Stanton’s struggles magnified in New York

NEW YORK — As the recurring awkward swings led to strikeout after strikeout, it was painful to watch Giancarlo Stanton and difficult to visualize how fearsome he can be when he’s in a hitting groove.

There was a tendency to wonder if the struggling slugger would ever get his swing straightened out and begin smashing balls to distant parts of the bleachers that few can reach.

Stanton hasn’t often looked as uncomfortable or more out of sync at the plate as he flailed at balls in the zone or breaking out of the zone …

Or more exasperated. That was evident in the rare outburst following one of four strikeouts Wednesday when he smashed his bat in the dugout.

Was that about this week, when he went without a hit in his first two games against the Marlins in New York?

No, that was from a Sun Sentinel story in May 2016 after Stanton went 0-for-10, striking out nine times in a three-game series at Philadelphia. That was the worst month of his career — he batted .173 and struck out 31 times — until now.

It’s bad enough that his average slipped to .197 after going 0-for-7 in the series against his former team. At Yankee Stadium, Stanton is 3-for-35 (.086) with 20 strikeouts.

Stanton couldn’t have a worse time to be this far out of whack as he tries to establish himself as the highest-paid player in the most unforgiving market.

As Marlins manager Don Mattingly pointed out, Stanton’s National League MVP award and the 59 homers he hit last season mean nothing to Yankee fans. He is an outsider until he wins their favor.

“I’ve seen a lot of guys come into New York from other organizations. You’ve got to go out and prove yourself on the field,” said Mattingly, who played his entire career with the Yankees.

That was evident this week. There were MVP chants for Aaron Judge, who came up in the Yankees system.

Judge is holding up his half of what was hailed as the modern incarnation of the M&M Boys, batting .351 with four homers and 11 RBI.

Stanton says he understood that New York fans are demanding. But after eight seasons in the apathetic South Florida baseball market, he probably didn’t expect to be booed in a game his team won 12-1, as happened Monday.

During the two games, his every failing was serenaded by the Yankee Stadium crowd, even bad swings in the middle of atbats.

Tuesday, when the Marlins won 9-1, Stanton was hitless in four at-bats with two strikeouts.

Often when Stanton is in a slump he is getting himself out by chasing pitches outside the strike zone. But in this game, the deciding pitch in each at-bat was in the zone.

Tayron Guerrero struck him out on a slider that was down and on the outer half of the plate. Kyle Barraclough threw a 93 mph fastball by him that was up and over the plate.

When Stanton made contact, it wasn’t with his usual authority — he has hit two of the three hardest-hit balls in the major leagues this season on homers that left the bat at 117.4 mph and 117.9 mph, according to Statcast.

Tuesday, Stanton came up twice with two runners on base early in game when the Yankees were trying to cut into the Marlins’ lead. In the first inning, Jarlin Garcia threw a changeup that he hit near the end of the bat. The exit velocity was 80.1 mph, a sharp grounder toward second but easy pickings for Starlin Castro to turn into a double play.

In the same situation in the third, Garcia fed him a 92 mph fastball in the same spot as Barraclough’s strikeout pitch. Stanton hit a high popup in the infield.

That was when Stanton let his frustrations show and slammed his bat down on the way to first. Naturally, he heard it from the crowd.

Keep in mind, Mickey Mantle was booed when he didn’t measure up to the hype as the next Babe Ruth or Joe DiMaggio — even after he won the Triple Crown.

Yankees fans never warmed to Roger Maris — like Stanton, an outsider — especially when he was breaking the revered Ruth’s home run record in 1961.

Keep in mind Stanton has always bounced back. In July 2016, he hit .305 with seven homers and 20 RBI. In 2015, after striking out 40 times in May, he hit 12 homers in June.

It remains to be seen how Stanton copes with pressure he’s never faced.

In juxtaposition to Stanton’s struggles was the reception Mattingly received. Fans began chanting “Donnie Baseball” in the first inning Monday and cheered loudly when his vintage highlights were shown on the JumboTron.

But Mattingly, a career .307 hitter, recalled taking his share of abuse when he slumped.

“I think you just hold yourself accountable. Nobody had to tell me if I was struggling,” Mattingly said. “You want to hold yourself to a standard that’s way up there.”

Asked several times by New York reporters if the boos directed at Stanton are surprising, especially coming this early in the season, Matting said, “Not here. You’ve got to perform here.”

With a shrug, he added, “He’ll be fine. He’ll be fine.”

Stanton