Giancarlo Stanton looked a little foolish on Wednesday when he pimped what turned out to be a flyout. Despite the outcome of the play, he actually had somewhat of a good reason to think he had a home run.
Stanton was batting with the game between his New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays tied at five in the top of the eighth. Stanton, who has been on fire lately, swung at the first pitch he saw from Adam Cimber and sent a drive deep to right-center.
Stanton didn’t take off running but instead started to walk, as if he thought he had a home run. Unfortunately for him, the ball was caught in right-center by George Springer for the third out.
so close pic.twitter.com/WXSZI1gTzk
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) September 30, 2021
Stanton has 35 home runs this season and has been on fire lately. He has 17 home runs since Aug. 17 and homered in four straight games entering Wednesday. He’s usually knows when he hits one.
So how did he measure this one wrongly? The ball he slugged had a 97 percent hit probability. More importantly, it would have been a homer in three MLB stadiums, including his home stadium — Yankee Stadium.
Stanton's flyout in the 8th had a 97% hit probability. Would've been a HR in three ballparks, including Yankee Stadium.
Just an out here.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) September 30, 2021
That explains it. Had it been a home game, Stanton would have just circled the bases with a homer. But in Toronto, it was just a flyout.
Bo Bichette homered in the bottom of the inning to break the game’s tie. The Blue Jays closed things out in the top of the ninth for a big 6-5 win. The Jays had a nice home field advantage in this one.
