract in sports history) with the New York Mets on December 8.

Soto had his introductory press conference with the Mets on December 12. After answering various questions such as why he ended up choosing the Mets over any other MLB team and whether he had spoken to any former Yankees teammates since making his decision, Soto was asked if he had any message he wanted to share with Yankees fans.

"I want to say thank you," Soto responded, per SNY. "I actually just want to say thank you to them. They really showed me all the love and everything that they had last year. They were right there, day in, day out.

"They have a spot in my heart at the end of the day," he continued. "Tough that we couldn't get it together and try to be back and stuff like that, but definitely I'm always going to appreciate what they did for me in 2024."

Soto added in a separate media scrum that he enjoyed his time with the Yankees, via Pat Ragazzo of Yankees on SI.

Perhaps Yankees fans were hoping for a less heartfelt response; if only so it would be easier to "Boo!" Soto every time he returned to the Bronx for the next 15 seasons.

Despite this sentiment from Soto, he can probably expect jeers from the Yankees faithful for the rest of his career.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for On SI. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee. You can follow him on X: @GrvntYoung

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