Giancarlo Stanton Continues His Historic Season, Notching Homerun No. 46

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Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton became the first National League player in this decade to hit 46 homeruns in a season. No. 46 came on Tuesday, Aug. 22, in the first game of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The last NL players to hit at least 46 homers in a season were Albert Pujols (47) and Prince Fielder (46) in 2009, per Major League Baseball statistics.

The Player

Stanton has been on an absolute tear in 2017. After losing the Homerun Derby to New York Yankees catcher Gabby Sanchez (16-17) during the All-Star break, Stanton has tallied 20 homers. In early August, the 27-year-old slugger had homeruns in six consecutive games, two games short of the record set by Pittsburgh Pirates’ Dale Long in 1956 and tied by Marlins manager, then-Yankee, Don Mattingly since 1987 (Seattle Mariners’ Ken Griffey Jr. also met the record in 1993).

In addition to making baseball history, Stanton has been crushing franchise records.

The all-time record for homeruns in a month (20) was set by Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa in June of 1998. Former Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla set the franchise record with 12 homeruns in May of 2008. After tying Uggla’s mark three times (in May 2012, June 2015 and July 2017), Stanton hit his 13th homerun of August with ten games left before September.

On Monday, Aug. 14, Stanton hit his 43rd homerun of the year, breaking the Marlins’ single-season franchise mark, set by, then-27-year-old outfielder, Garry Sheffield in 1996.

The first game of the Tuesday doubleheader was meaningful for Stanton, as he continued his quest to reach the 61-homerun record, set by Yankees’ Roger Maris in 1961. The Maris record is important to the baseball community because, even though the record was broken six times between 1998 and 2001, it is considered the last “clean” homerun record, prior to MLB’s performance-enhancing drug era.

Barry Bonds officially holds the single-season homerun mark, notching 73 in 2001.

The Team

It was the second game of the doubleheader that really had meaning for the Marlins. With a 7-4 victory over the Phillies in the later game, the Marlins reached the .500 mark for the first time since April, when the team was 10-10.

Early in the season, the Marlins looked like a lost cause. The injury bug hit the struggling franchise hard, as it lost third baseman Martin Prado, first baseman Justin Bour, reliever Kyle Barraclough, opening day ace Edinson Volquez and shortstop J.T. Riddle, to the disabled list (Riddle and Voluqez suffered season ending injuries).

There was also the dumping of talent, as the team sent Adeiny Hechavarria to Tampa Bay, top reliever David Phelps to the Mariners and closer A.J. Ramos to the New York Mets. The season appeared lost, but the scrappy Marlins never quit. The team has gone 28-22 since dealing Hechavarria, 20-11 since trading Phelps and 14-9 since trading Ramos.

While 13.5 games behind the Washington Nationals in the NL East, second place Miami is now just 5.5 games away from a Wild Card spot. Stanton is a big reason why.

Opinion

Many sports commentators have called for the Marlins to try and deal Stanton, who is having an MVP caliber season for a team they believe is on a road to nowhere.

In 2014, Stanton signed a 13-year, $325 million contract extension. The deal, which is the largest in sports history and protected by a no-trade clause, has him tied to the franchise through the 2028 season. Through 2017, Stanton’s extension will have earned him just $30 million. Over the next three seasons he stands to earn a total of $77 million, and then things get complicated.

Stanton has the option to opt-out of his deal following the 2020 season. If he does, the Marlins would be off the hook for the $218 million remaining on his contract. Over the final seven years of the agreement, Stanton would earn an average annual salary of $31.14 million, if he opted to remain in Miami.

There will be plenty of suitors for Stanton’s talents, with Newsweek reporting that nearly half of the league is interested in acquiring the four-time All-Star. That alone should be enough for the Marlins new ownership to decline any potential proposals, no matter how tempting they may be.

Stanton is a generational talent in the batter’s box. He also happens to be the face of South Florida sports.

To an outside eye, baseball may appear to be the least popular sport in Miami, however that isn’t necessarily the case. The Marlins fan base was lost through years of alienation and shady business dealings by soon-to-be former owner Jeffery Loria and team president David Samson.

New ownership will bring back old fans, and Marlins Park will see attendance, which has dipped to around 21,000 spectators per game, rise again. But trading their best player will not help a Marlins renaissance, it will only hinder it for years to come.