Giancarlo Stanton made his public New York debut as a Yankee on Sunday night, and the reigning NL MVP said he was prepared for what’s ahead of him.
“I’m excited to be here in New York and experience the big city, bright lights,” Stanton said after he accepted his MVP award during the New York chapter of the BBWAA dinner at the Sheraton in midtown. “It’s gonna be a lot of fun for me.”
Stanton sat alongside his new teammate, Aaron Judge, who won AL Rookie of the Year, while CC Sabathia, general manager Brian Cashman and new manager Aaron Boone also were on hand.
Stanton, who was traded from the Marlins during Miami’s latest firesale, added that his late former teammate, Jose Fernandez, predicted both of them would end up in the Bronx before the pitcher was killed in a boat crash in 2016.
“He said, ‘Hey, if this doesn’t work down here, I’m gonna be a free agent, and I’m gonna sign with the Yankees and you’re coming with me,’ ” Stanton said. “Well, now I’m here and I’m gonna take a little piece of him with me and bring it to New York. It’s great to be here.”
Bob Costas called Stanton and Judge a “modern-day Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris.” That’s high praise, especially considering Judge said he wasn’t sure he ever would make it to the majors.
“I thought my days with the Yankees were numbered before I even stepped on the field,” Judge said. “Back in 2013, after I got drafted, I got a chance to take BP [with the Yankees] in Oakland.”
Judge said he was so nervous about fielding grounders in the outfield alongside Brett Gardner that he let a ball get by him immediately.
“I thought that was it and I’d be released right there,” Judge said.
Instead, he ended up hitting 52 homers last season and will be alongside Stanton, who blasted 59 for Miami. While the Yankees celebrated their tandem sluggers, Mets GM Sandy Alderson was left to make quips about his team’s offseason compared to the Yankees’.
“Brian Cashman is the only one up here without a tux. Neither one of us owns a tux,” Alderson said of Cashman and himself. “But I know how to rent things.”