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Giancarlo Stanton of the New York Yankees won the Most Valuable Trophy for the 2024 American League Championship Series. Despite his emphatic win which no individual can point fingers on, he still believes a bigger and prestigious trophy awaits him.
“It’s a special moment for me, a special time, But this ain’t the trophy I want. I want the next one," Stanton said.
Yankees eying World Series Trophy
The next one is the World Series trophy, and Stanton’s Yankees are about to make their run toward that. The Yankees clinched the American League pennant with a 5-2 victory over the Guardians at Progressive Field thanks to Stanton. He homered for a third consecutive game and the fourth time in four ALCS games during the fifth with this massive 446-foot blast against Tanner Bibee that tied the game in the sixth before Juan Soto won it with a homer in the 10th inning. Combined for the entire series, Stanton hit for four of them all of which were homers, and scored five runs while contributing seven RBIs.
“That’s what Big G lives for, Not the awards in any case, no, far from it. But they missed the chance to make it to the World Series and a championship. It means only one thing to him, that’s his biggest motivation," said Yankees pitcher, Gerrit Cole on the victory.
Stanton has been with the Yankees since the 2016/2017 season, and he said that he wanted to get there earlier into the Fall Classic run. “It wasn’t supposed to take this long, but I do not have any (power) so we’re here now. That is precisely why we are here.
Yankees captain Aaron Judge expressed his excitement for Stanton, who became the ninth player in franchise history to win the ALCS MVP award and the first since CC Sabathia in 2009. “That guy’s gotten booed so many times, at the stadium, on the road, everything. He's battled through tough injuries, but he always shows up when we need him. I can’t speak enough about what he does for this team. He’s such a leader. He may not be as vocal as others, but when he speaks, people always listen," added Judge.
Stanton has a unique postseason record against Cleveland, hitting eight career home runs against them, the longest such streak for any MLB player against a single team. “When you try to hit homers, they don’t happen. You’ve just got to put a good swing on it, make sure you’re on time, get the barrel there and let it happen. The resilience, all the punches we’ve taken. We know how to bounce back. We know whoever we’re going to face is not going to be an easy task. We’re going to throw elbows and see what we can do.” the Florida native added
Among the 38 players who have hit five or more home runs against a single playoff opponent in MLB history, Stanton is the only one whose hits against that opponent are all home runs.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said “He can hit it harder than anyone, first of all, So there's the physical nature of what he does that's different than just about everyone in the world. But he's also incredibly disciplined—his approach, his process, how he studies guys.”
Stanton growing stature
With 429 career home runs in the regular season and 16 in the postseason, Stanton now holds the record for the most homers by a player in their first 36 career playoff games. He also moved into fourth place in Yankees postseason history, surpassing both Judge and Babe Ruth, who each had 15. As the Yankees prepare for the World Series, with either the Dodgers or Mets awaiting to join.
