‘It’s like the Bronx got their hero’
For some Dominican Yankees fans, Juan Soto is more than a superstar
NEW YORK — With the Bleacher Creatures roaring his name on Friday, Juan Soto turned around, tipped his cap, raised both arms and bowed before his new fans in right field.
The outfielder, playing in his first home opener with the Yankees, then tapped his glove over the NY insignia and pinstripes that now cover his heart as he stared into the crowd. Despite going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in a 3-0 loss to the Blue Jays, Soto enjoyed numerous interactions with fans throughout the game.
As he did, he noticed a few Dominican flags flying around Yankee Stadium.
“It means a lot,” the Santo Domingo native said. “We all know where we’re coming from. Getting to see them up here is just great. It’s a great feeling.”
Ronny Guerrero was among those carrying a flag. He proudly waved it from the second deck in right, where the Bronx native of Dominican descent had a perched view of Soto.
“We have a large, massive population of Dominicans around here, especially the neighborhoods [around the stadium],” Guerrero told The Daily News. “So we just came in to show him love and show him that New York is the place for him to be.”
As Guerrero alluded to, the Bronx serves as the epicenter of New York City’s vibrant Dominican population. By 2020, 47% of the city’s Dominicans lived in the borough, according to The Graduate Center of The City University of
New York’s Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies.
However, the Yankees have lacked a true Dominican-born superstar ever since Robinson Canó bolted for Seattle after the 2013 season. Others, like Luis Severino and Gary Sánchez, once seemed destined to assume that mantle, but their stars dimmed due to injuries and poor performances.
“Those are all guys I rooted for,” Lester Carrasco, a Brooklynite wearing his Dominican flag, told The News. “Definitely always wanted to see those guys do good. But since Canó, we really haven’t had a Dominican superstar. It’s gonna bring a different energy to the stadium. You guys are gonna feel it.”
Soto has been anticipating that energy. Ever since being acquired from the Padres in December, he has repeatedly talked about getting the chance to play in an area rich with his home country’s culture.
“I expect the flags, but they always surprise me with something else,” Soto said, adding that the vocal support he received throughout the entire game took him by surprise.
Added Aaron Boone: “The Dominican population in the Bronx and in New York, it feels like a match made in heaven. But we just got home. Let’s evaluate the relationship down the line a little bit, but I can’t imagine him not being loved with the way he goes about things and the kind of player he is.”
While Boone thinks it’s too soon to say Soto already has a bond with the Yankees faithful, some Dominican fans of the team were cheering for the No. 2 hitter long before he ever donned the pinstripes.
“I was very excited,” Carrasco said of the trade. “I always wanted Soto on the Yankees, even before he was on the Padres. Since 2019, I’ve been coming to watch him. I really love his talent, and he was a perfect fit for the Yankees in my opinion.”
A lifelong Yankees diehard, Carrasco took his 15-year-old nephew to Friday’s contest so that they could share the experience of Soto’s first home game at Yankee Stadium.
Carrasco began paying close attention to Soto after watching the slugger’s Nationals beat the Astros in the 2019 World Series. Still too young to drink at the time, Soto crushed three homers in that Fall Classic.
Two of those longballs came off future teammate Gerrit Cole. Justin Verlander served up the other.