David Lennon: Mets' Juan Soto seeks to create NY championship moments, not just watch them
Mets' Juan Soto prepares to bat during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field on Wednesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Juan Soto isn’t used to being a spectator, sitting outside the spotlight rather than performing beneath the high-wattage glow. But that was him Monday night for Game 3 of the NBA Finals, perched in a suite at Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks played on the brightest stage — commanding the hottest ticket — New York had seen in quite a while.
Or since Soto wore pinstripes, just two short years ago, when the Yankees returned to the World Series for the first time since 2009. We live in a world of ever-shrinking attention spans, and shorter short-term memories, but the Bronx finally hosting a Fall Classic again was a very big deal for New York back then. And seeing the Garden in such a frenzy Monday night for the Knicks couldn’t help but bring back some of those vibes for Soto, who experienced the city’s electricity from a totally new perspective.
“It was a great feeling from the fans — how crazy they went, how loud they can get,” Soto told Newsday before Wednesday night’s game against the Cardinals. “It was impressive. It’s just a different feeling to be in there, you know, I felt like part of them. Those fans were paying attention to every little detail of the game, the back-and-forth, and that’s one of the things that made it special.”
Soto had been to a few previous Knicks games at MSG, but Monday night was another universe entirely, considering it had been 27 years since the World’s Most Famous Arena had hosted the NBA Finals — and the team’s title drought goes back to 1973.
But a half-century for the Knicks is comparable to two decades for the Yankees, a franchise without peer when it comes to collecting championship rings on a regular basis. As for the Mets, well, they fall squarely in between, as the Amazins will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the beloved ’86 squad this August.
The task for Soto now is finding another way up to that magical mountaintop — to make Citi Field rock like the Garden did Monday night or how the Bronx shook during that World Series against the Dodgers. He’s been chasing that feeling since the Yankees were eliminated in Game 5, and the Mets, as of Wednesday night, couldn’t appear much further away from attaining that level of New York sports nirvana.
Consider Wednesday another step backward, as the Mets were pummeled by the Cardinals for a second straight night, this time by the score of 9-2. David Peterson, the bulk pitcher of the bullpen game, was hammered for six runs over 3 2/3 innings. The Mets had just three hits — Francisco Alvarez’s two-run homer accounted for their entire offense — and have been outscored by the Cardinals, 16-2, in the first two games of this series.
Soto helped carry the Yankees there with a walk year that earned him a third-place finish for the American League MVP (41 HRs, 109 RBIs, 179 OPS-plus). When Soto subsequently defected to Queens on a 15-year, $765-million deal, the idea was to push the Mets deep into October as well, and he did his part by again coming in third for MVP on the NL side (43 HRs, 105 RBIs, 157 OPS-plus). Only Soto’s encore wasn’t nearly enough, with the Mets stumbling in the second half and falling short of October on the season’s final day.
This year? Heading into Wednesday night, Soto was hitting .276 with 13 homers, 30 RBIs and an .893 OPS for a Mets team that was eight games under .500 (29-37). He’s one of the few key players that’s actually functioning like they’re supposed to — with the others either hurt (Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert Jr.) or underperforming (Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien).
Coming off Monday’s Garden high, I asked Soto before Wednesday’s game if he felt like getting close to that feeling again was beyond his reach, given the Mets’ current predicament. They have a 17.1% chance of just making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs.
“We still have a shot,” Soto said. “We’re still here, and all the guys that are hurt are really close to being back, so I think it’s not as far as people think. I think it’s closer than what everybody is thinking or expecting.”
If Soto sounds overly optimistic, remember that he does have a say in determining the Mets’ fate. He’s no spectator in Flushing. Soto ripped off eight homers in a 12-game span last month, matching his career-best mark, and even flashed Jalen Brunson’s three-point celebration after going deep against the Reds. Given the jumble of mediocrity that is the NL’s wild-card derby, he’s a hot streak or two away from nudging the Mets up that ladder.
“For me, I’m all-in, trying to get back to those big moments,” Soto said. “It’s definitely not easy when you’re going through times like these, but we got to keep our heads up and keep going.”
And when Soto finally does make it to that October spotlight again? He’s a career .326 hitter (14-for-43) in 12 World Series games, with four homers, eight RBIs and a 1.147 OPS. Soto is hoping for another chance to have New York focused on him again, along with the Mets the next time around.
“That’s one of the things that drives me the most,” Soto said. “When you see the fans going crazy and how challenging the moment gets. D.C. was rocking, Houston was rocking, and L.A. too. But it was nothing compared to New York.”
Soto was reminded of that Monday night at the raucous Madison Square Garden. Next time, he wants to be the one delivering those all-time memories on the field — not watching from a suite.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
