TAMPA, Florida — When the Yankees acquired Giancarlo Stanton prior to the 2018 season, the power hitter confidently stated he “felt bad for baseballs.”
Fresh off a captivating Home Run Derby showdown in Miami, the move paired the reigning National League MVP with Aaron Judge, then the American League Rookie of the Year. Expectations were high, not just for a barrage of home runs, but for championships.
As Stanton enters his ninth season wearing pinstripes, the duo has delivered enough towering blasts to overwhelm Statcast, but a World Series title has remained elusive. That goal continues to drive Stanton, who said his time in New York would be “incomplete” without a championship ring.
“You have to get over the hump,” Stanton said Tuesday. “Obviously, the goal is the World Series. The goal is a championship, but you have to do what’s in the middle, not just get there, but finish it.”
They’ve approach close. Stanton’s postseason pedigree was cemented during the 2024 playoffs, when he was named ALCS MVP after nearly single-handedly dismantling the Guardians. The Yankees’ strong performance in the ALCS highlighted their potential as contenders.
A World Series matchup against the Dodgers held all the makings of a dream ending for Stanton, who grew up in Southern California and fell in love with baseball as a young fan in the left-field stands at Dodger Stadium, battling for batting practice home run balls he would one day hit himself.
But it wasn’t to be. The Dodgers took the series in five games, and when the Yankees received their American League champions rings the following spring in a Manhattan ballroom, it was Stanton who took the floor to tell his teammates not to wear them in public.
“This isn’t the one we wanted,” Stanton told them that night.
Now, Stanton and the Yankees aim to prove that a largely similar roster to last year’s can dethrone the Blue Jays and the rest of a competitive American League East. The division is shaping up to be one of the most challenging in baseball.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone says Stanton appears trimmer than last season, when he hit 24 home runs in 77 games with a .273/.350/.594 slash line despite being limited by severe tennis elbow in both arms.
“He had a good offseason,” Boone said. “He’s always in good shape, but I see him well, very lean. He’s doing everything in workouts, ready to go right now. I feel like we’re in a good spot right now.”
Stanton didn’t dispute that, noting he feels good moving around, though he recalled the elbow issues that began to bother him during the second half of the 2024 campaign, including that epic ALCS against Cleveland.
It’s manageable, he said, but will never fully heal. As long as Stanton continues to swing a bat, there will be discomfort. However, he assures he can do what’s necessary to stay on the field.
“It’s not going away,” Stanton said. “It’s always going to be maintenance. But it didn’t stop me from doing anything, and that’s the most important thing.”
Boone indicated he’ll likely wait about a week before getting Stanton into Grapefruit League games. Much of his playing time will again be as a designated hitter, though Boone didn’t rule out some appearances in the outfield, just to keep the option available.
“He’s evolved in how he trains and how he takes care of himself,” Boone said. “Best-case scenario, he’s healthy all the way through. I’ll be proactive giving him days off, to be able to keep him healthier long term.”
The goal is to fulfill what Stanton envisioned when he posed for photos holding a pinstriped jersey at that Winter Meetings ballroom back in late 2017, when the immediate future seemed limitless.
As Stanton said, opportunities will still exist to lead that ticker-tape parade down Canyon of Heroes. But they have less time than ever before.
“The story is still being written,” Stanton said. “But the point of being a Yankee is to be a champion. There’s always going to be a stain there without that.”
