Boomer Esiason is fed up with Juan Soto.
On Wednesday at home, the New York Mets’ star free agent signing broke up a near no-hitter against Cleveland with a solo home run in the bottom of the 9th inning. As Soto rounded the bases, a huge smile stretched across his face even as the team faced a series sweep.
To Esiason, it was a perfect example of Soto’s lack of effort and leadership, celebrating small individual moments while going through the motions play to play.
“He’s loafing … he’s got a nice smile on his face, he’s laughing. I’m sick of it. I want to see attitude,” Esiason said Thursday on WFAN’s Boomer & Gio. “This team looks overpaid and underwhelmed.”
Then, Esiason pointed the blame for the lack of attitude squarely at Soto.
“Your highest-paid player, whether it be Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani or, in this case, Juan Soto, has to lead the team,” Esiason added. “They have to set the example. And when the example is being set is now that just doesn’t look, at least to the naked eye, and as a former athlete looks to me like, if that’s the guy getting $765 million and he’s supposed to be our leader, I’m not following that guy.”
Beyond the odd celebration of the late-game home run, Esiason’s cohost, Jerry Recco, pointed to a poor play in the outfield by Soto earlier in the game that allowed a Cleveland hitter to stretch a double into a triple. Questions about Soto’s hustle in the field and on the basepaths have plagued him his whole career, from the Nationals to the Padres to the Yankees.
Esiason knows it won’t sit well with diehard Mets fans who want desperately to root for the biggest free-agent signing in team history, who they just stole from their crosstown rivals in the Bronx.
“He’s accomplished so much more in his young career, and he’s got so much more to accomplish,” Esiason said. “And the fact that he is really being paid this much money and has been this absent and looks the way that he does is an insult to everybody who pays $50 to $150 to $350 a ticket to go and see it. That, to me, is the ultimate insult to the fan.”
Both New York baseball teams are in the dumps right now, facing losing streaks at precisely the wrong time. And New York sports radio is out for blood.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.