Mets' Carlos Mendoza on Juan Soto: He's only human
Juan Soto of the Mets flips his bat as he heads for the dugout after striking out against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning at Fenway Park on Tuesday in Boston. Credit: Getty Images/Winslow Townson
BOSTON – Juan Soto has lived a thousand lives in a few short days.
Over the weekend, he was subject to virulent boos at Yankee Stadium. He opted, last minute, not to do a scheduled in-game interview with ESPN. He went over two days without speaking to the media before talking after the Mets loss to the Red Sox Monday (it did not go particularly well). He withstood the now debunked rumor that he opts to use a private plane rather than travel with the team.
And, finally, he was publicly chastised for not one, but two glaring instances of not hustling out of the box – one on Sunday, in the eighth inning of a tie game against the Yankees, and again on Monday, when he admired a ball that he thought was going out, but instead bounced off the Green Monster at Fenway Park. Even the SNY broadcast got on him for that last one.
But through all this tireless discourse, there has been one glaring omission, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday.
“He’s been through a lot, he’s human, he’s 26, he’s going to be fine,” Mendoza said before the Mets took on the Red Sox in the second game of the series. “My job is to continue to coach him, continue to support him, continue to teach him…Understanding that they’re human. A lot of times, the frustrations are going to get the best out of them, especially a guy like that. He’s so talented and he’s had so much success early in his career and right now, he feels like he could do a little bit more for the team.”
It was a nuanced take on an issue that has taken over the sports ecosphere, with pundits positing that Soto misses being a Yankee, and has lost the spark that helped make him the highest paid player in baseball. It's exacerbated by the fact that this is a very long-term relationship - 15 years.
Certainly, Soto didn’t help matters Monday. After Mendoza said he intended to speak to his player about hustling out of the box, Soto, likely not having heard what his manager had just said, was asked if he needed to make more of an effort.
“No,” he said. “I think I was hustling very hard. If you could see it today, you could tell.” (Soto did steal second base after the homer-that-wasn't landed him on first.)
Tuesday, Mendoza declined to disclose details of any conversations between him and his superstar, or confirm that they even transpired. But he made clear that he didn’t think it was a question of Soto being unhappy, uncomfortable or unmotivated.
The issue, Mendoza said, was simply frustration: Soto came into the day slashing a very mortal .246/.376/.439 with eight homers and 20 RBIs in 47 games. He’s hitting just .128 with runners in scoring position – a teamwide weakness – and has hit into an NL-leading nine double plays after grounding into 10 all last year. He has, however, stolen six bases already (his career-high for a season is 12).
“When you sign that type of contract, there are going to be more eyes on it and he knows that and he embraces it,” Mendoza said. “It’s new because of the contract, but he’s always been a superstar and when you’re a superstar, you’re going to have a lot of eyes on you.”
He added, “if someone needs to step up, it’s me.”
Mendoza, while saying he didn’t excuse Soto’s admiration of Monday’s (very) long single, did note that he’s seen plenty of run-ins between the Green Monster and human hubris.
“I’ve seen that play here in this ballpark plenty of times where a guy hits a ball off the Monster and they think they got it and they don’t get to second base,” Mendoza said. “The guy is competing, I’ll tell you that. He’s a competitor. You watch the way he’s running the bases. He’s everything. It happens. They’re humans.”
Yes, even Juan Soto.
Notes & quotes: Paul Blackburn (knee) will throw another rehab start Wednesday before the Mets make a decision on a possible return. Sean Manaea (oblique) will throw an up-and-down bullpen and Frankie Montas (lat) will throw live batting practice in Brooklyn, both also on Wednesday.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
