Giancarlo Stanton
Stanton with the Miami Marlins
Miami Marlins – No. 27
Right fielder
Born: (1989-11-08) November 8, 1989 (age 25) Panorama City, California
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 8, 2010 for the Florida Marlins
MLB statistics (through 2015 season)
Batting average	.270
Hits	693
Home runs	181
Runs batted in	466
Teams
Florida / Miami Marlins (2010–present)
Career highlights and awards
3× All-Star (2012, 2014, 2015) Silver Slugger Award (2014) NL Hank Aaron Award (2014) NL home run leader (2014)

Giancarlo Cruz Michael Stanton (/ʒɑːnˈkɑrloʊ/; born November 8, 1989) is an American professional baseball right fielder for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior to the 2012 season, he was known as "Mike" Stanton. He graduated from Notre Dame High School, before he was drafted by the Marlins in the 2007 MLB Draft. He first appeared for the Marlins in the middle of the 2010 season. Stanton was selected to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 2012, 2014, and 2015.

In November 2014, the Marlins signed Stanton to the richest contract in sports history, worth $325 million over 13 years.

Early life[edit]

Stanton attended Verdugo Hills High School in Tujunga, California, before he transferred to Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, where he was a three-sport athlete. He had accepted a scholarship to play baseball for Tulane, and received offers from UCLA and UNLV to play football.^[1] However, he opted to go pro after being drafted in the second round (76th overall) in the 2007 amateur draft by the Florida Marlins.^[2]

Stanton is mostly of Irish and African-American descent. His maternal great-grandmother was Puerto Rican.^[3] He has represented the United States internationally including the World Baseball Classic of 2013. The same year Team Puerto Rico investigated whether Giancarlo Stanton could play for them in the event as it was rumored Giancarlo had some distant Puerto Rican blood via his great-grandmother side. However, it was found out he was not eligible as his Puerto Rican ancestry was not considered significant enough to represent the team according to the World Baseball Classic rules.^[4]

Professional career[edit]

Minor league career[edit]

Stanton began his career for the Gulf Coast League Marlins, but quickly advanced to the Single-A short season New York - Penn League, playing for the Jamestown Jammers. After nine games for the Jammers, where he batted .067 (2 for 30), he was promoted to the Single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers. At Greensboro, Stanton hit 39 home runs, on a .293 batting average with 97 RBI and a .993 OPS.^[2][5] Stanton received an invitation to the 2009 Marlins spring training.^[6] He won numerous post-season awards for his performance in the 2008 minor league season, and was placed at number 16 on Baseball America's top 100 prospects list.^[7]

He began the season in High A with the Jupiter Hammerheads, where he batted .294 with 12 home runs and 39 RBI. This outstanding performance led to a promotion to the Double-A Jacksonville Suns.^[8][9] He was selected to the U.S. All- Star Futures game in the minor leagues, as he was chosen to represent the Florida Marlins.^[10] In the off-season, he was sent to the Arizona Fall League, for the organization's top prospects. Before going down with an injury forcing him to leave, he led the league with a .478 batting average.^[11] Baseball America declared him the number 1 prospect in the Marlins system,^[12] as well as being number 3 on John Manuel's of Baseball America, top 20 prospects in the minors.^[13]

In 52 games with the Jacksonville Suns, Stanton batted .311 with 21 homers, 52 RBI and a 1.167 on-base plus slugging percentage. Perhaps most impressive was that he struck out just nine more times than he walked (44). After a series against the Mississippi Braves in early May, Mississippi manager Phil Wellman told The Florida Times Union: "He looks like a 15-year-old playing on an 8-year-old's Little League team." On May 6, 2010, Stanton hit a home run at Montgomery that cleared the scoreboard in center field and traveled an estimated 500–550 feet.^[14]

Major league career[edit]

2010: Rookie season[edit]

On June 6, 2010, the Miami Marlins announced that Stanton would be called up to the major leagues, making his debut on June 8. At 20 years, 212 days, he became the third youngest player in Marlins history, behind Edgar Renteria (19 years, 276 days)^[15] and Miguel Cabrera (20 years, 67 days).^[16] Stanton went 3-for-5 with two infield singles and scored twice in the debut.^[17]

Stanton's first big league home run was a grand slam off of Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Matt Garza. He joined Jeff Conine, Chuck Carr, Quilvio Veras, Craig Counsell and Jeremy Hermida on the list of Marlins whose first homer came with the bases loaded. In addition, Stanton became the fourth player in the past 25 years to hit his first career grand slam before his 21st birthday along with Jose Reyes (2003), Andruw Jones (1997) and Alex Rodriguez (1996). On August 11, 2010 against the Washington Nationals, Stanton went 5-for-5 with 4 RBI, 2 doubles and a home run. He became the second youngest player to collect five hits and four RBI in a game, and the youngest to do it since 1935 (Phil Cavarretta, who was 19 years and 33 days old with the Chicago Cubs on August 21, 1935). Stanton also is just the second Marlin with five hits and four RBI in the same game, joining Gary Sheffield, who did it on September 17, 1995 at Colorado.^[18]

Stanton's favorite big league at-bat came on September 6, 2010, against Roy Oswalt in Philadelphia.^[19] Stanton thought he had struck out on a foul tip, but the catcher dropped the ball. On the next pitch, he hit a 435-foot home run. "That (home run) I really liked, because that's what made me grow," Stanton said. "I thought I struck out; I was a little flustered. You learn that when something's over with, you move on. I did that pretty quick right there." ^[20]

For his rookie season, Stanton's home runs averaged a distance of 399.6 feet with average speed of 104.3 MPH.^[21]

He was named an outfielder on Baseball America's 2010 All-Rookie Team.^[22] He was also named an outfielder on the 2010 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team.^[23]

2011[edit]

In 2011, Stanton battled through leg and eye injuries which kept him from being a consistent hitting threat in the Marlins lineup. He hit his first walk-off home run on July 6, 2011 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Stanton finished the 2011 season batting .262 with 34 home runs and 87 RBI in 516 at-bats. According to HitTrackerOnline, Stanton belted 15 no-doubt home runs, the most in the National League and second most in the major leagues behind Jose Bautista's 18. Stanton hit the longest home runs of the season by any player in 2011 at Citi Field (465 feet), Nationals Park (455 feet), Coors Field (475 feet), and Sun Life Stadium (466 feet).^[24] His average distance (416.6 feet) and off bat speed (107.4 MPH) made significant improvement in his sophomore season. Stanton finished 23rd in the National league MVP [1]

At the end of the season, Stanton had 56 career home runs before his 22nd birthday (which was in November), which matched Alex Rodriguez and was behind only Ken Griffey, Jr. among players in the past 40 seasons.^[25]

2012: All-Star[edit]

On May 21, 2012, Stanton hit a grand slam off Jamie Moyer that traveled 462 feet with an off-bat speed of 122.4 MPH, the fastest since ESPN's Home Run Tracker began tracking.^[26] The ball made contact with a scoreboard in the outfield which resulted in the panels hit getting knocked out momentarily.^[27] Moyer had not given up a grand slam since 2004.^[28]

On June 28, 2012, Stanton confirmed that he would play in the 2012 MLB All-Star Game and participate in the Home Run Derby.^[29] However, On July 7, Stanton left the game against the St. Louis Cardinals after a knee soreness. The next day, Stanton had surgery on his knee and later missed both of the events. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on July 14. On August 17, Stanton hit a 494-foot home run at Coors Field.^[30] The home run was his sixth home run at Coors Field, in as many games, dating back to 2011. The home run was the longest in MLB since 2009.

Stanton finished the 2012 season with career highs in home runs (37; 2nd in the National League, behind only Ryan Braun), batting average (.290), on-base percentage (.361), and slugging percentage (.608) which led all of MLB. He was third in the NL in on-base plus slugging percentage (.969; behind Braun and Joey Votto).^[31]

According to HitTrackerOnline, Stanton belted 11 no-doubt home runs, the most in the National League and sixth most in the major leagues. Stanton hit the longest home runs of the season at Coors Field (494 feet) for 2nd straight season, and Marlins Park (462 feet).^[32] His average distance (413 feet) and off bat speed (107.2 MPH) remained on-par with his 2011 campaign.

2013[edit]

After having a career best .290 batting average, 37 home runs and .608 slugging percentage, Stanton had a good feeling coming into the 2013 season from spring training and participating in the WBC team USA. On April 27, 2013, Stanton opened up with his first homer of the season, putting it over the scoreboard he hit last season off Jamie Moyer, and traveling an estimated 472 feet. Stanton was put on the 15-day disabled list three days later due to a grade 2 hamstring injury. He was re-activated on June 10, 2013.

Missing those two months of the season, Stanton worked hard to come back to his former self. With only 116 games played he was not able put up the same numbers, with only 425 at-bats he had a .249 average with 106 hits, 62 RBI and 24 home runs to end the season. Stanton was able to hit a milestone marker in his career. In a June 17, 2013 victory, Stanton hit two long home runs, one off former closer Heath Bell to take the lead. Stanton hit his 99th and 100th career homer that night, placing him on the number 9 spot in the fastest player to hit 100 career homers.

Stanton displayed home run power but fell short of expectations as injury limited his season.^[33]

2014: MVP Candidate[edit]

On April 18, Stanton hit a walk-off grand slam home run against the Seattle Mariners. Against the San Diego Padres, Stanton hit what was estimated to be the longest home run in Marlins Park history. Stanton hit his 154th career home run with the Marlins, tying the franchise career record with Dan Uggla. On September 11, Stanton was hit by a pitch in the face by Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers, and was expected to return, but later examinations determined that he would not return.^[34] The impact resulted in multiple facial fractures, lacerations, and dental damage. On September 17, 2014, the Marlins announced that Stanton would not play for the rest of the 2014 season.^[35] In 145 games, Stanton batted .288 with 37 home runs, 105 RBI, 94 walks (24 intentional), a .555 slugging percentage, and a .950 OPS.

On November 17, 2014, the Marlins and Stanton agreed to a 13-year, $325 million extension, the most lucrative contract in sports history. The deal involves a no-trade clause and Stanton can opt out of the contract after he turns 30. His salary will go up every year he plays for the Marlins.^[36][37]

2015[edit]

On April 16th, 2015, Stanton hit his 155th career home run, surpassing Dan Uggla to become the Marlins all-time home run leader. On May 12th, 2015, Stanton hit a 467-foot home run which cleared the left field stands at Dodger Stadium. It was the third-longest home run of the season at that point and the fifth home run ever hit out of Dodger Stadium.^[38] On May 15th, 2015, Stanton hit a 474-foot home run to center field which landed in the camera well in Marlins Park. It was the second longest home run of the season at that time, pushing his out of the stadium home run number to 4. On May 30th, 2015, Stanton hit a 466-foot home run, the longest home run in Citi Field history.^[39] On June 26th, 2015, while playing against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Stanton broke a bone in his left hand, which requires surgery, causing him to miss 4-6 weeks.^[40] The rehab took longer than expected, and he is targeting to come back on September 4.

Personal[edit]

His mother calls him "Cruz" (his other middle name), but his father and other relatives call him "Mike" or "Mikey." He was known as "Mike Stanton" throughout his high school and minor league careers and for his first two years as a major leaguer, but before the 2012 season, he made it known that he would prefer to be called Giancarlo.^[25]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Giancarlo Stanton on Twitter

Preceded by Matt Kemp

National League Player of the Month May 2012

Succeeded by Andrew McCutchen

National League season home run leaders 1876: Hall 1877: Pike 1878: Hines 1879: C. Jones 1880: Stovey & O'Rourke 1881: Brouthers 1882: Wood 1883: Ewing 1884: Williamson 1885: Dalrymple 1886: Brouthers & Richardson 1887: O'Brien 1888: Ryan 1889: Thompson 1890: Burns, Tiernan & Wilmot 1891: Tiernan & Stovey 1892: Holliday 1893: Delahanty 1894: Duffy 1895: Thompson 1896: Joyce & Delahanty 1897: Duffy 1898: J. Collins 1899: Freeman 1900: Long 1901: Crawford 1902: Leach 1903: Sheckard 1904: Lumley 1905: Odwell 1906: Jordan 1907: Brain 1908: Jordan 1909: Murray 1910: Schulte & Beck 1911: Schulte 1912: Zimmerman 1913: Cravath 1914: Cravath 1915: Cravath 1916: C. Williams & Robertson 1917: Cravath & Robertson 1918: Cravath 1919: Cravath 1920: C. Williams 1921: Kelly 1922: Hornsby 1923: C. Williams 1924: Fournier 1925: Hornsby 1926: Wilson 1927: C. Williams & Wilson 1928: Wilson & Bottomley 1929: Klein 1930: Wilson 1931: Klein 1932: Klein & Ott 1933: Klein 1934: Ott & R. Collins 1935: Berger 1936: Ott 1937: Ott & Medwick 1938: Ott 1939: Mize 1940: Mize 1941: Camilli 1942: Ott 1943: Nicholson 1944: Nicholson 1945: Holmes 1946: Kiner 1947: Kiner & Mize 1948: Kiner & Mize 1949: Kiner 1950: Kiner 1951: Kiner 1952: Kiner & Sauer 1953: Mathews 1954: Kluszewski 1955: Mays 1956: Snider 1957: Aaron 1958: Banks 1959: Mathews 1960: Banks 1961: Cepeda 1962: Mays 1963: McCovey & Aaron 1964: Mays 1965: Mays 1966: Aaron 1967: Aaron 1968: McCovey 1969: McCovey 1970: Bench 1971: Stargell 1972: Bench 1973: Stargell 1974: Schmidt 1975: Schmidt 1976: Schmidt 1977: Foster 1978: Foster 1979: Kingman 1980: Schmidt 1981: Schmidt 1982: Kingman 1983: Schmidt 1984: Schmidt & Murphy 1985: Murphy 1986: Schmidt 1987: Dawson 1988: Strawberry 1989: Mitchell 1990: Sandberg 1991: Johnson 1992: McGriff 1993: Bonds 1994: M. Williams 1995: Bichette 1996: Galarraga 1997: Walker 1998: McGwire 1999: McGwire 2000: Sosa 2001: Bonds 2002: Sosa 2003: Thome 2004: Beltré 2005: A. Jones 2006: Howard 2007: Fielder 2008: Howard 2009: Pujols 2010: Pujols 2011: Kemp 2012: Braun 2013: Álvarez & Goldschmidt 2014: Stanton 2015: Arenado & Harper

National League Outfielder Silver Slugger Award 1980: Baker, Dawson, Hendrick 1981: Baker, Dawson, Foster 1982: Durham, Guerrero, Murphy 1983: Cruz, Dawson, Murphy 1984: Cruz, Gwynn, Murphy 1985: McGee, Murphy, Parker 1986: Gwynn, Parker, Raines 1987: Davis, Dawson, Gwynn 1988: Gibson, Van Slyke, Strawberry 1989: Davis, Gwynn, Mitchell 1990: Bonds, Bonilla, Strawberry 1991: Bonds, Bonilla, Gant 1992: Bonds, Van Slyke, Walker 1993: Bonds, Dykstra, Justice 1994: Alou, Bonds, Gwynn 1995: Bichette, Gwynn, Sosa 1996: Bonds, Burks, Sheffield 1997: Bonds, Gwynn, Walker 1998: Alou, Sosa, Vaughn 1999: Guerrero, Sosa, Walker 2000: Bonds, Guerrero, Sosa 2001: Bonds, Gonzalez, Sosa 2002: Bonds, Guerrero, Sosa 2003: Bonds, Pujols, Sheffield 2004: Abreu, Bonds, Edmonds 2005: Cabrera, Jones, Lee 2006: Beltrán, Holliday, Soriano 2007: Beltrán, Holliday, Lee 2008: Braun, Holliday, Ludwick 2009: Braun, Ethier, Kemp 2010: Braun, González, Holliday 2011: Braun, Kemp, Upton 2012: Braun, Bruce, McCutchen 2013: Bruce, Cuddyer, McCutchen 2014: McCutchen, Stanton, Upton

National League Hank Aaron Award 1999: Sosa 2000: Helton 2001: Bonds 2002: Bonds 2003: Pujols 2004: Bonds 2005: Jones 2006: Howard 2007: Fielder 2008: Ramírez 2009: Pujols 2010: Votto 2011: Kemp 2012: Posey 2013: Goldschmidt 2014: Stanton

United States 2013 World Baseball Classic roster 4 Brandon Phillips 5 David Wright 7 Joe Mauer 8 Ryan Braun 9 J. P. Arencibia 10 Adam Jones 11 Jimmy Rollins 12 Ben Zobrist 15 Glen Perkins 18 Willie Bloomquist 21 Heath Bell 22 Jonathan Lucroy 26 David Hernandez 27 Giancarlo Stanton 32 Ryan Vogelsong 33 Mitchell Boggs 35 Eric Hosmer 40 Steve Cishek 41 Jeremy Affeldt 43 R.A. Dickey 45 Derek Holland 46 Craig Kimbrel 47 Gio Gonzalez 48 Ross Detwiler 50 Shane Victorino 52 Vinnie Pestano 55 Tim Collins 57 Luke Gregerson Manager Joe Torre Bench coach Larry Bowa Pitching coach Greg Maddux Pitching coach Marcel Lachemann Hitting coach Gerald Perry First base coach Dale Murphy Third base coach Willie Randolph

Miami Marlins current roster Active roster 3 Adeiny Hechavarria 5 Casey McGehee 6 Jeff Mathis 9 Dee Gordon 11 Tomás Telis 13 Marcell Ozuna 14 Martín Prado 16 José Fernández 19 Miguel Rojas 20 J. T. Realmuto 21 Christian Yelich 22 Carter Capps 23 Jarred Cosart 24 André Rienzo 27 Giancarlo Stanton 28 Cole Gillespie 32 Derek Dietrich 34 Tom Koehler 40 Mike Dunn 41 David Phelps 44 A. J. Ramos 46 Kyle Barraclough 48 Justin Bour 49 Brian Ellington 51 Ichiro Suzuki 52 Brad Hand 56 Scott McGough 57 Bryan Morris 58 Raudel Lazo 60 Justin Nicolino 61 Adam Conley 62 José Ureña 63 Kendry Flores 65 Matt Ramsey -- Tommy Medica Disabled list 30 Don Kelly 37 Henderson Álvarez 43 Aaron Crow Coaching staff Manager 26 Vacant Bench 25 Mike Goff First base 7 Perry Hill Third base 29 Lenny Harris Pitching 55 Chuck Hernandez Hitting 4 Frank Menechino Outfield 2 Brett Butler Bullpen 18 Reid Cornelius Bullpen catcher 75 Jeff Urgelles Administrative 72 Pat Shine