'G is so unique': What it looks like -- and feels like -- when Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton is locked in

NEW YORK -- Giancarlo Stanton only had a minute. He glanced at the clock in the Yankees clubhouse late last week. Stopped mid-stride before a hitters meeting. Tried to describe a feeling only he could understand.

What does it mean to feel locked in when you're Giancarlo Stanton?

He paused. Looked inward. Stumped maybe. Searching for words that never come easy when describing otherworldly results.

Then he found them.

"It's just being in the zone, you know?" Stanton said. "All the outside factors are easier to disperse. You can really just be in that tunnel. Just you and the pitcher."

A tunnel only Stanton sees. For everyone else, it's a nightmare.

Right now, Stanton is on one of his heaters. Aaron Judge has his own heaters, sure. They're similar in build. But Stanton's streaks? They hit differently. Earth-shattering. Superhuman.

"G is so unique," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "Being into his 30s now and having the injuries that he's had to deal with and things even now that he's still kind of plays through, he finds a way. The way he prepares physically and mentally to get ready for games and each at-bat it's just really advanced. And, he is as mentally, as strong as anyone I've been around."

Since coming off the injured list in June, Stanton has looked like the version of himself that pitchers fear most. He's hitting .313/.388/.663 with a 1.051 OPS and 17 home runs over that stretch. That's not just production. That's domination.

August has been another reminder. Stanton has launched nine homers this month, tied for the fourth-most in baseball. And he's done it without the luxury of everyday at-bats. The Yankees still manage his workload, sitting him often to protect his body.

So those August numbers? They're packed into only 80 plate appearances. Eighty. Enough to shift games. Enough to shift lineups. Enough to remind everyone what a Stanton heater looks like.

Furthermore, while Judge has a tendency to vanish in postseason play to this point, Stanton elevates. He morphs into an even more dominant version of himself. In 12 playoff series with the Yankees, Stanton has slashed .265/.331/.662 with a .994 OPS and 18 homers. Had it not been for Stanton (and Juan Soto), the Yankees wouldn't have sniffed the World Series last season. 

To take it a step further, without Stanton, the Yankees' summer might have buried them. With Judge sidelined from right field because of his elbow, Stanton's consistent presence is one of the main reasons they're still in the playoff picture, entering Thursday's action at 73-60 and in possession of the AL's second wild card spot.

"I've seen him across the way for a long time," first-year teammate Paul Goldschmidt said. "But it just feels like any pitch you throw he's going to hit hard. He's very committed to his routine. He's a very smart ball player. It's not an accident. He's got so much success, such a long career, because you see him working the cage, you see him work on his body, you see him make adjustments. Yeah, it's just really fun." 

Let's delve into some of the fun. 

The Yankees' bullpen squandered another late-inning lead early last week against the Rays, forcing the game into extra innings. Stanton was at the plate with no outs and the ghost runner on second. Pete Fairbanks was on the mound for Tampa. Fairbanks delivers a 97 mph fastball inside. 

The pitch was a classic show-me pitch. If it was meant to be a strike, the target was the inside edge of the plate. If it was meant to be a ball -- which it was -- the goal was to make it one Stanton couldn't hit, but more so get his feet moving, establishing the fastball early in the count. 

On the 1-0 pitch, Fairbanks missed with a fastball over the heart of the plate, but Stanton only fouled it back. With that pitch established, Fairbanks went to his breaking ball. He spun a slider that he got underneath a bit, and Stanton held firm, taking it for ball two.

Fairbanks tried to go back to the slider again. Almost nearly in the same spot, but with a bit tighter shape. Stanton, again, though, didn't budge, showing how locked in he was. 

At this point, the Rays should have considered walking Stanton, and set up the double play with Austin Wells on deck. This is danger territory with Stanton, and Fairbanks was in the thick of it. Catcher Hunter Feduccia called for a 3-1 fastball above the hands. With Fairbanks' slider having some vertical depth to it, running the four-seamer, a pitch that stays true, could either induce chase from Stanton or clip the top of the zone. Staying away from danger territory. Fairbanks missed with a fastball low, though. Once more, getting away with a mistake that Stanton fouled off to bring the count to 3-2.

On that 3-2 pitch, Stanton fouled off another pitcher, a slider at the top of the zone. A tough pitch to do that on considering it started above eye level. The Rays did not want to give Stanton anything to hit. Certainly, he was locked in. But they kept taking their chances in pitching to him even though, at this point they were pitching around him. Feduccia called for another fastball at the top of the zone. If Fairbanks made that pitch, it's likely an out. If he missed, fine. Deal with Wells. Fairbanks delieverd the four-seamer. But it wasn't up. In fact, it was middle-in and Stanton punished it for the go-ahead two-run homer.

So just what does it feel like to be Stanton and locked in? 

"It's also in sync with executing your plan while understanding what [the pitcher]'s trying to do as well," Stanton added. "That mindset and plan doesn't always work. You're still going to make outs. But it's all about repeating, repeating, repeating, and staying in the zone." 

His one minute was up. He had a hitters' meeting to get to.