Yankees: Miguel Andujar is the only choice to win AL Rookie of the Year Yankees: Miguel Andujar is the only choice to win AL Rookie of the Year by Mac Josephson Yankees: Three things they must do to win the World Series Yankees: Three things they must do to win the World Series by Sheldon Kamieniecki Yankees star Giancarlo Stanton was hit with his own home run ball, thrown in by a Red Sox fan while rounding second base after homering over the Green Monster at Fenway Park. This is why I don’t like Red Sox fans. Most of them are tasteless and show little to no class. Yankees star Giancarlo Stanton homered in Saturday’s 8-5 win against the Red Sox. While he was rounding second base, the fan who caught Stanton’s home run ball threw it back on the field which bounced and hit Stanton. Intentional or not, it’s no secret Red Sox fans don’t like the Yankees and vice versa. Immediately after the incident, the game was delayed as umpires pointed out the fan to security. I’m unsure what action the Red Sox and MLB will take against the fan, but banning him for life would be a bit harsh. Stanton didn’t mind the indiscretion. Stanton shared on his Instagram account a clip from the movie “Rookie of the Year,” where young Henry Rowengartner fires a strike into home plate from way out in the Wrigley Field bleachers. Speaking to the media after the win, the Yanks’ leading home run hitter seems cool about it. Stanton’s seventh-inning homer gave him 100 RBIs on the season. Not only that, but thanks to rookie sensation Gleyber Torres’ two-run shot earlier in the game, the Bombers had already broken the MLB single-season home run record with 265 long balls. The Mariners had held the record since 1997. Another superb rookie, Miguel Andujar also set a new franchise record as he climbed over Joe DiMaggio for most doubles by a Yankee rookie (44 in 1936). Andujar finished the regular season with 47 doubles. Stanton, Andujar and Torres’ achievements all happened during the Yankees’ 100th win of the season which is an enormous milestone. Gleyber, Miggy, and Giancarlo – the new guys earned their pinstripes (even more) today by becoming the #Yankees' milestone men. pic.twitter.com/vYutW9ccKV — YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 29, 2018 Next up, the Yanks look to win the Wild Card game on Wednesday, October 3, as the Bombers take on the Athletics at Yankee Stadium, before advancing to the ALDS where the Red Sox wait.<doc-sep>Say what you want about Giancarlo Stanton, but you can’t argue the New York Yankees slugger isn’t a good sport. Stanton roped a solo home run Saturday in his team’s 8-5 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. And as the star outfielder was rounding the bases, a fan in the Green Monster seats hurled the ball back into the infield, where it then bounced and hit Stanton. After the game, Stanton took to Instagram to make light of the admittedly hilarious situation. The Yankees star shared a clip that featured footage both from Saturday’s incident and from the classic baseball movie “Rookie of the Year.” Well done, whoever made that.<doc-sep>Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run on Saturday into the stands of Fenway Park’s Green Monster. As he rounded second, the baseball came back to him. Giancarlo Stanton took one out over the monster to extend the Yankees lead, but then a fan threw the ball back and hit Stanton rounding 2nd. pic.twitter.com/8I9MuYaa7R — FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 29, 2018 Aided, of course, by the height of the Green Monster, the fan still had a Rookie of the Year moment that amused Stanton himself. While the broadcast expected the fan to get ejected from Fenway Park, that wasn’t the case at all. ESPN caught up with the fan, 32-year-old Atlanta native Andrew Lastrapes, and he explained that he admitted to a security guard that he threw the ball after already evading other security personnel. He wasn’t ejected from the ballpark. Via ESPN: “I looked at Thomas and was like, ‘Let’s go,'” Lastrapes said. “So I left, and then I saw a bunch of security go down and [they] just missed me. And then I was one security guard left, and it was an old guy, and he was like, ‘Son, did you hit Giancarlo Stanton with that ball?’ “And I was like, ‘Yes. '” Chimed in Barton: “It was said more out of shame.” Lastrapes was apologetic about hitting Stanton. Multiple times, he made it clear he wanted the ballplayer to know he didn’t mean to hit him. Fenway Park security had Lastrapes fill out some paperwork to document the incident. But according to him, security never formally kicked him out. He also was not told he was banned from the ballpark. Lastrapes said that he simply threw the ball as far as he could — he wasn’t trying to hit Stanton. The Yankees star had a good sense of humor about the ordeal, sharing a Rookie of the Year mashup on Instagram.<doc-sep>
The fan who hit Giancarlo Stanton with a baseball Saturday told ESPN that he was not intentionally trying to hit the New York Yankees star. "I just grabbed the ball and threw it as far as I can," Andrew Lastrapes, 32, told the network Sunday. Lastrapes found himself in the middle of a viral moment Saturday afternoon when he decided to throw Stanton's seventh-inning home-run ball back onto the field at Fenway Park, bouncing it into Stanton as he rounded second base. Stanton appeared amused by the throw, tipping his cap to the outfield while proceeding around the bases. New York won the game, 8-5. Lastrapes, who is from Atlanta, told ESPN that he is an Atlanta Braves fan and didn't care about the outcome of the game, but he and his friends talked about throwing back a Yankee home-run ball prior to the seventh inning. After hitting Stanton, they decided to leave the stadium and just missed the wave of security staffers who had come looking for him. More:Announcer Ernie Johnson will skip MLB playoffs due to blood clots More:How'd we do? Revisiting our preseason MLB win predictions "(There) was one security guard left, and it was an old guy, and he was like, 'Son, did you hit Giancarlo Stanton with that ball?'" Lastrapes recalled to ESPN. "And I was like, 'Yes.'" Lastrapes said he was asked to help document the incident but was not formally kicked out of Fenway Park. The ball that he threw back represented Stanton's 38th home run of the season and homer No. 266 of the year for the Yankees, which set a new major-league record. Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.