Giancarlo Stanton: it’s surreal to see him hitting so well this year

Giancarlo Stanton has had a tougher time of it in New York in recent years. The slugger, who has often been bothered by injuries, has been struggling in the regular season for several years now.

His last three seasons have been particularly difficult… although at least he's always solid in the playoffs.

All this meant that expectations for Stanton this season were fairly limited. At 35, he's definitely not getting any younger… and seeing him miss several months due to injuries to both elbows was really cause for concern.

Out of nowhere, Stanton is hitting like he did in his prime.

In 46 games this season, he has 15 home runs and a 1.031 ERA. That's exceptional.

A 35-year-old half-broken Giancarlo Stanton who can barely run is still an elite hitter. pic.twitter.com/tmXd8cNFTD

– Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) August 21, 2025

By way of comparison, his MPP in 2025 is higher than the one he posted in 2017 (1.007), when he was still at the top of his game physically and hit 59 long balls in 159 matches.

And in 2017, it was 8.5% of his at-bats that ended in a home run; this year, it's 9%.

Obviously, doing that over a period of a few weeks isn't the equivalent of doing it over a full season. But right now, seeing Stanton hit the ball like that is really, really impressive. He's been seen as a liability for a few years (and no, he hasn't suddenly become a bargain), but this Stanton adds a new dimension to the Yankees' forward line.

Right now, Stanton is more of a catalyst than Aaron Judge. And that's saying a lot, considering Judge is having yet another historic season.

Of course, the fact that Judge can't play defense right now makes it harder for Aaron Boone to put Stanton and Judge in his line-up. But right now, Stanton is so on fire that the club needs to find a way to get him up to bat as often as possible.

Not to the point of overpowering Judge either, but…

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