Judge, Yankees Reveal Stanton's August Speech, 'We All Need a Little Kick in the Ass'

The New York Yankees' late surge to make the 2025 postseason took place after an impassioned speech from Giancarlo Stanton, which was made during a private team meeting on Aug. 4, The Athletic's Brendan Kuty reported Monday.

According to Kuty, Stanton "laid into his teammates while also challenging them to play up to their talent" in a five-minute speech after a walkoff loss to the Texas Rangers.

Kuty reported that an anonymous member of the Yankees said the speech "was unlike anything he had ever seen before, especially coming from Stanton."

At the time, the Yankees were coming off a 25-27 stretch through June and July and had just started the month of August with four straight losses.

Yankees captain Aaron Judge described the meeting as "a wakeup call," per Kuty.

"We're all professionals, but I think we all need a little kick in the ass every now and then," Judge said, per Kuty.

The Yankees went on to clinch a postseason berth by posting a 34-15 record from Aug. 5 to the end of the regular season.

The club may be in need of a similar kick this week after making it past the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card round, only to get outscored 23-8 in the first two games of their division matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays.

After falling to 0-2 in the ALDS with a 13-7 Sunday loss in Toronto, the Yankees will need three straight wins in order to make it as far as the ALCS.

The last club to recover from an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-five series was the Yankees, which rallied to defeat Cleveland in the 2017 ALDS, per MLB.com.

The Yankees will look for another push from clubhouse leaders from Stanton as the club looks to recreate that comeback, starting Tuesday with a win-or-go-home Game 3 in the Bronx.