Ever since generational slugger Juan Soto made his departure from the New York Yankees final on
December 8, accepting a whopping, 15-year, $765 million contract with the Bronx Bombers’ National
League crosstown rivals, the New York Mets, the 26-year-old has been taking subtle and not-so
subtle shots at his former team, as well as at Yankee fans.
Soto spent one season at Yankee Stadium after two years in San Diego. The Padres dealt Soto and his
reach its first World Series in 15 years. Soto posted a sixth-best-in-baseball Wins Above Replacement
number of 7.9 while ripping 41 home runs with a .989 OPS, which was third-best in MLB.
His 2024 numbers were no anomaly. Soto’s .953 career OPS ranks third among all active players
and 23rd all-time. The native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, is without a doubt already one of
the greatest hitters ever to play the game.
Soto Made Controversial Claim About New York Baseball
He was rewarded for his performance by the unprecedented, perk-laden contract lavished on him by
Mets owner Steve Cohen. But that apparently was not enough for Soto, who felt compelled to state in
his introductory press conference that New York City has “been a Mets town for a long time.”
That claim, to put it mildly, did not go over well with the Yankee fan community. One prominent Yankee
fan, former ESPN anchor Rich Eisen immediately called Soto out on his Emmy-nominated Rich Eisen
Show.
“What is he talking about? Juan, I’ve been around New York City for 55 years,” Eisen said on his self-
titled program. “He’s been around for the proverbial New York minute. Dude, get out of here. Get out of
here with that noise.”
Now, a former Yankees All-Star, who also played the final three seasons of his career with the Mets, has
Dellin Betances, a three-time All-Star retired right-handed relief pitcher and, like Eisen, native New
Yorker who was drafted by his hometown team in the eighth round of the 2006 MLB amateur draft,
delivered his response on Friday when he appeared as a guest on the Foul Territory TV podcast, hosted
by former Chicago White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski.
New York ‘Always’ a Yankees Town
“It’s always going to be a Yankees town,” Bentances, who grew up in the Bronx not far from Yankee
Stadium, said. “That’s the way I feel. I don’t know what he was trying to say by that. I love Juan Soto,
but … he’s in a situation obviously where … I think him going to the Mets, he gets to be the guy.”
Betances suggested that beyond the eye-popping contract, getting to be “the guy” was what drew Soto
to the Mets.
“Him being on the Yankees, … it’s Judge’s team, regardless,” Betances said on the podcast. “Soto has a
chance to be the guy on the Mets, and not taking anything away from (Francisco) Lindor, but Soto
getting that large contract, Lindor has only been with the Mets for only four years, where Judge came
up with the Yankees, he’s the Captain. That’s kind of the way I feel.”
With 73 days remaining until Opening Day, Soto has exactly that long before he will be required to back
up his words with his bat.
