GIANCARLO Stanton is going viral for all the wrong reasons after his lackluster base running last weekend.
Some fans are demanding the 33-year-old Yankees star to be benched after the incident – but manager Aaron Boone isn’t overreacting.
Despite Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Houston Astros, all talk after the victory was criticism of Stanton.
Stanton was on second base after drilling a double down the left-field line off star pitcher Justin Verlander.
Then when DJ LeMahieu hit a single to center, Stanton was easily thrown out at the plate after casually rounding third and making what appeared to be a lackluster effort to score.
Boone said before Sunday’s game: “Wasn’t a great look.
“But nothing other than him just making sure he doesn’t put himself in a dangerous position with the amount of things he’s had lower-body-wise the last several years.”
Ultimately, the Yankees wouldn’t need the extra run, but the right fielder’s hustle was the talk of the town.
One fan tweeted: “Embarrassing effort.”
A second replied: “I’d bench him. Unacceptable.”
Another said: “That’s the ‘I already got my money’ trot.”
With a fourth concluding: “Bum.”
Though being assuredly waved home by third-base coach Luis Rojas, Stanton didn’t even attempt to slide for the run.
Boone continued to defend his player: “I think it’s been years now where he’s just making sure that he doesn’t want to — from a lower-body standpoint — put himself in any jeopardy.”
Earlier this year, Stanton missed 43 games with a hamstring strain he sustained while running the bases in April.
Stanton’s also dealt with strained left quadriceps, right ankle inflammation, and left Achilles tendinitis in recent years.
Later in the game, the Yankees opted to pinch-run for Stanton after he hit a single.
When asked if he tells the star fielder to be careful on the bases, Boone shot down the idea: “He tries to get into that gait to where he’s not putting himself in a weird spot where he’s having to decelerate or move.
“He tries to get in that comfortable position. But he takes that upon himself.
“I think he does have that fear of putting himself in a bad spot.”