Giancarlo Stanton’s drop-off as a hitter has been a big concern for the Yankees, but his baserunning issues have been an even bigger problem for the team.
Stanton, who serves as the Yankees’ designated hitter, hurt his team during Game 1 of their ALDS against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y. on Saturday thanks to his lack of speed.
Stanton was on first base in the bottom of the fourth inning with his team trailing 3-2 and came nowhere near close to scoring on a hit by Oswaldo Cabrera into the right-center gap.
Oswaldo Cabrera doubles and Giancarlo takes a light jog to third pic.twitter.com/UgXmvSDeHQ
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) October 5, 2024
Alex Verdugo fouled out after that to strand runners on second and third.
Then with the game tied 5-5 in the bottom of the sixth, Stanton was batting with two outs and runners on the corners. He hit a chopper into the hole between third base and shortstop, but he was so slow he was unable to beat out the ball for what otherwise would have been an infield hit.
Giancarlo Stanton's running has cost the Yankees two runs tonight pic.twitter.com/pO34HNssnn
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) October 6, 2024
Those were two occasions where Stanton having some more speed could have resulted in two more runs for the Yankees. His team still won the game 6-5 to take a 1-0 series lead, but his slow running had Yankees fans frustrated and on edge.
