Aug 26, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Giancarlo Stanton (27) hits a two run home run in the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Yankees MVP Isn't Their Captain

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Joseph Randazzo | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Giancarlo Stanton may not take votes away from Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge, but what he has been able to produce is MVP-caliber production for the New York Yankees as they make their push for October. It came at the right time, too, because, since Judge returned from the IL, he hasn't been himself.

Judge has compiled 83 plate appearances since coming off the shelf. He is hitting .200/.373/.385. He has three home runs and eight RBI. It's a rare cold spell for the captain as he looks to find his footing before the postseason.

Stanton has 43 plate appearances in this exact time frame, and he has already outhomered Judge. He has seven homers and 18 RBI. Stanton is also hitting .459/.535/1.108 with seven homers and 18 RBI.

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

His heroics were on display in the second game of the series against the Nationals. With the bases loaded and having worked a 3-2 count with two outs in the third inning, Stanton rocketed a double to left field off a MacKenzie Gore curveball. The curve is one of his better pitches, too. Hitters are hitting .219 with a .322 slugging percentage, and Stanton sent it deep enough where it would have been out in twenty of thirty parks.

Stanton did damage on another 3-2 count in his next at-bat. He sent Orlando Ribalta's slider at the bottom of the zone 451 feet. The ball travelled 112.7 MPH to left centerfield, scoring Cody Bellinger. As the ball found the seats, Stanton watched with a look of satisfaction, holding his bat and twirling it away once it landed.

He watched the damage he had done as if it were a work of art, and art may be the only way to describe some of these Stantonian blasts. Everybody stops and stares at it the way they do the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. Phones are out, and 40,000 people and 52 players across a bench and bullpen look in awe when Stanton gets a hold of one. The gawking has been a regular occurrence dating back to the postseason and his return in June.

Manager Aaron Boone may have spoken Giancarlo Stanton's 5 RBI game into existence. Before the game, he gave his slugger high praise:

"This, I feel like - and it's saying a lot - is maybe as good as I've seen him, just consistency-wise. Consistency of at-bat after at-bat after at-bat. I feel like he is controlling the zone probably as well as I've ever seen him."

Consistency is one way to put it. Stanton has consistently been one of the best hitters in baseball since his return from the IL. Without reaching 200 plate appearances, Stanton already has 17 home runs. He is hitting .313/.388/.663. Since Stanton's return on June 16, only George Springer and Nick Kurtz have a higher OPS than him. Stanton is also one of five players with an OPS over 1.000 during this span.

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