Giancarlo Stanton is back in an all-too-familiar place, but he isn’t taking it lightly.
The Yankees slugger was hard on himself Thursday while talking about the frustration of being back on the injured list, this time with a Grade 2 hamstring strain that is expected to keep him out for six weeks.
It’s his seventh stint since the start of 2019.
Most of those were for lower-body, soft-tissue injuries .
“The disbelief and disappointment at this stage is hard to put into words and comprehend,” Stanton said in his first comments since he sustained the injury last Saturday.
Stanton had been off to a strong start this season, with four home runs and a .854 OPS.
That only made his latest injury, which he suffered as he decelerated into second base on a double Saturday, feeling a pull, more of a gut punch, even if he remained at a loss for why they keep happening.
Giancarlo Stanton is out six weeks with a hamstring strain. Michelle Farsi/New York Post
“It’s unacceptable, this often, right now,” he said before the 9-3 win Thursday over the Angels. “The team relies on me and I can’t have this continue to happen and put us in … a spot that we weren’t prepared for. There’s guys to fill the role that’ll do just fine, but at the same time, it’s my duty and responsibility to be out there.”
Told that it sounded as if he was blaming himself, Stanton said he was, even if most of his injuries have been somewhat out of his hands.
After playing 158 games in his first season as a Yankee in 2018, he has played just 303 of their 565 games since.
“I can’t control it, and at the same time, it shouldn’t be happening,” he said. “It’s not like, ‘Hey, it’ll be OK later,’ this and that. I prepare my whole life — this is everything I put in for, so it’s very disappointing and frustrating. You want to keep a positive outlook, which I have, but at the same time, it’s just so unbelievable.
Giancarlo Stanton doubles on April 15, 2023. Robert Sabo for NY Post“In the peak of midseason form and now I’m back to square one, walking freaking 3 feet at a time to get back to the motions that I need to be allowed to play. So yeah.”
Informed of his player’s comments, manager Aaron Boone threw his support behind Stanton’s preparation.
“The one thing I can say in Giancarlo’s case is I don’t question his professionalism and his commitment to doing all he needs to do to stay healthy and to be healthy,” Boone said.
“There’s clearly that frustration and Giancarlo feels that responsibility. He feels a responsibility to this team, this organization, to be the great player that he is, but to be able to do it more and more often. So I think there’s that disappointment and frustration. He feels bad for us. But I don’t say ‘unacceptable’ because I know the person and what he goes through and how he prepares.”
