Mets' Juan Soto bats second, homers in first at-bat in exhibition opener
The Mets' Juan Soto is congratulated by teammate Pete Alonso after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of a spring training game against the Houston Astros in Port St. Lucie Fla., on Saturday. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Two months into their existence, Juan Soto No. 22 jerseys are about the most popular choice by Mets fans visiting spring training. During introductions prior to the spring training exhibition opener Saturday afternoon, he received the loudest round of applause of any player. When he stepped to the plate for the first time in the bottom of the first inning, another big pop.
Soto noted on multiple occasions in his first week in camp that all this — the contract and the geographical certainty and the hoopla — doesn’t quite feel real yet. “Unbelievable,” he calls it. But it took another step toward tangible in the Mets’ 6-2 win at Clover Park.
The Mets’ new superstar hit a home run in his first Grapefruit League at-bat since signing a 15-year, $765 million contract in December.
Because of course he did.
“It feels like when more people are watching, the more that’s at stake, you’re going to get Juan Soto in the box and he does special things,” said righthander Clay Holmes, Soto’s teammate on the Yankees last year and Mets this year. “It’s one of those things where in the back of my mind I’m like, man, I would not be surprised if he does something here.”
Manager Carlos Mendoza added: “It’s pretty incredible. I’ve been watching this guy take some live at-bats for the past four or five days. Just having the ability to turn the switch like that — you put a different guy on the mound with a different uniform and he’s just locked in. Regardless of the results, he was a different guy in the box today.”
And Soto, going straight to the technical swing perspective: “It feels pretty good. It means everything that we’re doing is paying off.”
Soto’s blast didn’t mean much in the big picture, of course, this being spring training and all. He said he didn’t have any jitters leading up to first pitch; instead of taking it all in on the field he was occupied showing the Mets’ strength coaches his pregame routine. The juices will get flowing for real once the regular season comes, Soto insisted.
Everybody else had a lot of fun with it, though — except maybe the opposing pitcher.
Soto opened the at-bat by getting ahead 2-and-0. When lefthander Colton Gordon nailed the upper, inside corner of the strike zone with a fastball, Soto swung and missed.
“When he threw that fastball, I could see it on his face: He was feeling himself,” Soto said. “So he threw another one. I just gotta make sure I didn’t miss it.”
Soto was successful in that endeavor. Gordon tried another fastball, 90.6 mph, this time over the heart of the plate. Oops. Soto pummeled it 426 feet to left-centerfield.
The moment contained echoes of Soto’s Yankees Grapefruit debut in 2024, when he also homered (third plate appearance).
Mendoza rolled with a tempting top third of the lineup: Francisco Lindor, Soto, Pete Alonso.
Those first two are all but locks to stay in those spots regularly this year. Alonso can fall anywhere in the Nos. 3-5 range (along with Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo).
“It’s a good feeling,” Mendoza said of his top trio Saturday. “I’m not going to lie, when I was putting together the first lineup a couple of days ago and you’re looking at some of the guys who are . . . good to go from day one and you’re putting those names on paper, it’s a good feeling.”
Feeling good, Soto hopes, is how he hopes his teammates feel around him.
“I try to bring good the vibes and bring good energy everywhere I go,” said Soto, who has bounced from the Nationals to the Padres to the Yankees to the Mets since 2022. “For me, if I hit a homer or not, it’s about how it looks inside — in the clubhouse, in the dugout. That is what it’s all about.”
Judging by the reception Soto has received from Mets fans, so far so good externally.
“It’s been really cool, really very cool to see them enjoying the moment and enjoying this time,” Soto said. “First year with the Mets and everything, it’s going to be unforgettable.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
More New York Sports
