WATCH: Heckler Fumbles Juan Soto Homerun Ball After Calling Him “Overpaid, Overrated”
New York Mets' Juan Soto bats during the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Miami Marlins Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Jupiter, Fla. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Sometimes athletes have a funny way of delivering poetic justice to rude fans. And on Monday (March 10) it was Juan Soto’s turn.
During a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals, a fan right behind Soto in the stands took it upon himself to provide some unsolicited criticism yelling “Overpaid, overrated!” to Soto. The Mets’ star outfielder noticed and stared the heckler down, visibly annoyed.
Soto seemingly held on to the criticism and possibly used it as motivation in a later at bat. In the 3rd inning, Juan blasted a home run and in ironic fashion, directly at that heckling fan. As karma would have it, the fan goes to catch the ball and fails to do so.
The 26-year-old Met right fielder is no stranger to the “overrated” criticism as sports critics often harp on his less-than-impressive fielding abilities as he is often seen as a below average player in that category. However, one thing seemingly cannot be debated, and that is Soto’s offensive talent and power hitting. He is currently having an impressive spring with 8 hits (3 of which are home runs) in only 18 at bats.
Hopefully for Juan Soto and the Mets organization, he can continuously channel the hate he will undoubtedly receive all season into a productive season. Afterall, with the highest payroll in baseball and Soto declaring, “New York is now a Mets town,” expectations are high. And fans are eager to see if this blockbuster signing can end the Mets’ 38-year championship drought.