Giancarlo Stanton’s first season for the New York Yankees was full of mixed results and now we know part of the reason why.
It’s no secret that New York Yankees’ slugger Giancarlo Stanton played through a hamstring injury in 2018. However, we now know the impact it actually had in Stanton’s first year in Pinstripes.
While addressing the media, and ESPN’s Coley Harvey, for the first time this Spring, Stanton mentioned how playing through the hamstring injury was “not the best” for him.
Giancarlo Stanton was adamant about doing what he could to continue playing thru hamstring injury that bugged him at times last season. But admits today the hamstring "was quite the factor" to his 2018. "That wasn't the best for me." Said it was healthy by end of the season.
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) February 18, 2019
Stanton finished 2018 with 38 home runs and 100 RBIs. However, he struggled in the second half of the year with only 15 home runs and a .248 batting average.
He would end up having to play more in the outfield than the Yankees would have liked due to an Aaron Judge injury which kept him out for the entirety of August. All of that forced Stanton to remain in the lineup, and play in a team-high 158 games. Even with all of that, the 29-year-old insisted he was healthy at the end of the season.
Now completely healthy and full year in New York under his belt, Stanton is looking to accomplish even more in his second year in the Bronx.
If there is an area where Stanton needs to show improvement, it’s without a doubt his number of strikeouts. Part of the strikeouts in early 2018 had to have had something to do with him adjusting to a new league. However, 72 strikeouts in the first two months of the year are just way too much.
Yankees’ brass and owner Hal Steinbrenner are hoping the adjustment period is completely over for Stanton. And if it truly is, the rest of the league needs to be on the lookout. We all know the damage Stanton is capable of doing, and when he’s healthy, it can be a long year for opposing pitchers.
