Giambi's 14 tie No. 7
BY PETER BOTTE
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Players throughout baseball were happy to see the calendar turn to August, mostly because of the passing of yesterday's trading deadline.
But Jason Giambi didn't want July to ever end.
The reborn slugger belted two more home runs yesterday - including the 300th of his star-crossed career - to give him 14 for the month. That's the most by a Yankee in one calendar month since Mickey Mantle also blasted 14 in July during the fabled home run chase of 1961.
Instead of incessant boos and calls for his release due to his reported admission of steroid use last winter, Giambi has transformed himself into something of a cult hero at the Stadium. He earned multiple standing ovations yesterday, and pumped his helmet to the sky during a loud curtain call following his second solo homer of the game in the seventh.
Giambi's previous high for one month was the 13 homers he ripped for Oakland in September 2000. Mantle clubbed 14 for the Yanks in July of 1961, while fellow M&M slugger Roger Maris hit 13 that same month.
"That's the exciting part about being a Yankee, anytime you do anything special here, it's always Ruth or Mantle or DiMaggio and it's always special," Giambi said. "It's one of the reasons I came here, all of the great players."
Source
BY PETER BOTTE
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Players throughout baseball were happy to see the calendar turn to August, mostly because of the passing of yesterday's trading deadline.
But Jason Giambi didn't want July to ever end.
The reborn slugger belted two more home runs yesterday - including the 300th of his star-crossed career - to give him 14 for the month. That's the most by a Yankee in one calendar month since Mickey Mantle also blasted 14 in July during the fabled home run chase of 1961.
Instead of incessant boos and calls for his release due to his reported admission of steroid use last winter, Giambi has transformed himself into something of a cult hero at the Stadium. He earned multiple standing ovations yesterday, and pumped his helmet to the sky during a loud curtain call following his second solo homer of the game in the seventh.
Giambi's previous high for one month was the 13 homers he ripped for Oakland in September 2000. Mantle clubbed 14 for the Yanks in July of 1961, while fellow M&M slugger Roger Maris hit 13 that same month.
"That's the exciting part about being a Yankee, anytime you do anything special here, it's always Ruth or Mantle or DiMaggio and it's always special," Giambi said. "It's one of the reasons I came here, all of the great players."
Source
