Giancarlo Stanton embracing fresh start, arrives at Yankees camp

TAMPA, Fla. -- The waters didn't part, but the buzz quickly spread throughout the New York Yankees clubhouse Friday morning: Giancarlo Stanton had arrived a couple days early to spring training.

A few minutes later he greeted the media -- a much larger contingent than he had to deal with in Miami -- while wearing a spring training cap; a black-and-white three-quarters-sleeve Yankees workout shirt that showed off his sculpted biceps; black jeans; and gray sneakers. He certainly had the new color scheme down.

The biggest show in baseball is officially underway.

"It's a fresh start. A new learning experience. I got all new teammates, all new opponents," Stanton said. "I just want to be the best version of me and the best player I can be. That's grilled to mesh with the focus of this team."

Stanton spent eight seasons with the Marlins. All eight were losing seasons. He joins forces not just with fellow slugger Aaron Judge -- the two ranked 1-2 in the majors in home runs in 2017 with Stanton swatting 59 and Judge 52 -- but with a team where losing is not an option and a World Series title is not just a goal but the definition of a successful season.

Stanton is ready to embrace that pressure.

"It's huge," he said. "I've never been able to experience [winning] at this level. This is the level I've worked toward my entire life, so I'm really excited about that aspect."

Stanton admitted he arrived early in part to deal with the changes in his baseball life.

"The [big] market isn't what I've thought about. It's just getting used to a new place," he said. "That comes with it -- bigger expectations, a bigger market -- but just being out of my comfort zone because I've done the same thing for 10 years, same spring training, same organization. This is all new to me and it will be a fun new ride."

Those expectations include a pile of home runs from him and Judge. The record total of home runs for a pair of teammates in one season is 115 in 1961, when Roger Maris hit 61 and Mickey Mantle hit 54 for the Yankees. Getting to that number won't be so easy, considering that Stanton and Judge hit a combined 111 last season and no player has hit 50 in consecutive seasons since Alex Rodriguez in 2001 and 2002. In fact, aside from Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, who all come attached to performance-enhancing-drug allegations, the only other players with consecutive 50-homer seasons are Ken Griffey Jr. and Babe Ruth (who did it twice).

Stanton knows the spotlight will be on him and Judge, but he'd prefer not to set a goal for the number of home runs the two can hit.

"The curiosity of what we can do together is the main focus," he said. "In terms of living up to the expectations, that's just going to come with playing. The main goal is to win, so if our expectations help us win, it doesn't really matter what the numbers are."

Stanton had his best season in 2017 for several reasons. First, he stayed healthy, playing 159 games, the most in his career and just the second time he'd played at least 150. Second, he changed his batting stance in early June, closing his stance so his front foot was closer to the plate than his back foot. This led to an epic home run surge in which he hit 41 home runs in 89 games from June 23 to the end of the season. Third, manager Don Mattingly moved him to second in lineup.

That last one presents an interesting scenario for manager Aaron Boone as he fills out his lineup card. Judge also did his best hitting last year while batting second -- .327/.465/.827 with 13 home runs in 28 games.

"I would say I envision one of them certainly hitting in the two-hole," Boone said. "That's one thing that's a starting point for me. Whether that's Giancarlo or whether that's Aaron, that remains to be seen. We'll see how it shakes out. But obviously similar skill sets, the ability to get on base with the high power. I definitely like one of them in the two-hole, most or all the time."

Boone has six weeks to determine that. For now, it's time for work.

After his short session with the media, Stanton searched through the gear in his locker with two clubhouse attendants. As a veteran, he has a corner locker with two cubicles. An unopened box of Marucci bats sat in one. He found the correct gear and loaded up an equipment bag. It was off for a few questions outside the clubhouse for the video cameras and onto a golf cart for a short ride over to the minor league complex for his first batting practice as a member of the Yankees.