New York Yankees fans have a tendency to be a tad irrational when it comes to their team. So Thursday’s loss led to some wild overreactions.
Name a better combination than New York Yankees fans and grossly overreacting to minor set backs. You can’t right? That’s because Yankee fans tend to be overly critical of the team whenever something goes wrong. And losing to the Toronto Blue Jays on Opening Day certainly fits into that mold. So naturally, there were some wild overreactions to the first of 162 games.
Giancarlo Stanton is a bust
I get it. A lot of Yankee fans hate Giancarlo Stanton. He’s had a tough time staying on the field and he strikes out a ton. And on Thursday, he went 0-5 with three punch outs. Not the best start to the season for Stanton.
But those fans conveniently forget everything that Stanton has contributed in his time with the New York Yankees. In his first year as a Yankee, Stanton played in 158 games with 38 home runs and 100 RBIs. More recently, he put on a power display in the 2020 postseason, with six home runs in 26 at bats.
The fact of the matter is when Giancarlo Stanton is on the field, he is an elite hitter. Yes, he’s had problems staying on the field. Yes, when he is on the field he’s still prone to the strikeout. But he will produce in 2021 as long as he manages to stay healthy. There’s no reason to freak out about his first five at bats of the season.
Gleyber Torres is a disaster at shortstop
Ok I’ll admit that this one might not be such a huge overreaction. Gleyber Torres misplayed a couple balls during Thursdays game and didn’t look overly comfortable in the field.
Unfortunately, there’s simply nowhere else to put him. Unless the Yankees are prepared to move him to third or back to second full time, he’s going to be the full time shortstop. And while he may be a below average defender, we owe him the chance to show over a full season that he can improve in the field. One rough game won’t make or break Torres’ season defensively. And he certainly won’t be as bad every day as he was on Thursday.
He’ll probably never be an above average defender. But let’s not allow a few attempts to dictate the rest of the season for him.
Gary Sanchez is fully back
I am personally guilty of completely believing this overreaction. Partly because Sanchez has looked great since the start of spring training. Partly because he didn’t deserve a lot of the hate he got from the fanbase prior to his disastrous 2020 season. We all know Gary Sanchez is better than his 2020 season. Pretty much everyone in the history of the league is better than Gary Sanchez’s 2020 season. So it was great to see him go 2-3 with a home run in his first at bat.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Sanchez still has a lot to prove before Yankee fans start seeing him as 2016 Sanchez instead of 2020 Sanchez. Opening Day was certainly a good step in getting there, but one game doesn’t erase a .147 average. So let’s pump the brakes on the Gary Sanchez redemption tour and wait for him to continue proving that he’s back to being one of the best offensive catchers in the league.
