Neil Miller /TheNYExtra.com
In the history of the New York Mets, there are certain transactions that modified the power base of New York baseball. The drafting of Tom Seaver, the trades that brought in Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter coupled with 2 great prospects named Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. And now Juan Soto fits that definition as well.
The problem for the Yankees is they thought the allure of their brand would cement his return to the Bronx but in today’s game it is about yes-money but also the ability to carve out a winning future and Soto knew that was with the Mets.
So much of that is due to the culture that Met owner Steve Cohen has transformed the team into–people that care about winning of course but also realize family and love of your teammates is a necessary function of each and every day. He knew 2 years ago, he wanted a shot at Soto and he did it in a way that brought him to the Mets. When things went bad 2 years ago he ate contract money to trade for great prospects and his baseball team did a great job replenishing a farm system that had gone dry.
Do not think for a minute that Soto did not see that looking from the Bronx especially watching the Mets manhandle the Yankees in a 4 game sweep of the regular season series. He saw the combination of great core talent like Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo coupled with young players like Mark Vientos that pushed the Mets into the final four of the sport.
I can tell you being around the team all year that culture change was obvious. When things went wrong, never any finger pointing. Instead they used their hands as helping hands giving each other confidence. Now, I am not going to discount the money which was off the charts but the prospect of joining the Met journey to the promised land was just as important.
And knowing he was joining a team that was honest about using their resources to improve every day is not something he felt in the Bronx. His numbers are off the charts getting on base, hitting the long ball and quite simply being an RBI machine. But he also fits this culture because he cares about his teammates just like many of the Mets already do.
And New York baseball will be forever be changed by this moment. It already has when you consider Nolan Arenado gave a list of teams he would approve if Cards traded him and the Mets were on that list but the Yankees were not. Just a tiny illustration of how New York baseball transitioned in a New York minute.
