Giancarlo Stanton He ruined a game Wednesday night. That’s why you tolerate him “clogging up” the designated hitter’s spot in the Yankees’ lineup and sometimes the base paths.
When you have this kind of power and can perform in the most tense moments, it doesn’t matter if you’re not a plus baserunner.
All the whining about the things Stanton can’t do seems so ridiculous after his sublime performance in Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Royals. Stanton essentially led the Yankees to a 3-2 victory in, as he put it, “a great swing game.”
He hit a tiebreaking solo home run in the top of the eighth inning to give the Yankees what would be their final margin of victory. That was after he hit an RBI double earlier in the night to drive in his first run.
He finished 3 for 5 with two RBIs. Stanton even stole a base.
It was a great performance on a night where the rest of his teammates went a collective 1-for-25. The only other hit was a Antonio Volpe single.
Without Stanton’s swings (and the bullpen, which has been excellent throughout the series), the Yankees’ season could be on the brink in this best-of-five affair, not the Royals, who will try to stay alive by winning the Thursday’s game. Game 4.
“He’s a murderer,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone he said of Stanton in the interview room after the game. “It’s extraordinary or I just admire how well he is able to focus on these big moments and mentally go to a different place. The home run at-bat was phenomenal. I think he went up there to do that and faced a really tough reliever in (Kris) Bubicwhich is a neutral type that eliminates righties and lefties.
“I thought he made all the right pitches and got the one he was looking for and didn’t miss it. Obviously, a big night for him.”
“This is why I came here,” Stanton said in the interview room. “We are not always going to be successful, but we have to keep working and take advantage of the best opportunity.”
It is the first go-ahead home run in the eighth inning or later in a postseason game by a Yankee since Raul Ibanez in the 2012 ALDS.
Stanton’s big night was crucial for these Yankees in part because Aaron judgehis best player, he is 1 for 11 in the series. While Stanton said of Judge, “He’s definitely going to do some damage, it’s just a matter of time,” it still stands to reason that Judge’s October struggles will remain a pinstripe issue for as long as they last.
The rotation hasn’t pitched well, posting a 6.08 ERA through the first three games, although they have hope. Gerrit Cole is better in Game 4. However, the bullpen (13.2 innings pitched, one unearned run allowed) has been a constant delight.
But if the Yankees really move forward and accomplish something wonderful this October, Stanton’s home run will likely become a signature moment of any career they make.
And so it should be. Stanton has been a regular contributor in October since donning the pinstripes in 2018. He now has 12 home runs and 27 RBIs in 30 postseason games with the Yankees. Yes, there have been some at-bats in the playoffs where he has greeted unhittable breaking balls into the other batter’s box. But in a postseason era where the Yankees have struggled offensively as a team too many times, he’s still dangerous.
Postseason Giancarlo might be the best Giancarlo.
In fact, his .964 OPS in the playoffs compares very well to some big names on the Yankees. It’s not a complete list, just a select few, but it’s pretty interesting. baby ruth and Lou Gehrigtwo of the greatest postseason beasts of all time, each had a career OPS of 1.214 in October. Hard to match. But Stanton has a higher postseason OPS than mickey cloak (.908), who hit 18 World Series home runs, Derek Jeter (.838) and joe dimaggio (.760).
Do what you will, but that’s at least an indication of Stanton’s value to the Yankees in these types of vital, high-heart-rate games.
Before Wednesday night’s game, Stanton said he went out for some batting practice, hoping to get comfortable with the backdrop of Kauffman Stadium and gauge how the ball was traveling. He also liked the idea of “working when it’s a little quiet, doing nothing but working and seeing what I can do.”
It worked. His home run came on Bubic’s 3-1 slider that went 417 feet to left field. MLB’s Statcast measured the exit velocity at 112.9 miles per hour.
“It wasn’t a bad pitch,” Stanton said. “I just got in shape, showed up on time and was able to get it out.”
He got his stolen base early in the game when the Royals weren’t paying attention to him on the bases and rocketed into second place with a huge leap. It was his first robbery… it was his first attempt! — since 2020. He joked that his teammates’ reactions to the hit were “probably better than the home run, to be honest.”
But that’s not really his game. And that’s fine. He’s not the gutsy singles hitter you’d expect to be able to get an infield hit or two. His game is pure power, the kind he showed in Game 3, and that fits with the Yankees, who led the MLB with 237 home runs.
If the Yankees get another dose in Game 4, they could end the series. That will bring them one step closer to a truly memorable spot and give Stanton, with or without another stolen base, more games to potentially ruin.