Inside the Yankees meeting where Giancarlo Stanton gave them ‘kick in the ass’

TORONTO — Giancarlo Stanton stood in the middle of the visitors’ clubhouse in Texas after another wrenching loss in early August. It was during a particularly difficult time for the New York Yankees, not unlike the one they face now two months later, as they stare down the barrel of elimination. With every player sitting in front of his locker, and with the coaches and staffers on hand, the respected veteran went off for about five minutes. When Stanton was finished imploring his teammates to play up to what he considered their immense potential, nobody else spoke. “A wakeup call,” Yankees captain Aaron Judge said of the private meeting, which has not been previously reported. “It was the first time I really had a one-player meeting,” infielder José Caballero said. “We kind of needed somebody to get (on) our asses like that,” third baseman Ryan McMahon said. Months later, after responding to that speech with a second-half surge, the Yankees find themselves once again needing to heed Stanton’s message. After Sunday’s lopsided 13-7 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, they’re in a 2-0 hole in the best-of-five American League Division Series. One more defeat will bring their postseason to a
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