TORONTO — Giancarlo Stanton stood in the middle of the visitors’ clubhouse in Texas after another wrenching loss in early August. It was during a particularly difficult time for the New York Yankees, not unlike the one they face now two months later, as they stare down the barrel of elimination. With every player sitting in front of his locker, and with the coaches and staffers on hand, the respected veteran went off for about five minutes.
When Stanton was finished imploring his teammates to play up to what he considered their immense potential, nobody else spoke.
“A wakeup call,” Yankees captain Aaron Judge said of the private meeting, which has not been previously reported.
“It was the first time I really had a one-player meeting,” infielder José Caballero said.
“We kind of needed somebody to get (on) our asses like that,” third baseman Ryan McMahon said.
Months later, after responding to that speech with a second-half surge, the Yankees find themselves once again needing to heed Stanton’s message. After Sunday’s lopsided 13-7 loss to the Toronto Blue Jaysthey’re in a 2-0 hole in the best-of-five American League Division Series. One more defeat will bring their postseason to a bitter end.
If they want to survive, they could find inspiration in the memory of Stanton’s fiery, closed-door address, as detailed to The Athletic recently by several members of the Yankees.
In the Aug. 4 meeting, which followed a brutal walk-off loss to the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field, Stanton laid into his teammates while also challenging them to play up to their talent. One member of the Yankees who spoke on the condition of anonymity, granted so he could speak candidly, said it was unlike anything he had ever seen before, especially coming from Stanton, whose public comments often come off as measured.
“I knew we were so much better than that at the time,” Stanton told The Athletic on Thursday night as the Yankees’ champagne-soaked celebration of their 2-1 Wild Card Series win over the rival Boston Red Sox raged in their clubhouse.
“It was going to take a lot more than that (effort) to be able to have moments like this,” the imposing slugger continued, nodding toward the party.
That August defeat had heaped insult on top of the injury that had come before it — an embarrassing three-game sweep at the hands of the middling Marlins in Miami, where Stanton had spent his first eight years in the majors. It also had come after a frenetic trade deadline in which the Yankees overhauled their roster, trading for seven players not long after learning Judge wouldn’t need surgery to repair his strained right flexor tendon.
Stanton declined to discuss further details of what he said in the meeting, but he added it was “nothing I want to do.”
“Sometimes,” he said, “you have to do things you don’t always do (or) don’t want to do. I can say I felt pretty bad about it for a while afterward. I meant no harm with it.”
The Rangers celebrate their 10th-inning walk-off win over the Yankees on Aug. 4. After the 8-5 defeat, Giancarlo Stanton addressed the entire team. (Ron Jenkins / Getty Images)
The loss that prompted Stanton’s speech was particularly gut-wrenching, featuring a blown Yankees lead in which Devin Williams surrendered a game-tying solo shot in the ninth and Jake Bird gave up a three-run shot that ended it in the 10th. It kept New York in third place in the AL East and 5 1/2 games back of the top spot, and it dropped the team to 22-30 in its previous 52 games.
Stanton’s speech had its intended result. Quickly, the mood around the Yankees “definitely” changed, Judge said. Despite occasional struggles, they finished the regular season 34-15 — the best record in the majors over that span.
“It was good for everybody to hear,” Judge said, “and for all of us to kind of look in the mirror, like, ‘Hey, am I really giving it my best? Am I really giving it my all? Time to turn around and get things moving.’”
Aaron Judge, here hugging Giancarlo Stanton, called his teammate’s message “a wakeup call.” (Mark Blinch / Getty Images)
Stanton’s teammates appreciated his candor, and his care.
“Just kind of him acknowledging the elephant in the room, that we can be better,” Ben Rice said, “and that things couldn’t keep sliding like that. It was good.”
They recognize and respect his stature in the game. Over 16 seasons, Stanton has 453 career home runs, the most among active players and 40th on the all-time list. This season, he surpassed Hall of Famers Jeff Bagwell (449), Vladimir Guerrero (449) and Carl Yastrzemski (452). In 2017, he won the National League MVP. In 2014, his 13-year, $325 million extension with Miami was the most lucrative contract ever for an American athlete. He’s been selected to five All-Star Games.
“A guy like Big G, who has been around the game and has been around a lot of teams and had a lot of great moments, “Judge said. “A coach can say it or a front office person can say it, but hearing it from one of your guys that’s out there battling with you every day … it’s a good little reality check.”
“He’s massive,” catcher Austin Wells said of the 6-foot-6, 245-pound Stanton. “He really often doesn’t speak his mind. So when he does, it’s usually very important.”
“I knew we were so much better than that at the time,” Giancarlo Stanton said of his Aug. 4 address to his teammates. The Yankees finished the season 34-15. (Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
The Yankees also appreciated Stanton’s production in the regular season. After missing the first 70 games of the season with right and left elbow epicondylitis, he quickly became a force. He hit .273 with 24 home runs, 66 RBIs and a .944 OPS in 77 games, even playing some right field for the first time since 2023.
But the Stanton the Yankees would like to see again is the one Yankees fans have come to call “Playoff G.” Stanton has had massive postseason performances for the Yankees, including six home runs in 2020 and seven as the club marched to the World Series in 2024.
So far this postseason, it’s been a struggle for Stanton, who has made hard contact frequently but is still hitting .150 with one walk and no home runs in 20 at-bats.
He went 2-for-5 with a double in Sunday’s loss.
Talking to reporters after the game, Stanton offered how he sees the Yankees’ backs-against-the-wall situation, as they return to the Bronx for Monday’s off day and for Game 3 on Tuesday.
“You can’t look to the whole series,” he said. “You’ve got to go one at a time. Execute each inning, each pitch and not look too far ahead.”
Though, the Yankees could draw on what they did in the wild-card round, when they also were on the brink of elimination after losing Game 1 to the Red Sox. They won the next two to take the three-game series. They could draw on their own history, too. They recovered from 0-2 ALDS deficits in 2017 against the Cleveland Indians and in 2001 versus the Oakland Athletics.
Or they could look back to Stanton’s speech in Texas, as a reminder that they’re better than what they have shown.
“We’re all professionals,” Judge said, “but I think we all need a little kick in the ass every now and then.”
Especially now, with the Yankees’ postseason survival on the line.
(Top photo: Ishika Samant / Getty Images)
