Legendary Yankees announcer has one question about why Juan Soto chose Mets

For a lengthy piece published on Thursday morning, ESPN's Buster Olney and Jeff Passan detailed the events that resulted in Juan Soto leaving the New York Yankees in free agency to join the New York Mets. 

During a Wednesday night appearance on New York sports radio station WFAN, legendary Yankees announcer John Sterling explained why he thinks Soto's decision was about more than money.

"The one question I have is, why Juan Soto didn’t want to play for the Yankees? Obviously, he didn’t," Sterling said, as shared by Ryan Chichester of Audacy. 

While Soto and the Mets agreed to a 15-year, $765M contract that could exceed $800M total, Steinbrenner reportedly stopped at $760M over 16 years. Numerous analysts suggested that Soto would return to the Bronx Bombers as long as Steinbrenner's final offer was close to Cohen's, but it's now clear those who thought the Yankees' "history and tradition" would appeal to the 26-year-old were wrong. 

"Please don’t talk about money," Sterling continued. "If the Yankees offered him $750M and the Mets offered him $760M, there’s no difference. You certainly would never see the difference. It’s so much money per year. The Yankees have the name, and they have a field that’s perfect for Soto. A short right field for home runs and a big left-center field for singles and doubles, and also the best protector in the game in Aaron Judge."

Along with more cash, Soto received perks from Cohen that Steinbrenner wasn't willing to offer. Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Soto "got security for himself and family at home and on the road and additional notation for 'family services'" to go along with a suite at Citi Field. The nature of those family services was unknown as of Thursday afternoon. 

"Obviously he didn’t want to stay," Sterling added. "There’s a reason he didn’t want to come to the Yankees, and it couldn’t be the suite. That’s just too mundane. How much is a suite when you’re making $750M?"

Perhaps Sterling is right and Soto simply likes the fact that the Mets allegedly feel more "like a family" than the Yankees.