Giancarlo Stanton Is Showing His Worth When It Matters Most

When the New York Yankees traded for Giancarlo Stanton and the better part of his 13-year, $325 million contract ahead of the 2018 season, they looked to be creating something special.

After they lost in heartbreaking fashion in the 2017 ALCS at the hands of the Houston Astros, the arrival of Stanton symbolized a new chapter for the Yankees, a chapter that aimed to once and for all bring that ultimate winning culture back to the Bronx.

And adding the 2017 NL MVP to play alongside the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year, Aaron Judge, suddenly gave the Yankees one of the deadliest power duos in Major League Baseball.

To say it’s all gone to plan for Brain Cashman and Co., though, would be far from the truth, as it hasn’t all been sunny skies for the Yankees since Stanton’s arrival. He’s certainly had a rollercoaster of ups and downs since coming to New York.

But, the good times seem to have returned to the Empire State, as the Yankees are back in the World Series for the first time since 2009 and look stronger than ever.

And Giancarlo Stanton has been, perhaps, the biggest reason why.

The Lows Leading Up to This Point

It’s looked touch and go at times when it comes to determining whether the Yankees were right to bring in Stanton for a guaranteed 10 seasons.

While it wasn’t the 59 HR and 1.007 OPS MVP performance he had with the Marlins in 2017, his opening season in the Bronx was a solid one overall. Stanton managed 38 HR, 100 RBI and an .852 OPS in 158 games in 2018.

But the questions really began to pile up from that point onwards.

In 2019, Stanton only managed to make 18 regular season appearances after dealing with a left bicep injury in the first half of the season followed by a right knee sprain in the second half.

And in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Stanton only managed to play in 23 games out of 60 that year due to a strained hamstring.

The time he has missed hasn’t been nearly as severe since that point, there’s no denying that injuries have plagued Stanton throughout his Yankees tenure. He’s only managed one season in which he’s missed 25 or fewer games since that 158-game total he posted in 2018.

And in the past three seasons, Stanton’s offensive numbers have noticeably declined. He’s looked less like the MVP he once was.

But while the injuries have piled up and his regular form at the plate has seen a noticeable decline, it hasn’t been all doom and gloom during his time in New York.

Stanton Continues To Step Up in the Postseason

When things started to go downhill for Stanton, the one thing he could always fall back on was his immense power.

Other than his very injury-riddled seasons of 2019 and 2020, he’s managed to hit no fewer than 24 homers each season since joining the Yankees.

And despite whatever regular season form he may’ve had in any given year, his power has been something he’s displayed on a regular basis when the lights are shining the brightest come October.

In 36 postseason games as a Yankee, Stanton has hit 16 home runs, a rate that bests some of the Yankees’ all-time greats.

And the legend of Giancarlo Stanton in the postseason has never been stronger than it has in 2024, as he’s reached a seemingly whole new level.

Stanton has been at the center of all the Yankees’ success this October, with several game-changing hits, many being home runs, in both the ALDS and ALCS.

In a 3-2 win on the road against the Kansas City Royals in Game 3 of the ALDS, Stanton opened the scoring with an RBI double in the fourth before breaking a tie ball game in the late innings, via an eighth-inning solo blast.

His play in Game 3 gave the Yankees a 2-1 series lead which put the Royals on the ropes. And an RBI single in Game 4 that put New York up 3-0, leading to an eventual 3-1 win, was key in putting the series to bed and sending the Royals packing.

And Stanton would find a way to top an already great ALDS with an outstanding ALCS versus Cleveland.

In the five-game series win against the Guardians, Stanton would hit four home runs and record seven RBI while also posting a 1.222 OPS.

This included a home run in Game 3 that gave the Yankees a 4-3 lead, forcing the Guardians to pull off some late-game heroics to salvage their chances in the series.

It also included a three-run, sixth-inning homer that would put the Yankees up 6-2 in Game 4 and prove to be the difference in an eventual 8-6 win.

And how can we forget the game-tying blast he belted on Saturday night in the sixth inning of Game 5, setting the stage for Juan Soto’s game-winning three-run shot in the ninth to send New York back to the Fall Classic for the first time in 15 years.

Stanton would be named the 2024 ALCS MVP for his efforts, and this award should not just be representative of his individual numbers in the series, but also how he protected and ultimately sparked the other two superstars of this Yankees lineup, Judge and Soto.

Since his efforts in Game 3 of the ALDS, it’s become clear to opposing pitchers that he’s no one to mess with in the lineup, leading to Soto and Judge seeing more favorable pitches. And as their numbers indicate, they’ve made the most of their opportunities.

Stanton is doing his best to dispel the naysayers this October by showing off some of that game-altering form that drew New York to acquire him and his MVP-caliber talent in the first place.

He will undoubtedly continue to have a huge role in the Yankees’ World Series game plan against the Dodgers.

And with his toughest test on the horizon, if he can continue to lead the charge and bring the Yankees their 28th World Series title in franchise history and end their current drought, he’ll further prove that investing in him was entirely worth it in the long run.