Michael Kay perfectly summed up Juan Soto's biggest mistake before Clarke Schmidt smoked him

By and large, New York Yankees fans handled Juan Soto expertly on Friday night in his Subway Series debut in the wrong colors. He tipped his cap. He pointed at fans in right. His showmanship was unacknowledged. In right field, they quite literally turned their backs on him.

But, yes, they booed. They booed hard. They booed forcefully. They didn't laugh at his hijinks, or even give him recognition that they noticed them. They were too busy screaming, uninterrupted.

That continued on Saturday afternoon, despite the ravages of night turning to day. Yankees fans did not approach Saturday's Game 2 any brighter. They did not relent after capturing the win or watching the Knicks take care of the Celtics. They just ... continued to let him have it.

And, as Soto approached the plate, Yankees play-by-play man perfectly summed up the choice that the Mets' richest slugger made this offseason. Soto continued to reiterate this week that the Yankees were "No. 1" in his free agency cycle - until the Mets gave in to every one of his demands, that is. Choosing the heftier financial package was his right. So was prioritizing a suite or getting angry at a security guard or whatever other nonsense leaked.

But the reality is that there really is "no one better" than Aaron Judge. Soto made it clear when he visited with the Yankees before Friday's opener that, while he surely appreciates what he has in Queens, he still misses what his life was like, to some extent, in 2024. And he'll never get that back. As Kay intoned as the boos crested, "This will be the soundtrack of his life here in the Bronx for the next 15 years."

Yup. You choose the Mets or the Red Sox, this is what you get. You either revel in it, or you succumb to it. And Clarke Schmidt took care of that second option pretty quickly to open this series' second game.

Yankees' Clarke Schmidt struck out Juan Soto as Michael Kay reminded him that he signed up for 15 years of boos

Yup. This is the Boo-print.

Over the years, the actual hatred will recede. In fact, it might have already turned to apathy, given the Yankees' dedication to moving on and filling Soto's void. But just because the original wound is closing a little bit more everyday does not mean the boos will stop. Soto gave this passionate slice of the city - this fan base - away. And they're going to keep giving that energy back to him for a long time.