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The New York Yankees have won their last two contests against the Minnesota Twins, and outfielder Giancarlo Stanton cranked a home run in each game.
Yankees captain Aaron Judge recently praised Stanton’s impact as both an on-field talent and clubhouse leader.
“He's a leader. This guy's been one of the best in the game for a long time…,” Judge told Empire Sports Media. “It just speaks volumes to his leadership and what he means to this team”
Across 42 games this season, Stanton has bashed 12 home runs, collected 34 RBIs, and posted a .962 OPS. According to Baseball Savant, his Hard Hit% is 54.9. By comparison, he had a 55.3% mark by the end of last year.
Perhaps more critically, Stanton has been willing to play the outfield while Judge recovers from a flexor strain. As a result, Yankees manager Aaron Boone can still place both sluggers in the lineup. Prior to this month, Stanton had not played the outfield in back-to-back days since the 2023 campaign.
“It’s a credit to him. G’s here to win, period. There’s different things that pop up over the course of the season that require changing course or doing something a little bit different,” Boone told the New York Post. “In his case, with Aaron going down for this period of time, making himself an option again in the outfield, he knows it is important to the club. He started working hard at it to prepare for this and give us that option.”
Stanton’s leadership qualities have also been seen in October. Across 41 Postseason contests with the Yankees, he has hit 18 home runs and earned a .994 OPS. During the team’s run to the 2024 World Series, he smacked seven home runs and totaled a 1.048 OPS.
New York currency holds a 64-56 record as well as the American League’s final Wild Card spot. They hope that Stanton will be able to pad his playoff resume further this fall.
