Giancarlo Stanton talked to Jimmy Kimmel about Derek Jeter and dirty underwear
For all but two teams, baseball is over. Which means that players can relax, go on vacation and do things they might not get a chance to do during the season. For Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, that means going on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Stanton stopped by for an interview on Tuesday, and was thoroughly delightful. The interview started with Kimmel, a normal sized human, in awe of how large Stanton is. In fact, he’s so large that when he hits a towering home run, Stanton said it “feels like a cloud.” It might feel like a cloud, but to everyone watching it looks like he’s ripping a giant hole in the space-time continuum.
When he and Kimmel talked about his homer-happy month of August (he hit 18), Stanton mentioned some familiar baseball superstitions. When players get into a groove, they like to change things as little as possible. Stanton mentioned that he’s the same way — even with socks and underwear. That’s right, slugging superstar Giancarlo Stanton hit some of those 18 August home runs while wearing dirty, smelly underwear and socks.
Stanton did drop a pretty big bombshell, though. Is it bigger than dirty underwear? Somehow, yes. Apparently, Derek Jeter and the rest of the new owners haven’t had any meetings with their $325 million man. Stanton said that they’re planning on meeting after the World Series, because it’s customary in baseball for all big news to wait until after the World Series is done.
What a simple meeting has to do with big news is puzzling, despite the rumor that Stanton may be traded. Kimmel was in total disbelief that the new owners haven’t met with Stanton yet, and he wasn’t the only one. Even Stanton had on an expression that said “I can’t believe it, either.”
Thankfully they moved on to slightly less awkward topics after that. With Stanton possibly going on the trade market this winter, lifelong New York Mets fan Kimmel pointed out how great he’d look in a Mets uniform. And Stanton made the most amazing, hilarious face at that comment.
He followed that with “I like beating up on the Mets.” So Stanton probably won’t be playing for the Mets anytime soon. But he definitely didn’t say no to a trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team he grew up rooting for. And he also wouldn’t mind being the designated hitter for the Boston Red Sox, either. He likes playing the outfield, but also likes the idea of being the DH for day games so he can just focus on hitting.
It can be tough for an athlete to give an interview on a late night show. A more relaxed atmosphere (as opposed to being at the ballpark) means that it can be easy to give answers that are honest but impolitic. Stanton walked that line perfectly, though. He gave just enough honesty to be funny, but managed to avoid saying that it’s insane that Marlins ownership hasn’t met with him yet, or that he’d rather quit baseball than play for the Mets. There’s a lot of uncertainty in his future, but he looks like he’s ready to go where the wind takes him.
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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher
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