Slugger Giancarlo Stanton is officially a New York Yankee, with the Major League Baseball team confirming on Monday that they had obtained the reigning National League most valuable player in a trade with the Miami Marlins.
The Yankees introduced their prize signing at the MLB Winter Meetings in Orlando on Monday, Stanton saying it was time to move on and grab a chance at winning a championship, while the Marlins undertake another round of rebuilding in Miami.
“It's going to be a great new chapter in my life and my career,’ Stanton said after donning a pinstriped No. 27 jersey.
“I'm very excited to be here and to be a part of the Yankees, and I'm just looking forward to stepping up and being with this winning environment and winning culture.”
Stanton, who led the Majors in home runs (59), runs batted in (132) and slugging percentage (.631), joins a Yankees team already boasting power at the plate with American League rookie of the year Aaron Judge, who slammed 52 homers last season.
The 28-year-old Stanton's 59 home runs were the highest total in the Majors since 2001, when San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds hit 73 and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs 64.
New Yankees manager Aaron Boone smiled broadly at the prospect of adding the home run king to his potent lineup.
“You add the National League MVP to what we feel like is already a very strong lineup, the possibilities start to run through your head of what that could look like.”
Judge and Stanton will become only the second pair of team mates to have each hit at least 50 home runs in the previous season, joining the 1962 world champion Yankees who featured Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle.
The trade also marks the second time in MLB history that a reigning MVP has been acquired via trade prior to the start of the following season.
In exchange for Stanton, who will earn $295 million over the next 10 years, the Yankees sent second baseman Starlin Castro, minor league right-handed pitcher Jorge Guzman and minor league infielder Jose Devers to the Marlins.
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto, Editing by Ed Osmond and ken Ferris)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
LOS ANGELES -- Giancarlo Stanton, who spent the final three games of the regular season unsuccessfully chasing the elusive 60th home run, still managed to lead Major League Baseball in a record-setting home run season.
The Miami Marlins star led the majors with 59 home runs this season, the most by a player since 2001 when disgraced San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds hit 71 at the height of baseball's steroid era.
This season saw 6,105 home runs, which is 142 more than the previous single season record set one year before Bonds hit 71.
Stanton's quest for No. 60 ended with a ninth inning strikeout in an 8-5 loss Sunday to the Atlanta Braves in front of a crowd of 25,200 at Marlins Park.
Stanton said he wasn't disappointed he didn't reach 60.
"If I hit 60, you guys would be sitting here asking me why I didn't hit 61," said Stanton, who is the first player in 10 years to surpass 50 homers. "If hit 61, I would be asked why I didn't hit 62."
Stanton not only led the league in home runs but also in RBIs with 132.
Stanton singled twice, struck out twice out and grounded to shortstop. Still, he goes down in baseball history as the sixth player to hit at least 59 homers in a season, joining Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire.
With the close of the regular season on Sunday night, attention now shifts to the playoffs, which kick off Tuesday and Wednesday with the wild-card games.
The New York Yankees, who are seeking their 28th World Series crown, host the Minnesota Twins in the American League wild-card game. Minnesota, coming off a 100-loss season in 2016, will start Ervin Santana while New York will go with Luis Severino.
The National League wild-card game is set for Wednesday night in Phoenix, where the Arizona Diamondbacks will host the Colorado Rockies.
The AL Division Series will begin Thursday with the AL West champion Houston Astros meeting the AL East champion Boston Red Sox in Houston.
The AL wild-card winner will face the AL Central champion Cleveland Indians Thursday at Progressive Field.
On Friday, the NL East champion Washington Nationals will host the NL Central champion Chicago Cubs in game one of their NL Division Series.
The NL wild-card winner will square off with the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers, at Dodger Stadium on Friday.
- Second most wins -
In other games on Sunday, Charlie Blackmon went one-for-two, played three innings and finished with a National League-leading .331 average in Colorado's 6-3 loss to the Dodgers.
It was Los Angeles' 104th victory, tying for the second-most in franchise history. The Dodgers won 105 games in 1953 and 104 in 1942 while playing in Brooklyn.
In Boston, the Astros and Red Sox rested most of their regulars in the Astros' 4-3 victory in the regular-season finale before they face each other in the playoffs.
The Red Sox scored three runs on four hits, a walk and a passed ball off Astros starter Collin McHugh in the fourth inning.
The Astros came back with four runs off three pitchers in the seventh inning. Fernando Abad took the loss, falling to 2-1 with a 3.30 ERA this season.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
