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Juan Soto made an emotionally charged return to Yankee Stadium on Friday where he was greeted by a cacophony of boos and his new team, the New York Mets, succumbed to a 6-2 loss against his old team, the New York Yankees. As Soto stepped up for his first at-bat in the first inning, Yankee Stadium roiled with thousands of resounding boos. He simply smiled, took off his helmet and waved it towards the crowd before walking up to the plate. At the bottom of the first inning, the Bleacher Creatures, known as the Yankees’ most ardent fans, turned their backs towards Soto as he jogged out to right field. Some held up signs, others wore T-shirts with profane slogans. And in the eighth, Soto caught Cody Bellinger’s inning-ending flyout, threw the ball into the crowd in celebration and a fan immediately threw it back onto the pitch much to the delight of everyone around them. “Was that the worst you’ve ever been booed?” a reporter asked him after the game. “I think so,” Soto replied. “They were really loud.” “It’s just another game,” he added. “It’s really uncomfortable that we couldn’t get the win. I don’t focus at all on that, you’ve got to focus on the game and be a professional, try to win the game. It sucks we lost the game but we have two more to win the series.” “I just enjoy (the booing). I don’t think it’s gonna affect me at all.” Ultimately, however, Soto couldn’t influence the game much beyond the crowd’s booing as the Mets lost the first matchup of their three-game series. He finished 0-for-2 with three walks and a run. Soto, who formed a formidable partnership with Aaron Judge last season that helped propel the Yankees as far as the World Series, left to join their crosstown rivals in December last year, signing a historic 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets – reportedly the biggest contract in professional sports history. His return to Yankee Stadium was always going to be charged. The Mets knew such a reaction was coming. Their manager Carlos Mendoza told Soto to “embrace it, … to enjoy every second of it,” a couple of days before the game, he said to reporters after Friday’s defeat. “I thought (the crowd) was very respectful, and that’s what you want. You can boo all you want but as long as you’re not crossing the line,” he added. “I thought (Soto) handled it really well, that’s what makes this guy who he is, elite, his personality is off the charts.” Still, even without Soto, the Yankees scored four runs in the third inning, giving them a comfortable lead which they never relinquished.
