It took him 18 games, but Giancarlo Stanton made up for lost time by clubbing his first home run of 2013 a long, long way. Only the glass beyond the left field wall in Marlins Park can protect the people and businesses of Little Havana from the power of Stanton.
How far was it? Well…
#Marlins Estimated distance of Giancarlo Stanton’s first home run: 472′
— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) April 27, 2013
Sure, the Marlins are off to a horendous start thanks to one of the worst offenses in recent memory. Sure, they gutted their lineup and essentially robbed their fans and local taxpayers. Sure, the ony thing worth watching on the team is playing hurt and hasn’t hit a home run yet.
But damn if these boys don’t know how to pick a suit.
It seems the Marlins have a tradition of buying hideous suits whenever they travel to Cincinnati. Ricky Nolasco, Giancarlo Stanton, Alex Sanabia, and A.J. Ramos rock their ugly suits with pride.
2012 Record: 69-93, 5th NL East
2012 Pythagorean Record: 68-94
Impact Player: RF Giancarlo Stanton
Impact Pitcher: RHP Ricky Nolasco
Top Prospect: RHP Jose Fernandez
Significant Acquisitions: RHP Henderson Alvarez, 3B Placido Polanco, LF Juan Pierre, SS Adeiny Hechavarria, RHP Jon Rauch, RHP Kevin Slowey, 1B Casey Kotchman, C Jeff Mathis, RHP Chad Qualls, RHP John Maine, IF Wilson Valdez, LHP Scott Maine, UT Matt Downs
Significant Departures: SS Jose Reyes, RHP Josh Johnson, LHP Mark Buehrle, UT Emilio Bonifacio, 1B Carlos Lee, RHP Heath Bell, C John Buck, OF Scott Cousins, RHP Carlos Zambrano, RHP Chad Gaudin
With a brand new, publicly-funded stadium and a decent core of players like Giancarlo Stanton, Logan Morrison, Josh Johnson, Hanley Ramirez, and Anibal Sanchez, the Miami Marlins ownership—led by the detestable Jeffrey Loria—finally decided to spend some money on the Major League roster and committed $191-million to three free agents last winter. Those free agents—Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell—were supposed to turn an already decent up-and-coming team into a true contender.
Then everything went wrong. New manager Ozzie Guillen—whom the Marlins spend $10-million on and also sent to prospects to the White Sox to acquire—made some questionable decisions on and off the field and the stars of the team either got hurt or underperformed. Things went south quickly. In June, Miami sent Matt Dominguez and another prospect to Houston for first baseman Carlos Lee, thinking maybe it would turn around, but within a few weeks, they waved the white flag and began dismantling.
There is very little hardcore baseball fans love more than prospects. That the majority of prospect information comes in handy list form has a lot to do with this, I believe. But the promise of prospect gold is a very real and very appealing thing, especially for fans of moribund franchises who otherwise face the impending season with the sort of dread associated with the first colonoscopy of a middle-aged man’s life.
As one might expect, fans tend to overvalue prospects, especially those in the farm system of their chosen franchise. Their prospects will, against all odds and available information, sweep through the minor leagues without a hiccup, storming the big league roster by force.
This is not reality, however. Even the most highly touted prospects fizzle. Pitchers break down or just TINSTAAP their way out of baseball. The biggest level-to-level jump in baseball is going from Triple-A to the bigs. Many just can’t make it.
Don’t let the boring shackles of reality constrain your throbbing prospect member – let your biased prospect flag fly and, gasp, enjoy yourself.
Team USA failed to deliver a win in their opening round game against Mexico on Friday night, with Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton taking in a 0-for-3 night, but the player formerly known as Mike Stanton did happen to make headlines before the game.
During batting practice, Stanton hit a ball deep over the wall at the Diamondbacks spring training facility, and smashed a car’s windshield located in the parking lot.
As we can expect for the next 15 years so, Mike Trout made a bunch of news out of a seemingly mundane act on the weekend. Mike Trout saw his contract renewed at just $20 000 above the league minimum despite posting eye-popping numbers with which your a very likely familiar. .326/.399/.564, 30 HR, 49 SB, highlight reel defense, 10 WAR, Rookie of the Year, runner-up for AL MVP, blah blah blah.
That the Angels would not extend Mike Trout a modicum of grace and bump his contract by more than they are obligated by baseball’s collective bargaining agreement doesn’t sit well with some folks – some folks including Mike Trout’s agent and, presumably, Mike Trout himself.
This is why beat writers both going to Spring Training. This is why the idea that the World Baseball Classic is somehow more dangerous than Spring Training is insane. This is why newer, better, baseball helmets are now mandatory across baseball.
This is Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez nearly taking Giancarlo Stanton‘s head off during live BP.
More than anything. this is why Jose Fernandez, one of the top prospects in baseball, will never amount to ANYTHING in the game of baseball. That is Giancarlo Stanton you just beaned, Jose. Have you no tact? Have you no decency?
What an awful sight. Hopefully Stanton is fine. Fernandez, on the other hand, he has to face Stanton in the clubhouse. Expect his prospect stock to take a hit, as pitching without a head tends to be quite difficult.
Update: the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports Stanton is “fine”, he signed a few autographs before leaving the field and claimed he was not dizzy. Poor Jose Fernandez, whom I jokingly chided in the this post, was reportedly upset and rushed to the clubhouse to apologize to Stanton.
