You have to give it to kids—they are as blunt and honest as they can be. And one kid just humbled the $765 million New York Mets cornerstone and the highest-paid baseball player ever, real quick. During the Little League World Series, Canada’s Misha Lee made headlines. Not for his play, but for his take on Juan Soto.
Fresh off Canada’s 12-0 win over Australia, Lee was asked who his favorite player was. And if there was a possibility that it was Juan Soto. However, the 12-year-old, with a smirk on his face, gave a one-liner no one expected.
“Eh, he’s kind of overrated.” Ouch! Instead, the player he really wanted an autograph from was Cal Raleigh, the same one who landed the $105 million deal to be in the Seattle Mariners. And the guy who is even beating Aaron Judge to be the season’s MVP this season.
“Eh he’s kind of overrated.”
This Little Leaguer had no interest in meeting Juan Soto pic.twitter.com/ttW60qYBZm
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 18, 2025
For Soto, the man who signed a massive contract, this kid’s opinion is the ultimate bitter pill. Of course, Juan Soto is still putting up great numbers: 30 homers as of now. However, fans expect more, especially when the team has spent so much on a particular player. In fact, just recently, even former Mets star Jose Reyes had come to Soto’s defense. He told TMZ Sports that the expectations that fans have for Soto are high and sometimes unfair. “People expect him to hit a home run every at-bat… but if you look at where he ranks among top players, he’s right there,” Reyes explained. According to him, Soto will finish with more than 35 home runs this season.
Even then, the timing of Lee’s jab does hit a sore spot. The New York Mets, after having a strong start, have fallen back poorly since the All-Star break. They have struggled with runners in scoring position, and their once-reliable pitching has also fallen flat. So overall, the Mets’ fight for a Wild Card spot is under fire. Still, amidst all this, last Sunday, Soto showed the other side of himself. The Mets spent time meeting the kids of the LLWS. And for sure, Soto may not win over every little league, but his presence, along with the teammates, reminded everyone why the game matters. At the end, though, even superstars get humbled by an unfiltered 12-year-old.
Juan Soto claps back at a heckler
Thankfully, the New York Mets gave fans something to cheer about with their 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners. It’s a result of them needing to get back that confidence, and now they sit second in the NL East. But while the scoreboard is great, the mood in the field was not all smooth for Juan Soto. Because he found himself in the middle of a tense moment with a fan.
It all happened during practice, when Soto was working out at first base. A fan heckled him from the stands, saying, “With that bad hand, you can’t play first. To catch you, you have to catch it in front, where you can see it.” Of course, Soto heard, and he didn’t let it slide and fired back a strong response, “Is it what you want or what I say?” Fiery! It just showed that Soto is not one to be disrespected, no matter what.
But this is not Soto’s first heated bout. Just back in July, he had an exchange of words with Emil Jimenez over strike zone calls. Then Soto, back in June, had also jawed with this former teammate, MacKenzie Gore. And if you go even further back, then in spring training, he had answered back to a fan who called him “overrated.” So for Soto, the confidence and intensity have gone side by side. Now, after his slow start, he has turned things around with his 30 home runs, 70 RBIs, and an OPS of .883 through mid-August.
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