Giancarlo Stanton Keeps Building His Case as the Yankees’ Most Clutch Star
His career has been defined not only by raw power but also by resilience and a team-first toughness. But the true measure of his legacy lies in the clutch swings he delivers in defining moments.
Giancarlo Stanton stepped into the box with one out in the bottom of the seventh, the summer sun baking the crowd and the scoreboard stubbornly quiet. Facing José Urquidy, Bronx fans had little reason to cheer: the New York Yankees hadn’t scored in 18 innings.
It was Sunday, June 26, 2022, the final contest of a four-game set with the Houston Astros. The day before, three Astros pitchers had combined to throw the first no-hitter the Yankees had suffered in 19 years.
Now, with Houston up 3–0, the visitors were eight outs from a second straight no-no. The Yankees, who’d arrived in the series with baseball’s best record, looked on the verge of another ugly chapter against their rival.
Stanton waited, muscles coiled, eyes fixed on Urquidy. Then he unloaded on Urquidy’s first pitch: a 111.0-mph home run into Monument Park, the Yankees’ first hit since Friday and their first run of the game.
“Whenever you have moments like that,” Hensley Meulens, the Yankees’ assistant hitting coach in 2022, told me, “they are exhaling moments, because you’ve been failing to score runs — so it’s a big deal.”
That hit broke the drought. DJ LeMahieu tied the game in the eighth with a two-out, two-run homer, and Aaron Judge finished the job with a three-run walk-off in the tenth, sealing an improbable 6–3 comeback.
Stanton’s barreled drive that day did more than break up Houston’s no-hit bid; it was a classic big-spot swing that changed momentum and altered the game’s script.
Those plays add up.
Call it Clutch Carlo, a nickname earned by swings that tilt games and, over time, shape a legacy.
Giancarlo Stanton’s High School and Early Baseball Career
Moments like that didn’t come out of nowhere. Stanton’s ability to deliver under pressure can be traced back to his early years in Los Angeles.
Giancarlo Cruz-Michael Stanton was born in Panorama City, California, and grew up in the L.A. neighborhood of Tujunga. A devoted Dodgers fan, Stanton attended games “whenever [he] could get a ticket.”
Baseball was more than a spectator sport for the young Stanton. Known then as Mike, he quickly established himself as a three-sport star in football, basketball, and baseball. After attending Verdugo Hills High School for two years, he transferred to Notre Dame in Sherman Oaks before his junior year.
At Notre Dame, Stanton played for Tom Dill, who in 2026 will enter his 36th season as head baseball coach. One of the first things Dill noticed was that Stanton “had a very strong arm.” It was so powerful that Dill placed him on the mound just to see him throw in the bullpen.
Stanton was muscular and fast. On the football field, he played wide receiver and cornerback, often leaping to win jump balls or blowing past defenders for a catch.
On the baseball field, his bat quickly stood out. “In batting practice, he would tend to hit the ball pretty far,” Dill recalled. Stanton was already hitting “a lot of line drives, even from a young age like that. We had some guys that had pretty good pop themselves, but Giancarlo would hit the ball a little bit farther than everybody else.”
The level of baseball talent in Southern California is elite. During Dill’s tenure, he’s produced 28 professional draft picks, six of whom reached the majors, 80 Division I college commits, and 37 more at the Division II and III levels. Even in that environment, Stanton was already separating himself.
In his senior season at Notre Dame, Stanton set a program record with twelve home runs, tied for seventh in the nation that year. He also posted a .393 batting average, 32 RBIs, and an astounding .865 slugging percentage, all of which led the team.
It was during those two seasons that Dill began to see the makings of a player who thrived in big moments. “He never appeared to be nervous,” Dill said.
What allowed Stanton to thrive in clutch moments so young?
“There’s a component of toughness there,” Dill explained. “It’s one thing to be a good person, someone who has good character. Obviously, that matters. But in athletics, you have to have a toughness. You got to be able to forget the previous at-bat, the previous swing.”
That toughness grew from Stanton’s ability to simplify the game: block out the noise and focus on what was best for the team.
“Being someone who’s tough mentally and gets the big picture is going to help you (win). Because you’re not helping anybody just to get emotional about every time you don’t do what you want to do.”
This was the beginning of a mentality Stanton still carries: team first. But for him, it isn’t just a philosophy often applied to role players or utility men. It’s a responsibility—not only to do what’s necessary, but to expect execution and results.
That knack for rising to the moment followed him into pro ball, where by 2014 he was not just Miami’s star but one of the game’s most feared hitters.
The 2014 Injury That Tested Stanton’s Resilience
The trainers and coaching staff rushed to the batter’s box. Blood seeped into the bright orange Marlins uniform Stanton wore on September 11, 2014. Moments earlier, he had taken an 88-mph fastball to the face. The damage was severe: facial lacerations requiring stitches, multiple fractures, and dental injuries after the ball struck just under his left eye.
Stanton’s then-manager, Mike Redmond, described the incident as “brutal” and “devastating.”
The Marlins were not a playoff contender in 2014, but Stanton was having his most complete professional season. He played 145 games and led all National League position players with a 6.5 bWAR. His numbers included 37 home runs, a .555 slugging percentage, and 299 total bases. He finished second in NL MVP voting.
In high-leverage situations that year, Stanton hit .274/.418/.484. He also led the league with a 5.1 Win Probability Added (WPA), a measure of how much a single play changes a team’s chance of winning.
It was clear Stanton had matured into a superstar capable of carrying a team.
“I think that was something that he worked really super hard at,” Redmond explained. Counting interim skippers, Redmond was Stanton’s seventh manager in his first four seasons with the Marlins. He pointed to Stanton’s improved plate discipline as a product of his drive. Stanton embraced every at-bat, learning and adjusting.
“You eventually relax in those RBI situations or in those big spots,” Redmond explained. “Because, ‘Hey, I’ve been there, I know what this feels like now, and the pressure isn’t on me anymore.’”
Redmond emphasized that Stanton also studied video and stayed disciplined with his drills. Success wasn’t just about competing or leaning on raw talent.
But after something as traumatic as that September beaning, many wondered if Stanton would ever return to MVP form. At the start of the next spring training, Redmond pulled aside the 25-year-old:
“I said, ‘Hey, man, are you all right to face José [Fernández] out there?’ We were having live BP and I said, ‘He might be super amped up when he faces you. I’m not sure what’s gonna happen.’ And he goes, ‘Yeah, no, I’m fine.’ He goes, ‘Fire me out there.’”
It set up a showdown: Stanton, the MVP-in-waiting, against 22-year-old Fernández, already a Rookie of the Year and a top-five Cy Young finisher. On a sun-drenched Florida afternoon, the duel was as much a test of Stanton’s confidence as it was a clash of young stars.
“I swear he hit him in the head,” Redmond recalled. “He hit Giancarlo in the head, on the helmet.”
The moment, oddly, seemed to calm Stanton.
“Something in his mind [changed that day],” Redmond observed. “He was like, ‘Oh, you know what? I’m all right.’ It didn’t affect him.”
So while the plan hadn’t unfolded as intended, Redmond had helped Stanton take the most important step — getting back in the box.
“It’s just a comfort level. Get back in the box. See pitches again. He had his helmet on with the face guard, and that gave him peace of mind. But he worked through it, and he’s been able to be an amazing player.”
Stanton’s Trade to the Yankees and New York Transition
By July 2017, trade rumors were swirling around Stanton. He was in the middle of an eventual MVP season, yet Miami’s front office was intent on cutting payroll. Heading into his age-28 season, the prime of most players’ careers, his future in Miami was in doubt.
When the Marlins made it clear that offseason they would move him, Stanton responded by saying he would only waive his no-trade clause for his hometown Dodgers. After weeks of uncertainty, it was the Yankees who convinced him to change course.
“It was literally the first day we walked into the winter meetings,” recalled Andre Fernandez, then a Marlins beat writer for The Miami Herald. “Here he is in pinstripes. It’s like, ‘Wow.’”
The deal sent shockwaves through the sport as the winter meetings opened in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It also signaled the end of an era in Miami.
The Yankees were getting a star at the peak of his powers, and a hitter who combined strength with smarts.
“When he did the home run derby that he won [in 2016], he adjusted his swing in a way that he knew was going to generate the lift that he needed, the launch angle, without compromising his swing,” Hernandez explained.
They were also getting a team-first player eager to win.
Before the 2018 season, Stanton agreed to move to left field to make room for AL MVP runner-up Aaron Judge. Both Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone praised Stanton’s selflessness. Later that summer, his role grew even larger when Judge missed 45 games with a fractured wrist.
Stanton ended up playing 158 regular-season games while managing a nagging hamstring, but the effort came at a price. The hamstring led to a quad injury in that year’s postseason, the start of a string of soft tissue issues that have limited his playing time. Stanton has not played a full season since 2018.
Meanwhile, the Yankees’ World Series drought dragged on. Their last appearance and championship were in 2009. But October was not where Stanton faltered. It was where he thrived. The lights never seemed too bright, the stage never too big.
This is where the legend of Clutch Carlo truly takes off.
Giancarlo Stanton’s Clutch Performances
After postseason appearances in 2018 and 2019 that were solid but unspectacular, Giancarlo Stanton erupted in 2020. He hit six home runs in the first two rounds before the Yankees were eliminated in the ALDS.
In the 2021 AL Wild Card Game at Boston, the Yankees lost 6–2, but Stanton collected three of the team’s six hits, including a home run, and nearly had another when a drive ricocheted off the Green Monster.
In 2022, Stanton came up with two on and one out in the first inning of the deciding Game 5 of the ALDS against Cleveland. His home run into the right-field bleachers gave the Yankees a 3–0 lead and added 22% WPA.
By then, Stanton was carving out a reputation for postseason heroics, even as the Yankees continued to fall short of their championship goals. He remained a consistent threat, producing in high-pressure situations.
“He wants [those] situations. He wants to be the guy up there when the game is on the line to help the team win,” said Hensley Meulens.
Those big moments, though, are built long before the game begins. The unseen work is what enables Stanton to deliver when the pressure is highest.
“He’s very dedicated,” according to Meulens. “He pays attention to every little detail with his swing and preparation and who he’s facing.”
“That’s a big part of the equation,” Meulens continued. “Who am I facing? What does he throw? What does he throw to me? How does he get me out? How do I hit him? And that’s not doing the swing itself, right?”
Meulens points out that Stanton’s ability to retain information is as important as the power in his swing.
After missing the postseason in 2023, the Yankees and Stanton returned in 2024. That October produced his most impressive run yet.
After hitting only one home run during the Yankees’ ALDS victory over the Royals, Stanton slugged four in the ALCS win over Cleveland. In that series, he posted a .688 slugging percentage, a 1.132 OPS, and added .60 WPA in just five games.
Each home run felt more dramatic than the last. His three-run shot in Game 4 added 16% WPA, but his Game 5 swing defined Clutch Carlo. With the Yankees trailing 2–0 in the sixth inning, Stanton tied the game with a home run off Tanner Bibee, adding 25% WPA, and setting the stage for Juan Soto’s game-winning homer in the tenth that sent New York to the World Series.
“Honestly, I believe it’s a gift,” Meulens said. “That’s how you drive Bentleys. These guys [like Stanton] drive your Rolls-Royce and Bentleys.”
In the World Series against the Dodgers, Stanton added two more home runs. One nearly swung the opener. His two-run shot in the sixth inning of Game 1 gave New York its first series lead, but Los Angeles tied it in the eighth and won in extras. The Dodgers went on to take the series.
Through his postseason career, Stanton has slashed .265/.331/.662 with a .994 OPS. His 18 home runs rank tenth all-time, but his rate of one homer every 9.6 plate appearances is far better than anyone ahead of him on the list.
On September 20, Giancarlo Stanton hit his 450th career home run. With three years remaining on his contract, and barring serious injury, he should reach 500 and continue building a resume worthy of Hall of Fame consideration.
But those milestones are in the rearview. Ahead lies the chance to defend an American League pennant.
The Yankees open the 2025 postseason against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. The goal is the same as always, but there is urgency to win ring number 28 while Stanton and Aaron Judge are still powering the lineup.
Stanton enters the postseason on a hot streak; over the final week of the regular season, his slash was .333/.429/.889 with three home runs, nine RBI, and a 1.317 OPS. He had multiple clutch hits along the way and finished the season with a .954 OPS and 24 home runs in 277 plate appearances (76 games played).
This postseason, what could matter just as much as Stanton’s bat is his leadership.
“He makes people around him better,” said Hensley Meulens. “He’s a very proud guy. Nobody cares more than [Giancarlo].”
“A standup guy,” recalls Andre Fernandez of his time covering Stanton. “He’s not one of those athletes that is in trouble. All the criticism [he receives] is contained to baseball criticism.”
“He was always a team guy,” said Tom Dill. “Always got along with the other players.”
Even Yankees captain Aaron Judge points to Stanton’s impact. After Stanton earned the 2024 ALCS MVP, Judge told reporters, “The guy always shows up when we need him. I can’t speak enough about what he does for this team. He’s such a leader. He may not be as vocal as others, but when he needs to speak, people always listen.”
The individual accomplishments are there. A championship is still missing. But one thing is certain: Clutch Carlo will do all he can to help deliver a World Series. Time and again, he has proven his actions back up his words. That’s what makes him different. That’s what makes him clutch.
“A lot of people wish that [the success] would have happened here in Miami, but it didn’t,” Fernandez said. “But at least he’s getting the opportunity to shine on that stage, and he’s making the most of it.”