Giancarlo Stanton is now an MVP and a New York Yankee, and apparently, the late Jose Fernandez would not have been surprised.
Speaking at Sunday’s BBWAA awards dinner, Stanton recalled how, in 2016, Fernandez accurately predicted that the slugger would hit 60 home runs in an MVP season in 2017 — and end up on the New York Yankees.
Giancarlo Stanton says that at the 2016 ASG, Jose Fernandez predicted Stanton would hit 60 HR and win NL MVP in 2017. Fernandez also said that if things didn’t work out in Miami, they’d be teammates on the Yankees someday.
— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) January 29, 2018
It’s worth noting that while he was still alive, the Yankees were listed as a potentially interested party if Fernandez ever became available via trade. There was definitely some basis to his prediction, but based on Stanton’s retelling, it’s quite amazing how right he was. It’s also extremely tragic that he’s not around to fulfill his end of the bargain.