By Ray Negron
As hard as it is to believe but two of the most loved players ever were Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams and at different times in their careers they were booed by the fans. When they would be asked by the press how did it feel ? They both responded with the same answer:
Today I stunk and I deserved to be booed.
Giancarlo Stanton is the reigning National League Most Valuable Player who after an incredible first game where he hit two home runs has had a couple of games where he has struck out five times. He has heard the boos from the Yankees fans yet just like the Mick and Ted Williams ,says that he would of booed also.
Stanton said after a game, “I hear the boos but understand the situation.” The one thing that we must remember about this young man is that he is truly a professional hitter. For that matter as “Mr October” Reggie Jackson recently said to me ‘Stanton is the whole package. You don’t worry about him. He will figure things out when he has his rough moments.”
The Major League scout that has seen Stanton as much as anyone is Atlanta Braves scout Tom Giordano. T.Bone as he is affectionately known, says that the Mets have had as good a pitching staff as anyone throughout the last few years. He feels that Stanton was always able to do some heavy damage against the Mets and there is no question of the damage that he will do in the American League.
Giancarlo Stanton asked Reggie Jackson during a hitting session in spring training if there was anything he saw that he felt Giancarlo should work on and Reggie said, no his work ethic was so strong and the concentration on the little things was so good that I didn’t want to mess with him even though Giancarlo is a power hitter like I was.
It’s also nice to see that the Yankees hierarchy has a full understanding and total support of Giancarlo. It just makes the adjustment period that much easier for this talented and good natured young man.
As I use to say when Reggie was the man in the 70’s, “I’m just gonna strap in and enjoy the ride.”
Follow Us