☀️ Good Morning:
50,000 against one.
That’s how Juan Soto sees things going in his return to Yankee Stadium.
“They’re going to try to get on my, you know,” the superstar told the NY Post of the Bronx faithful. “It’s part of it.”
It will also be Soto’s initiation for joining the New York Mets.
If you read this newsletter, if you’ve ever pulled a brighter blue hat with a curved Y over your forehead, if you’ve sat in math class in the metro area, if you’ve played little league on the fields that dot the city suburbs, you’ve felt what Mr. Soto is going to feel this weekend.
50,000 against one.
That’s how every Mets fan has felt at some point in their life.
That’s what it means to root for a franchise known more as lovable losers than X-time champions. That’s what it means to root for that other baseball team in New York.
Juan Soto’s decision to spurn the Yankees for the cash-rich Mets marked a defining moment in the Steve Cohen era—proof that the balance of power has shifted, the fault lines that once defined the different boroughs suddenly gerrymandered into a new shape.
It’s the Subway Series! Both teams are in first place. Sure, we’ll steal a glance or two at what’s going on at the Garden, but plenty of eyes will be focused on Yankee Stadium.
It’s 50,000 against one. That one might feel lonely to Soto, but it really represents a spirited fanbase that Yankee fans could never quite replicate, and whom they will have to get used to as the new lords of the city.
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💰 Smart Money
There will be plenty of attention paid to Juan Soto’s return to the Bronx, so I thought we should spend some time discussing an important position that was a bit overshadowed by the Soto Sweepstakes but has remains important to both lineups.
That position is first base.
Everyone is over the moon with the season Pete Alonso is having on essentially a prove-it deal that will allow him to opt out for a richer payday in the future. The 2025 Mets have been defined by unexpected pitching performances and an MVP-caliber campaign by their homegrown star.
Given the win-win situation of the Alonso contract, there’s no reason to suggest they should have taken another path at first base — there is no other road more preferable than the one they are on.
🤔 BUT IT IS INTERESTING to look at where Alonso’s season ranks among his peers and how that will continue to inform negotiations on a long-term deal.
Alonso has been the most productive first baseman in baseball this season. What catches your eye from the leaderboard list are the names around him.
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