In Giancarlo Stanton's first 1,667 career MLB games, he had never done this.

But on Thursday night, with the New York Yankees in need of a jolt, they signaled for Giancarlo Stanton to pinch-hit.

And for the first time as a big leaguer, Stanton delivered a pinch-hit home run.

It was the start of the Yankees' big rally from 5-0 down to beat the Mariners 6-5 in 10 innings.

It was the 432nd homer of Stanton's MLB career, but the first he had delivered as a pinch-hitter.

Of course, a player like Stanton doesn't spend a ton of time on the bench, so the chances are few and far between.

But before Thursday night, Stanton had 48 pinch-hit at bats in MLB and had been absolutely awful. He was just 6-for-48 in pinch-hit spots with a pair of doubles. That's just a .125 batting average.

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Pinch-hitting isn't easy, especially against high-octane relievers, but that's a remarkably poor performance for someone of Stanton's caliber.

Apparently he was due for some positive pinch-hitting regression to the mean, and he delivered it in the form of his huge homer against the Mariners.

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