Anyone who has spent much time watching or reading about the Yankees this postseason has heard plenty about the playoff struggles of presumptive 2024 AL MVP Aaron Judge. It'll be his second MVP in three years, but he's had trouble getting going in the playoffs. Someone who also has an MVP and has not had any playoff issues? That would be Giancarlo Stanton.
The herculean Yankees slugger homered in Game 1 of the ALCS, a 5-2 Yankees win over the Cleveland Guardians. It was not a cheapie.
That prodigious blast was Stanton's 13th career homer in 115 playoff at-bats. It's a small sample, as most playoff stats are, but Stanton has been better in the playoffs (.278/.348/.661) than the regular season (.257/.345/.525) on a rate basis.
Among players with at least 100 playoff plate appearances, Stanton sits behind only Babe Ruth (.744), Lou Gehrig (.731) and Randy Arozarena (.690) in slugging percentage.
He's also now driven home 29 runs in 32 playoff games. He had four in the four ALDS games against the Royals, including one on a home run that turned the series:
The series was tied, 1-1, and the game was tied in the eighth inning before that homer. He had two of the three RBI in that game for the Yankees. He also had an RBI single in the Yankees' 3-1 win in the clinching Game 4. Stanton is hitting .368 in these playoffs, giving the Yankees a productive right-handed power bat behind Juan Soto as Judge -- who is now hitting .204 in 49 career playoff games -- has only two hits in 15 at-bats.
The 34-year-old Stanton is never going to be the monster he once was. You know, the guy who hit 59 homers and drove home 132 runs in the 2017 season, winning an MVP as a member of the Marlins, even though they weren't even a playoff team. He's had too many injuries to get back to that level.
He is still a very fearsome slugger, however, and seems to hit another gear once it is playoff time. That's the easiest way to endear yourself to the Yankee faithful -- and then winning a ring brings on the "True Yankee" label.
The day before the playoffs started for the Yankees, Stanton was asked what he likes best about the playoffs.
"The weight of the moment," he said. "Every pitch can be the deciding factor of your season. Every out, every pitch is cumulative of the six, seven years of preparation for this. You can't shy away from that. You have to understand that and embrace it and quiet it and get it done."
He most definitely does not view playoff games the same way as regular-season games. He embraces how much different the playoffs are viewed in Yankee Land. In order to truly be special, you have to be part of a team that wins the World Series.
Thus far in the 2024 playoffs, Stanton is doing everything he can to get there, notably stepping up while Judge continues to struggle.
