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A dozen teams participated in the Juan Soto sweepstakes this summer. Naturally, when the San Diego Padres hit the jackpot, a few unhappy fan bases were left behind. But no section seems to be as crossed as the Los Angeles Dodgers fans. Besides the Padres, the Dodgers were the team closest to landing Soto.
The rumors were so intense and positive, it made even the staunchest Dodgers-supporting realist dream. The Dodgers signing Juan Soto felt like a real possibility. That was until trade deadline day. The Padres won the race for an impressive haul of prospects, shattering many dreams in the City of Angels.
Heartbreak, sometimes, leads to resentment. That, unfortunately, turned out to be the case on Friday night when the Dodgers hosted the Padres. As Soto walked up for his first at-bat, Dodgers fans vociferously booed him when his name was announced.
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"Juan Soto, who was cheered by many here last week, was just booed vociferously when his name was announced at Dodger Stadium. Wasn't as loud as the boos for Manny Machado, but you could still hear the hurt." - Kevin Acee
That now begs the question, is it fair to boo a player for joining a team that offered a better deal to the selling club? The answer seems to be "no."
Resentment or rivalry? A few are saying that the booing episode is all in the spirit of a healthy rivalry. Soto didn’t seem bothered. He laughed off the jeers.
Ultimately, it was the Dodgers who had the last laugh. They didn’t just beat the Padres, they made a statement.
Padres have Juan Soto, but Dodgers have a winning formula
The Padres, even with Juan Soto, couldn’t get anything going against their NL West counterparts.
The Dodgers scored four runs in the first inning on a two-run double by Hanser Alberto, an infield single by Will Smith and an error.
They doubled their tally in the third, courtesy of two-run doubles from Chris Taylor and Cody Bellinger.
It proved to be more than enough for the Dodgers to make a 8-1 statement. Soto can laugh off the jeers, but he can't laugh off the embarrassing manner of defeat.
The Dodgers are now 73-33 and stretch their lead over the Padres to 13.5-games.
