Does Giancarlo Stanton Have the Answer For the New York Yankees Hitting Struggles?

Does Giancarlo Stanton Have the Answer For the New York Yankees Hitting Struggles?

by | Oct 22, 2022 | THE THREE SPOT

The New York Yankees fell into a 2-0 hole in the ALCS with a 3-2 loss to the Houston Astros on Thursday. It’s really easy to see why the series has been so one-sided. Bottom line, the Yankees offense has fallen off a cliff.

In Game 2, Aaron Judge, who has struggled mightily at the plate this postseason, came close to hitting a two-run homer in the 8th inning that would have turned the season around. But the explanation by Yankees manager Aaron Boone on Judge’s near home run may give some insight concerning how desperate things are getting as the series goes back to the “Big Apple”.

Aaron Boone via ESPN…

“I think the roof open kind of killed us,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, later adding “I didn’t think like he smoked it like no doubter, but it felt like his homers to the right”

That’s the problem with the Yankees bats this postseason. Instead of putting the ball in play and trying to put runners on base, they are trying to win games with the long ball. That works in the regular season, but rarely in the playoffs when you are facing the best pitchers from the best teams in the world. Now the Yankees have shown that it can be done in the deciding game of the ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians. That’s when Giancarlo Stanton, yet another MLBbro, sent the Yanks to the championship series with this three-run homer in the 1st inning of Game 5.

 

But these are the Houston Astros, who are led by the MLBbro icon, Dusty Baker, looking to clear up some unfinished business of their own as well as eliminate past demons…

 

Dusty Baker Can Bring Back Two Things For The Houston Astros This Postseason…A Championship and Respect

 

The New York Yankees and their fans may be frustrated over the lack of hitting, but the problem is that this is nothing new. In the regular season, the Yanks have been able to survive with this formula that would make the late Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver proud. They live and die by the long ball. The Yankees were first in the American League in home runs with 254, buoyed by Judge’s record total of 62. However, they were only tied for 16th in total hits with 1308 which places them in the BOTTOM half of the league.

Stanton was the first to address the elephant in the room after a four-hit performance in Game 2 via MLB.com…

“We’ve got to shorten up a little bit and put the ball in play,” …” You never know what can happen if you put the ball in play.”

While our MLBbro deserves credit for calling out the issues of the Yankees offense, he’s part of the problem. Despite hitting two home runs in the last series against Cleveland, his bat has been M.I.A. as well hitting only 4-for-24 this postseason with a double and six RBI. 

Despite the fact the Yankees have dominated at home with a 57-24 record, they have picked an inopportune time against the wrong team to have historic hitting struggles. The team’s batting average has bottomed out to .138 in two ALCS games with an unfathomable 30 strikeouts. 

Can Stanton turn this around? MLBro.com thinks it’s a definite possibility as our first lady of sports, Rachel Hill discusses here.

 

With Aaron Hicks out for the season and Aaron Judge still trying to find his rhythm, it is the perfect time for our MLBbro to add substance to analytical stats that could put him in the Mr. October conversation. He currently has the highest HR/AB ratio in MLB postseason history with 11 homers and 23 RBI in 25 games.

On paper, Stanton can do this. Let’s look at the highlights on his resume, shall we?

  • In 2022, he hit 31 home runs and drove in 78 runs, despite being a down year with injuries and slumps in periods throughout the season.

 

  • His 378 home runs put him on the fast track to the 500 HR club if he stays healthy.


  • His 59 homers with the Marlins back in 2017 show that he’s a superstar that could explode at any moment and that he’s due.

 

Then if the MLBbro combination of Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge get it together at the same time, the Yankees can buck history and win this series.

  • The Yankees are 28-2 when both homer in the same game


  • Game 5 in the ALDS marked the 4th time the duo homered in the same postseason game. Meaning these two can bring “Houston…we have a problem” cliches for the rest of the ALCS.

 

They still have five more games left to make it happen.

 

The Incomparable Reggie Jackson Celebrates 75th Birthday| Nobody Was Clutch Like Mr. October

The Incomparable Reggie Jackson Celebrates 75th Birthday| Nobody Was Clutch Like Mr. October

by | May 18, 2021 | 6TH SLOT

By Devon Mason| Contributor 

 

Reggie Jackson aka Mr. October was Dynamic, Controversial and Amazing

Reggie Jackson ranks as one of the most dynamic players to ever walk onto a baseball diamond. Called “Mr. October” because of his clutch hits in the postseason for the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees, Jackson proved he deserved his Hall of Fame selection in 1993 after 21 seasons in the big leagues.

Action Jackson played for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, and California Angels between 1967 and 1987. His most famous moment, which elevated him to iconic status in the annals of New York’s illustrious sports history, was a performance for the ages in the 1977 World Series.

 

 

Jackson was born on May 18, 1946 in Wyncote, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. His father was a World War II veteran and small business owner, running a dry cleaning and tailoring business. Despite Jackson’s multi-sport prowess, his father insisted that his son get a college degree.

Reggie attended Arizona State on a football scholarship, but that itch for baseball never went away.

Possessing tremendous power at the plate, he hit three home runs during five at-bats in his walk-on tryout at ASU.

That’s when it became 100 percent “Go-Time” with baseball.

Jackson spent the summer between his freshman and sophomore years working on his baseball skills and in his sophomore year he completely dedicated himself to diamond mining.

Success immediately followed, as Jackson set the school’s single-season home run record in 1966 and was named an All American.

The Athletics, then based in Kansas City, drafted him in June 1966.

Jackson spent his years with the Athletics, Orioles, Yankees and Angels. All four franchises were winners while he played for them.

The A’s moved to Oakland in 1968, Jackson had been called up earlier that summer, and that’s when both Reggie and the Athletics began to take off.

In 1969, Jackson hit 49 home runs and was on pace to break Roger Maris’ home run record. The A’s won the World Series three straight seasons (1972-74). Jackson was named World Series MVP in 1973. He was also considered controversial and known for being flamboyant, confident and outspoken.

When a teammate was asked if Jackson was a “hot dog” – a showoff – on the field, the reply was, “There isn’t enough mustard in the world to cover that dog.”

Reggie understood the value of star power and charisma and the Muhumad Ali style of ego jousting that captivated fans and media long before it was popular.

During his years in the “Bronx” with the Yankees, they won the 1977 and 1978 World Series. He was named MVP of the 1977 Fall Classic. His time in New York was marred by a tumultuous relationship with alcoholic manager Billy Martin who eventually quit his job in 1978, saying Jackson and Yankees owner George Steinbrenner “were made for each other.”

As a member of the Angels, they did not make the World Series but did win the AL West division title in 1982 and 1986, the first and last year of Jackson’s tenure with the team. He signed a contract with the Athletics in 1987, retiring at season’s end.

 

 

He finished his Hall of Fame career with 563 home runs, 11 playoff appearances, six league pennant wins, five World Series Championships, and 14 MLB All-Star selections.

Reggie has many memorable moments but these three stand out:

1. His three home run game in the 1977 World Series, it happened in Game 6 versus the Los Angeles Dodgers and is the “stuff of legendary proportions.” That game was the series and championship clincher for the “Bronx Bombers.” Every blast was on the first pitch of his at-bat. On the third one, commentator Howard Cosell said.

2. What a colossal blow!” Fearful of fans who had thrown firecrackers onto the field, Jackson donned a batting helmet to wear at his position in rightfield and sprinted to the dugout after the final out, in the process, knocking a few fans out of the way.

 

 

3. At the team’s 1978 home opener, the Yankees allowed Standard Bar to debut a new candy bar with his namesake attached to it. The “Reggie Bar”, was circular and it contained peanuts and was covered with caramel and chocolate. Jackson went yard in this game, and fans celebrated by throwing the candy bars on the field. Jackson misunderstood, thinking the fans didn’t like the candy bar. There was also a memorable commercial made for the product.

 

 

Of course, there were many other moments, such as Jackson hitting the go-ahead home run that gave the Yanks the lead and eventual win, in the 1978 playoff game against the arch-rival Boston Red Sox.

Jackson was a dynamic, controversial and amazing player that you couldn’t stop watching. He understood the value of theatre and never wilted in the big moment. He was uncanny in the way he seemed to perform his best when the stakes are high.

He’s the definition of a Hall of Famer, representing those transcending MLBbro personalities missing in today’s game to a large degree.

A captivating Black Knight who everybody wanted to be like. His three home runs in one World Series game would alone make him a legend. And for two decades he proved to be a winner no matter where he played.