New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton hit his 400th career home run Tuesday night, and teammate Gerrit Cole used the moment to forgive him for a hilarious broken promise made long ago.
First, Stanton’s shining moment: The former NL MVP hit a two-run, go-ahead homer in the sixth inning off Detroit Tigers reliever José Cisner0. That made him the fourth-fastest MLB player to reach the 400 home run mark, after Mark McGwire, Babe Ruth and Alex Rodriguez.
That’s a lot of career home runs, including a memorable one Stanton hit off Cole. As the Yankees ace told the anecdote Tuesday, Stanton approached him before a 2013 game with a request. The then-Miami Marlins star was in a slump, and needed help. He asked Cole, then with the Pittsburgh Pirates, for a favor.
“He said, ‘Hey, could you just just give me a fastball down the middle tomorrow. I’m just going to go the other way, I need to find my swing,'” Cole recalled.
Cole was locked in a pitcher’s duel when Stanton came up for the third time in that game.
“Not being one to go back on my word, or shy away from a challenge, I gave him a fastball right down the middle,” Cole said. “But he totally reneged and clobbered it off the fish that was still out there in left-center to tie the game, and I lost the win.”
Stanton paid Cole back Tuesday night, as his go-ahead home run helped Cole score his 13th win of the season.
“He just totally redeemed himself tonight getting me that win,” Cole said.