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Let’s talk about Giancarlo Stanton—the Yankees’ big man with the booming bat, who’s somehow still catching heat for his baserunning. Stanton’s reputation? He’s “slow.” But David Samson, former Marlins president, just flipped the script, claiming Stanton isn’t so much slow as he is cautious, preferring to conserve his strength for those game-breaking hits rather than risking injury on the bases. And can you really blame him? The Yankees have finally clawed their way back to the ALCS, thanks in no small part to Stanton, whose monster hits and huge OPS of 1.132 during the ALDS have kept the Bronx Bombers rolling. Just look at his numbers—Stanton’s bat has been clutch, his OPS towering over his teammates, with Oswaldo Cabrera trailing far behind at .900.
For a player whose baserunning (or lack thereof) has drawn criticism, Stanton shut some doubters up in Game 3, stealing a base to the crowd’s absolute delight. Samson even went so far as to call him the most clutch Yankee “since Jeter,” and he’s not alone in that view. The Captain himself, Derek Jeter, has chimed in, saying Stanton is the player who can truly “change the series with just one swing.” And when Judge or Soto doesn’t have it, Stanton’s been the one coming up big.
For Yankees fans, Stanton’s high costs and injury-plagued seasons have made him a polarizing figure, but Jeter’s got a point—he’s the secret weapon, the guy who steps up in the postseason with ice in his veins. Stanton’s cautious approach isn’t about “slowness”; it’s about staying in the lineup and giving the Yankees their best shot at that first Pennant since 2009. And maybe he’s got one more base to steal, just to prove the haters wrong.
