Yankees, Red Sox icon Roger Clemens provides silver lining for fans with Juan Soto’s No. 22 pinstripes jersey after $765,000,000 Mets deal
The Juan Soto saga has left an indelible mark not only in the sport of baseball but in the history of New York. Soto's move from the Bronx to Queens was unpopular with Yankee fans.
Fans of the team have resorted to burning Soto's jersey— a common practice in sports when a player leaves a team in bad taste. However, a Yankee fan on X didn't burn his jersey. Instead, he asked the public what he should do with it. Former Yankees and Red Sox icon Roger Clemens chimed in and urged the fan that the jersey could be repurposed.
"Looks like a good jersey to me!" Clemens tweeted.
The pitching legend jokingly suggested that it can still be used to represent other players who previously wore #22 as the Yankee pinstripes and uniforms are one of the few jerseys left that honor the tradition of not putting names on the back. This signifies that the club is bigger than any player or signing.
Aside from Soto, there were only a few who are remembered to sport the Yankee #22. Clemens used to wear #21 with the Red Sox but when he made the controversial move to sign with the Yankees, he switched to #22 as #21 was taken by Paul O'Neill.
In recent times, Harrison Bader, who also became a New York Met, wore the Yankee #22 preceding Soto. Jacoby Ellsbury, who ironically also made a name with the Red Sox, can be remembered doing the same when he signed with the Yankees. Robinson Cano also donned the same number during his first two years with the squad before swapping to his iconic #24.
Red Sox legend David Ortiz pokes fun at the Yankees after Juan Soto's post
Known as a thorn against the New York Yankees teams of the 2000s until his retirement in 2016, David Ortiz has continued to poke fun at his old rivals. In Juan Soto's latest Instagram reel where he shared his move to the Mets, Ortiz had something humorous to say to the Yankees and their fans.
"The……. Yankees lose," Ortiz wrote.
It can be recalled that this has been a humorous battle cry for the Red Sox legend in recent times. Ortiz modified the phrase that legendary New York Yankees play-by-play announcer John Sterling exclaims after the team's victories with the word "lose."
While the Red Sox legend has peppered Yankee greats Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez at the FOX Sports desk with his modified chant, the two Yankee legends laughed it off and have taken it in stride.