| Rob Intrieri. 28th July, 2005 - 12:58 am
 Flashback to this time last year: Jason Giambi’s out with a parasitic infection. He sits on the bench looking ½ the size he once was. Jason had been the first MLB player that admitted to taking steroids and had gone through hell as a result. It seemed that when he stopped using the juice, his talent left, too. It was as if Giambi had been squeezed through a juicer, and while steroids came out one end, a withered weak Giambi fell out the other end. He got very few at-bats and even the home crowd booed. Most fans forgot about the long-haired, tattooed beast that struck fear into opposing pitchers. No one expected anything out of Giambi anymore.
At the start of the season, when Giambi stepped to the plate (to a chorus of boos), everyone knew it was Light Snack or Famine. Giambi had a chance of walking or striking out. Fans knew that it had to with confidence; that Giambi wanted to impress them. However, Yankee fans continued to boo, sending Giambi to the plate feeling depressed right off the bat. Announcers put more pressure on Jason. Whenever the “Giambi Shift” was on, a broadcaster would comment, “Major League Baseball players should know how to go opposite field.” On other occasions the announcers would ask, “Why doesn’t he drop a bunt down?” Jason tried to please his critics, practicing hitting the other way with hitting coach Don Mattingly. Nothing worked. On May 9th, Giambi had hit a new low. His was batting .195 with three homers on the season. He was starting to lose at-bats in favor of Tino Martinez.
Somewhere around here, though, something clicked for Jason. He learned to be happy with himself and his style. He started pulling the ball again and saw great results. Giambi began hitting homers at a torrid pace (11 in July) and he regained his confidence. Look at the stark contrast between his numbers before May 9th and his numbers after May 9th.
DATE AVG HR RBI SLG SO
April 5-May 9 (27 games) .195 3 6 .325 28
May 13-July 24 (54 games) .329 13 35 .634 37
As this chart shows, Giambi has improved in every major category, including SO (fewer SO per game). He even leads the league in OBP. Says Giambi, “It’s not that I wasn’t confident, but the mind starts to wander. Now, when I step in the box, I’m so focused, I know exactly where my hands are going. I know I’m going to have a good at-bat and hit the ball hard.”
Once he started hitting again, fans jumped back on the bandwagon, begging for forgiveness. Giambi’s got the support of every Yankees fan now, and the expectations are once again high. On Yankees.com, for instance, a poll question asks, “From whom do you expect the most productive second half?” 43% of voters believed Jason would have the best second half, beating second place A-Rod by 18%.
If Giambi keeps this form, the Yankees have a lineup capable of scaring any opposing pitcher. Could this be the player the Yankees needed to guarantee them a playoff spot? Hey, not even long-haired, tattooed MVP Jason Giambi could pitch. |
