‘I feel sorr y for the baseballs’
Stanton on the power potential of the Yanks’ new Murderers’ Row
Giancarlo Stanton has plenty of reasons to smile as he’s set to team with Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez in the middle of the Yankees’ order.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — It was a throwaway non sequitur that on this day said so much. Brian Cashman was at the podium for the Giancarlo Stanton introductory news conference and was mentioning that despite getting the NL MVP, the Yankees are not done trying to upgrade the team and will do whatever was necessary to do so. He then paused ever so briefly and offered “within reason.”
Well, it turns out what is within reason for the Yankees is to add the player with the largest contract in history when they are nevertheless determined to drop under a $200 million payroll for the first time in 14 years so as to be beneath the $197 million luxury-tax threshold.
The Yankees are cutting payroll and adding Stanton and, at some point, a starting pitcher, perhaps Pittsburgh’s Gerrit Cole or eventually a reunion with CC Sabathia. That is what is within reason for them. The Marlins are cutting payroll as part of yet another all-too-familiar fire sale for the franchise. That is what is within reason for them. The Mets are cutting payroll and finding even the high side of the setup and second- base markets too steep. That is what is within reason for them.
It kind of helps explain why Stanton is a Yankee today. He ultimately said he would waive his no-trade clause for last season’s final four — the Astros, Cubs, Dodgers and Yanks. When his agent told him Thursday night that a deal to the Yanks was in place and to sleep on it, Stanton told Joel Wolfe, sure, but that his plan was to sleep in Friday, “So if there’s some deadline just go ahead and say yeah, if you don’t talk to me.”
Stanton knew what he wanted. He had been a Marlin for eight years, played on all losing teams and before the smallest crowds with the most disillusioned fans in the sport. Wolfe said that for a sold-out WBC game last March at Marlins Park, Stanton asked, “Where did all these people come from?” The only time Stanton had seen fans in the upper deck, he joked, was for the annual bring-your-dog event, Bark in the Park.
So when asked why forego his no-trade clause to accept the Yankees, Stanton replied: “They’re young and they’re in a good position to win for a long time, and I lost for a long time. So I want to change that dynamic and be a winner.”
The dynamic involves being thrust into an environment 180 degrees removed from Marlins Park. The crowds — not just of fans, but of media — will be large, and the expectation for star and team larger. That is not an easy transition, bedeviling great talents such as Roger Clemens and Alex Rodriguez in Year 1. Randy Johnson never really adjusted.
Wolfe says the football player in Stanton — he could have played at USC and perhaps in the NFL — has craved the intensity of a game that has been lacking in Miami. Also, Stanton is moving from a poorly run mom-and-pop store of a franchise to among the most advanced in the game when it comes to analytics and sports science and caring for players and their families behind the scenes. Stanton, who turned 28 last month, is in his prime and it is possible that the inspiration of real crowds, meaningful games and the support of a first-rate organization could elevate a guy who hit 59 homers to even greater heights.
And he did not want to wait for this opportunity. All things being equal, he preferred his hometown Dodgers. But the Dodgers were a year away from cleaning up their payroll enough to get him. And a year was too long. Wolfe noted a year ago Stanton was coming off a down season and was not wanted and that in September 2014 Stanton suffered multiple face fractures when hit by a Mike Fiers fastball that could have imperiled his career.
“Giancarlo knows life is fleeting,” Wolfe said.
Stanton did not want to wait. He wanted out of the stench and the losing of the Mar- lins. He wanted into something that promised to be special now and into the future. He had a no-trade clause to steer the process. And the Yankees had both the immediate and historic push to land the greatest slugger in the game.
It is what has pretty much always been within reason for them.