On December 13, just five days after agreeing to the richest contract in baseball—and professional sports history—Juan Soto made waves by taking a jab at his former team’s fanbase, the New York Yankees, after joining the New York Mets on a 15-year, $765 million deal.
Soto, at his introductory press conference at Citi Field, belittled Yankee fans’ loyalty, making the bold claim that New York City had “been a Mets town for a long time.”
Mets Keep Taking Jabs at Their Cross-Town Rivals
As expected, Yankee fans didn’t take kindly to Soto’s remark. Rich Eisen, a former ESPN and NFL Network anchor, was quick to respond on his Rich Eisen Show.
“Dude, get out of here. Get out of here with that noise,” Eisen fired back. “It’s just like here in Los Angeles. Clipper town? Get out of here. It’s a Mets town? Yeah, in your head.”
Now, in a similar turn of events, the Mets’ newest free agent acquisition, A.J. Minter, who isn’t nearly as high-profile as Soto, is also ruffling feathers. Minter, a left-handed reliever from the Atlanta Braves, was reportedly a target for the Yankees, who are still lacking a lefty in their bullpen with spring training just three weeks away.
The Mets signed Minter on January 23 to a two-year, $22 million deal. Over his eight seasons with the Braves, the 31-year-old southpaw posted a 3.28 ERA in 284 appearances. He also earned a World Series ring with Atlanta in 2021, allowing just four runs in 12 postseason innings, and striking out 36 in 25 innings.
When Minter was introduced to Mets fans on January 25, he followed in Soto’s footsteps, taking another direct shot at the Yankees’ fanbase while hyping up his new team.
Minter Praises Mets Fans, Rips the Yankees
“They get baseball, not like the other side of town,” Minter said in his 10-word message. He went on to praise Citi Field crowds as “true die-hard fans, and they’re gonna be with you until the end. I got to face against y’all my whole career, and you always brought it every time, so we can’t wait to pitch for y’all now.”
As with Soto, Minter’s remarks were met with backlash from Yankee fans, most notably from Eisen.
“The Mets are acquiring an absolute ton, they are cornering the market on people who have no idea what they’re talking about, the sports scene in New York City and talking declaratively with absolutely no sense,” Eisen said on his show Wednesday. “A.J., you know what? We got our own lefty from the Braves who might have a say or two about what’s the real thing in New York or not this year. There’s a lot of checks being written across the Triborough.”
Eisen was referring to lefty starter Max Fried, Minter’s former Braves teammate, who signed an eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees in December.
