Stanton's Quest For 60 Falls Short

majorleaguenews (43)in #sports • 7 years ago

Miami Marlins super slugger Giancarlo Stanton went into yesterdays game against the Atlanta Braves looking to smash one more longball to finish his season with 60 home runs.

Manager Don Mattingly put him in the leadoff spot so he’d have an extra at bat but it wasnt to be.

In his 5 at bats, Stanton had two hits and drove in a run. He left the plate in the ninth after striking out to a standing ovation from the crowd at Miami’s Sun Life Stadium. He got a curtain call and returned from the dugout to acknowledge the cheering crowd.

He may not have finshed with an even 60 on the year but his numbers could be good enough for NL MVP

His .281 average is a career best and 59 homeruns with 132 RBIs is quite a season! Noones had more dingers since 2001, when Barry Bonds hit 71, so not getting a ball to fly out of the stadium today is not ending on a bad note!

It will be interesting to see if the muscular long bomber will be back next season in a Marlins jersey. There’s been speculation now with new ownership buying the club from resident greaseball Jeffery Loria, the team maybe looking to trade baseballs richest contract to a different organization.

Miami is a small market club, having a player of Stanton's stature hasn't been putting fans in the seats the way it would if he were to suit up elsewhere. You’ve got to imagine the package the Marlins could get back in return would be substantial, if the team could find a suitor for his services?

Stanton has 10 years left on a 13 year deal he signed in 2014 for $325 million. The contract is backloaded so he’s to see the most money at the end of the term, which would make it slightly tougher to find a club willing to take that enormity on…however, I would not say impossible.

There isn’t many players today that hit aswell as Giancarlo, and at 27 years of age he seems to be defying baseballs normal trajectory by still improving every season. Add to that equation he’s also a good fielder and I could see a team taking a chance on him for next season.

Thank you Giancarlo for a tremendous year, its been a blast watching you smash 485 foot moon shots over the course of this 162 season! You can now enjoy a short rest before we see you back on the field in the spring. The question now is, will it be with the Miami Marlins?

Thanks for reading sports fans,

@majorleaguenews