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    • The Yankees' World Series run is led by superstars Soto, Judge and Stanton
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    The Yankees' World Series run is led by superstars Soto, Judge and Stanton

    Kathleen William Posted on

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    The World Series is upon us, and with it the hype that accompanies what will likely be the first two-coast battle between the Yankees and Dodgers since 1981.

    There will be oversized billboards featuring Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, or perhaps Francisco Lindor vs. Juan Soto when the New York Mets sneak through, and the veteran ball-watcher will watch the hype and smile, knowing full well that a utility infielder or middle Reliever doing that could ultimately be the hero.

    But these New York Yankees have destroyed all of that playoff randomness, all of that notion that superstars on superteams are no more likely to win than a nondescript upper-middle-tier club that gets hot for a minute in October.

    The Yankees are in the World Series for the first time since 2009. And a club that is truly larger than life has its big boys to thank for it.

    Soto, Judge and Giancarlo Stanton aren't just brawlers, MVP-caliber producers or nine-figure earners (Soto will soon join them in that club).

    They're a traveling roadshow, the 6-7 Stanton is capable of hitting balls harder than any other human on the planet, the 6-6 Judge is somehow able to patrol the center field while hitting 58 this season Home runs, an American League record 62 two seasons ago.

    And then there's Soto, who feels like he's been in the spotlight longer than anyone else – and yet is about to celebrate his 26th birthdayTh Birthday on Friday, batting second and patrolling right field for the Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series.

    On Saturday night, Soto's immense talent and considerable swagger came together in the batter's box at Progressive Field, 10Th Inning, 2-2 game, the Yankees lead the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 in the American League Championship Series and a fielding error gives them the opportunity to incur significant penalties.

    Soto gritted his teeth and dug in, taking a few throws before fouling a throw, and then another, and another, and another for good measure, his conviction only growing and, we can only wonder, the fear surrounding him The Guardians' replacement may have been Hunter Gaddis.

    “I told myself,” Soto said in a postgame TBS interview, “I was all over him, I was on him, I was on him.”

    Call him arrogant if you want, but the truth is always a defense.

    After parrying a handful of changeups and sliders, Soto finally got the fastball he wanted, the kind he pulverizes, and muscled it into right-center field. He stared at it not so much because he knew it was gone, but because he knew that if he brutally robbed him, the baseball could end up behind the fence.

    And so it happened.

    Some 402 feet later, the biggest home run in Yankees history since, oh, let's see, Hideki Matsui's two-run shot off Pedro Martinez in Game 6 of the 2009 World Series? – ended up in the bullpen. And the practical impact of that explosion—Yankees headed to the World Series—almost paled in comparison to the bigger picture:

    Soto did exactly what he was supposed to do when the Yankees brought him to New York.

    His free agency will remain the burning question this offseason, and this October platform will ensure his price tag tops half a billion dollars. But whether he gets his sack in the Bronx or elsewhere – and even if the Yankees win four more games or not – the mercenary role has been a resounding success.

    “Not everyone loves it, loves it like Juan Soto or like a lot of our guys,” manager Aaron Boone said in a press conference after Game 5.

    “He loves it.”

    Soto hit bookend home runs in this ALCS, a solo home run that tied the score in Game 1 and then the game-winning smash on Saturday. He is 11-for-33 this postseason with a .450 on-base percentage, all from a 41-homer season.

    But these Yankees have rented, bought, collected stars and spent billions of dollars in payroll since their last World Series win. Still, a braver, smarter and better-rounded team always came along and recorded the final stretch of the season that the Yankees felt was their divine right.

    Think about it: The San Francisco Giants have won three titles since the Yankees' last championship, while the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros have won two. Heck, the Kansas City Royals won back-to-back AL pennants and a championship.

    This season the superstars have come together.

    Think about Stanton. Since the Yankees imported him from Miami after the 2017 season, he has spent most of his time in pinstripes under ill fortune and plagued by injuries. In October of this year, everything came together for G. The Yankees used him wisely, trying to preserve his 6-6, 245-pound tight end frame, and he rewarded them with 27 home runs and, as manager Aaron Boone likes to note, a steady presence when in the setup is.

    Well, the man with 429 career home runs, an NL MVP and a Home Run Derby title now has an ALCS MVP trophy to add to his mantle.

    He hit a baseball at 117.5 miles per hour Saturday night, a feat that reinforces his image as an Adonis on a diamond. But it wasn't just a laser, it was a game-saver, a two-run shot that wiped out a shutout push by Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee and tied the game at 2-2.

    The Guardians will regret pitching against Stanton — he literally hit the only strike he threw in a six-pitch at-bat contest from 446 feet — because they were put on notice.

    Game 1: Solo home run.

    Game 3: Go-ahead solo home run in the eighth inning.

    Game 4: Go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning.

    And then the blast on Saturday, which was his 16thTh Career postseason homers, all with the Yankees.

    It's easy to assume that the first dozen or so were free. Stanton arrived with manager Aaron Boone in 2018, a year after Judge's epic rookie and near-MVP season. They were coached by the Red Sox in the 2018 ALDS and the 2021 Wild Card Game, punked by the Rays in the 2020 COVID bubble ALDS, and recruited again by the Astros in the 2019 and 2022 ALCS.

    Meanwhile, Stanton's $325 million contract, Judge's service clock and all the failed spending continued to whir on. But managing partner Hal Steinbrenner made the right decisions when it mattered most: He re-signed Judge for $360 million and gave Soto the green light to trade him this winter.

    Judge's contract means he's the biggest target because opposing pitchers have to avoid him and fans and media have to complain when he isn't explosive every series. Yes, he showed up: a home run in Game 2 and a crucial two-run kick in Game 3 that shook the Guardians' Emmanuel Clase to the core.

    Freak out on small samples, but the man still has a .773 OPS and 15 home runs in 53 career playoff games.

    It's just that he has help now. Maybe Soto will be gone next year. Maybe Stanton won't be so lucky with his health next October.

    But for now, the Yankees are unstoppable: 7-2 this October, heading to the World Series, and undeterred by any opponent joining them.

    Larger than life, you could say.

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    Kathleen William
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