I would pay an inordinate sum of money to see another world in which Giancarlo Stanton swung his bat just a couple of inches below where he did against Royals hurler Carlos Hernandez. It was in the first inning on Monday night's incredible duel between New York and Kansas City, it came on a 95 mph heater in a full count, and it was oh so close to being one of the most jaw-dropping hits we've witnessed in a long time. If only Stanton had dropped his bat ever so slightly. If only he had gotten the ball up in the air. If only his Statcast-record 122 mph rip hadn't resulted... in a double play.
Unfortunately, though, we'll have to live in the hypothetical here, because a double play ground ball was the exact result of the aforementioned Stanton at-bat.
According to Lindsey Adler, the absolute stinger off the bat of Stanton was the 12th time that he had achieved an exit velocity of 120 mph or more, giving him a considerable lead in that department over the rest of the league.
It was a nice little microcosm of the 0-5 night that Stanton had, one of the few clunkers we've seen from him in recent weeks. Entering Monday night, Stanton had begun August on a red-hot stretch, slashing .385/.484/.538 with eight RBI through as many games.
Fortunately, we don't have to be too, too upset that Stanton's absolute rocket was hit at a downward angle. For one, though it wasn't the most exciting play at the time, the Yankees fan base were rewarded with the team's eighth win in their last ten games after a back-and-forth battle at the end of the game. Sure, it might have been easier had the bullpen not lost the lead in the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth innings, but that wouldn't have been as memorable, would it?
The other reason we shouldn't be overly bummed that Stanton's 122 mph blast resulted in nearly the worst offensive outcome possible is because we've already seen what a 120-plus mph Stanton-ian missile can look like when the desired launch angle is there well.
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