In Historic Move, Giancarlo Stanton Is A Yankee

January 5^th, 1920. Most people, even sports fans will not tell you what was significant about this day. However, talk to any Yankee or Red Sox fan, and they may just figure it out. On that day nearly a hundred years ago, the New York Yankees purchased Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox. On Monday, December 9, 2017 in the Bronx, the Yankees welcomed another slugger to the storied franchise.

 

Start spreading the news, its official. Giancarlo Stanton is officially a New York Yankee. While this move infuriated Yankee haters, as for me, I’ve been smiling since I found on Saturday morning.

 

The 28 year-old was announced in New York on Monday alongside new manager Aaron Boone. Stanton is currently in the middle of the largest contract in MLB history. In 2014, Stanton signed his current contract, with a total value of $325 million.

 

The 2017 NL MVP passed on deals with San Francisco and St. Louis, ultimately deciding to join the Yankees.

 

This move made to acquire the former Miami Marlin, with A-Rod and Ruthian like proportions, will affect the Yankees and the rest of the MLB for the next decade. Several bookmakers have already declared the Yankees the favorite to win the 2018 World Series, which will be nine years since New York had won its last championship.

 

One thing for sure, is that the Bronx Bombers are officially back. Not only does Stanton’s 6’6 245lb frame help the Yanks, but oh his 59 home runs from last year will also come in handy. Stanton joins Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, who hit 52 and 31 home runs in 2016. Between the three of them, they combined for 142 home runs last season, more than the entire San Francisco Giants team. New York already led the majors in 2016 with 241 home runs, in a stadium that favors right handed hitters.

 

Every baseball fan knows well that the Yankees have a history of power-hitting duos such as Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, or Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. The new duo of Judge and Stanton produced 111 home runs in 2016, which would’ve put them second all time in Major League history had they have been on the same team last season.

 

What Stanton also brings to the table for the Yankees, is an advantage on their rivals, the Boston Red Sox. In Boston, four of their top pitchers, David Price, Chris Sale, Drew Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez are all left hand pitchers, and having pitched fairly well against the Yankees throughout their careers. Stanton comes into 2017 batting. 293 with a 1.025 OPS against left handed pitchers in 2016. His career numbers against lefties are almost frightening, .323 with a 1.212 OPS off lefties, hitting a home run one in every 10 trips to the plate.

The Yankees have won one division title since 2012, while the Red Sox have won three, including two straight years.

 

The only possible thing that Stanton does not bring to the table, is playoff experience. In his eight seasons in Miami, the Marlins never made the postseason. While the Yankees are coming off a year in 2017, that left them one game short of the World Series.

Will Streak End For The Bills in 2017?

Think back to January of 2000, seventeen long years ago. What were you doing with your life? I know for me, I was in the middle of preschool at the tender age of 5, growing up in Hollywood, Florida and finishing up my tenure at Temple Beth El. Old “Slick Will” Bill Clinton was in his last year as president, and the Buffalo Bills were playing a wild-card playoff game in the Nashville, Tennessee, against the Titans.

In what ended up being the most controversial loss in Bills history, known as the Music City Miracle, nobody in their right mind could have ever thought that it would start a seventeen-year playoff drought for this Buffalo team, a franchise that just ten years before, was in the middle of a legendary streak, making it to four consecutive Super Bowls.

 

Those AFC championship banners still fly high at New Era field in Buffalo, but the greatness of Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith and Andre Reed haven’t touched the field since. Heck, even the play of Rob Johnson, the quarterback who started that playoff game against the Titans in 2000 hasn’t been seen in Western New York since then.

 

Year by year, the Bills and their die-hard fans have seen the AFC east, which was once ruled by Buffalo, turn into a laughing stock of three teams and then the Patriots. Since 1995, the Bills have not clinched their division, not hosting a home playoff game in 21 years. Between 2000 and 2017, the franchise has mustered up two 9-7 seasons, with those two years being the bright spots for nearly 20 seasons. Great players have graced their presence in Buffalo, such as J.P. Losman and Mike Williams(that was a joke). Legendary coaches have roamed the sidelines, the great Rex Ryan had a stellar 15-16 record in nearly two seasons, being fired in week 16 of the 2016 season.

 

However, 2017 has shined bright lights upon the Bills and their new head coach Sean McDermott. They entered Sunday’s matchup with the 3-9 Colts at 6-6, having lost 4 of their last five games. What greeted the Bills and the Colts on Sunday, was a snow globe. However, if there’s one thing that Buffalo fans know better than beer, wings and tailgating, its snow. In a surreal shot that looked more like a scene out of Game Of Thrones, the Bills somehow managed to sneak away with a 13-7 overtime victory.

 

While they may not be in the playoffs as of yet, this is only the third time since the 1999 season, where the Bills have been over .500 this late in the season.

 

I myself have been called a band-wagon fan, due to the fact that I’m a Cowboys and Yankees fan(note to reader, the Cowboys haven’t won a Super Bowl in 22 years). However, I’ve always been enthralled with the Bills. One because of their fans. Those crazed Bills fans, known as Bills Mafia root for their team like its their job. Two, I want to see them do well because of how terrible they’ve been. Going 17 years without a playoff appearance, in this day of age with free agency and trades is absolutely insane.

 

With three games to go in the regular season, Bills Mafia is holding their breath, as their final three games of the regular season come against division rivals, the Patriots and the Dolphins. Needing some luck to sneak into football in January, it reminds of what a writer once said about the Bills, “if it wasn’t was bad luck, the Bills wouldn’t have any luck at all.”