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Constant_Gardner11

I know the title is silly (like no shit, sherlock) but there's some interesting data vs. fastballs and swing gifs in this piece.


thediesel26

Quiet feet = goooooood Happy feet = injured


Masta0nion

Dude for real! When his lower half is quiet, he’s the scariest hitter in baseball.


Sickpup831

When my lower half is quiet, it’s usually because I skipped out on putting beans on my burrito.


Yankeeknickfan

I feel like Stanton absolutely mastered this consistently each of the last 2 years, at least the most he had at any point in his Yankee tenure. Unfortunately then the injury happened


Yankeeknickfan

Also makes a good point that last year was the first time injuries really affected his production, and that will happen more often as he ages.


SpicyAsianBoy

Fax I scoffed at the title but found myself quite fascinated by the article!


jcnewman21

Hope Stanton is better this year because after his injury last year he couldn’t hit a fastball. He was even being blown away by low 90s


werther595

This description applies to half of the 2022 team. I believe a bunch of them can do much better than what they showed last year, but health is a skill. Hopefully that can work it out


isfrying

The best ability is availability.


Yankeeknickfan

It’s really just Stanton and Dj


werther595

Donaldson's wOBA dropped 51 points from 2021 to 2022. Hicks wOBA was down 60 points from his 2020 numbers Bader's wOBA was down almost 50 points from 2021 to 2022. So yeah, just DJ and Stanton and Donaldson and Hicks and Bader. Plus we have to hold our breath on Judge a little, too. And then we come to the pitching staff...


Yankeeknickfan

You are correct, I misjudged the issue


werther595

I suppose it is an issue for every team, though a team full of stars is also usually a team full of older guys. Older guys get hurt more and bounce back more slowly. I'm hoping for some sort of Devil's bargain where Judge only hits 45 HR in 2023, but the players around him are healthier/better than last year. For plenty of the guys above that seems plausible


Yankeeknickfan

lets be real, 45 wouldn't even be a bargain. Its hard to get that close to 50 HRs. But 40 and healthier/better guys would be nice too


Sirotto18

Hicks is probably the only one I don’t think has a chance to regain form. Wrist injuries just zap your power. It killed Teixeira too


cpeytonusa

Everyone seems to remember how disappointingly this team finished last season, but in the first half they were on fire.


werther595

That's just it with older injury prone guys. You can't really count on them to be healthy and productive for 162. As long as they can spread around who is healthy and hot, I think they'll do well. Last season it was like everyone was healthy and hot at the same time, and then at the same time got hurt and cold. Maybe they need a sign up sheet for their streaks, LOL "Sorry Josh, you can't be hot in April, Giancarlo already has that one. How's June work for you?"


magikarp-sushi

Stanton is all around great in the box and in the clubhouse for us. He’s vital. I can only wish him as much success as I possibly can.


FuckSteveMills

I like the guy, but you can’t help but think we would’ve been better off putting the money towards someone like Machado or Harper who can actually play the field. I know he cost us less than one of those two would have, but I really don’t care about the money especially when considering all the bad contracts we’ve signed/taken on since then.


AhLibLibLib

At the time tho, when you can get the MVP for Starlin Castro you make that trade everytime Also, he’s been a playoff machine, which is what we care about more?


FuckSteveMills

That’s a good point, but if you knew it was going to take you out of the sweepstakes for Machado/Harper then I would disagree. He was already injury prone and the Yankees almost immediately made him a full time DH. I rather have an everyday player than a DH. Not to mention it was the juiced ball season, but I guess it was impossible to know that MLB would keep fucking with the balls each season.


AhLibLibLib

Being a GM is easy in hindsight. You gotta seize opportunities. People always whine about Cashman not doing anything which is the opposite here. And somehow I don’t think Stanton needs the juiced balls


FuckSteveMills

It's obviously much easier in hindsight, but people can still be held accountable, every single person with a job is. I love watching Stanton the player, so my comments are really based on the assumption that we could have gotten Machado/Harper if not for the trade. Stanton put up 9.4 WAR in 5 season with Yankees, Harper put up 15.8 in 4 seasons, and Machado 17.6 in 4 seasons. They're both 3 years younger and healthier. If the Stanton trade took us out of the running for either of those two then it was a bad move then and a bad move now. If you're the type a franchise that can't make a trade in one season because it will affect your budget in the next season then you have to take that into consideration as a GM, that's why most teams don't take on big contracts via trade. Edit: Cashman probably thought he could get the same value with Stanton, but cost ~10mil less a year since he took on the contract. He was wrong. Stanton was older and immediately moved to DH. Not great, but that's just my opinion/thoughts


valid21

>They're both 3 years younger and healthier. If the Stanton trade took us out of the running for either of those two then it was a bad move then and a bad move now. This is a classic case of hindsight being 20/20. Stanton was arguably the best player in baseball when the Yankees acquired him in 2017 (let's also remember he was a really good right-fielder in Miami) and they got him for virtually nothing. You can't just say, "Well we might be able to sign Machado and Harper in the future so we shouldn't make this trade for Stanton now." When you can acquire a guy who just hit 59 home runs for peanuts, you *have* to do it. It's not like Stanton was old at the time, either. He was 28. As far as Stanton being immediately moved to DH, that was just stupidity on the Yankees' part. He was healthy for all of 2017 when he won an MVP playing right field and was healthy for all of 2018, as well. Moving him to DH right away was a terrible move.


chickendance638

Again, not hindsight. Being younger means they were more likely to remain elite players. Stanton had a career year at age 27 - age 27 is the most likely age at which a player will have a career year. Spending resources on a 28 year old who just had his career year is a bad move when two 26 year olds who are equally as productive are going to be available in 1 year. Not to mention that we had Judge already starting in RF.


furdaboise

So is it bad that the Yankees are committing $40MM/yr to a 30+ yo RFer?


chickendance638

It probably won't work out


chickendance638

That wasn't a hindsight decision. At the time people knew that Harper and Machado were going to be FA. Signing Stanton took at Harper out of the equation as we weren't going to have 3 power hitting right fielders. Cashman thought he was being clever by getting Stanton and having the Marlins pay some of his salary.


MattNokes38

Eh when you factor in upcoming FAs, team makeup/needs, and the lengthy contract I'm not so sure it was a slam dunk at the time. Beware of cheap things. There was some questioning of the move when it happened. Also, the playoff machine thing is a myth. He's sucked or been hurt in the 3 biggest postseason series the team has played during his tenure.


AhLibLibLib

He’s also been amazing in other series lol. Production is production Fact is, 22M doesn’t break the bank and shouldn’t have been the reason why we missed out on other FA


MattNokes38

No production isn't production when getting to the CS is considered a failure. 1 RBI combined in 3 huge series from your highly-paid middle of the order hitter is bad. Real bad.


AhLibLibLib

He has a career .970 OPS in the playoffs So because he had a bad series against the Astros you’re just gonna write him off? He carried the team in 2020


MattNokes38

No. Because he's sucked or been MIA in the 3 biggest playoff series he's played in as a Yankee, I'm saying he's not a playoff machine. That's the argument.


valid21

He hit 11 home runs in his first 23 playoff games, which tied an MLB record. He is absolutely a playoff machine. You are cherry picking and you sound silly.


MattNokes38

Yeah I'm cherrypicking the most important series to say he's not a machine. A machine would've produced in those series. 10-41, 0 BBs, 12 Ks, 2 2Bs, 1 HR, 2 RBIs. I guess the machine breaks when the lights are the brightest.


Yankeeknickfan

A lot of armchair GMs acting like without the power of hindsight it was 100% obvious Harper was going to be better than Stanton


AhLibLibLib

Par for the course. This sub has its share of idiots unfortunately


blastedbastedbottle

Oh the irony


AhLibLibLib

Yea yea we’re all enlightened


Drunken_Wizard23

I'd say at least 50% of fans (from what I saw) were calling Harper overrated and not worth it and that Machado was a clubhouse cancer


Yankeeknickfan

Harper also had his own injury history at the time too


Dazzling_Syllabub484

> Also, he’s been a playoff machine, which is what we care about more? He had a .666 OPS last postseason. Basically didn't play in 2019 postseason. Was awful in 2018 postseason. He hit like Bonds in '20 and was the lone bright spot of that disastrous wild card game in boston but he hasn't been lights out in the postseason. I particularly see a lot of people praising his 2022 postseason which is bizarre to me. He had that great 1st inning homer in a win or go home game but that's about all he did all postseason. Also made key mistakes in left field. Someone made a post about the fact that he has put up the same amount of bWAR in his first 5 seasons with the yankees that jason heyward did in his first 5 with the cubs. That's something to think about. I hope he succeeds because he's a yankee, and him along with gerrit cole are among the most accountable players I've ever seen in a yankee uniform, taking their lumps, staying mentally strong, with amazing postgame interviews. But if he has health issues again this season idk what to say


valid21

>He had that great 1st inning homer in a win or go home game but that's about all he did all postseason. He hit two homers with six RBI in the ALDS this year. His first homer of the series was in Game 2 and gave the Yankees the lead (which they ended up losing). I'd say that's pretty damn impactful. He hit 11 home runs in his first 23 playoff games (which tied an MLB record) and owns a lifetime .963 OPS in the playoffs. Not sure how anyone can complain about his playoff performance. Judge and his .772 playoff OPS, on the other hand...


Dazzling_Syllabub484

Judge is awful in the playoffs. Which is why I was largely indifferent about signing him. Happy we did but wouldn’t have cried if we didn’t. Stantons overall postseason numbers are great. They’re heavily aided by a postseason where he hit like bonds in ‘20. I will reiterate that he was bad in this past postseason. Had a couple of nice first inning homers but did nothing in the postseason besides that. It is what it is man


joey5280

That offseason when Harper was a FA we invested in the following: Britton: $13 million Ottavino: $9 million Happ: $17 million Sabathia: $8 million Hicks: $10 million = 57 Million. Pretty brutal. And now 4 years later 37 year old Josh Donaldson is making the same amount per year as Harper (25 Million). Has nothing to do with getting Stanton, could’ve had both.


porterbrown

If I am the Yankees I have Judge, Stanton, Rizzo and Cole doing Yoga / Ballet / tai chi daily. Bring in a pro. Windowless room if need be. 25 minutes a day. At their age with their bodies have to start thinking holistically.


theerrantpanda99

I bet they already do.


cooljammer00

3 dudes from Cali? Almost definitely.


Bis_Eastwood

stanton is famous for power yoga


Yankeeknickfan

There was a whole thing about judge and Stanton doing yoga before 2021 Worked for both that season. I imagine they kept it up


Untermensch13

Hate to say it, but my expectations for the rest of Stanton's contract are low. While anything can happen, once injuries start to nibble---especially at at 30+ sluggers---chunks of skill begin to go. He's already a problematic fielder and station to station baserunner, if he loses much more he'll be worthless.


Stormovthelightsbane

His defense is fine they just want to keep him from getting injured.


Claffstar

He had a couple crazy blunders in a game in RF last year.


BigDavey88

I blame not getting regular reps out there for those. Though we know why he doesn't get regular reps in the OF anymore. He was an above average defender in his 20s, people assuming he was some kind of lug out there because of one misplayed ball in spring training in 2018. In 2023, he is now a big guy about to enter his mid 30s. He's probably not above average anymore. If he could still play the outfield though, his defense isn't hurting the team given what he can do with the bat.


Yankeeknickfan

My expectations are a few seasons like 2021, also let him DH. I don’t care what the narrative is, playing the field does not help him at all. Slow play him the way they did in 2021 if anything because that clearly worked


DrVanNostrand1973

Well, that and age, even though those two are very closely linked.


AangAndTheFireLord

Oh no worries, he only has... *checks notes*... 6 years left on his deal. OH GOD! I don’t get why 10+ year contracts have become commonplace. Such an absurd amount of time to not only expect players to remain healthy, but to remain productive too.


Constant_Gardner11

Longterm contracts pretty much only work out if the player *immediately* provides big value, either through MVP-play or winning a World Series. The backend is almost always terrible. You pay for those big years up front with the understanding that you'll have to ride through some bumpy years toward the end. We've already been through Stanton's age 28-32 seasons, which were probably the best he's going to have with the Yankees. And sadly no MVP-caliber play (he's been worth around 3 WAR per full season) or World Series ring yet. It's going to be difficult for this contract to be anything but a negative overall. Best we can hope for is Stanton has a few healthy seasons left and helps us win a ring. Flags forever.


Country-Strong994

Stanton does show up during the Postseason, which is what you want for a big contract guy. I think Stanton has been a solid addition to the team over his time here, when you accept the cold streaks. I would imagine that would put me in the minority here.


Dazzling_Syllabub484

Stanton had a .188 batting average, .666 OPS, and had bad blunders when he was allowed to play the OF last postseason.


Country-Strong994

Yeah, that batting average and OPS was 4th highest on the team last postseason, 3rd if you don't count IKF who had less AB than the rest of the regulars. The whole team minus Bader and Rizzo no showed.


Dazzling_Syllabub484

That is the most fucking depressing stat I’ve ever read. And that is not indicative of those being good #s but rather speaks to just how pathetic our O was this postseason. I mean I knew it was bad but for those to be top 5 numbers on the team is sad


Country-Strong994

Since 2017, the Yankees have had an average above .250 once, and that was 2020. Hitting in the postseason is hard for everyone.


Dazzling_Syllabub484

The yankees offensive ineptitude this postseason was definitely not normal.


Country-Strong994

1 team hit over .250 this postseason: the Jays in 2 games. I don't know what "normal" would be to you, but it seems to me you should lower it.


Dazzling_Syllabub484

The Yankees had 6 or fewer hits in 8/9 postseason games last year. If that’s not inept to you, then idk what is. I can’t believe I’ve found someone on this sub that believes the Yankees had an acceptable offensive performance last postseason. There’s truly a redditor with every single opinion


HateMcLouth

dunno about the healthy season part, but I can absolutely see a year where Stanton misses most of a season, plays maybe 30 games and puts up maybe 0.2 WAR as DH... then has 3 weeks of October Stanton that gets us a ring. and we'll remember him like Matsui.


Yankeeknickfan

Healthy season is def possible I think the 2021 Stanton is within reach and reasonable 2-3 FWAR, and a high wrc+ mashing Dh


yosoydorf

Because if you don’t give them that, someone else will, then you have a fan base that is pissed off. What would the reaction have been if the Yankees lost Judge to the Giants because they wouldn’t play ball on contract length?


Hollowhalf

I love how Stanton has hit 30 hr the last two year and everyone is still talking about what he could do. I know he hasn’t got as many at bats each year as he could and he struggles a lot at some points, but it just shows how much of a monster the dude is. He just needs to hit for a higher average. .211 is horrendous.


Dazzling_Syllabub484

.211 is fine if you get on base. The more horrendous stat for Stanton this season is .297 OBP


Hollowhalf

For sure some more walks would help, but that low BA is screwing his OBP hardcore too


Dazzling_Syllabub484

For sure, the stats coincide after all. But Juan Soto this year, with a below avg BA (.242) was still able to be a 150 OPS+ player since he had an OBP over .400.


Hollowhalf

I’m definitely with you, since Soto had almost 3x as many walks 😂


IWillSingYouSongs

31 homers and only 78 RBIs. I wonder what the record is for least number of RBIs with 30+ ding dongs. Gallo had 38 and 77 in '21.


Hollowhalf

Lol you got me curious as well https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/leaderboarding-fewest-rbi-by-home-run-benchmark/amp/


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Hollowhalf

Idk what that is, but sounds like good bot


nemotheomen22

May not be the record, but Granderson in 2016 for the Mets had 30 HR and 59 RBIs.


calvin2525

Yup waiting for Stanton to play all games and smash fitty 😮


Tremulant21

Do you know Aaron Boone is our coach? JC himself wouldn't start 162.


IWillSingYouSongs

That's not a Boone thing


Tremulant21

Name a starter who plays 6/7 besides Judge than repeat than reply.


fdlt1951

What kinda numbers would he have playing a full unhurt season


Yankeeknickfan

135-140 wrc+ If not higher based on what he was before the injury


kcusollag

[Like I said,](https://www.reddit.com/r/NYYankees/comments/10a6vkf/giancarlo_stanton_has_so_far_put_up_92_bwar_in/j42mh27/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3) this ALCS showed that high velocity is going to be a big problem for Stanton going forward. “But he was injured!” When is he not? With that kind of reliance on lower body mechanics for success, the high and in fastball is going to be his kryptonite for years to come.


Yankeeknickfan

This is a pretty bad conclusion. it’s very tough to analyze any part of the 2nd half. As the article points out any velocity was a struggle because his legs were killing him. High velo shouldn’t bother him more than any other aging slugger unless he just is going to have chronic pain and will never be able to run a normal batting stance again “But when is he injured” is not valid because he does not always have lower body injuries that affect his ability to hit fastballs


Redditfront2back

He’s going over this season him and judge are going to be hitting them out left and right


Savages_in_box

Stanton is on the decline and people just need to come to terms that the back half of his contract is going to be terrible. I made these arguments as to why we never should have gotten him and waited for Harper instead and people called me stupid and why wouldn't we want this guy coming off 59 home runs. It was a near sighted move that was always going to suck in the long term


Tremulant21

Another season of injury minimization 4 days playing one day off with ankle and calf massages in The dugout. I would need a breather too after four at bats and running the bases once every night.


radarkodabear

162 games and stay healthy is really a challenge for all players.


Lateralization

So is the fact this butthole cant catch up to any pitch thrown over 94 mph


ShadyPicasso

It’s so frustrating, he gets hurt just swinging a bat. He really should do more stretches and staying hydrated. Lebron is constantly stretching that’s why he has been injury free a large portion of his career.


furdaboise

> He really should do more stretches and staying hydrated. Brilliant. I’m sure the Yankees haven’t thought about stretching and drinking water.


MattNokes38

In basketball you're constantly moving so it's much easier to stay loose. Pretty apples and oranges.


ElbisCochuelo1

Does a lion stop to stretch before it starts chasing a gazelle?


unclejoe1917

No, but I bet Giancarlo could kick a lion's ass.


ElbisCochuelo1

Without stretching too.


EthanAllenPoe07

Lebron has had over $500 million worth of supplements, treatment and deep tissue work done to his body. That’s why he doesn’t get injured lol


joey5280

He’s played in 110+ games in 3 out of the 4 “full” seasons as a Yankee, Only one he didn’t was in 2019. Not worried. Top 25 hitter in the league when he’s healthy.


eddieblasphemy

No shit.


LI2theBX

Thank you captain obvious 🫡


Mrdrsrow08

In other news, water is wet.