June 11, 2006; Phoenix, AZ, USA; New York Mets pitcher (45) Pedro Martinez between innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-US Presswire Copyright Rick Scuteri Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Mets icon Pedro Martinez defends Juan Soto amid hitting woes

Originally posted on New York Mets on SI | By Grant Young | Last updated May 22, 2025 6:00 PM ET

The biggest story in the baseball world to this point in the 2025 season is the (relative) struggles that New York Mets star slugger Juan Soto has had at the plate.

Just about every fan, pundit, and personality within baseball has an opinion on what's going wrong with Soto, whether he's enjoying his time with the Mets, and whether he'll ever be able to turn it around.

And it's fair for fans to expect more from Soto, given that he signed the biggest contract in sports history this past offseason. It's also fair for these fans to want more from Soto right now, given that the Mets are clearly a contender to win the World Series this year (if he returns to form).

Juan Soto had never struck out on 3 pitches in consecutive ABs in 1 game in his entire MLB career and he just did it looking at all 6 strikes. https://t.co/AG4igkx7eZ
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 21, 2025

However, it's important to remember that Soto is signed for 14 more seasons with the Mets after this one, and there have been plenty of examples of players who took some time to adjust to their new team. The perfect example of this is with Francisco Lindor, who struggled for an entire season with the Mets before turning things around.

This is the sentiment that MLB legend and former Mets hurler Pedro Martinez shared in an X post on May 20 that has since gone viral.

"Juan Soto: I was once the highest paid player and it took me a while to adjust. Nobody thinks about the human inside the uniform. There are things that can get you distracted. We forget how young he is. #mlbontbs," Martinez wrote in the post, which has nearly 500,000 views.

Juan Soto: I was once the highest paid player and it took me a while to adjust. Nobody thinks about the human inside the uniform. There are things that can get you distracted. We forget how young he is. #mlbontbs
— Pedro Martinez (@45PedroMartinez) May 20, 2025

Martinez had a 32-23 record with a 3.88 ERA and 464 strikeouts in 79 appearances (486.2 innings) for the Mets in his career, which spanned from the 2005-2008 seasons.

Soto has proven he can handle the scrutiny of New York media, just like Martinez did during his Hall of Fame career. Perhaps it will just take some patience before Soto gets back on his own Hall of Fame track.

This article first appeared on New York Mets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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