Soto pays back fans' love with first Bronx blast in pinstripes

NEW YORK – This first homestand has been an absolute lovefest between Juan Soto and the Yankees’ fan base, beginning the moment he jogged onto the field for the home opener, wearing custom “Soto ? NY” spikes and greeting the Bleacher Creatures with a deep bow.

As Soto savored his first Yankee Stadium home run in pinstripes on Monday evening, a three-run blast that helped bust open a 7-0 victory over the Marlins, the young slugger said that it has all been better than he expected.

“I don’t want to lie: I think so,” Soto said. “They’ve been showing the love every day, and it’s been amazing. Day in, day out, and in the entire game. That’s pretty dope.”

Soto reached the right-field seats with a fourth-inning homer off Miami starter Jesús Luzardo, coming a few batters after Anthony Volpe opened the scoring in the contest with a three-run shot of his own.

Soto said the crowd’s reaction to the homer surprised him. He’d lifted a Luzardo changeup high down the right-field line, twisting his body to determine where the Statcast-projected 384-foot drive would land. When the outcome became apparent to the crowd of 31,071, they erupted.

“They really surprised me with that one,” Soto said. “I hit it pretty good. I was doubting, I was like, ‘Is it going to go? Is it going to stay?’ But then when that ball landed, they jumped out of their seats. It felt pretty good.”

The cheering continued when Soto returned to patrol his defensive position in right field for the top of the fifth, and there were pockets of chants for Soto throughout the rest of the night.

“He’s incredible, everything he does,” Volpe said. “The way he carries himself on the field, the way the fans embrace him and the way he embraces the fans. I think the coolest part is what he does in here in the clubhouse. He brings the energy. We’re obviously all looking toward him to see what he’s doing. He leads by example.”

Soto had built some early goodwill with the fan base on Monday, sneaking in a couple of autographs on the warning track just before Nestor Cortes threw his first pitch.

“I saw the clock and I was thinking, hesitating, because the game was supposed to start at 6:08,” Soto said. “So I had two minutes. I tried, turned around and Nestor was almost moving, making his pitch. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ He got me pretty quick.”

Even before being acquired by the Yankees this past December, Soto had put up some numbers in the Bronx, fueling the club’s belief that he would be an instantly productive fit. Soto collected four homers and one double among his six hits in 23 Yankee Stadium at-bats from 2018-23.

“He’s so young. It looks like he’s been in the league for 10 or 12 years now,” said Nestor Cortes. “He just goes about his business like a true professional. I see him in here every day. He works hard and wants to get better every single day. Then he shows it out in the field.”

What the Yankees might not have predicted is how quickly Soto would mesh, not just with the fans but inside the clubhouse walls.

The organization still expects that Soto will test free agency after the season. But listening to him speak on Monday evening, he hardly seemed like someone ready to look that far ahead.

“I would call it family,” Soto said. “We all feel like family right now. It’s only been 11 games, and we already feel like we are sticking together. We’re pushing together. We all want the same thing.”