NEW YORK — The 45,428 fans who were present at Yankee Stadium on Saturday for the Yankees’ 8-0 victory over the Orioles were not fortunate enough to see any home runs that would go down in history. But they got a Nasty Nester entertainment and a massive 447-foot home run from Giancarlo Stanton.
The five-time All-Star provided all of the offense New York is desperately looking for after a near-no-hitter performance from Nestor Cortes. It also somehow entertained the crowd when Aaron Judge had a relatively quiet game. He smashed a mammoth solo home run, his 29th this season, that traveled at 112.8 mph into the left-field bleachers. It was classic Stanton.
The gigantic big fly from Giancarlo Stanton though doesn’t rank among the top 10 HRs hit at Yankee Stadium, it was an impressive one. Aaron Judge hit a 497-foot homer in 2017. Nomar Mazara of the Texas Rangers had the MLB’s longest at 506 feet in 2019.
Giancarlo Stanton also hit a single in the fifth inning as part of the Yankees’ 14-hit attack on the Orioles pitchers. This was another good sign for the Yankees on the first day of October. They hope that their powerful designated hitter will have more swings like that in much bigger games this month.
Manager Aaron Boone reacted:
“Definitely good to see. I know he wants to get some traction going here heading into the postseason. Good to see him get a really good swing off to start off the day.”
Giancarlo Stanton has had a hard time since coming back from the injured list on August 25. In his last 28 games, he has hit .154 (16-for-104) with five home runs and 42 strikeouts (including Saturday). He had a big moment when he notched a grand slam against the Pirates on September 20. Stanton has had a long slump at the end of an injury-plagued year, which is one reason why the Yankees are thinking about using Matt Carpenter as their designated hitter (DH) in the upcoming American League Division Series.
Carpenter’s health and how quickly he can ramp up at an alternate site in Somerset, N.J., will play a deciding factor. Giancarlo Stanton’s performance at the plate as the season winds down will also influence the decision. When asked what his big swing on Saturday says about how he feels, Stanton said, “I’m getting a little better in my feet, I just need to square up more balls and have good at-bats throughout the whole game.”
If nothing else, Giancarlo Stanton’s home run on Saturday showed how powerful he can be when his swing is on point. Stanton’s 447-foot home run was his longest of the season and his 56th home run of at least 440 feet since 2015. Everyone else has less than 35 (postseason included). It was also his 89th home run with an exit speed of 112 mph or more. No one else has more than 58.
When asked how important it is for him to carry this momentum into the postseason, He responded with the word “huge.”
Should the Yankees include Giancarlo Stanton as the designated hitter in the playoff roster?
