“$800 million choke artist” – MLB fans brutally DISS Juan Soto as Mets superstar strikes out swinging to end Opening Day in crushing fashion

Juan Soto struck out swinging in the top of the 9th inning against Josh Hader and missed the chance of a potential go-ahead home run.

“$800 million choke artist” – MLB fans brutally DISS Juan Soto as Mets superstar strikes out swinging to end Opening Day in crushing fashion

Juan Soto (Image via NY Post)

Three months after penning down the biggest contract in MLB, Juan Soto made his official debut for the New York Mets on Thursday. Things, though did not go as he would have hoped for as he struck out swinging in the final inning to end the Opening Day with a crushing 3-1 defeat.

In December 2024, Soto ended weeks of speculation after choosing the Mets as his new team. The Dominican international chose the 15-year $765 million deal of the Mets instead of the 16-year $760 million deal of the New York Yankees, which would have seen him return to the Bronx.

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Soto had an impressive outing in the Spring Training for the Mets. In his very first at-bat, he crushed a long home run. He eventually ended the Spring Training with 4 home runs and 9 RBI.

On his official debut for the Mets, Soto picked up a base hit in his first at-bat in the 1st inning against Framber Valdez of the Houston Astros. However, the highlight moment of the match came in the 9th inning of this game.

The Mets pulled one run back through a bases-loaded sacrifice fly from Francisco Lindor. This set up the stage for Juan Soto, who had two runners on 1st and 3rd base. The Astros, on the other hand, turned to their All-Star closer Josh Hader for the save.

After working out a 3-2 count, Hader threw a slider well off the plate. Soto tried to swing for it but missed it and struck out to end the Opening Day with a 3-1 loss.

Social media reacts to Juan Soto’s disappointing end to Opening Day

Since his massive deal with the New York Mets, Juan Soto has become a polarizing figure in the MLB. While the Mets have obviously become strong supporters of him, many other fans have slammed him. Just a few days ago, Hollywood actress Elizabeth Olsen jokingly labeled him as the villain of the MLB.

Juan Soto
Juan Soto (Image via MLB)

Soto’s disappointing end to his Mets debut ignited some wild reactions from fans on social media. Many of them brutally dissed him for missing the huge chance to hit a potential go-ahead home run. One user wrote, “$800 million choke artist” while taking a swipe at Soto.

Check out that and some other reactions from X below:

Soto’s current deal of $765 million has an opt-out clause after the 2029 season. If the Mets avoid this, his Average Annual Value (AAV) will rise from $51 million to $55 million, which would see the price of his deal go past the $800 million mark.

Juan Soto opens up about his missed chance in Mets’ 3-1 loss

As the New York Mets traveled to the Daikin Park to take on the Houston Astros, the spotlight was going to hover around Juan Soto. The 4-time MLB All-Star missed a huge chance in the top of the ninth inning and was the final out of this 3-1 loss.

Juan Soto
Juan Soto (Image via CNN)

In the press conference after the game, Soto looked back on his battle with Josh Hader and credited the pitcher for his pitches. Before this matchup, the 26-year-old was 2-for-4 against Hader.

After having a 3-0 count, Hader pulled the count to 3-2. Instead of throwing a fastball, he threw a slider which got Soto swinging and striking out.

His best pitch. His best pitch was the fastball and I was sitting fastball. I was expecting to be up in that moment, in that situation. He let that ball go on the last pitch and he got me on that one. It was a pretty good pitch, slider down and away. It just happens.

Juan Soto said as per SNY

This loss on Opening Day means that the Mets have lost the season opener in back-to-back seasons. The last time this happened was in the 1999 and 2000 seasons. The Mets went to finish those two years with a 97-66 and 94-68 records.