ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Giancarlo Stanton waited 162 days for one swing that mattered. He got five pitches.
The Yankees trailed the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 in the ninth inning of Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday. Manager Aaron Boone sent Stanton up to pinch-hit for Ryan McMahon against Rays closer Bryan Baker.
It was Stanton’s first at-bat since April 24 in Houston, when he strained his right calf running the bases. A reaggravation in June and a left calf strain in August kept him out the rest of the regular season.
Stanton worked the count to 2-2. Baker came inside with a 96.3 mph fastball, and he foul-tipped it for strike three. Baker finished a one-hit shutout moments later.
Boone said the choice was about the matchup. Baker has been tougher on left-handed hitters, so Boone went to his right-handed slugger rather than a lefty off the bench.
“Just Baker’s obviously had a great year. Really tough, really reverse guy,” Boone said.
He also liked what he saw from the swing, even without a result. But his praise landed awkwardly.
“I thought he was seeing the changeup well. I thought got a good swing off right out of the bat,” Boone said.
Boone summed it up simply.
“He just didn’t clip it,” Boone said.
The Yankees had carried Stanton for exactly that kind of moment. Before the wild-card round, Boone said the threat of the slugger’s bat mattered as much as any swing.
“Hopefully the threat that he is can play a factor for us in this series,” Boone said.
Stanton had prepared for it in live batting practice against Yankees pitchers in late September. He said the hardest part of returning was the speed of the game.
“To see velocity and just to visualize yourself out there,” Stanton said.
The Yankees manager saw a building block. A Yankees legend watching from a studio saw something else.
Jeter’s blunt read on Stanton
Derek Jeter, speaking on Fox Sports after the loss, called Game 2 a must-win for the Yankees. He listed the lineup holes that make it so.
Aaron Judge is off the ALDS roster with a calf strain. Jeter then turned to Stanton and did not soften it.
“You can’t even count Stanton, the one at-bat. He hasn’t played since April,” Jeter said.
The former Yankees captain framed it as a two-player gap against one of the best pitching staffs in baseball.
“You’re taking those two guys out of the lineup and you’re facing a team that has great pitching in the Tampa Rays, and a team that knows how to play, especially in that ballpark, and they do all the little things right,” Jeter said.
It was a fair description of how the Yankees roster has used him. Stanton was activated Sept. 29 strictly as a pinch hitter. He sat through the two-game Wild Card sweep of Boston without batting, including when Boston brought in left-hander Garrett Crochet late in Game 2.
What Stanton has said
Stanton has not asked for a guaranteed role. Before the series, he said he would take whatever the Yankees needed.
“I’m ready to go, however they need me,” the Yankees slugger said.
He also framed October as the one place a lost season can still be saved.
“If there’s any time to erase a bad year, it’s in October,” Stanton said.
The numbers behind both views
Jeter’s skepticism and Boone’s trust can both point to data.
Before he got hurt, Stanton hit .256 with three home runs, 14 RBIs and a .724 OPS in 24 games. He struggled against left-handers, batting .154 in 30 plate appearances, but hit .297 in 66 plate appearances against right-handers.
That split explains Boone’s ninth-inning call. Baker is a right-hander, and Stanton’s best 2026 work came against righties.
His October record is the bigger argument for patience. Stanton has 18 postseason home runs, 44 RBIs and a .926 OPS in 49 playoff games, all with the Yankees. That works out to a homer every 11.3 plate appearances. He was MVP of the 2024 ALCS after hitting seven postseason homers that fall.
But Jeter’s point stands on the calendar. One plate appearance in more than five months is not a sample, and pinch-hitting against elite velocity is the hardest job in the game for a hitter without timing.
Where Stanton stands
Stanton, 36, is signed through 2027 on his 13-year, $325 million contract and sits 44 homers shy of 500.
For now, his role is the ninth inning and the bench. Boone would need a late spot against a right-hander again to use him.
The Yankees trail the best-of-five series 1-0. Game 2 is Monday night at Tropicana Field.
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