Giancarlo Stanton has had a rough start to spring with the New York Yankees. However, he was able to change all of that after going up against the Atlanta Braves this weekend. Before this game, he had registered just one hit in his first 15 at-bats.
Stanton didn’t just connect on one ball in this recent outing, he made great contact with three of them, not including a walk that he got as well in the middle. When talking to him after the game, he said, “I felt good. Squared up some high velocity. That’s always good in spring. Found some grass out there, finally.”
It was nice to see him get back into form a little bit. Stanton notably had a tough season in 2023 and the Yankees faithful had been hoping for a resurgence. He missed a good chunk of the year on the injured list and had some of the worst numbers of his career. He held a batting average of just .191 and an OPS of .695. He’s likely going to keep garnering criticism if he can’t ramp up his level of play soon, especially considering that he’s making $32 million this upcoming year.
Giancarlo Stanton Has Backup From His Teammates/Manager
The Yankees manager Aaron Boone has liked what he’s seen from Stanton lately also. He said, “Every at-bat today, he was probably a little closer. I liked a lot of his shutdowns. He was in an aggressive firing mode. Even on the walk, the 3-0 pitch, he was ready to do damage and hit the brakes.” The 34-year-old Stanton is hoping that his confidence can grow with this recent performance, and that the results will soon follow. His teammate Aaron Judge still has faith in him, stating, “He’s gonna give you 30-plus homers and 100 RBIs when he’s in the middle of the lineup. He’s smart, he’s calculated, he’s seen so many different pitchers, so many situations, no moment is too big for him.”
