New York Mets player Juan Soto got the last laugh after he was heckled by a spectator during a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The outfielder, who recently signed a $765 million contract with the Mets, was told by the heckler that he was “overpaid, underrated,” according to a March 12 report from the New York Post.
Soto was visibly annoyed in the viral video, turning around to coolly offer the heckler a death stare before turning his attention back toward home plate.
But then Soto sent the first pitch he received at his very next at-bat in the bottom of the third inning over the fence and right to his new friend.
The heckler tried to catch the ball, but fell to the ground in the process.
To top it all off, the home run moved the Mets to 4-0 in the game against the Cardinals.
The Mets later walked away with an 8-0 win, the Post reported.
Fan was calling Juan Soto “Overpaid, Overrated”
So Soto hit a home run directly to him 😂 pic.twitter.com/L9l7zymtam
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) March 11, 2025
Soto, who has won the Silver Slugger Award five times and was named All-Star four times, indeed received the most expensive contract in all of professional sports history.
So who exactly got the last laugh here?
He has a 15-year deal from the Mets that came with a $75 million signing bonus.
The contract could be valued at $805 million if the Mets decide to void the opt-out after five years.
Some social media commenters took a moment to compare Soto with his heckler.
“Overweight and unathletic,” one user said, along with a laughing emoji.
“And there you go so tough behind fences that falls down trying to catch a little ball,” another added.
“Dude best skill is chug beers all day but still has the guts to heckle mlb stars,” a third noted.
“Can we buy that guy season tickets to CitiField and have Soto do that every game?” a fourth asked.
Sports Illustrated writer Tyler Lauletta had similar takeaways from the exchange between the baseball prodigy and his one-man peanut gallery.
“First, if you are going to heckle and immediately get dunked on by a professional athlete, please have the decency as this fan did to wear a shirt that makes you easily identifiable,” he advised.
“Second, for all that talk of Soto being overpaid and overrated, it sure looked like that fan wanted to secure that home run ball,” he noticed.
“This surely won’t be the last trash talk Soto deals with from rowdy fans, but his direct response with a dinger might serve as a warning to opposing crowds to save their heckles if a game is ever close.”
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