Miami Marlins: Giancarlo Stanton continues march toward rare air
By Jason Burke
The Miami Marlins got some national recognition for a few minutes last month when they went on a bit of a hot streak and looked like they may crash the Wild Card party. The team has slumped back, but Giancarlo Stanton has continued belting balls out of the park.
Maybe it’s me.
With football season in full swing, maybe there just isn’t much attention to anything baseball related outside of the playoff races.
But Giancarlo Stanton hit home run number 55 on the season last night and it feels as though the baseball world has forgotten about the march that he is on.
The Miami Marlins’ biggest story line is more about the new ownership group than the product on the field, and for a team that has struggled at the ticket window, that makes sense. But all of those stories can wait an extra two weeks, because The Mighty Stanton is five nom runs away from reaching 60 home runs this season.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Steroids or no, this feat has been accomplished just eight times in the history of the game. Perfect games are nearly three times more likely to happen, and there is an opportunity for one of those every single day during the season. Outside of Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds, the 60 home run plateau has been reached just twice–by Roger Maris in 1961 and Babe Ruth in 1927.
Who you consider to be the single-season home run king doesn’t matter in this instance. Stanton’s feat would be historic either way.
Steroids in the late 90’s and early 2000’s have sullied the home run record books a bit for those of us that grew up in that time, and with today’s swing for the fences approach at the plate, it feels as though anyone could hit 60 home runs. There has been talk about some funny business with the baseballs all season, which has led to a spike in dingers, and for some that has likely made Stanton’s march less noteworthy.
But it’s not often that we get to see greatness right in front of us. Some (myself included) take Mike Trout for granted. He’s one of the best players we’re likely to see for some time. Aaron Judge may be able to match Stanton in raw power, but both Maris and Ruth were Yanks and so is Judge. This is the first time in over a decade (Ryan Howard with 58 in 2006) that someone outside of New York is challenging 60 homers, and it doesn’t seem to be getting talked about enough.
Next: Bellinger one homer away from NL rookie record
This is one of those rare historic feats that should have game breaks to show each and every Stanton at-bat the rest of the season. Instead, if he does break through, it will be just another headline, forgotten when the next headline breaks.