One year ago, offseason acquisition Juan Soto was invigorating a New York Yankees' fan base that was coming off a 2023 season that saw their team miss the playoffs. On Friday night, Soto will step into the batter's box as a member of the New York Mets at Yankee Stadium.

Rivalries are often more for the fans than for the players on the field themselves, and the Subway Series hasn’t always lived up to the hype.

Juan Soto knows exactly what’s waiting for him when he walks back into Yankee Stadium this weekend, and he’s already bracing for it. His first trip back to the Bronx as a New York Met, fresh off that jaw-dropping 15-year, $765 million contract, promises a chorus of boos loud enough to rattle the subway lines behind the stadium.