Juan Soto was the sole reason the Mets didn’t get no-hit in Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to the Guardians, but Boomer Esiason has no sympathy for the superstar outfielder amid this ugly slide.
“He’s got a nice smile on his face and he’s laughing. I’m sick of it,” Esiason said on WFAN’s “Boomer and Gio” show Thursday morning.
“I want to see the attitude … If that’s the guy making $765 million and he’s supposed to be a leader, I’m not following that guy.”
Soto caught the ire of some Mets fans — and Esiason — after smiling as he rounded the bases after breaking up Gavin Williams’ no-hit bid with a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth inning.
“Your highest-paid player, whether it be Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani or, in this case, Juan Soto, has to lead the team. They have to set the example,” Esiason said, going on to argue that he doesn’t believe Soto is doing enough to set that standard.
Soto’s 15-year, $765 million deal that can go north of $800 million is the largest contract in North American sports history.
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The 26-year-old is hitting .185 in his last 15 games with the scuffling Mets, who have lost eight of their last nine games to fall 2.5 games back of the Phillies in the NL East.
For the season, he’s slashing .249/.382/.483 with an .864 OPS and 26 homers. His OPS is significantly below his career average of .943.
Still, some Mets fans took to social media to voice their frustrations with Esiason’s rant.
“Cmon dude. There are so many other things to get on this team for. Shoot, you could even just get on Soto for disappearing since June,” one user wrote on X. “But this stuff is kinda just doesn’t resonate with most Met fans. The game was over before that homer, that was the least of my anger.”
“So first he wasn’t happy enough and now he’s too happy and not angry enough. Got it. No pleasing you people,” said another.
Esiason, 64, was a four-time Pro-Bowler in his 14-year career as an NFL quarterback, which included three seasons with the Jets.
