Giancarlo Stanton's dominance vs Red Sox alone makes him a Yankees icon

New York Yankees fans love nothing more than a Boston Red Sox killer, which is one of the main reasons why they love Giancarlo Stanton. Big G's big night on Tuesday at Fenway Park (2-for-4 with a towering homer, a double off the green monster, and three RBI) wasn't an outlier for Stanton -- it was business as usual in Boston for the slugger.

With Tuesday's performance, Stanton's already-astounding numbers at Fenway grew a little more impressive: In 40 career games there, Stanton has a .316 batting average, .932 OPS, eight home runs, and 27 RBI.

Moreover, in 79 total games against the Red Sox since Stanton joined the Yankees in 2018, he's tallied 16 homers, 49 RBI, and 39 runs scored.

Stanton entered the Red Sox series in a 1-for-21 slump, but stepping onto the diamond at Fenway changed all of that. He had no problem destroying the ball against left-hander Connelly Early, even though Stanton was hitless in his last 17 at-bats against lefties heading into Tuesday's game. Stanton would have had a third hit off of Early on Tuesday if it weren't for an improbable, acrobatic snag from Ceddanne Rafaela in center field.

Giancarlo Stanton loves the elevated stakes of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry

What is it about the Red Sox that ignites Stanton's bat? Based on comments Stanton made after Tuesday's performance, he enjoys the amplified competition of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. “You gotta raise your game in those types of situations," Stanton said, per New York Daily News' Gary Phillips.

A taste for obliterating Red Sox pitching isn't the only quality that makes Stanton a commensurate Yankee. He's an underrated leader, a consummate professional, and his commitment to bucking the trend and approaching everyday availability has allowed Stanton to overcome many an injury in New York that would have crippled other, less Yankee-ish players. He literally can't open a bag of chips, but he can still hit missile home runs out of 30 stadiums, especially Fenway Park. If that isn't the most appropriate definition of a Bronx Bomber, I don't know what is.

Aaron Boone, Yankees are in touch with the right method to keep Giancarlo Stanton fresh

Stanton wants to play every single day, but Boone and the Yankees (and Stanton himself) realize this isn't realistic if the goal is to have Stanton healthy for October. The Yankees have seemingly arrived at the right strategy as to Stanton's off days and overall workload.

Now in his 17th MLB season, Giancarlo still cuts out a terrifying profile in the batter's box, particularly because opposing pitchers know that the power potential is still very much there. Stanton can still change games, and once he makes great contact on one swing, it's hard to immediately cool him off. Early found this out the hard way on Tuesday. So did Ranger Suarez with one rocketed double on Wednesday.

Bottom line? Despite his faults, if trade rumors had sent Stanton to Boston rather than New York, this rivalry would've been far more unpleasant.

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