There are very few players in baseball stronger than Giancarlo Stanton. This is never more evident than when he smashes a home run into the stands. He routinely ranks among the league leaders in exit velocity thanks to his incredible strength.
Stanton knows this is his strength on the field, both literally and figuratively. He exercises routinely to try and improve his strength, and even a holiday didn’t stop that.
He shared an image of himself working out late last night while many people were partying or at least enjoying the New Year’s Eve festivities. While they may have been drinking and making merry, Stanton was hard at work.
His work ethic can’t really be questioned, but his production can. Despite winning an MVP and being a routine All-Star, some areas of his game leave things to be desired in the eyes of his fans.
Some appreciate the work ethic and understand that he works as hard as anyone. Others would like to see something that directly improves on-field results.
Stanton hasn’t quite been the MVP-level player the Yankees traded for. He’s been injured and has been a really good player when healthy, but he hasn’t smashed 59 home runs like he did his final year with the Miami Marlins.
Perhaps 2023 will be the year he stays healthy and returns to peak performance.
Giancarlo Stanton’s Yankees stats
Despite the disappointment on behalf of fans, Giancarlo Stanton has not been bad as a Yankee. He was even the driving force behind a few of the Yankee teams while Aaron Judge was on Injured Reserve.
In 2018, he posted a 4.2 fWAR and a 128 wRC+, both good totals. In 2019, he was injured most of the year but did have a 139 wRC+ when he played.
2020 was shortened and he was injured, but Stanton had a stellar 143 wRC+ and a .500 slugging percentage.
