Yankees: Giancarlo Stanton, the bright lights of the Bronx await you

On Monday, the Yankees officially welcomed Giancarlo Stanton, formerly of the Miami Marlins, at a special press conference at the MLB winter meetings in Orlando.

The Yankees acquired the NL MVP over the weekend, in a trade that general manager Brian Cashman, as late as Wednesday, didn’t think would happen. Congratulations on working your magic, that we have come to expect, Brian.

And this may be the best you have done to-date.

The Yankees receive Stanton and cash considerations of $30 million in return for second baseman Starlin Castro and minor leaguers, infielder Jose Devers and pitcher Jorge Guzman. A pretty slick deal for the Yankees, if you ask me.

What would Stanton, the reigning NL MVP bring to the press conference?

The answer was obvious from the first glance. A huge smile on his face, sitting next to newly appointed Yankees manager Aaron Boone and Cashman, Stanton reveled in the moment.

After donning the hallowed pinstripe uniform, sporting his new number of 27, Stanton said:

"“I’m glad to be here and part of the New York Yankees. It’s going to be a great new chapter in my life and my career. I think it’s going to be a fun new dynamic, but at the same time, it’s baseball. So I understand that there will be some ups and downs, and I’ll have to deal with that on a bigger scale. But it’s the same game I played down in Miami – just a bigger scale, brighter lights.”"

Definitely correct in that assessment, Giancarlo. Coming from a team that over his six-year career in Miami, averaged a home attendance of 21,951 — to the biggest stage in Major League Baseball, that drew over the same time period an average of 40,386 fans to Yankee Stadium.

Bigger scale? You betcha!

Answering questions from the assembled crowd of journalists, Stanton often referred to the “team” and what he could do to help said team win. There were no mentions of individual accolades or achievements, just the fact that he wants to contribute to a successful, winning effort.

Of the Yankees, he stated in a follow-up interview, “They’re winners. They’re young and they’re in a good position to win for a long time. So I don’t want to change that.”

The words used by Giancarlo repeatedly used were “fun” and “dynamic.”

Will it be fun? The 2017 Yankees were the most hysterical team in recent memory. Watching the young players bond and have a great time doing it was special.

The Didi tweets, the thumbs down movement, the “Toe Night” show. It was FUN and all while records were being broken, games being won and an unexpected outcome to the season being achieved.

Fun? You have no idea, young man. I can’t wait to see how you mix in with this group of jokesters.

The second word Stanton used, again and again, was “dynamic.” According to Dictionary. com, the definition is:

Adjective: 1) pertaining to or characterized by energy or effective actions; vigorously active or forceful; energetic

Pertaining to physics; of or related to force or power; of or related to force related to motion

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Umm, Giancarlo, you hit the nail on the head there. Or more like the baseball on the bat head. The major league 2017 leader in homers (59), RBI’s (132) and slugging percentage (. 631), you certainly are “vigorously active or forceful; and “energetic” to say the least.

Add that “dynamic” to the existing Yankees’ sluggers and the physics definition relating to force and power, and well, some of the laws of physics may be broken (not to mention the 1997 Seattle Mariners’ team home run record).

One funny moment came when Stanton was asked about joining his new teammates and he replied he “feels sorry for the baseballs.” So do I. And opposing pitchers. And those pesky laws of physics.

Stanton also conveyed that he’d do whatever needed to fit into the team’s needs, (obviously realizing that the Yankees already have a pretty good right fielder). Whether it be in a position change or a DH role. His “I’ll do anything to help the team win” attitude, showed through again.

This attitude will fit in perfectly with his new teammates. Watch one Aaron Judge interview and it’s obvious that he and his teammates are concerned with one thing, and that is bringing home the 28th World Championship to the Bronx.

Stanton said all the right things in a modest and team-oriented way. Get ready for brighter lights. You will be one of them. Take a walk out to Monument Park and look at the retired numbers that adorn Yankee Stadium.

Look at the current Yanks’ roster and you’ll see current and rising ones. Look at the Yankees minor league farm system and you’ll see future ones.

Next: Potential Yankees' lineup in 2018

Welcome to the Yankees, Giancarlo Stanton. We guaranteed you’ll be one of the brightest lights years to come.

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