CLEVELAND ¨C Giancarlo Stanton grinned as he bounded off the stage that had been hurriedly erected in center field on Saturday evening, having just claimed the MVP award for the 2024 American League Championship Series. The shiny and weighty bauble still rested within the grasp of his right hand.

¡°It¡¯s a special moment for me, a special time,¡± Stanton said. ¡°But this ain¡¯t the trophy I want. I want the next one.¡±

That would be a World Series trophy, and Stanton¡¯s Yankees are about to have their chance to claim one. Powered largely by Stanton¡¯s prolific offensive performance, the Bombers secured the American League pennant with their 5-2 victory over the Guardians at Progressive Field.

Stanton launched his third home run in as many games and fourth of the ALCS in Game 5, a 446-foot rocket off Tanner Bibee that tied the game in the sixth and set up Juan Soto's game-winning homer in the 10th. Stanton had four hits in the series -- all homers -- and scored five runs with seven RBIs.

¡°This is what Big G lives for,¡± said Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole. ¡°Not the accolades by any means; far from it. But the opportunity to get to the World Series and play for a championship. That's his biggest motivation.¡±

Indeed, now in his seventh year with the Yankees, Stanton said that he¡¯d expected to help lead the Yankees to the Fall Classic much sooner.

¡°I didn¡¯t plan for it to take this long, but we¡¯re here now,¡± Stanton said. ¡°This is exactly what I came here for.¡±

Captain Aaron Judge said he is ¡°so pumped¡± for Stanton, the ninth Yankee to win ALCS MVP honors and the first since CC Sabathia in 2009.

¡°That guy¡¯s gotten booed so many times, at the stadium, on the road, everything,¡± Judge said. ¡°He's been battling some tough injuries along the way, but the guy always shows up when we need him. I can¡¯t speak enough about what he does for this team. He¡¯s such a leader. He may not be as vocal as others, but when he needs to speak, people always listen.¡±

Other Yankees to win ALCS MVP include: Graig Nettles (1981), Bernie Williams (1996), David Wells (1998), Orlando Hernandez (1999), David Justice (2000), Andy Pettitte (2001), and Mariano Rivera (2003).

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Stanton was a persistent thorn in Cleveland¡¯s side, but that is nothing new. He has eight career hits against Cleveland over his incredible postseason career, and all eight are home runs. That¡¯s the longest such streak of any MLB player vs. a team. The next-longest streak is Jim Thome, who hit five playoff homers against the Red Sox from 1995-¡¯99.

¡°When you try to hit homers, they don¡¯t happen,¡± Stanton said. ¡°You¡¯ve just got to put a good swing on it, make sure you¡¯re on time, get the barrel there and let it happen.¡±

Of the 38 players with five or more home runs against a single playoff opponent in MLB history, Stanton is the only one to have all his hits vs. that opponent all be home runs.

¡°He can hit it harder than anyone, first of all,¡± said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. ¡°So there's the physical nature of what he does that's different than just about everyone in the world. But he's just incredibly disciplined, his approach, his process, how he studies guys.¡±

On top of Stanton¡¯s 429 career home runs in the regular season, he has 16 in the postseason ¡­ and counting. That's the most homers by a player in their first 36 career postseason games, and it moves him into sole possession of fourth place in Yankees postseason history, breaking a tie with Judge and Babe Ruth (15).

Now it¡¯s on to the World Series, with either the Dodgers or Mets on deck. Stanton believes his team has everything it needs to finish the job.

¡°The resilience, all the punches we¡¯ve taken. We know how to bounce back,¡± Stanton said. ¡°We know whoever we¡¯re going to face is not going to be an easy task. We¡¯re going to throw elbows and see what we can do.¡±