I covered these New York Mets press conference events over the years at Shea Stadium and Citi Field. The official introduction of a huge free agent name that would change the scope of Mets history at the old Diamond Club (Shea) or the Caesars Club-Piazza Club (Citi).
The names Mike Piazza, Carlos Beltran via a trade, and who can forget the acquisition of Yoenis Cespedes, then under the Wilpon ownership. Thursday afternoon at Citi Field there was Juan Soto, all fitting for a king with the richest player contract contract in sports.
There was Soto putting on the jersey, number 22 that he wore crosstown with the Yankees for a season, a stipulation in his 15-year $765 million contract that could go as high as $805 with other incentives. He donned the cap of Mets blue and interlocking NY logo, surely still a difficult moment to digest for Yankees fans.
And there were the architects of owner Steve Cohen, David Stearns, the Director of Baseball Operations. And there was super agent Scott Boras, all along knowing the Mets would be Soto’s choice in the most highly touted and suspense free agent storyline that will be difficult to top.
It was majestic. It was about Soto, a generational player that to the Mets hierarchy will get them to their first World Series championship since 1986. Yankees fans know the impact Soto has in the lineup after he helped lead them to their first World Series since their championship year of 2009.
Not on the podium was manager Carlos Mendoza, later saying he will be jumping for joy with writing his lineup card. Francisco Lindor, the other mega million All-Star leading off and Soto to follow. And if Boras and Cohen can get free agent Pete Alonso to re-sign a deserved contract, not in any range of Soto, the Mets truly are where they want to be with an emphasis to shore up their starting rotation.
Still, Stearns was also optimistic a deal could be worked for Alonso, and his reputation of finding non-risk, one-year deals for dependable arms are also part of his repertoire. Luis Severino and Sean Manaea were two of those non-risk, one-year deals who helped catapult the Mets to their first NLCS since 2015.
However, don’t give the Mets the World Series title as of yet. The Phillies and Braves are not surrendering the NL East. The World Champion Dodgers are not easy to beat, and the National League will be ultra-competitive again.
But Soto does make a difference. He changes the complexion of a Mets lineup. Cohen was asked about how many World Series titles could the Mets win in 15-years. Cohen said four or five, Soto was not amused. He jumped across town to win more than five World Series championships. Soto believed in the Mets philosophy of commitment to continue signing top free agents, and trade for the right pieces.
And Cohen, one of the 100 wealthiest men on Earth has the ability to keep spending, though maybe not in the magnitude of a Soto contract. Regardless, this was a historic and elaborate first day as a Met for Soto with an entrance fit for a king.
“To get a player of this caliber is really unusual,” Cohen said. “So once again, you’ve got to step a little bit further than you’d expect.”
According to Soto, it had nothing to do with the Yankees mistreating him or his family. Believe what you want, he stressed his decision was based more on the Mets and a family oriented organization. He will get incentives for family and friends, suites, field passes, tickets, and a security detail for every home game at Citi Field. To Soto, apparently money wasn’t a difference, the Yankees made a similar offer with exception of suites that players pay out of their pocket.
“What they’ve been showing me, what they want to do,’’ he said about the Mets becoming a dynasty and winning for a long time, “why not?”
You get the feeling, though, that Soto wasn’t happy across town. The smile seemed to fade after that fatal Game 5 of the World Series in the Bronx. The Dodgers took advantage of his error in right field in game one and other Yankees mistakes that remained a difficult lasting part of Soto’s one season in pinstripes.
He won’t be met with cheers in the Bronx for the Mets-Yankees Subway Series in mid May, a rivalry now that will be more intense. Soto with his subtle smile and new Mets look knew the questions were coming about the Yankees and AL MVP Aaron Judge.
Soto thanked the Yankees and their fans. He admired their faith in him, the crowds, Bleacher Creatures, and there was never a sure thing he would be a long term Yankee. You sensed that a bidding war with the Yankees and Mets was imminent. Soto was not committing to anything and was open to all teams when asked after that disastrous final game in the Bronx.
And a source informed me that Soto was a happy camper in the Bronx, but the tickets and suites were a difference maker in his decision. That potent home run threat back-to-back with Judge is not a distant memory.
“We’re still friends, we’re still cool,” he said about his former Yankees teammate. “It’s just business. The relationship that we created last year will stay forever.”
He said he has not talked with Judge since his decision to play across town, leading to more speculation there may have been friction between the two profiled players. Though covering the Yankees last season there was no sense of friction, basically Judge and Soto were inseparable. The clubhouse chemistry was about family.
So, perhaps this was all about the money and the incentives that Boras was able to negotiate, the contract granted with a last minute phone call that Boras placed to Cohen Sunday evening.
It came down to the Yankees or the Mets. Money, lots of it. It is accepted now with no salary cap in baseball. Players will come and go. Soto, though, was an epic adventure that ended with the Mets.
At 26-years of age and all the tools to be considered the best player in baseball, stats tell the story. With the exception of some defensive blunders in the outfield, and an opt-out in the contract within five years, time will tell if Soto leads the Mets to their goals of more than one World Series championship.
Regardless, the scene at Citi Field in the Piazza Club was reminiscent of crowning a new King. Soto in due time can be the King of New York baseball.
And in Mets history this tops Piazza, Beltran, even Strawberry, Gooden and Hernandez.
Rich Mancuso: X (Twitter) @Ring786 Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso