Yankees Magical Moment No. 8: Giambi Jacks the Derby

by jscape2000 on Jul 5, 2011 10:41 AM EDT in New York Yankees Analysis

Jason Giambi was one of the MVPs of the first half of the 2002 season: .318/.430/.602 with 22 HR and 71 RBI.

I was pumped to see Giambi in the Home Run Derby, although in retrospect, it was a minature who's-who of the Steroid Era. Giambi, Arod (then with the Rangers), Paul Konerko, Torii Hunter, Barry Bonds, Richie Sexon, Lance Berkman and Sammy Sosa all participated.

Sosa led the first round with 12 homers, with Giambi in second with 11. Sosa clinched the NL spot in the final round with 5 homers, while Giambi and Konerko entered sudden death after tying at 6. Giambi hit a homer on the first swing, which Konerko could not match. Sosa batted first in the final round, hitting only 1 homer in ten swings; Giambi kept on swinging, finishing with 25 total homers.

The irony is never subtle:

Giambi said it bothered him that players who pounded homers were suspected of using steroids. He said steroid use among players was not as serious as had been suggested.

But in the moment, it was exciting to see Barry Bonds fall flat. And considering the monster shots Sosa hit earlier in the event (two of which flew clear out of Miller Park), Giambi's 7 homer performance in the final round seemed like the success of a dark horse. I loved Giambi's enthusiasm and his attitude throughout that season. I related to his desperate desire to be a Yankee; it humanized a man who often seemed to struggle with the Yankees' no-nonsense demeanor.

After that weekend, I always connected with Giambi, even as I learned the extent of his cheating.

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Man, I loved Giambi.

When I get nostalgic, I think about Bernie and Paul O’Neill, but I rarely ever think about Jason. I do miss him though, great guy, pretty (if enhanced) swing, and he was, of course, the subject of one of Sterling’s greatest/worst home run calls.

by frilly on Jul 5, 2011 11:21 AM EDT reply actions

Sterling

Do you mean “the Giambino” in general, or are you thinking of a specific game with a memorably terrible call?

"Have faith in the Yankees my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."
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by jscape2000 on Jul 5, 2011 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions

Giambi’s Derby romp was good, but I hope Tino’s makes it on this list too!

Unless you're a pitcher or Gustavo Molina, kindly SWING THE BAT and ignore the Binder's bunt signal.

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by Andrew GM on Jul 5, 2011 12:07 PM EDT reply actions

Giambi was underrated as a Yankee.

His OBP was ridiculous when he was healthy.

by Briceratops on Jul 5, 2011 2:14 PM EDT reply actions

When he was healthy. His 2004 and 2007, despite missing half of each season, were fairly horrendous. He missed about 240 or so games in his seven years, which comes out to slightly under a season and a half. That’s a lot of money wasted!

But yes, he essentially lived in the shadows of his 2000 and 2001 season and never lived up to them again (even though 2002 was fantastic). Not to mention the whole “steroids” thing he carried around for a few years… A .404 OBP as a Yankee isn’t the .476 or .477 he had in his prime years, but I’ll take that out of an aging star.

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by Chris McKeown on Jul 5, 2011 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions