Giancarlo Stanton is unfazed by the chorus of boos the slugger has faced from New York Yankees fans since retiring from injury.
Yankees fans are notoriously willing to boo their own players. Stanton certainly knows this from first-hand experience, when he struggled during his first season with the iconic franchise after switching from the Miami Marlins back in 2018.
The Yankees own a 43-35 record to sit third in the AL East, but Stanton has struggled since coming off the IL. The 33-year-old has hit .121/.215/.241 with two home runs and three RBI across his last 17 games, which is a gross underperformance by the five-time All-Star.
Stanton admitted he’s probably deserving of the boos from the Bronx faithful, but he is ready to turn his form around. Speaking to NJ.com 's Bob Klapisch, the 2017 NL MVP said: “I’ve got work to do.
“Overall, I have a good mindset, but at the same time [baseball] is what I work at it, it’s what I dedicate myself to. It hasn’t been an enjoyable stretch.”
He added: “Booing is the least of my worries. I have more things to care about than that. And once I take care of that, then everything else will resolve itself.”
With star player - and reigning AL MVP - Aaron Judge sidelined by a torn ligament in his toe, the Yankees have struggled offensively and hoped a star like Stanton could step up to the plate and deliver. This has not been the case thus far as the right-fielder has also spent time banged up in 2023.
Despite his injuries, Stanton has put up .191/.252/.391 splits with six home runs and 14 RBI over his 30 games this season. However, any momentum he got going early in the season was derailed by a hamstring strain which kept him out of action for a month and a half.
On Sunday, Stanton finally showed signs of emerging from his slump as he broke out of an 0-for-22 streak with a key line-drive single in the eighth inning against the Texas Rangers. Yankees manager Aaron Boone was thrilled to see Stanton somewhat return to form, heaping praise on his performers against Texas.
“I kind of felt the first take he had,” Boone said. “I kind of leaned over to [bench coach Carlos Mendoza] and said ‘I like that.’ It was a borderline pitch, strike one. Then the next take I thought looked the part a little bit to me even more.”
The Yankees face the Oakland Athletics in their next MLB contest on Tuesday night.
