In Juan Soto's first home opener with the New York Yankees -- which might be his last, depending on what happens in his free agency next offseason -- he will run out to right field, the position he will play in 2024, and be greeted with a raucous cheer and chant from the Yankee Stadium Bleacher Creatures.
He will likely acknowledge the welcome with a smile and a wave. The honeymoon will last a week or a day, or maybe just one plate appearance, and then the relationship will get real in a hurry. At some point, there will be booing, a rite of passage experienced by every superstar import in the Bronx. Those jeers might be ignited by a strikeout -- or maybe a mistake on defense, the weakest element in the game of a young player who is already on a Hall of Fame trajectory.
Then Soto will win the fans back with a big hit, and this full cycle of emotions could play out day after day, for a team that has so much at stake, and a player who stands to be rewarded at season's end with one of the most lucrative contracts ever. Everything he does will be scrutinized, including his defense in a crowded outfield.