Saturday at Citizens Bank Park, a Phillies fan’s double middle finger met Juan Soto‘s unflinching stare. The New York Mets star is used to angry fans. Usually, when fans go too far, like a St. Louis Cardinals fan who yelled “Overpaid! Overrated!” at him last year, Soto answers by hitting a huge home run right at them. But this time, the superstar chose a very quiet and intense response.

“You simply can’t hate Phillies fans enough. Straight-up trash fanbase,” Master Flip shared footage via X.

The footage shows exactly what happened. A Phillies fan donning a Roy Halladay jersey, showing a middle finger with both hands straight at Soto in the outfield. However, Soto, instead of losing his cool and reacting, just kept staring at the fan. After a few seconds, a stadium official said something to the heckler, and the fan sat down.

While Soto has famously hit dramatic home runs against other hecklers in the past, this specific matchup featured intense, back-and-forth reactions from Phillies crowds, who are notorious for giving opposing stars the ultimate “warm welcome.”

Soto staying unfazed and not moving from his place is something unfamiliar to those who know Soto closely. Soto always loved to give it back to the bullies.

However, the New York Mets lost the game 15-3, and Soto could only manage one hit from his three at-bats. However, while Juan Soto chose to keep it low, the Mets fans are not letting it go unanswered. Social media gets flooded with the fans’ strong stance as they call out the fan for his vile act.

The fans take a strong stance for Juan Soto

Fans wonder if these acts even affect someone like Juan Soto.

“That guy certainly showed him. Soto wipes his a– with that guy’s paycheck, and he thinks a little heckling hurts him,” one fan said.

Soto has a $765 million contract, the highest in the league. So, the fans wonder if such an act even makes any difference to him. Maybe Soto kept on staring because he was enjoying the show. However, we wonder what would have happened if the fan had come close to Soto.

“Would love to put him face-to-face with Soto and see what he does,” another fan added.

There are several examples of MLB players beating out a heckling fan. Remember New York Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield? Back in 2005, he shoved down a fan with a physical swipe after the fan in the front row reached over and deliberately struck Sheffield in the face. However, Soto still chose to let it go.

“Imagine being a grown “man” acting like this?” Another user remarked.

Fortunately, the incident didn’t escalate, but more maturity is expected from the grown-up fans. While booing the players for their struggle is fine, making vile remarks or acts just for being a rival player is something that doesn’t go with MLB. Rivalry is the reason MLB is loved by the fans.

It is expected that Citizens Bank Park will welcome the rival teams for a better product. But these acts by certain fans raise a question about whether they need a rival team to compete.

“That’s a grown man with no self-control or respect. His chick should be ashamed and embarrassed. Plus, he definitely wouldn’t do that to his face,” another agreed.

“Doesn’t matter who the player is, that’s a d— move,” one more added.

No matter whether it’s Juan Soto or anyone else. It doesn’t even matter if it’s a Phillies fan or any other fan base; that act was deplorable. There were several examples of other fan bases also making such a nuisance, but it does affect the fine line between rivalry and mutual respect.