Zell's Pinstripe Blog

Going into the 2001 offseason, most people could see the writing on the wall. Tino Martinez, a Yankee fan favorite was on his way out and Jason Giambi, the type of player George Steinbrenner loved, was on his way in. While there was really nothing that could be done from Tino’s perspective to stop this deal, it wouldn’t be the last time the Yankee fans would cheer for him. It didn’t take more than a month after the World Series for the Yankees to land their number one target as Jason signed on December 13th for 7 years and $120 million.

Coming into 2002, the expectations for Giambi were high as he had won the MVP in 2000 and was runner up in 2001. His first year as a Yankee, he did not disappoint. He hit .314 with 41 longballs and 122 RBI’s while piling up 109 free passes. Giambi also won the AL Homerun Derby, the first since Tino Martinez did in 1997. This year would be his best year as a Yankee as he would not hit over .300 again during his tenure in pinstripes and he hit over 40 homeruns one other time (2003).

In 2003, his average dropped suddenly to .250. However, he still hit 41 homeruns with 107 RBI’s and drew 129 walks. This year would be the last year he would play in 150+ games as a Yankee due to various ailments.

Due to a begnin tumor, Jason only played 80 games in 2004 for the Yankees as he missed half of July and September and all of August. During his brief time playing, he hit .208 and 12 homeruns. In late 2004, the San Francisco Chronicle leaked information regarding Giambi’s steroid use in connection to the BALCO scandal that was sweeping up the sports world.

Prior to 2005, Giambi vaguely apologized for using steroids, but he never specifically said anything about performance enhancing drugs. Regardless, in 2005, Jason won the AL Comeback Player of the Year award as he hit .271, swatted 32 homeruns, 87 RBI’s and led the league in walks with 109. In July of this year, he hit 14 homeruns which tied him with Mickey Mantle for most in a month by a Yankee.

2006 was another decent year for the Giambino as he hit another 37 homeruns and 113 RBI’s while drawing 110 walks. He also hit .253, but this would be the highest his average would be for the next 2 years.

Injuries plagued Giambi for 2007 as he only played 83 games. During that time span he hit .236 with 14 homeruns. In May, he also apologized for use of steroids publicly and urged other to follow suit. In December, the Mitchell Report was released and as expected Jason Giambi was listed in it.

2008 would be Giambi’s last year as a Yankee and luckily for him, he played in 145 games, the most he had played in since 2003 (156 games). He made the most of his time hitting 32 homeruns and driving in 96 RBI’s. The following offseason the Yankees declined to pick up his option, thus making him a free agent.

A simple look at Giambi’s numbers would indicate that he was a decent pick up for most of his 7 years, however, his defense would speak otherwise. During his time as a Yankee he hit a total of 209 HR’s, 604 RBI’s and hit .260 all the while fielding with an iron glove at first base. For the most part, his contract was an albatross that the Yankees probably would have liked to get themselves out of, but couldn’t. While he had some good years, the Yankees truthfully could have done without him. It likely was tough coming in after Tino and Donnie Baseball as they both were fan favorites. However, I am not saying Giambi wasn’t a favorite to an extent, he just wasn’t loved like the previous two first basemen and to a certain extent, the way Teixeira is now. Unfortunately, I feel as if Giambi did not do justice to the pinstripes and would have preferred Giambi not to sign.