Talkin’ ’bout practice! Judge, Stanton hardly bothered by slow start
TAMPA — It was hyped as Barry Bonds paired with Hank Aaron in batting practice and turned out more like Brendan Ryan and Reid Brignac.
The roughly 2,000 people who entered George M. Steinbrenner Field on Monday to watch Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton hit in the same batting-practice group expecting thunder were treated to burps instead during the first fullsquad Yankees workout.
The estimated crowd number was larger than the past few years but nowhere near the crowds when Roger Clemens, Hideki Matsui, Jason Giambi, Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez arrived for their first days of spring training with the Yankees like Stanton did Monday.
Hitting off catching instructor Jason Brown, the pair combined to hit six balls over the wall in four rounds of BP that produced far more cage balls than solid contact.
Ever since the Yankees acquired Stanton from the Marlins in December, the buzz was all about what batting practice would look like. After Monday, it can only get better — but then again it’s only batting practice.
“From the moment we touched the dirt, the fans were buzzing and ready for us to get in the cage and hit. It was pretty cool,’’ Stanton said.
Stanton hit four homers to Judge’s two, which were one short of Gary Sanchez’s three hitting in the same group as the Towers of Power along with Jacoby Ellsbury.
As for the lackluster show from last year’s NL MVP and AL Rookie of the Year, Stanton understood what the fans wanted to see, but recognized there are more important things than trying to hit every pitch out of the park.
“I know they are here for the entertainment, but we got to get our work in, too, so the main entertainment for this six weeks is to set up the 162-plus entertainment,’’ said Stanton, who doesn’t feel the need to change what he does in BP simply because the Yankees are marketing BP home runs and fans would like to see them. “That’s my usual approach in BP. That’s what got me to this point and that will not change.’’
What was different for Stanton was not getting enough balls past the netting of the batting cage.
“I was playing pepper with the cage. Usually I hit it to right field, make sure I get backspin and stay inside the ball,’’ Stanton said. “I let it go when I need.’’ Despite the pedestrian display of
power, Aaron Boone was jazzed about seeing Judge and Stanton in the same group.
“We have been excited for this day for a long time. It gets the juices flowing a little bit when they walk out and share a group together,’’ the first-year manager said. “I think there is something cool and sexy about seeing the long ball in batting practice.’’
Prior to filling the cage with their massive bodies, Judge and Stanton worked in the outfield in the same groups. They started by taking ground balls off a fungo bat in right before moving to center and left, where they fielded fly balls released from a machine.
Judge, who is coming off left shoulder surgery in November, said it was nice to get outside, but going all out in BP has never been his way. Nor did he hear the fans begging for the long ball.
“You really don’t hear it. You see the fans out there but I am locked in on my work, just taking care of business,’’ said Judge, who appreciated the fans coming out but said he wasn’t pressured to put on a power show. “I just focus on doing my job. My job is to barrel up a baseball as many times as I can. I have to stick to my routine. It doesn’t matter if there are zero people in the
stands or it’s packed.’’