NEW YORK — Michael Kay did not hold back Monday morning. The longtime Yankees broadcaster unleashed a three-minute tirade on his ESPN New York radio show, zeroing in on what he called a “vicious, angry subset” of Mets fans.
The timing was no accident. Less than a day earlier, the Mets had crashed out of postseason contention, losing 4-0 to the Miami Marlins despite controlling their playoff fate.
“I feel glee about your pain today because you deserve it,” Kay said during his midday show in a video later posted on Instagram. “The way you’ve tried to make my life a living hell by all those Juan Soto tweets when you knew that I never even said the stuff that you’re accusing me of saying.”
The Soto saga that sparked Yankees-Mets fan war
The roots of the feud stretch back to the offseason. The Yankees and Mets both pursued Juan Soto, but the superstar outfielder shocked the baseball world when he signed a record 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets.
The Yankees had offered 16 years and $760 million, falling just $5 million short. Soto’s decision gave Mets fans an endless supply of taunts aimed at the Bronx.
Kay, as the voice of the Yankees on YES Network and a daily radio host, became an easy target. Throughout the season, he fielded constant reminders of Soto’s defection from Mets supporters.
“You needed something to hang on the rim about, and you said, ‘Let’s pick the guy who announces Yankee games and is also accessible on the radio show. Let’s do it to him,’” Kay said. “But now, I’m the one who’s laughing at you.”
When a $340 million payroll isn’t enough
The Mets’ collapse made Kay’s laughter sting even more. Owner Steve Cohen assembled a payroll surpassing $340 million, the highest in Major League Baseball, built around Soto’s mega-contract. Yet that investment produced no playoff berth.
The disappointment stung even harder because the Mets had reached Game 6 of the 2024 National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Expectations soared when the team added Soto to a roster already considered championship-caliber.
Instead, the 2025 Mets unraveled in September. They needed just one win over the last-place Marlins to clinch a Wild Card spot, but they were shut out in Miami.
The fallout grew worse after elimination. Slugger Pete Alonso announced he would opt out of his contract, leaving another hole in the lineup and more questions about the team’s future.
Plan B proves superior to Plan A
Kay highlighted the contrast between the two franchises. While the Mets pushed all their chips toward Soto, the Yankees spent their resources differently after losing the bidding war.
With the money once earmarked for Soto, the Yankees reshaped their roster. They added left-hander Max Fried to lead the rotation, veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to stabilize the infield, and versatile outfielder Cody Bellinger to deepen the lineup.
“Plan B worked,” Kay taunted Mets fans. “Your Plan A didn’t.”
The Yankees remained in postseason contention, proving their balanced approach had paid off even without Soto.
Drawing a line between fan bases
Kay also distinguished between groups of Mets fans. He said he sympathized with those who have endured years of disappointment.
“This team systematically rips your heart out,” Kay said. “Those are the people I genuinely feel for. I really feel for them.”
But he reserved his anger for those who spent the season taunting him online.
“It’s that vicious, angry subset of Met fans that weren’t hugged by their parents, who didn’t have any love in their family, and they just love to pass along hate,” Kay said. “Derisive, nasty, those I don’t feel sorry for.”
Kay went further, addressing the rivalry directly.
“We’re the big brother now,” he said. “How dumb do you feel? How chagrin are you? Are you embarrassed? Because this was going to be the dawning of a new era.”
Social media erupts over viral video
The clip of Kay’s rant spread quickly online. Within hours, it drew thousands of comments across X, Instagram and sports forums.
Some Mets fans accused Kay of piling on at their lowest moment. Others argued he crossed a line by mocking a fan base that had just endured another collapse.
Yankees fans of Kay praised him for defending himself after months of social media abuse. They said he had every right to fire back after being targeted throughout the season.
The viral moment underscored the intensity of New York baseball. In a city where the subway runs from the Bronx to Queens, every move and every failure becomes part of the rivalry’s folklore.
For Kay, Monday’s monologue was payback. For Mets fans, it was an unwelcome reminder of a season that ended in humiliation. For everyone else, it was another dramatic twist in the city’s ongoing baseball soap opera.
The 2025 season may be over for the Mets, but the fight for bragging rights never pauses. And Kay made sure to leave no doubt which side of New York he stands on.
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