New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton made an embarrassing mistake during his team’s AL Wild Card Series win over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night, and he did not hide from it afterward.
Stanton hit a leadoff double in the bottom of the second inning of the Yankees’ 4-0 win over the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y. He thought he had hit the ball out of the park and immediately began celebrating. Stanton even turned to New York’s dugout to shout at his teammates before realizing the ball had gone off the wall.
Fortunately for Stanton, Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran was as slow getting to the ball as Stanton was running down the first base line.
Giancarlo thought he hit a home run pic.twitter.com/QWAXRRq8AT
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) October 3, 2025
Red Sox starting pitcher Connelly Early retired the next three batters to get out of the jam.
The Yankees rallied with four runs in the bottom of the fourth, which was all they needed to advance to the ALDS. Starting pitcher Cam Schlittler was dominant, allowing just five hits and no earned runs over eight innings. The 24-year-old struck out 12 hitters.
Stanton was interviewed by the YES Network during the Yankees’ postgame celebration. He brought up his embarrassing blunder unprompted and delivered a message to fans about it.
“The only doubt was if that was a homer or not whenever I hit it. Thank goodness for that bonehead play that the team was resilient enough and Cam was resilient enough to go out and it didn’t mess up the chemistry or the moment,” Stanton said. “Kids at home, don’t do that. Future opponents, please do that. Make those bonehead plays. I’m just glad it worked in our favor, and it won’t happen again.”
"Kids at home, don't do that. Future opponents, please do that." pic.twitter.com/zhoC5qTuq8 https://t.co/3KOhMTkO0C
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) October 3, 2025
Stanton is obviously grateful that his “bonehead” (as he called it) move did not come back to bite the Yankees. Manager Aaron Boone probably feels the same way after his controversial decision completely backfired in Game 1.
The Yankees will now take on the AL East-winning Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS, with Game 1 on Saturday.
